AAAU 10-K & 10-Q changes, risk factors and insider trading

In February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. These steps have increased tensions between its neighbors and Western countries. These developments have continued for some time and created uncertainties in the region. Russia’s actions have induced the United States and other countries to impose economic sanctions and may result in additional sanctions in the future. Such sanctions and other similar measures could cause volatility in precious metals prices and have a significant impact on Trust performance and the value of an investment in the Shares. On March 7, 2022, the LBMA suspended six Russian gold and silver refiners from its GoodGold Delivery List. As a result, while existing gold bars from these refiners are considered acceptable, new gold bars are not. Following an announcement at the G7 Summit to collectively ban the import of Russian gold, the UK passed regulations which prohibit the direct or indirect (i) import of gold that originated in Russia, (ii) acquisition of gold that originated in Russia or is located in Russia and (iii) supply or delivery of gold that originated in Russia, all after July 21, 2022. Similarly, US regulations prohibit the import of gold of Russian origin into the United States on or after June 28, 2022 and EU regulations prohibit the direct or indirect import, purchase, or transfer of gold if it originates in Russia and has been exported from Russia after July 22, 2022.

The Trust does not insure its gold. The Custodian maintains insurance on such terms and conditions as it considers appropriate in connection with its custodial obligations under the CustodianCustody Agreement and is responsible for all costs, fees and expenses arising from the insurance policy or policies. The Trust is not a beneficiary of any such insurance and does not have the ability to dictate the existence, nature or amount of coverage. Therefore, investors cannot be assured that the Custodian maintains adequate insurance or any insurance with respect to the gold held by the Custodian on behalf of the Trust. In addition, the CustodianCustody Agreement does not require any direct or indirect Sub-Custodians to be insured or bonded with respect to their custodial activities or in respect of the gold held by them on behalf of the Trust. Further, investors’ legal recourse against the Trust, the Trustee, the Sponsor, the Custodian, and any Sub-Custodians is limited. Consequently, a loss may be suffered with respect to the Trust’s gold which is not covered by insurance and for which no person is liable in damages.

The Trustee determines the Net Asset Value of the Trust on each day that the Cboe BZX Exchange (NYSE Arca prior to February 3, 2022) is open for regular trading, as promptly as practical after 4:00 p.m. New York City time. The Net Asset Value of the Trust is the aggregate value of gold and other assets, if any, of the Trust (other than any amounts credited to the Trust’s reserve account, if any) including cash, if any, less liabilities of the Trust, which include estimated accrued but unpaid fees, expenses and other liabilities. In determining the Trust’s Net Asset Value, the Trustee values the gold held by the Trust based on the LBMA Gold Price PM. The LBMA Gold Price PM is set at 3:00 p.m. London time via an auction independently operated and administered by ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”). The price is set in U.S. dollars per fineFine troy ounce (“fine ounce”).Ounce. If no LBMA Gold Price PM is available for the required day, the Trustee uses the LBMA Gold Price AM. If no LBMA Gold Price PM or LBMA Gold Price AM is available for the day, the Trustee values the Trust’s gold based on the most recently announced LBMA Gold Price PM or LBMA Gold Price AM. If the Sponsor determines that such price is inappropriate to use, it must identify an alternate basis for evaluation to be employed by the Trustee. The Sponsor may instruct the Trustee to use a different price which is reasonably available to the Trustee at no cost to the Trustee that the Sponsor determines to represent fairly the commercial value of the Trust’s gold. At December 31, 20232024 and December 31, 2022,2025, the LBMA Gold Price AM was utilized.

At December 31, 2023,2025, the Custodian held 307,119.5590,283.0 ounces of gold on behalf of the Trust in its vault, with a market value of $633,403,259$2,542,909,779 (cost: $594,100,397$1,590,130,354) based on the LBMA AM Gold Price AM at period end.

The change in net assets from operations for the year endedyear-ended December 31, 20232025 was $56,397,249,$783,446,114, which was due to (i) the Sponsor Fee of $(1,035,1382,943,778) and (ii) a net realized and unrealized gain of $57,432,387$786,389,892 from operations, which in turn resulted from a net realized loss on gold soldtransferred to pay expenses of $(35,48554,763), a net realized gain from gold bullion distributed for redemptions of $5,466,766$22,098,194 and a net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments in gold bullion of $52,001,106.$764,346,461. Other than the Sponsor Fee, the Trust had no expenses during the year ended December 31, 2023.2025.

The following chart shows movements in the price of gold based on the LBMA PM Gold Price PM in U.S. dollars per ounce over the period from January 1, 20242025 to December 31, 2024.2025.

