Key Takeaways
- • WashU finished fiscal year 2025 with a $112 million budget surplus, equal to 2.1% of its annual budget and well above its projected $7.4 million deficit, according to an email from Chancellor Andrew D. Martin to faculty and staff.
- • The university's endowment rose 37.3% to $17.7 billion, an increase of more than $4 billion, though Martin did not state a specific cause for the gain.
- • The FY2025 surplus trails the prior year's $300 million surplus, which was inflated by a $335 million gift recorded across several years.
- • Martin credited the result to clinical performance at the Medical Campus and "fiscal discipline" across the university, which included layoffs and expanded responsibilities for staff.
- • The board of trustees approved a $5.48 billion budget for FY2027, projecting a 1% surplus, while Martin flagged federal research funding and Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement as significant headwinds.
Summary
Washington University in St. Louis closed its 2025 fiscal year with a $112 million budget surplus and a 37.3% increase in its endowment, which now totals $17.7 billion, according to an email from Chancellor Andrew D. Martin to faculty and staff. The surplus, equal to 2.1% of the university's annual budget, exceeded its projection of a $7.4 million deficit for the year. It was smaller than the $300 million surplus recorded in the prior fiscal year, a figure that was largely driven by a $335 million gift that was distributed over several years but recorded in full in that period.
Martin attributed the financial improvement to strong clinical performance at the Medical Campus and to "fiscal discipline" across the university, a effort that included layoffs and increased responsibilities for faculty and staff. He did not specify what drove the endowment gain. The Student Life report noted that WashU had reported a roughly 3,000% return on its investment in SpaceX when the company went public earlier in the year, but the email did not tie that position to the endowment result. Martin described the growth as "likely to be among the very best in the country."
Martin said more details on how the endowment increase will be used would be shared in the coming months. He noted that many endowment funds have already been designated for specific purposes, such as endowed professorships and financial aid, and said the university has "both a legal and ethical obligation to honor those commitments." In the 2025 report from the university's Investment Management Company, 63% of endowed funds were listed as donor restricted and 37% were without donor restrictions.
Martin cautioned that "significant headwinds" remain, including threats to federal research funding, the need to balance budgets across all Danforth schools, and uncertainty over Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates. Looking to fiscal year 2027, the board of trustees approved a $5.48 billion budget and projects a 1% surplus. Martin said the medical school is expected to continue running surpluses, while the Danforth Campus is expected to continue facing "challenges."
Martin attributed the financial improvement to strong clinical performance at the Medical Campus and to "fiscal discipline" across the university, a effort that included layoffs and increased responsibilities for faculty and staff. He did not specify what drove the endowment gain. The Student Life report noted that WashU had reported a roughly 3,000% return on its investment in SpaceX when the company went public earlier in the year, but the email did not tie that position to the endowment result. Martin described the growth as "likely to be among the very best in the country."
Martin said more details on how the endowment increase will be used would be shared in the coming months. He noted that many endowment funds have already been designated for specific purposes, such as endowed professorships and financial aid, and said the university has "both a legal and ethical obligation to honor those commitments." In the 2025 report from the university's Investment Management Company, 63% of endowed funds were listed as donor restricted and 37% were without donor restrictions.
Martin cautioned that "significant headwinds" remain, including threats to federal research funding, the need to balance budgets across all Danforth schools, and uncertainty over Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates. Looking to fiscal year 2027, the board of trustees approved a $5.48 billion budget and projects a 1% surplus. Martin said the medical school is expected to continue running surpluses, while the Danforth Campus is expected to continue facing "challenges."
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