StepStone Group (STEP)
NASDAQ:STEP
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StepStone Group
(NASDAQ:STEP)
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Rating:51Neutral
Price Target:
$48.00
▲(2.02% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:02/28/26
The score is held back primarily by weak financial statement quality—especially the sharp profitability downturn and negative equity—plus bearish technicals. These are partly offset by a constructive earnings-call backdrop showing strong FRE/fundraising momentum and an attractive dividend yield, though the negative P/E reflects ongoing GAAP losses.
Positive Factors
Fundraising & AUM Growth
Sustained record fundraising and growing fee-earning assets create a durable base of recurring management fees. Over $34B raised and >$171B fee-earning assets plus UFEC expand the locked-in revenue runway, supporting predictable fee income and scale advantages across private markets for multiple quarters to years.
Negative Factors
Weak Balance Sheet / Negative Equity
Negative shareholders' equity indicates structural capitalization weakness and reduces financial flexibility for capital returns, buy-ins, or opportunistic investments. This constraint can elevate refinancing, counterparty and investor confidence risks, limiting strategic options over the medium term.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Fundraising & AUM Growth
Sustained record fundraising and growing fee-earning assets create a durable base of recurring management fees. Over $34B raised and >$171B fee-earning assets plus UFEC expand the locked-in revenue runway, supporting predictable fee income and scale advantages across private markets for multiple quarters to years.
Read all positive factors
StepStone Group (STEP) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$5.61B
Dividend Yield2.17%
Average Volume (3M)1.60M
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)1.36
Revenue Growth92.02%
EPS Growth-1386.34%
CountryUS
Employees1,090
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryAsset Management
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)0.65
Shares Outstanding80,143,960
10 Day Avg. Volume1,087,486
30 Day Avg. Volume1,602,689
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.06
Price to Book (P/B)20.72
Price to Sales (P/S)3.16
P/FCF Ratio62.11
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.05
Enterprise Value/Revenue3.30
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit8.23
Enterprise Value/Ebitda-7.02
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$75.25Price Target Upside59.94% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering8
EPS Forecast (FY)2.47
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.40B
StepStone Group Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
StepStone Group Inc. is an investment firm specializing in direct, fund of funds, secondary direct, and secondary indirect investments. For direct investment, it seeks to invest in venture debt, incubation, mezzanine, distressed/vulture, seed/star...
How the Company Makes Money
StepStone primarily makes money by earning fees for managing and advising on private markets investments. Its main revenue streams typically include: (1) Management fees: recurring fees charged on assets under management (AUM) in its funds and sep...
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 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 05, 2026
(Q3-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:May 21, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call highlighted multiple strong operational and financial achievements: record fundraising, robust fee-related earnings growth (core FRE +35% YoY), materially higher adjusted net income (+~51%), large incentive fee generation driven by standout Spring performance, and growth in fee-earning AUM and undeployed fee-earning capital. Key risks and drag items were acknowledged, including a GAAP net loss driven by the profits-interest buy-in accounting, a drop in retroactive fees that modestly reduced blended fee rates, realizations that remain below long-term trends, seasonal G&A increases, and concentrated software/AI exposure that presents disruption risk. On balance, the positive growth in recurring fee earnings, fundraising momentum, mature accrued carry, and the size of performance-related revenues outweigh the acknowledged headwinds and risks.Positive Updates
Strong Fee-Related Earnings Growth
Fee-related earnings (FRE) of $89 million, up 20% year-over-year; core FRE (ex-retroactive fees) $88 million, up 35% year-over-year. FRE margin was 37% for the quarter (roughly +1 percentage point sequentially).
Negative Updates
GAAP Net Loss Driven by Buy-In Accounting
Reported GAAP net loss attributable to StepStone of $123 million, or $1.55 per share; the loss was driven by the accounting treatment for the buy-in of the StepStone Private Wealth profits interest being marked through the income statement.
Read all updates
Q3-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Fee-Related Earnings Growth
Fee-related earnings (FRE) of $89 million, up 20% year-over-year; core FRE (ex-retroactive fees) $88 million, up 35% year-over-year. FRE margin was 37% for the quarter (roughly +1 percentage point sequentially).