Daily gold price —– January 1, 20242025 to December 31, 20242025

LBMA PM Gold Price PM (in USD)

The average, high, low and end-of-period gold prices for each quarterly period from January 1, 20242025 through December 31, 2024,2025, based on the LBMA PM Gold Price PM were:

Physical gold that the Trust holds consists of gold bullion that meets the specifications for “good delivery” gold bars (“London Good Delivery Standards”), including the specifications for weight, dimension, fineness (or purity), identifying marks and appearance of gold bars, set forth in the good delivery rules promulgated by the London Bullion Market Association (“LBMA”). The Trust issues the Shares in blocks of at least 25,000 Shares called “Baskets” in exchange for gold from certain registered broker-dealers or other securities market participants (the “Authorized Participants”), which is then allocated as physical gold and stored by the Custodian. The Trust issues and redeems Baskets on an ongoing basis at net asset value (“NAV” or “Net Asset Value”) to and from Authorized Participants who have entered into a contract with the Sponsor and the Trustee. As of MarchJune 31,30, 2026, each of Virtu Americas LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC has signed an Authorized Participant Agreement with the Sponsor and the Trustee, and may create and redeem Baskets.

The Net Asset Value of the Trust is the aggregate value of gold and other assets, if any, of the Trust (other than amounts credited to the Trust’s reserve account, if any) including cash, if any, less liabilities of the Trust, which include estimated accrued but unpaid fees, expenses and other liabilities. The reserve account, if established, will be a separate non-interest bearing account with the Trustee or such other banking institution specified by the Sponsor, or if the Sponsor fails so to specify, as selected by the Trustee, in the name, and for the benefit, of the Trust, subject only to draft or order by the Trustee acting pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement. The Trustee will holdholds in such account all cash that it has credited to such account to reflect the reserves for taxes or other governmental charges and other contingent liabilities payable out of the Trust that the Trustee has determined from time to time to be required by GAAP. The Trustee determines the Net Asset Value per Share by dividing the Net Asset Value of the Trust by the number of the Shares outstanding as of the close of trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange (which includes the net number of any Shares deemed created or redeemed on such evaluation day).

Three and Six Months Ended MarchJune 31,30, 2026 and 2025

For the three months ended MarchJune 31,30, 2026, 2,926,0001,175,000 Shares (11747 Baskets) were created in exchange for 28,872.211,587.5 ounces of gold, 700,0002,750,000 sharesShares (28110 basketsBaskets) were redeemed in exchange for 6,905.327,119.2 ounces of gold, and 258.1284.7 ounces of gold were sold to pay expenses. For the six months ended June 30, 2026, 4,101,000 Shares (164 Baskets) were created in exchange for 40,459.7 ounces of gold, 3,450,000 Shares (138 Baskets) were redeemed in exchange for 34,024.5 ounces of gold, and 542.8 ounces of gold were sold to pay expenses. The Trust’s NAV per Share ended the period at $45.46,$39.70 compared to $45.46 at March 31, 2026 and $42.51 at December 31, 2025. The change in the NAV per Share was due to a higherchange in the price of gold to $4,026.05 at period end, which represented a decrease of 12.64% from $4,608.35 at periodMarch end31, which2026 representedand ana increasedecrease of 5.51%7.82% from the AMPM price of $4,367.80 on December 31,30, 2025.

For the three months ended MarchJune 31,30, 2025, 7,581,0007,157,722 Shares (303286 Baskets) were created in exchange for 74,927.570,717.0 ounces of gold, 1,650,000 Shares (66 Baskets) were redeemed in exchange for 16,301.0 ounces of gold, and 153.4190.1 ounces of gold were sold to pay expenses. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, 14,738,722 Shares (590 Baskets) were created in exchange for 145,644.5 ounces of gold, 1,650,000 Shares (66 Baskets) were redeemed in exchange for 16,301.0 ounces of gold, and 343.5 ounces of gold were sold to pay expenses. The Trust’s NAV per Share ended the period at $30.78,$32.47 compared to $30.78 at March 31, 2025 and $25.81 at December 31, 2024. The change in the NAV per Share was due to a higherchange in the price of gold ofto $3,115.10$3,287.45 at period endend, which represented an increase of 19.3%5.53% from $3,115.10 at March 31, 2025 and an increase of 25.91% from the AM price of $2,610.85 aton December 31, 2024.

At MarchJune 31,30, 2025,2026, the Custodian held 415,560.7596,175.4 ounces of gold on behalf of the Trust in its vault, with a market value of $1,294,512,987$2,400,232,142 (cost: $917,750,716$1,720,671,471) based on the LBMA PM Gold Price at period end.

The Trustee will, when directed by the Sponsor, and, in the absence of such direction may, in its discretion, sell gold in such quantity and at such times as may be necessary to permit payment in cash of the Trust’s extraordinary expenses not assumed by the Sponsor. At MarchJune 31,30, 2026 and 2025, the Trust did not have any cash balances.

At MarchJune 31,30, 2026 and 2025, the Trust did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.

The following chart shows movements in the price of gold based on the LBMA PM Gold Price in U.S. dollars per ounce over the period from December 31, 2025 to MarchJune 31,30, 2026.

Source: Bloomberg, LBMA Gold Price PM USD, December 31, 2025 – MarchJune 31,30, 2026 The average, high, low and end-of-period gold prices for each quarterly period from AprilJuly 1, 2025 through MarchJune 31,30, 2026, based on the LBMA PM Gold Price were: