Financial Highlights from MaryFrances McCourt, Interim Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer
It’s my absolute privilege to join the Carnegie Mellon University community at this pivotal moment in the history of American higher education.
Carnegie Mellon’s passion for interdisciplinary educational excellence and pioneering research creates transformative breakthroughs. Every dollar that we invest intentionally in our mission today ripples outward to make the world a better place — now and well into the future.
I’m pleased to present the university’s Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2026 (FY26).
Expanding Access and Opportunity
For the next generations of leaders, Carnegie Mellon’s disciplined stewardship of resources and endowed funds translates directly into greater access and opportunity. Our commitment to students is exemplified by the continued success of the CMU Pathway Program, alongside vital support from the Rales Fellows Program and Tartan Scholars. More broadly, CMU leads at the intersection of AI, research, innovation, and learning science through collaborative programs like Learnvia that will catalyze student success in critical college gateway courses across the nation. After graduation, Carnegie Mellon alumni consistently outpace national trends, excelling in professions across sectors and disciplines amid today’s shifting job market. In FY26, CMU was listed in Forbes as a top 15 college for starting a career and ranked in the top 10 of private universities in America for career placement in the Princeton Review.
Radiating Breakthroughs
Entwined with the momentum of student achievements, Carnegie Mellon’s research impacts also radiate outward, extending far beyond our campus to transform communities and industries around the world. CMU researchers, scholars, and their investigative collaborators remain at the forefront of technological developments with the potential to improve and save lives. For example, a new at-home cancer test developed at Carnegie Mellon can help detect cancer earlier, right in patients’ own homes. In the humanities and social sciences, researchers are charting new frontiers in learning by blending neuroscience and game design to make language learning more accessible. By investing locally to meet national needs, CMU’s Robotics Innovation Center in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood is translating our strengths in robotics and autonomous systems into new opportunities for innovation and economic growth.
Together, the stories in this annual financial report represent just a fraction of the full depth and breadth of Carnegie Mellon’s impact.
Financials Overview
Our financial strategies give Carnegie Mellon the capacity to invest for the long term and advance the work that matters most. CMU intentionally aligns resources to its areas of greatest strength: supporting bold ideas today and the partnerships, capabilities, and opportunities that sustain innovation well into the future.
Overall Results
In FY26, the university’s operating revenues exceeded its operating expenses by $23.4 million, resulting in a 1.3% operating margin. University net assets were $6.9 billion on June 30, 2026, an increase of $545.0 million or 8.6% since the fiscal year ending 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 62.7% of total assets and was valued at $5.2 billion on June 30, 2026. The portfolio, which includes endowment assets totaling $4.0 billion, increased by $701.8 million or 15.6% from June 30, 2025. The increase can be attributed to the long-term pool investment return of 15.8% plus gifts received, offset by the endowment draw support to university operations. This performance reinforces the strength of CMU’s diversified investment strategy.
Credit Ratings
In FY26, Moody’s affirmed Carnegie Mellon’s rating of ‘Aa1’ as stable. The agency first assigned this rating in January 2025, and noted CMU’s above-peer operating performance and disciplined financial management as continued key strengths. This rating is equivalent with our S&P ‘AA+’ credit rating, also affirmed in FY26.
Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Revenues and Expenses
Operating revenues for FY26 were $1.75 billion, a decrease of $28.7 million (-1.6%) compared to FY25, predominantly driven by reduced funding from the Department of Defense and National Science Foundation.
Operating expenses for FY26 were $1.73 billion, an increase of $26.4 million (1.6%) compared to FY25. People are Carnegie Mellon’s biggest investment and constitute the largest component of our annual operating expenses. This reflects our commitment to our faculty and staff, as well as the delivery of our academic, research, and student-support missions. Managing this investment effectively is central to our long-term financial viability. Compensation expenses of $1.13 billion were $13.8 million (1.2%) above prior year. All other operating expenses of $600.6 million increased $12.6 million (2.1%) versus FY25.
A Human-Centered Vision
For over 125 years, Carnegie Mellon University has consistently turned the seemingly impossible into remarkable reality. The 2027 U.S. News & World Report rankings show that we are not slowing down: Carnegie Mellon rose six spots to No. 14 nationally as well as No. 3 nationally for Graduate Earnings by Academic Major — reflecting our continued momentum.
As we look toward our exciting future, CMU will continue to align financial resources with our Strategic Framework and in service of our core mission: to expand the boundaries of knowledge, eliminate barriers to opportunity, and turn bold questions into creative breakthroughs.
This mission is accelerated by the largest gift in the history of higher education to date, a historic $3 billion gift from Citadel CEO and philanthropist Kenneth C. Griffin announced on Sept. 30, 2026. This includes a $1 billion investment in the Pittsburgh campus, split between the university’s highest priorities and its top-ranked and newly renamed Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science. The remaining $2 billion will launch CMU Miami, a new campus organized around societal challenges and designed to pioneer a model for higher education built for the next era of American innovation.
Ultimately, Carnegie Mellon’s financial position and financial statements tell a story that is far richer than mere dollars. It is a story of authentic human, scientific, creative, and economic outcomes that radiate throughout our collective communities: in our support for first-generation students, in our bioelectronic research improving patient care, in our researchers pushing limits in robotics, in our alumni shining among Broadway’s brightest stars, in our deepening of community ties in the City of Pittsburgh and beyond, and so much more.
Sincerely,
MaryFrances McCourt
Interim Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer
October 28, 2026