P10 Holdings Earnings Call Highlights Growth Momentum

P10 Holdings, Inc. ((RPC)) has held its Q4 earnings call. Read on for the main highlights of the call.

P10 Holdings’ latest earnings call struck an upbeat tone, with management emphasizing record organic fundraising, double‑digit growth in fee‑paying assets, and resilient margins despite quarterly noise. Executives balanced acknowledgment of near‑term pressure on adjusted earnings and fee‑related earnings with confidence that fundraising momentum, disciplined costs, and strategic deals will drive multi‑year value creation.

Robust Growth in AUM and Fee-Paying Assets

P10 underscored the strength of its asset base, ending 2025 with $29.4 billion in fee‑paying AUM, up 15% year over year and 27% over two years. Including NAV and uncalled commitments, platform AUM surpassed $43 billion, reinforcing the firm’s position as a scaled alternative asset manager.

Record Organic Fundraising in 2025

The firm delivered a record $5.1 billion in organic gross new fee‑paying AUM in 2025, beating its own guidance by more than $1 billion. Fourth‑quarter organic fundraising and deployment reached $841 million, indicating healthy demand from investors and strong deployment capacity across strategies.

Revenue Growth and Margin Expansion in Core Business

Fee‑related revenues, excluding volatile catch‑up fees, climbed 13% for 2025, supported by growing fee‑paying assets and stable fee rates. FRE margins were roughly 47% for the full year and 48% in Q4, highlighting the scalability of P10’s platform and improving operating leverage.

Core Fee Rate Shows Resilience

Management reported an average core fee rate of 109 basis points in Q4 and 104 basis points for 2025, signaling stable pricing on management fees. For 2026, they anticipate a core fee rate of about 103 basis points, with a softer first half and modest expansion in the back half of the year.

Strategic M&A and Global Platform Expansion

The announced Stellus acquisition adds about $3.8 billion of AUM and $2.6 billion of fee‑paying assets, bolstering P10’s credit capabilities and adding a business that has grown fee‑paying AUM at a 17% CAGR since 2020. Earlier in the year, P10 completed the Qualitas Funds acquisition in Madrid and opened a Dubai office, extending its international footprint.

Product Innovation and Distribution Tailwinds

P10 highlighted an active year for product development, launching its first evergreen product, a Europe‑directed fund, and a sizable separately managed account. Its Bonaccord GP‑stakes strategy joined the CAIS platform, giving access to roughly 62,000 advisers, and cross‑sales already account for more than 10% of capital raised since Investor Day.

Capital Returns via Buybacks and Dividends

On capital allocation, the company repurchased nearly 11 million shares since early 2024 at an average price of $9.69, totaling around $105 million. The board also authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $0.0375 per share, signaling confidence in cash generation while balancing growth investments.

Cost Discipline and Improving Profitability

Operating expenses fell to $55.2 million in Q4 from $62.2 million a year earlier, with full‑year operating costs dipping to $231.8 million from $235.8 million. This cost discipline, combined with revenue growth, lifted GAAP net income to $11 million in Q4 and $23 million for 2025, both higher than in the prior year.

Soft Q4 Adjusted Net Income

Despite strong full‑year trends, Q4 adjusted net income came under pressure, falling 14% to $30.2 million. Fully diluted ANI per share slipped to $0.26 from $0.30, largely because last year’s quarter benefited from unusually high catch‑up fee revenue that did not repeat at the same level.

Quarterly FRE Impacted by Timing

Fee‑related earnings of $39 million in Q4 represented a 9% decline year over year, again reflecting the timing of catch‑up fees and other short‑term factors rather than underlying demand. Management framed these pressures as temporary and emphasized that fee‑related revenue excluding catch‑ups rose 20% in the quarter.

Higher Step-Downs Offset Fundraising

The quarter saw $535 million in step‑downs and expirations, partially offsetting the $841 million of organic fundraising. For 2025, these run‑offs topped the initial 5%–7% expectation, driven by early paydowns in the credit portfolio and the expiration of a large SMA that was later replaced by a larger commitment from the same investor.

Near-Term Margin Pressure from Growth Investments

Looking into early 2026, P10 warned of slightly lower FRE margins as it invests in fundraising talent and broader platform capabilities. Management expects these upfront costs to dilute margins in Q1 before operating leverage rebuilds through the rest of the year as new mandates and products scale.

Liquidity and Leverage Remain Watch Points

The company ended the quarter with about $28 million in cash and $377 million of debt outstanding, including a $321 million term loan and a $56 million revolver. While management plans to prioritize debt paydown after the Stellus acquisition closes, the modest cash balance means investors will keep a close eye on leverage and funding flexibility.

Guidance and Long-Term Growth Ambitions

P10’s outlook remains growth‑oriented, with a target of at least $10 billion in gross organic fundraising across 2026 and 2027, roughly split between the two years. The firm reiterated its goal to more than double fee‑paying AUM to $50 billion by 2029 and expects mid‑40s FRE margins in 2026, rising toward about 50% over time, while the Stellus deal is projected to be modestly accretive to ANI and margins.

P10’s earnings call painted a picture of a fast‑growing alternatives platform navigating some short‑term earnings volatility. For investors, the key message was that record fundraising, disciplined expenses, and strategic expansion should support long‑term compounding, even as quarterly results reflect timing noise, higher step‑downs, and temporary margin pressure from growth investments.