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StepStone Group
(NASDAQ:STEP)
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Rating:54Neutral
Price Target:
$40.00
▼(-27.23% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:06/02/26
The score is held back primarily by weakened financial health (losses, higher leverage, and negative equity) and bearish technicals (below major moving averages with negative MACD). Offsetting these are a constructive earnings-call outlook with strong fee-related earnings/margin progress and record fundraising, plus supportive cash generation and a moderate dividend yield.
Positive Factors
Fee-related earnings & margins
Sustained growth in fee-related earnings and a 40% FRE margin signal durable, recurring profitability from management fees. Fee margin expansion reflects operating leverage and improves cash earnings resilience independent of volatile realized/performance fees, supporting long-term margins.
Negative Factors
Weakened balance sheet and leverage
Material increase in debt and negative equity materially reduce financial flexibility and raise refinancing/covenant risk. This structural degradation limits room to absorb shocks, constrains capital deployment choices, and elevates the cost of funding as the firm scales.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Fee-related earnings & margins
Sustained growth in fee-related earnings and a 40% FRE margin signal durable, recurring profitability from management fees. Fee margin expansion reflects operating leverage and improves cash earnings resilience independent of volatile realized/performance fees, supporting long-term margins.
Read all positive factors
StepStone Group Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Type
Highlights the different sources of revenue, providing insight into the company's business model and how diversified its income streams are.
Highlights the different sources of revenue, providing insight into the company's business model and how diversified its income streams are.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyStepStone Group (STEP) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$4.91B
Dividend Yield2.17%
Average Volume (3M)1.26M
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)1.55
Revenue Growth69.89%
EPS Growth-184.51%
CountryUS
Employees1,065
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryAsset Management
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-6.80
Shares Outstanding80,706,665
10 Day Avg. Volume1,406,713
30 Day Avg. Volume1,262,394
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.04
Price to Book (P/B)-9.27
Price to Sales (P/S)1.92
P/FCF Ratio60.00
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.22
Enterprise Value/Revenue2.99
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit5.87
Enterprise Value/Ebitda-7.22
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$73.33Price Target Upside33.41% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering6
EPS Forecast (FY)2.5
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.46B
StepStone Group Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
StepStone Group Inc. is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in primary, direct, fund of funds, secondary direct, and secondary indirect investments. For direct investment, it seeks to invest in private debt, venture debt, incuba...
How the Company Makes Money
StepStone primarily makes money by earning fees for managing and advising on private markets capital. Its key revenue streams generally include: (1) Management fees (and other advisory/administrative fees) charged as a percentage of assets under m...
StepStone Group Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:May 20, 2026
(Q4-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Aug 06, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized multiple record operating achievements — highest-ever quarterly fee-related earnings, record fundraising ($14B quarter and $38B year), strong private wealth and credit flows, margin expansion and a sizable pipeline of undeployed capital — demonstrating robust demand and operating leverage. Offsetting items include a GAAP net loss driven by an accounting fair-value adjustment, lower performance-related earnings and softer realized performance fees due to subdued exit markets, some revenue volatility from retroactive fees, and deployment/timing risk associated with a record $40B of undeployed capital. On balance, the highlights (scaleable fee growth, margin expansion, record fundraising and product momentum) materially outweigh the lowlights, which are mostly timing, accounting-driven or execution/market-cycle risks.Positive Updates
Record Fee-Related Earnings
Generated fee-related earnings (FRE) of $105 million in fiscal Q4, up 12% year-over-year; core FRE of $101 million (excluding retroactive fees) was up 28% YoY. FRE margin was 40% for the quarter (core and reported).
Negative Updates
GAAP Net Loss
Reported GAAP net loss attributable to StepStone of $7.8 million (–$0.10 per share) in the quarter, driven by a change in fair value related to the buy-in of the StepStone Private Wealth profits interest recognized in the income statement.
Read all updates
Q4-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Record Fee-Related Earnings
Generated fee-related earnings (FRE) of $105 million in fiscal Q4, up 12% year-over-year; core FRE of $101 million (excluding retroactive fees) was up 28% YoY. FRE margin was 40% for the quarter (core and reported).