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management guided to continued earnings momentum, saying core FRE should keep growing and improving markets could boost realizations; they pointed to Q3 FRE of $89M (core FRE $88M ex ~$1.1M retro fees) with a 37% FRE margin, fee revenues of $241M (up 26% YoY; +32% ex-retro), adjusted net income of $80M or $0.65 per share (vs $53M/$0.44 a year ago), and gross realized performance fees of $253M (≈$207M incentive fees and $47M carried interest). On fundraising and activation they noted >$8B gross AUM additions in the quarter and >$34B for the calendar year (their best 12 months), fee-earning assets + UFEC at >$171B (fee-earning assets up ≈$6B, UFEC ≈$33B, up ≈$3B), a 63 bps blended management fee LTM, and plans for modest growth across new vintages (prior vintages represent >$16B) with the infrastructure co‑investment and PE co‑investment funds expected to activate by end of 2027 and flagship PE secondaries / GP‑led first closes anticipated in the coming two quarters. They also signaled shareholder upside via a planned year‑end supplemental dividend (board approval required), highlighted net accrued carry of $875M (≈65% tied to programs >5 years old), and noted Spring’s 39% performance drove >$200M of gross incentive fees, of which ~$25M flowed to pretax ANI this quarter and, after the profit‑interest buy‑in, >50% of Spring incentives should flow to pretax ANI.StepStone Group Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
28
Negative
Balance Sheet
20
Very Negative
Cash Flow
52
Neutral
| Breakdown | TTM | Mar 2025 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2023 | Mar 2022 | Mar 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 1.78B | 1.17B | 711.63M | -67.57M | 1.37B | 787.72M |
| Gross Profit | 714.69M | -89.47M | 381.44M | 171.60M | 576.83M | 384.55M |
| EBITDA | -837.28M | -205.23M | 252.31M | 10.18M | 540.67M | 350.70M |
| Net Income | -546.52M | -179.56M | 58.09M | -18.40M | 193.88M | 62.63M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 5.24B | 4.59B | 3.79B | 3.50B | 4.19B | 1.32B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 377.45M | 289.30M | 181.59M | 128.56M | 116.39M | 179.89M |
| Total Debt | 376.74M | 382.79M | 268.56M | 219.57M | 133.84M | 0.00 |
| Total Liabilities | 4.72B | 2.81B | 1.92B | 1.84B | 2.36B | 661.08M |
| Stockholders Equity | -378.79M | 179.36M | 324.48M | 771.57M | 817.63M | 249.41M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 18.64M | 59.83M | 141.91M | 145.56M | 212.18M | 148.04M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 23.16M | 64.93M | 161.52M | 151.18M | 214.28M | 149.30M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -95.64M | -43.48M | -47.35M | -30.81M | -210.24M | -11.17M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 180.10M | 87.48M | -57.98M | -108.02M | -70.44M | -45.31M |
StepStone Group Technical Analysis
Neutral
47.05
Price Trends
53.94
Negative
59.32
Negative
59.78
Negative
Market Momentum
-1.40
Negative
45.16
Neutral
57.00
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For STEP, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 47.05 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 46.36, below the 50-day MA of 53.94, and below the 200-day MA of 59.78, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -1.40 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 45.16 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 57.00 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for STEP.
StepStone Group Risk Analysis
StepStone Group disclosed 68 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
83 Outperform | $7.92B | 4.52 | 16.35% | 3.34% | 14.48% | 34.97% | |
78 Outperform | $3.51B | 12.97 | 18.76% | 8.93% | ― | -12.92% | |
73 Outperform | $5.25B | 21.34 | 29.38% | 1.52% | 13.01% | 21.96% | |
72 Outperform | $7.30B | 11.47 | 22.04% | 0.01% | 1.08% | 8.24% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
66 Neutral | $10.71B | ― | -2.06% | 3.08% | 6.64% | ― | |
51 Neutral | $5.61B | -10.33 | 783.65% | 2.17% | 92.02% | -1386.34% |
* Financial Sector Average
STEP
StepStone Group
47.05
0.57
1.23%
AMG
Affiliated Managers
265.51
107.46
67.99%
AB
AllianceBernstein
38.63
3.77
10.82%
IVZ
Invesco
24.14
10.86
81.71%
HLNE
Hamilton Lane
94.19
-44.33
-32.00%
JHG
Janus Henderson Group
51.50
19.70
61.95%
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.