iShares Gold Strategy ETF (IAUF) N-CSRCertified annual shareholder report (management investment company)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT

OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number 811-22649

iShares U.S. ETF Trust

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

The Corporation Trust Company

1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, DE 19801

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (415) 670-2000

Date of fiscal year end: October 31, 2022

Date of reporting period: October 31, 2022

(a) The Report to Shareholders is attached herewith.

iShares U.S. ETF Trust

Table of Contents

Market Overview

iShares U.S. ETF Trust

U.S. Bond Market Overview

The U.S. bond market experienced a considerable decline for the 12 months ended October 31, 2022 (the “reporting period”). The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, a broad measure of U.S. fixed-income performance, returned -15.68%.

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) shift toward tighter monetary policy was the primary factor driving the market downturn. Annualized consumer price inflation, which had been under 3.0% for over a decade, began to rise throughout 2021 and ultimately climbed above 6.0% in the year’s fourth calendar quarter. The inflation picture soon grew even more challenging following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, which—together with the resulting sanctions—further snarled global supply chains and contributed to a spike in energy prices. Inflation exceeded 8.0% in March 2022 and remained above that level through the end of the reporting period, with a peak of 9.1% in June.

The Fed moved aggressively in an effort to calm price pressures, ending its stimulative quantitative easing program and boosting interest rates from a range of 0.0%-0.25% to 3.0-3.25% in five separate increases from March to September 2022. This marked the largest move in such a short interval since 1980. In addition, the Fed appeared set to continue raising rates until inflation showed signs of returning closer to its longer-term target of 2%. Some evidence began to emerge later in the period that the Fed’s rate hikes had begun to reduce activity in certain segments of the economy, but there was still no sign that consumer price inflation had started to decline in a meaningful fashion. As a result, market prices at the end of October indicated that the central bank would not stop tightening until rates reached the 4.5-5.0% range.

These circumstances weighed heavily on bond market performance. The yield on the two-year U.S. Treasury note rose from 0.50% at the beginning of the period to 4.48% by the end of October 2022, while the 10-year yield climbed from 1.55% to 4.05%. The yield curve inverted significantly as result, meaning that short-term yields were higher those on longer-term debt. In late September, the yield curve moved to its largest inversion since 1982.

The surge in U.S. Treasury yields, together with investors’ increased aversion to risk, fueled weakness across all sectors of the bond market. Mortgage-backed securities, which were hurt by concerns about the housing market and the loss of demand stemming from Fed’s decision to end its quantitative easing policy, posted negative returns. Still, the category held up better than the broader index.

Investment-grade corporate bonds were among the worst-performing segments of the market. In addition to being adversely affected by rising Treasury yields, the asset class was pressured by a pronounced increase in yield spreads. The latter trend reflected concerns that weaker economic growth could lead to a slowdown in corporate earnings. Notably, the yield on corporate bonds—as gauged by the ICE BofA US Corporate Index—closed the period at the highest level since 2009.

High yield bonds also experienced sizable losses. As was the case with investment-grade corporates, a rise in both prevailing yields and yield spreads weighed heavily on performance. However, the category outperformed the investment-grade market due to its lower interest-rate sensitivity and higher weighting in the energy sector. Higher-rated issuers in the category—which are seen as having the least vulnerability to slowing growth—generally outperformed their lower-quality counterparts.

Investment Objective

The BlackRock Short Maturity Bond ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to maximize current income by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in a portfolio of U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade fixed income securities and maintain a weighted average maturity that is less than three years. The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index.

Performance

GROWTH OF $10,000 INVESTMENT

(SINCE INCEPTION AT NET ASSETVALUE)

The inception date of the Fund was September 25, 2013. The first day of secondary market trading was September 26, 2013.

The Bloomberg Short-Term Government/Corporate Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of government and corporate securities with less than 1 year remaining to maturity.

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Performance results do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the redemption or sale of fund shares. See “About Fund Performance” for more information.

Expense Example

Portfolio Management Commentary

The annual period was characterized by high volatility and poor performance for risk assets. In the United States, inflation reached 40-year highs following the lifting of COVID-related restrictions. This prompted a dramatic response from the U.S. Federal Reserve, including 300 basis points (three percentage points) of interest-rate hikes. Short-term bonds, while having less sensitivity than the overall market, were nonetheless adversely affected by these events. However, the -0.11% return for the Bloomberg Short-Term Government/Corporate Index (the Fund’s benchmark) was well ahead of the -15.68% return versus the broader fixed-income market, as represented by the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.

