iShares Gold Trust Micro 10-Q

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. This information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes to financial statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this Form 10‑Q. The discussion and analysis that follows may contain statements that relate to future events or future performance. In some cases, such forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially. These statements are based upon certain assumptions and analyses made by the Sponsor on the basis of its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Whether or not actual results and developments will conform to the Sponsor’s expectations and predictions, however, is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the special considerations discussed below, general economic, market and business conditions, changes in laws or regulations, including those concerning taxes, made by governmental authorities or regulatory bodies, and other world economic and political developments. Although the Sponsor does not make forward-looking statements unless it believes it has a reasonable basis for doing so, the Sponsor cannot guarantee their accuracy. Except as required by applicable disclosure laws, neither the Trust nor the Sponsor is under a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform such statements to actual results or to a change in the Sponsor’s expectations or predictions. Introduction The iShares Gold Trust Micro (the “Trust”) is a grantor trust formed under the laws of the State of New York. The Trust does not have any officers, directors, or employees, and is administered by The Bank of New York Mellon (the “Trustee”) acting as trustee pursuant to the First Amended and Restated Depositary Trust Agreement (the “Trust Agreement”) between the Trustee and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC, the sponsor of the Trust (the “Sponsor”). The Trust issues units of beneficial interest (“Shares”) representing fractional undivided beneficial interests in its net assets. The assets of the Trust consist primarily of gold bullion held by a custodian as an agent of the Trust responsible only to the Trustee. The Trust is a passive investment vehicle and seeks to reflect generally the performance of the price of gold. The Trust seeks to reflect such performance before payment of the Trust’s expenses and liabilities. The Trust does not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the price of gold. The Trust issues and redeems Shares only in exchange for gold, only in aggregations of 50,000 Shares (a “Basket”) or integral multiples thereof, and only in transactions with registered broker-dealers that have previously entered into an agreement with the Sponsor and the Trustee governing the terms and conditions of such issuance (such broker-dealers, the “Authorized Participants”). A list of the current Authorized Participants is available from the Sponsor or the Trustee. Shares of the Trust trade on NYSE Arca, Inc. under the ticker symbol IAUM. Valuation of Gold Bullion ; Computation of Net Asset Value On each business day, as soon as practicable after 4:00 p.m. (New York time), the Trustee evaluates the gold held by the Trust and determines the net asset value of the Trust and the net asset value per Share (“NAV”). The Trustee values the gold held by the Trust using the price per fine troy ounce of gold determined in an electronic auction hosted by ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”) that begins at 3:00 p.m. (London time) and published shortly thereafter, on the day the valuation takes place (such price, the “LBMA Gold Price PM”). If there is no announced LBMA Gold Price PM on any day, the Trustee is authorized to use the most recently announced price of gold determined in an electronic auction hosted by IBA that begins at 10:30 a.m. (London time) (such price, the “LBMA Gold Price AM”), unless the Trustee, in consultation with the Sponsor, determines that such price is inappropriate as a basis for evaluation. The LBMA Gold Price AM and LBMA Gold Price PM are used by the Trust because they are commonly used by the U.S. gold market as indicators of the value of gold and are permitted to be used under the Trust Agreement. The use of indicators of the value of gold bullion other than the LBMA Gold Price AM and LBMA Gold Price PM could result in materially different fair value pricing of the gold held by the Trust, and as such, could result in different cost or market adjustments or in different redemption value adjustments of the outstanding redeemable capital Shares. Having valued the gold held by the Trust, the Trustee then subtracts all accrued fees, expenses and other liabilities of the Trust from the total value of the gold and other assets held by the Trust. The result is the net asset value of the Trust. The Trustee computes NAV by dividing