BlackRock Science and Technology Trust (BST) and BlackRock Science and Technology Term Trust (BSTZ) Announce Special Distributions
BlackRock Science and Technology Trust (NYSE:BST) and BlackRock Science and Technology Term Trust (NYSE:BSTZ) (each, a "Fund" and together, the "Funds") announced today the declaration of special distributions, payable on September 30, 2026 to shareholders of record as of September 15, 2026 (ex-date September 15, 2026).
The special distributions reflect substantial realized gains generated by the Funds' strong investment performance, including cumulative fiscal year-to-date returns of 32.7% for BST and 44.5% for BSTZ, and three-year annualized returns of 27.8% for BST and 30.4% for BSTZ1. These gains reflect the investment team's disciplined approach to identifying and capturing opportunities across public and private companies in the technology ecosystem. Through investments in both public and private technology companies, BST and BSTZ offer shareholders access to long-term innovation themes such as artificial intelligence. By declaring these special distributions mid-year, the Funds are returning a portion of realized gains to shareholders while helping manage year-end tax distribution requirements.
The special distributions, which are in addition to each Fund’s regular monthly distributions previously declared for September 2026, are summarized in the tables below:
Fund |
Ticker |
Special Distribution per Share |
BlackRock Science and Technology Trust* |
BST |
$2.3041 |
BlackRock Science and Technology Term Trust* |
BSTZ |
$1.4547 |
Declaration
|
Record Date |
Ex-Date |
Pay Date |
July 22, 2026 |
September 15,
|
September 15,
|
September 30,
|
Note: The final distribution dollar amount will be finalized on the ex-date based upon current shares outstanding and subject to rounding.
*In order to comply with the requirements of Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), each of the Funds noted above posted to the DTC bulletin board and sent to its shareholders of record as of the applicable record date a Section 19 notice with the previous distribution payment. The Section 19 notice was provided for informational purposes only and not for tax reporting purposes. This information can be found in the "Closed-End Funds" section of www.blackrock.com. As applicable, the final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions in 2026 will be made after the end of the year.
The fixed amounts distributed per share or distribution rate, as applicable, are subject to change at the discretion of each Fund’s Board of Directors/Trustees. Under its Plan, each Fund will distribute all available investment income to its shareholders, consistent with its investment objectives and as required by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). If sufficient income (inclusive of net investment income and short-term capital gains) is not available monthly, a Fund will distribute long-term capital gains and/or return capital to its shareholders in order to maintain a level distribution.
Each Fund’s estimated sources of distributions payable July 31, 2026, and for its current fiscal year are as follows:
Estimated Allocations as of July 31, 2026 |
||||||
Fund |
Distribution |
Net Income |
Net Realized Short-
|
Net Realized Long-
|
Return of Capital |
|
BST |
$0.250000 |
$0 (0%) |
$0 (0%) |
$0.087464 (35%) |
$0.162536 (65%) |
|
BSTZ |
$0.162500 |
$0 (0%) |
$0.026811 (16%) |
$0 (0%) |
$0.135689 (84%) |
|
Estimated Allocations for the Fiscal Year through July 31, 2026 |
||||||
Fund |
Distribution |
Net Income |
Net Realized Short-
|
Net Realized Long-
|
Return of Capital |
|
BST |
$1.750000 |
$0 (0%) |
$0.798776 (46%) |
$0.951224 (54%) |
$0 (0%) |
|
BSTZ |
$1.137500 |
$0 (0%) |
$1.137500 (100%) |
$0 (0%) |
$0 (0%) |
|
The amounts and sources of the distribution reported are only estimates and are being provided to you pursuant to regulatory requirements and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund’s investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.
Fund Performance and Distribution Rate Information: |
||||
Fund |
Average annual
|
Annualized current
|
Cumulative total
|
Cumulative fiscal
|
BST |
8.98% |
5.52% |
32.66% |
2.76% |
BSTZ |
6.68% |
5.63% |
44.47% |
2.82% |
Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Fund’s investment performance from the amount of the Fund’s current distributions or from the terms of the Fund’s Plan.
About BlackRock
BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate.
Availability of Fund Updates
BlackRock will update performance and certain other data for the Fund on a monthly basis on its website in the "Closed-end Funds" section of www.blackrock.com as well as certain other material information as necessary from time to time. Investors and others are advised to check the website for updated performance information and the release of other material information about the Fund. This reference to BlackRock’s website is intended to allow investors public access to information regarding the Fund and does not, and is not intended to, incorporate BlackRock’s website in this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release, and other statements that BlackRock or the Fund may make, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, with respect to the Fund’s or BlackRock’s future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "trend," "potential," "opportunity," "pipeline," "believe," "comfortable," "expect," "anticipate," "current," "intention," "estimate," "position," "assume," "outlook," "continue," "remain," "maintain," "sustain," "seek," "achieve," and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "may" or similar expressions.
BlackRock cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and BlackRock assumes no duty to and does not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.
With respect to the Fund, the following factors, among others, could cause actual events to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance: (1) changes and volatility in political, economic or industry conditions, the interest rate environment, foreign exchange rates or financial and capital markets, which could result in changes in demand for the Fund or in the Fund’s net asset value; (2) the relative and absolute investment performance of the Fund and its investments; (3) the impact of increased competition; (4) the unfavorable resolution of any legal proceedings; (5) the extent and timing of any distributions or share repurchases; (6) the impact, extent and timing of technological changes; (7) the impact of legislative and regulatory actions and reforms, and regulatory, supervisory or enforcement actions of government agencies relating to the Fund or BlackRock, as applicable; (8) terrorist activities, international hostilities, health epidemics and/or pandemics and natural disasters, which may adversely affect the general economy, domestic and local financial and capital markets, specific industries or BlackRock; (9) BlackRock’s ability to attract and retain highly talented professionals; (10) the impact of BlackRock electing to provide support to its products from time to time; and (11) the impact of problems at other financial institutions or the failure or negative performance of products at other financial institutions.
Annual and Semi-Annual Reports and other regulatory filings of the Fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on BlackRock’s website at www.blackrock.com, and may discuss these or other factors that affect the Fund. The information contained on BlackRock’s website is not a part of this press release.
| ______________________________ |
| 1 BlackRock as of June 30, 2026; reflects total return on NAV |
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