The Fund underperformed its benchmark. In absolute terms, the bulk of the Fund’s negative absolute return occurred in the first half of the period. In the latter half, income helped offset the effect of declining prices.

The Fund’s largest allocations were to U.S. investment-grade corporate issues and non-U.S. investment-grade corporates, respectively. Both categories experienced negative total returns as yield spreads widened to reflect mounting recession concerns, detracting from Fund performance. Toward the end of the period, the Fund increased its allocations to U.S. investment-grade corporate bonds and asset-backed securities to capitalize on higher yields.

On the positive side, the Fund benefited from its defensive positioning. About 11% of the portfolio was held in cash-like securities during the period, helping relative performance. Holdings in collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), which are better insulated against rising interest rates due to their floating-rate feature, were also beneficial.

Portfolio Information

Investment Objective

The BlackRock Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to maximize tax-free current income by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities such that the interest on each bond is exempt from U.S. federal income taxes and the federal alternative minimum tax. Under normal circumstances, the effective duration of the Fund’s portfolio is expected to be 1.2 years or less, as calculated by the management team, and is not expected to exceed 1.5 years. The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index.

Performance

GROWTH OF $10,000 INVESTMENT

(SINCE INCEPTION AT NET ASSET VALUE)

The inception date of the Fund was March 3, 2015. The first day of secondary market trading was March 5, 2015.

The Bloomberg Municipal Bond: 1 Year (1-2) Index is an unmanaged index comprised of national municipal bond issues having a maturity of at least one year and less than two years.

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Performance results do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the redemption or sale of fund shares. See “About Fund Performance” for more information.

Expense Example

Portfolio Management Commentary

The annual period was characterized by high volatility and poor performance for risk assets. In the United States, inflation reached 40-year highs following the lifting of COVID-related restrictions. This prompted a dramatic response from the U.S. Federal Reserve, including 300 basis points (three percentage points) of interest-rate hikes. Short-term bonds, while having less rate sensitivity than the overall fixed-income market, were nonetheless adversely affected by these events. Bonds with lower credit quality lagged, as yield spreads widened to reflect mounting concerns that the economy would fall into a recession.

The -2.17% return for the Bloomberg the Bloomberg Municipal Bond: 1 Year (1-2) Index (the Fund’s benchmark) was well ahead of the -15.68% return versus the broader fixed-income market, as represented by the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.

The Fund outperformed its benchmark. The Fund invests predominately in short-term, fixed-rate, investment-grade municipal bonds and variable-rate demand notes (“VRDNs”), which are longer-maturity securities with floating-rate coupons. VRDNs produced positive total returns in the 12-month period, so the Fund’s holdings in this area contributed to relative performance. The Fund increased its allocation to VRDNs from about 43% to 60% over the reporting period to better position the portfolio for rising rates.

From a sector perspective, tobacco, utility and education bonds delivered positive returns, while transportation issues lagged. Positions in higher-quality securities generally outperformed, with AA rated issues contributing positively. On the other hand, BBB rated bonds detracted due to widening yield spreads.

Portfolio Information

Investment Objective

The BlackRock Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide current income consistent with preservation of capital by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in a portfolio of U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade fixed- and floating-rate debt securities and maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity that is less than 180 days. The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index.

Performance

GROWTH OF $10,000 INVESTMENT

(SINCE INCEPTION AT NET ASSETVALUE)

The inception date of the Fund was December 11, 2013. The first day of secondary market trading was December 13, 2013.

On 3/1/2021 the Fund began referencing the 4pm pricing variant of the ICE BofA US 6-Month Treasury Bill Index. Historical index data prior to 3/1/2021 is for the 3pm pricing variant of the ICE BofA US 6-Month Treasury Bill Index. Index data on and after 3/1/2021 is for the 4pm pricing variant of the ICE BofA US 6-Month Treasury Bill Index.

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Performance results do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the redemption or sale of fund shares. See “About Fund Performance” for more information.

