Private markets investment firm StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2026, with sales up 59.6% year on year to $378.9 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.48 per share was 4.8% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
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StepStone Group (STEP) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Assets Under Management: $245 billion vs analyst estimates of $571.2 billion (23.1% year-on-year growth, 57.1% miss)
- Revenue: $378.9 million vs analyst estimates of $312.8 million (59.6% year-on-year growth, 21.1% beat)
- Pre-tax Profit: -$200.3 million (-52.9% margin)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.48 vs analyst expectations of $0.50 (4.8% miss)
- Market Capitalization: $4.1 billion
Company Overview
Operating as both an advisor and asset manager with over $100 billion in assets under management, StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) is an investment firm that provides clients with access to private market investments across private equity, real estate, private debt, and infrastructure.
Revenue Growth
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Luckily, StepStone Group’s revenue grew at an incredible 28.3% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. Its growth beat the average financials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a helpful starting point for our analysis.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. StepStone Group’s annualized revenue growth of 41.2% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting its demand was strong and recently accelerated. 
Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers because they were impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.
This quarter, StepStone Group reported magnificent year-on-year revenue growth of 59.6%, and its $378.9 million of revenue beat Wall Street’s estimates by 21.1%.
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Assets Under Management (AUM)
Assets Under Management (AUM) encompasses all client funds under a firm’s investment management umbrella. The recurring fee structure on these assets provides consistent revenue generation, offering financial stability even during periods of poor investment returns, though sustained underperformance can impact future asset flows.
StepStone Group’s AUM has grown at an annual rate of 24.4% over the last five years, much better than the broader financials industry but slower than its total revenue. When analyzing StepStone Group’s AUM over the last two years, we can see that growth decelerated to 22.3% annually. Fundraising or short-term investment performance was a net detractor to the company over this shorter period since assets grew slower than total revenue. But again, we put less weight on asset growth given how lumpy and cyclical it can be.
In Q2, StepStone Group’s AUM was $245 billion, falling 57.1% short of analysts’ expectations. This print was 23.1% higher than the same quarter last year.
Key Takeaways from StepStone Group’s Q2 Results
We were impressed by how significantly StepStone Group blew past analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its AUM missed and its EPS fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, we think this was still a solid quarter with some key areas of upside. Investors were likely hoping for more, and shares traded down 4.4% to $48.23 immediately following the results.
Is StepStone Group an attractive investment opportunity right now? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).