the net asset value of the Trust by the number of Shares outstanding on the date the computation is made. Liquidity The Trust is not aware of any trends, demands, conditions or events that are reasonably likely to result in material changes to its liquidity needs. In exchange for a fee, the Sponsor has agreed to assume most of the expenses incurred by the Trust. As a result, the only ordinary expense of the Trust during the period covered by this report was the Sponsor’s fee. The Trust’s only source of liquidity is its sales of gold. Critical Accounting Policies The financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements relies on estimates and assumptions that impact the Trust’s financial position and results of operations. These estimates and assumptions affect the Trust’s application of accounting policies. A description of the valuation of gold bullion, a critical accounting policy that the Trust believes is important to understanding its results of operations and financial position, is provided in the section entitled “Valuation of Gold Bullion; Computation of Net Asset Value” above. In addition, please refer to Note 2 to the financial statements included in this report for further discussion of the Trust’s accounting policies. 11 Table of Contents Results of Operations The Quarter Ended September 30, 2024 The Trust’s net asset value increased from $1,201,326,993 at June 30, 2024 to $1,450,991,617 at September 30, 2024, a 20.78% increase. The increase in the Trust’s net asset value resulted primarily from an increase in the price of gold, which grew 12.83% from $2,330.90 at June 30, 2024 to $2,629.95 at September 30, 2024. The increase in the Trust’s net asset value also benefitted from an increase in the number of outstanding Shares, which rose from 51,650,000 Shares at June 30, 2024 to 55,300,000 Shares at September 30, 2024, a consequence of 4,450,000 Shares (89 Baskets) being created and 800,000 Shares (16 Baskets) being redeemed during the quarter. The 12.81% increase in the NAV from $23.26 at June 30, 2024 to $26.24 at September 30, 2024 is directly related to the 12.83% increase in the price of gold. The NAV increased slightly less than the price of gold on a percentage basis due to the Sponsor’s fees, which were $234,601 for the quarter, or 0.02% of the Trust’s average weighted assets of $1,336,096,237 during the quarter. The NAV of $26.58 on September 26, 2024 was the highest during the quarter, compared with a low during the quarter of $23.24 on July 1, 2024. Net increase in net assets resulting from operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 was $161,153,236 resulting from an unrealized gain on investment in gold bullion of $156,618,421, a net realized gain of $4,724,615 on gold bullion distributed for the redemption of Shares, and a net realized gain of $44,801 from gold bullion sold to pay expenses during the quarter, partially offset by a net investment loss of $234,601. Other than the Sponsor’s fees of $234,601, the Trust had no expenses during the quarter. The Nine-Month Period Ended September 30, 2024 The Trust’s net asset value increased from $1,221,830,170 at December 31, 2023 to $1,450,991,617 at September 30, 2024, a 18.76% increase. The increase in the Trust’s net asset value resulted primarily from an increase in the price of gold, which grew 27.52% from $2,062.40 at December 31, 2023 to $2,629.95 at September 30, 2024. The increase in the Trust’s net asset value was partially offset by a decrease in the number of outstanding Shares, which fell from 59,350,000 Shares at December 31, 2023 to 55,300,000 Shares at September 30, 2024, a consequence of 11,250,000 Shares (225 Baskets) being created and 15,300,000 Shares (306 Baskets) being redeemed during the period. The 27.44% increase in the NAV from $20.59 at December 31, 2023 to $26.24 at September 30, 2024 is directly related to the 27.52% increase in the price of gold. The NAV increased slightly less than the price of gold on a percentage basis due to the Sponsor’s fees, which were $612,915 for the period, or 0.05% of the Trust’s average weighted assets of $1,170,686,108 during the period. The NAV of $26.58 on September 26, 2024 was the highest during the period, compared with a low during the period of $19.81 on February 14, 2024. Net increase in net assets resulting from operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was $293,838,482, resulting from an unrealized gain on investment in gold bullion of $255,661,511, a net realized gain of $38,693,737 on gold bullion distributed for the redemption of Shares, and a net realized gain of $96,149 from gold bullion sold to pay expenses during the period, partially offset by a net investment loss of $612,915. Other than the Sponsor’s fees of $612,915, the Trust had no expenses during the period. Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk. Not applicable.