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StepStone Group
(NASDAQ:STEP)
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Rating:53Neutral
Price Target:
$47.00
▲(10.30% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:08/08/26
The score is held down primarily by weak financial fundamentals (large GAAP losses, cash burn, and negative equity with meaningful debt). Offsetting this, the earnings call points to strong fee-related earnings and fundraising momentum plus rising shareholder returns, while technicals are moderately supportive in the near term but still weak versus longer-term trend. Valuation is mixed: dividend support is notable, but the negative P/E reflects ongoing GAAP losses.
Positive Factors
Fee-related earnings strength
Sizable, recurring fee-related earnings and a high FRE margin reflect durable operating profitability independent of episodic carry. This strengthens the firm's baseline cash earnings, supports reinvestment and shareholder returns, and reduces reliance on volatile realized performance fees.
Negative Factors
Negative shareholders' equity
Material negative shareholders' equity and meaningful debt reduce financial flexibility and increase downside risk. This impairs the firm's ability to absorb further losses, constrains capital actions, and raises reliance on external funding or dilutive measures during stressed market conditions.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Fee-related earnings strength
Sizable, recurring fee-related earnings and a high FRE margin reflect durable operating profitability independent of episodic carry. This strengthens the firm's baseline cash earnings, supports reinvestment and shareholder returns, and reduces reliance on volatile realized performance fees.
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
$6.08B
Dividend Yield2.88%
Average Volume (3M)1.52M
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)1.61
Revenue Growth51.09%
EPS Growth-150.23%
CountryUS
Employees1,310
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryAsset Management
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-7.72
Shares Outstanding82,288,910
10 Day Avg. Volume1,185,461
30 Day Avg. Volume1,521,794
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 Cap<0.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue<0.01
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit<0.01
Enterprise Value/Ebitda>-0.01
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$69.75Price Target Upside63.69% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering8
EPS Forecast (FY)2.48
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.48B
StepStone Group Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) is a global private markets investment firm and asset manager that raises, allocates, and manages capital across private equity, real assets, private credit, and secondary markets. The company provides investment adviso...
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:Aug 06, 2026
(Q1-2027)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Nov 05, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call highlighted robust growth in core operating metrics — fee revenue (+27% YoY), fee-related earnings (+30% YoY), record fundraising, strong Private Wealth momentum, meaningful accrued carry, and capital returns (dividend increase and buybacks). Offsetting items include a GAAP net loss driven by accounting for the Private Wealth buy-in, near-term fee-rate pressure from changed secondaries fee structures, expense increases, the timing variability of performance fees, and complexity/capital requirements associated with the upcoming Private Wealth buy-in. On balance, the positives — durable FRE growth, strong fundraising and product performance, and a mature accrued carry backlog — materially outweigh the near-term accounting and execution complexities.Positive Updates
Strong Fee-Related Earnings Growth
Fee-related earnings of $106 million, up 30% year-over-year; core FRE excluding retroactive fees $105 million, up 33% YoY. FRE margin remained healthy at 39% for the quarter.
Negative Updates
GAAP Net Loss Driven by Private Wealth Buy-In Accounting
Reported GAAP net loss attributable to StepStone of $116 million, or $1.41 per share, due to fair value accounting for the planned buy-in of the StepStone Private Wealth profits interest (mark-to-market effect this quarter).