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
StepStone guided that it expects top‑line growth and operating leverage to drive fee‑related earnings growth in fiscal 2027 after reporting Q4 fee revenues of $260M (+21% YoY, +29% ex‑retro), fee‑related earnings of $105M (core FRE $101M, +12% and +28% YoY) and a 40% FRE margin (rolling 12‑month core FRE margin 38%); adjusted net income this quarter was $69M or $0.57 per share. They forecast a ~43% cash compensation ratio for the next fiscal year, equity‑based comp of $6–7M/quarter, and a blended statutory tax rate of ~22.6%; a prospective fee change to the flagship PE secondaries fund will modestly lower initial commingled fee rates (~3–4 bps) but increase post‑investment. Capital deployment/activation plans include a record UFC of ~ $40B, fee‑earning + UFC > $184B (up ~$12B sequentially, ~$38B YoY; 21% organic CAGR since FY21) with roughly $2.5B of UFC expected to activate in the next two quarters, plus a planned Q1 FY27 third‑tranche NCI buy‑in using $11M cash and $166M equity (~3.4M shares). Capital return posture: a $0.55/share supplemental dividend (in addition to $0.28 quarterly base) for $1.67/share declared for the year (up 23%), a $100M buyback authorization (≈$9M executed for ~200k shares at $44.77 to date), and continued emphasis on converting UFC to fee‑earning AUM.StepStone Group Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
34
Negative
Balance Sheet
18
Very Negative
Cash Flow
62
Positive
| Breakdown | Mar 2026 | Mar 2025 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2023 | Mar 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 1.99B | 1.17B | 711.63M | -67.57M | 1.37B |
| Gross Profit | 1.02B | -89.47M | 381.44M | 171.60M | 576.83M |
| EBITDA | -883.54M | -205.23M | 252.31M | 10.18M | 540.67M |
| Net Income | -521.36M | -179.56M | 58.09M | -18.40M | 193.88M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 6.76B | 4.59B | 3.79B | 3.50B | 4.19B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 1.12B | 289.30M | 181.59M | 128.56M | 116.39M |
| Total Debt | 1.31B | 382.79M | 268.56M | 219.57M | 133.84M |
| Total Liabilities | 5.88B | 2.81B | 1.92B | 1.84B | 2.36B |
| Stockholders Equity | -413.56M | 179.36M | 324.48M | 771.57M | 817.63M |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 63.86M | 59.83M | 141.91M | 145.56M | 212.18M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 66.48M | 64.93M | 161.52M | 151.18M | 214.28M |
| Investing Cash Flow | 732.88M | -43.48M | -47.35M | -30.81M | -210.24M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 37.44M | 87.48M | -57.98M | -108.02M | -70.44M |
StepStone Group Technical Analysis
Negative
54.97
Price Trends
48.19
Negative
48.21
Negative
55.87
Negative
Market Momentum
-2.06
Positive
39.77
Neutral
25.89
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For STEP, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 54.97 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 43.05, above the 50-day MA of 48.19, and below the 200-day MA of 55.87, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -2.06 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 39.77 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 25.89 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for STEP.
StepStone Group Risk Analysis
StepStone Group disclosed 67 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. StepStone Group reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
StepStone Group Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
77 Outperform | $8.00B | 10.23 | 15.40% | 3.34% | 27.93% | 102.14% | |
75 Outperform | $9.10B | 12.73 | 23.38% | 0.01% | 4.59% | 88.44% | |
73 Outperform | $3.40B | 11.17 | 21.99% | 8.93% | ― | -12.21% | |
72 Outperform | $4.43B | 13.32 | 29.51% | 1.52% | 6.46% | 9.92% | |
68 Neutral | $11.97B | -18.25 | -1.86% | 3.08% | 11.02% | -218.32% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
54 Neutral | $4.91B | -6.05 | 245.82% | 2.17% | 69.89% | -184.51% |
* Financial Sector Average
STEP
StepStone Group
41.13
-13.99
-25.37%
AMG
Affiliated Managers
344.60
143.18
71.09%
AB
AllianceBernstein
36.31
-1.43
-3.78%
IVZ
Invesco
27.01
10.85
67.11%
HLNE
Hamilton Lane
79.76
-64.29
-44.63%
JHG
Janus Henderson Group
51.95
12.39
31.32%
StepStone Group Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyM&A TransactionsPrivate Placements and Financing
StepStone Increases Ownership in Key Investment Platforms
Positive
Jun 1, 2026
On May 29, 2026, StepStone Group Inc. and StepStone Group LP completed a third exchange transaction to acquire an additional 5% stake in each of StepStone Group Real Estate LP, StepStone Group Real Assets LP and StepStone Group Private Debt AG. Fo...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.