Yale University reported a 26.3 percent return on its endowment for the fiscal year ending June 30, increasing the fund’s value to a record $54.5 billion. The endowment, which accounts for approximately 35 percent of the university’s operating revenue, grew by $11.3 billion over the period, the institution announced Tuesday.

The gain outperformed the median 19 percent return, before fees, typically seen among institutions with assets exceeding $500 million, according to industry benchmarks. Yale’s performance was slightly behind returns reported by the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University, which posted gains of 27.4 percent and 27.1 percent, respectively. Some universities credited strong returns to investments in companies like SpaceX, the space exploration firm that went public this year, though Yale did not disclose specific contributors to its results.

Over the past decade, Yale’s endowment has delivered an annualized return of 11.7 percent, trailing that of Ivy League peers including Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Dartmouth College. Those institutions face higher tax obligations under new federal legislation targeting large university endowments.

Yale anticipates a tax liability of roughly $900 million under the recently instituted 8 percent federal tax on net investment income. The university projects this obligation will cost about $350 million annually going forward, with expectations of increased costs over time. The tax applies to realized gains on investment returns.

Matt Mendelsohn, Yale’s chief investment officer, described the result as encouraging in an uncertain environment for higher education. The university did not provide detailed information regarding the specific factors that contributed to the endowment’s performance.