Financial Highlights from Angela Blanton, Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer

It’s my privilege to present Carnegie Mellon University’s Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2025 (FY25).

For 125 years, Carnegie Mellon University has consistently turned the seemingly impossible into remarkable reality. This report highlights stories from FY25 that demonstrate how our continued commitment to transparency and sound financial stewardship sustains the university’s mission, amplifies its global impact on society, and prepares us all to meet the opportunities and challenges of today and tomorrow.

From Investment to Impact: What if Potential Had No Barriers?

At CMU — where what if becomes what’s next — financial strength empowers bold ideas to move from imagination to profound impact. Through grants, philanthropy, endowment funds and disciplined financial management, every dollar is invested intentionally to fuel education, advance research and transform society. At its heart, CMU thrives as an interdisciplinary institution, and our vibrant collaborative culture continues to earn global and national recognition, from Pulitzer Prizes and Tony Awards to breakthroughs that redefine what’s possible.

For our students, this means greater access and opportunity. The new CMU Pathway program, alongside initiatives such as the Tartan Scholars and Rales Fellows Program, reduces financial barriers for students. That impact is visible in the national recognition that CMU and our students continue to earn, including No. 1 rankings in seven undergraduate programs, including artificial intelligence, and a top-20 overall standing in the latest U.S. News & World Report.

Disciplined investment in our students, faculty and programs fuels discoveries with truly global impact. CMU researchers are at the forefront developing technologies that improve and save lives through projects supported by critical partners. As an illustration, a CMU-led research team created a compact artificial lung to support soldiers with respiratory injuries, advancing from laboratory design toward field application. Other projects target pressing health challenges, such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes, and develop innovations like implantable bioelectric devices. These breakthroughs demonstrate how strategic financial stewardship enables CMU faculty and researchers to pursue high-reward research with governmental, foundation and corporate funding.

Aligned Stewardship for the Future: What if Every Dollar Shaped a More Resilient World?

Our financial strategies enable the university to advance the work that matters most. CMU intentionally aligns resources to strategic priorities, from expanding student access, to sustaining research leadership, to building the infrastructure that enables innovation.

One example is CMU’s leadership in preparing the energy workforce of the future. With support from the U.S. Department of Energy, CMU is developing pathways that ensure American workers are not left behind as clean energy and artificial intelligence transform the economy. Another is our joint research center with NVIDIA, where CMU is pioneering robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence to shape technologies that will define the next generation.

These forward-looking initiatives illustrate how today’s financial choices are an investment in the future: They lay the groundwork for discoveries and applications that will unfold years, and even decades, from now. Such strategic investments not only advance discovery and access but also strengthen CMU’s long-term financial position by expanding research capacity, partnerships and financial support.

Financial Strength and Resilience: What if Readiness Today Ensured Resilience Tomorrow? 

In a year of dynamic change for higher education, CMU remains financially strong and agile. That confidence is reflected in both our audited financial statements and our credit ratings from the major agencies. The FY25 audited financials confirm the university’s solid operating performance, robust liquidity and strong balance sheet.

External ratings reinforce these strengths. Moody’s assigned CMU its inaugural ‘Aa1’ credit rating, and S&P reaffirmed our ‘AA+’ rating. Achieving Moody’s first rating is a significant milestone that underscores the university’s management credibility, financial planning discipline, and effective treasury and policy frameworks. Moody’s commended CMU’s transparency and governance; highlighted our clear approach to risk and alignment with mission; and noted how strong donor support, sustained student demand, and deep industry partnerships enhance CMU’s operating environment and long-term credit quality.

Together, the audited results and external ratings reflect the university’s sophisticated risk-management practices, forward-looking financial strategy, and established credibility among rating agencies. They affirm CMU’s financial resilience and demonstrate that disciplined stewardship today creates the capacity to fund the breakthroughs of tomorrow.

Financials Overview

Overall Results

The university’s operating revenues exceeded its operating expenses, yielding an operating gain of $78.4 million. University net assets increased $453.2 million or 7.7% since the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2024 (FY24) to an ending value of $6.3 billion on June 30, 2025. The asset growth was driven by the operating surplus, growth in restricted gifts, and gains on investments.

Investments

Carnegie Mellon’s investment portfolio represented 58.8% of total assets and was valued at $4.5 billion on June 30, 2025. The portfolio, which includes endowment assets totaling $3.5 billion, increased by $260.3 million or 6.1% from June 30, 2024. The increase can be attributed to the long-term pool investment return of 10.9% plus gifts received, offset by transfers to university operations. This performance reinforces the strength of CMU’s diversified investment strategy.

Long-Term Debt

In FY24, through the Allegheny County Higher Education Building Authority, the university issued Carnegie Mellon University Revenue Bonds - Series of 2023 and Carnegie Mellon University Revenue Bonds - Series A of 2024. Proceeds of the Series 2023 bonds were used to refinance Series 2013 bonds and a portion of taxable commercial paper; proceeds of the Series 2024 bonds were used to refinance Series 2019B bonds. Additionally, Moody’s assigned the university a rating of 'Aa1' in January 2025. This is equivalent to our 'AA+' credit rating from S&P. These refinancings optimized the university’s debt structure, reduced borrowing costs, and extended maturities, further strengthening long-term financial flexibility to support capital projects and strategic initiatives.

Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Revenues

Operating revenues for FY25 were $1.8 billion, an increase of $96.8 million, or 5.8%, from FY24. The most significant driver for the increase was total net tuition, which grew by $34.7 million or 4.8% over FY24, stemming from enrollment and rate increases. Tuition and other educational fees, net of financial aid, totaled $752.4 million during FY25. Sponsored Research increased by $33.5 million (6.5%), propelled by growth within the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), College of Engineering (ENG), and Mellon College of Science (MCS). This growth reflects the university’s continued strength in its core funding streams, particularly tuition and sponsored research, while maintaining the financial stability needed to support both ongoing operations and strategic priorities.

Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Expenses

Operating expenses for FY25 were $1.7 billion, an increase of $101.5 million (6.4%) over FY24. As a people-focused institution, CMU continues to prioritize investment in our workforce through forward-looking and comprehensive employee initiatives. Personnel costs — salaries, wages, and employee benefits — totaled $1.1 billion in FY25. This represents an increase of $60.3 million from the prior fiscal period. Non-sponsored Other Costs were up $33.5 million, including areas such as professional services (+$13.5 million), space rental (+$3.3 million), utilities (+$3.3 million), dining services contracts (+$3.0 million - offset by increased revenues), and other operating expenses (+$2.9 million). The remainder of the year-over-year variance is composed of a $6.8 million increase in Depreciation (capital projects) and a $2.3 million decrease in Interest Expense (interest rate environment). These results underscore CMU’s disciplined approach to resource management: balancing strategic investments in people, infrastructure, and operations while sustaining long-term financial resilience.

Taken together, CMU’s revenue growth, expense discipline, investment performance and strategic debt management reflect a sound financial position that enables bold ideas, academic excellence, and our persistent drive to turn what if into what’s next, anchored by the fiscal discipline and stewardship our stakeholders expect.

At its core, CMU’s financial story is ultimately about people: the students who learn here, the faculty and researchers who teach and discover here, the staff who make it possible, and the partners who invest in our success. Through strong leadership and shared responsibility, we will continue aligning CMU’s financial resources with its mission — from investment to impact. In doing so, we ensure that every decision, every dollar and every partnership strengthens our ability to fuel discovery, expand opportunity and shape the future. 

Sincerely,

Angela Blanton
Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer
November 20, 2025