Expense Example

Portfolio Management Commentary

The annual period was characterized by high volatility and poor performance for risk assets. In the United States, inflation reached 40-year highs following the lifting of COVID-related restrictions. This prompted a dramatic response from the U.S. Federal Reserve, including 300 basis points (three percentage points) of interest-rate hikes. Short-term bonds, while having less sensitivity than the overall market, were nonetheless adversely affected by these events. Bonds with lower credit quality lagged, as yield spreads widened to reflect mounting concerns that the economy would fall into a recession.

The Fund’s benchmark, the ICE BofA US 6-Month Treasury Bill Index, returned 0.53% and strongly outperformed the -15.68% return of the overall fixed-income market, as represented by the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.

The Fund posted a narrow gain, with income slightly outweighing the impact of falling prices. Relative to the broader market, the Fund benefitted from its defensive positioning. It had a shorter average duration (interest-rate sensitivity) and held a large position in cash and cash equivalents. Commercial paper, which represented about 39% of the Fund’s market value on average, was the primary source of positive total returns. Certificates of deposit, repurchase agreements, and a small allocation to municipal securities were also additive to Fund performance. Positions in these areas helped offset losses from holdings in investment-grade corporate bonds.

Over the course of the year, the Fund reduced its allocations to investment-grade corporate bonds and increased its weighting in commercial paper. Within corporates, the Fund added to floating-rate notes since they are better insulated against interest-rate increases than fixed-rate securities.

Portfolio Information

About Fund Performance

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and trading in many instruments has been disrupted. These circumstances may continue for an extended period of time and may continue to affect adversely the value and liquidity of each Fund’s investments. As a result, current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month-end is available at iShares.com. Performance results assume reinvestment of all dividends and capital gain distributions and do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the redemption or sale of fund shares. The investment return and principal value of shares will vary with changes in market conditions. Shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when they are redeemed or sold in the market. Performance for certain funds may reflect a waiver of a portion of investment advisory fees. Without such a waiver, performance would have been lower.

Net asset value or “NAV” is the value of one share of a fund as calculated in accordance with the standard formula for valuing mutual fund shares. Beginning August 10, 2020, the price used to calculate market return (“Market Price”) is the closing price. Prior to August 10, 2020, Market Price was determined using the midpoint between the highest bid and the lowest ask on the primary stock exchange on which shares of a fund are listed for trading, as of the time that such fund’s NAV is calculated. Since shares of a fund may not trade in the secondary market until after the fund’s inception, for the period from inception to the first day of secondary market trading in shares of the fund, the NAV of the fund is used as a proxy for the Market Price to calculate market returns. Market and NAV returns assume that dividends and capital gain distributions have been reinvested at Market Price and NAV, respectively.

An index is a statistical composite that tracks a specified financial market or sector. Unlike a fund, an index does not actually hold a portfolio of securities and therefore does not incur the expenses incurred by a fund. These expenses negatively impact fund performance. Also, market returns do not include brokerage commissions that may be payable on secondary market transactions. If brokerage commissions were included, market returns would be lower.

Disclosure of Expenses

Shareholders of each Fund may incur the following charges: (1) transactional expenses, including brokerage commissions on purchases and sales of fund shares and (2) ongoing expenses, including management fees and other fund expenses. The expense examples shown (which are based on a hypothetical investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held through the end of the period) are intended to assist shareholders both in calculating expenses based on an investment in each Fund and in comparing these expenses with similar costs of investing in other funds.

The expense examples provide information about actual account values and actual expenses. Annualized expense ratios reflect contractual and voluntary fee waivers, if any. In order to estimate the expenses a shareholder paid during the period covered by this report, shareholders can divide their account value by $1,000 and then multiply the result by the number under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During the Period.”

The expense examples also provide information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on a fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses. In order to assist shareholders in comparing the ongoing expenses of investing in the Funds and other funds, compare the 5% hypothetical examples with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

The expenses shown in the expense examples are intended to highlight shareholders’ ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional expenses, such as brokerage commissions and other fees paid on purchases and sales of fund shares. Therefore, the hypothetical examples are useful in comparing ongoing expenses only and will not help shareholders determine the relative total expenses of owning different funds. If these transactional expenses were included, shareholder expenses would have been higher.