Read all updates
Q1-2027 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Fee-Related Earnings Growth
Fee-related earnings of $106 million, up 30% year-over-year; core FRE excluding retroactive fees $105 million, up 33% YoY. FRE margin remained healthy at 39% for the quarter.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management’s guidance emphasized continued earnings growth underpinned by strong run‑rates and specific near‑term catalysts: GAAP net loss was $116m (−$1.41/sh) this quarter but adjusted net income was $60m ($0.48/sh) vs $49m ($0.40) a year ago; fee‑related earnings (FRE) were $106m (up 30% YoY) with an FRE margin of 39% and fee revenue of $271m (up 27% YoY) on a blended management fee rate of 65 bps LTM. They said they are generating run‑rate management & advisory fees of >$1.0bn/year and run‑rate FRE well over $400m/year, reported $10bn of gross inflows this quarter and nearly $40bn of gross AUM additions over the last 12 months, and grew fee‑earning assets plus UFEC to ~ $193bn (up $9bn QoQ, $37bn YoY; 19% organic growth since FY2022) with UFEC > $39bn (≈$3bn recently activated, ≈$3bn remaining to activate). Private Wealth subscriptions were $2.8bn this quarter (platform > $21bn; SPRING $1.7bn of subs, SPRIM > $400m, SCRED > $500m to $2.8bn), platform redemptions were <2%, and SPRING’s strong YTD performance (≈23% net) should drive Private Wealth incentive fees that crystallize in fiscal Q3 (Dec). Management reiterated the planned Private Wealth profits‑interest buy‑in (call period calendar Q3 2027), which they expect will materially increase adjusted net income and be EPS‑accretive, and flagged capital plans to fund the cash portion with available cash, operating cash flow and/or debt while preserving an investment‑grade stance (A+); they also raised the quarterly dividend 18% to $0.33/sh, have executed $30m of repurchases of a $100m program ($21m since FY26 end; ~710k shares at $41.87 avg). Other operating metrics called out: net accrued carry $935m (up 19% YoY; >70% tied to programs >5 years), gross realized performance fees $30m ($16m net), adjusted cash compensation $117m (cash comp ratio ~43%), adjusted equity comp $7m, and G&A $42m (including ~$5m/quarter of Private Wealth distribution fees).StepStone Group Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
28
Negative
Balance Sheet
19
Very Negative
Cash Flow
23
Negative
| Breakdown | TTM | Mar 2026 | Mar 2025 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2023 | Mar 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 2.01B | 1.99B | 1.17B | 711.63M | -67.57M | 1.37B |
| Gross Profit | 1.22B | 1.02B | -89.47M | 381.44M | 171.60M | 576.83M |
| EBITDA | -1.02B | -883.54M | -205.23M | 252.31M | 10.18M | 540.67M |
| Net Income | -613.20M | -521.36M | -179.56M | 58.09M | -18.40M | 193.88M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 7.77B | 6.76B | 4.59B | 3.79B | 3.50B | 4.19B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 201.17M | 1.12B | 289.30M | 181.59M | 128.56M | 116.39M |
| Total Debt | 1.57B | 1.31B | 382.79M | 268.56M | 219.57M | 133.84M |
| Total Liabilities | 6.53B | 5.88B | 2.81B | 1.92B | 1.84B | 2.36B |
| Stockholders Equity | -539.20M | -413.56M | 179.36M | 324.48M | 771.57M | 817.63M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | -439.39M | 63.86M | 59.83M | 141.91M | 145.56M | 212.18M |
| Operating Cash Flow | -437.31M | 66.48M | 64.93M | 161.52M | 151.18M | 214.28M |
| Investing Cash Flow | 673.78M | 732.88M | -43.48M | -47.35M | -30.81M | -210.24M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 115.43M | 37.44M | 87.48M | -57.98M | -108.02M | -70.44M |
StepStone Group Technical Analysis
Positive
42.61
Price Trends
44.24
Positive
47.29
Positive
53.25
Negative
Market Momentum
1.69
Negative
59.71
Neutral
76.46
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For STEP, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 42.61 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 45.86, below the 50-day MA of 44.24, and below the 200-day MA of 53.25, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 1.69 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 59.71 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 76.46 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
80 Outperform | $5.75B | 15.72 | 31.02% | 2.67% | 24.01% | 25.97% | |
78 Outperform | $9.68B | 12.01 | 26.95% | 0.01% | 11.74% | 108.91% | |
75 Outperform | $3.41B | 10.84 | 25.41% | 9.17% | ― | 0.94% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
65 Neutral | $14.37B | -47.87 | -0.51% | 2.82% | 15.64% | -173.65% | |
53 Neutral | $6.08B | -6.53 | 156.73% | 3.41% | 51.09% | -150.23% |
* Financial Sector Average
STEP
StepStone Group
50.40
-7.20
-12.50%
AMG
Affiliated Managers
374.37
155.31
70.90%
AB
AllianceBernstein
36.65
-0.32
-0.87%
IVZ
Invesco
32.55
12.20
59.93%
HLNE
Hamilton Lane
104.24
-48.02
-31.54%
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.