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StepStone Group Inc.: Q2 FY2027 earnings call

What management said about Q2 FY2027, from the documents filed with the SEC on 5 November 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 1 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Total revenues rose on higher fees: Total revenues were $773.1 million, against $454.2 million a year earlier. Management and advisory fees, net were $293.1 million, against $215.5 million. Source
  • Adjusted net income rose 24%: ANI was $82.9 million, or $0.66 per share, against $66.7 million, or $0.54 per share, a year earlier. ANI per share rose 22%. Source
  • Fee-related earnings rose 61%: FRE was $126.2 million, against $78.6 million a year earlier. FRE is baseline earnings from recurring management and advisory fees, before income taxes. Source
  • Total performance fees rose 101%: Total performance fees were $480.0 million, against $238.7 million a year earlier. Legacy Greenspring carried interest allocations were $115.0 million, against $27.1 million. Source
  • Unrealized carried interest roughly doubled: Unrealized carried interest allocations were $301.7 million, against $147.8 million. Realized carried interest allocations were $60.8 million, against $58.9 million. Source
  • Equity-based compensation fell from prior year: GAAP equity-based compensation was $378.8 million, against $884.5 million a year earlier. Adjusted equity-based compensation was $6.2 million, against $4.3 million. Source
  • Fee-earning contributions rose to $8.5 billion: Contributions were $8.5 billion, against $6.1 billion a year earlier. Contributions are new capital commitments and capital contributions to funds that earn fees. Source

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Quarterly dividend SourceNext quarterly payment$0.33 per shareKept

What changed from last quarter

  • Ended: The ANI and FRE definitions no longer list equity-based compensation for awards granted before and in connection with the IPO as an adjustment.

Results and growth drivers

  • Total revenues rose on higher fees: Total revenues were $773.1 million, against $454.2 million a year earlier. Management and advisory fees, net were $293.1 million, against $215.5 million. Source
  • Net income positive; attributable loss narrowed: Net income was $65.4 million, against a net loss of $575.5 million a year earlier. Net loss attributable to StepStone was $71.2 million, and diluted EPS was $(0.87). Source
  • Adjusted net income rose 24%: ANI was $82.9 million, or $0.66 per share, against $66.7 million, or $0.54 per share, a year earlier. ANI per share rose 22%. Source
  • Fee-related earnings rose 61%: FRE was $126.2 million, against $78.6 million a year earlier. FRE is baseline earnings from recurring management and advisory fees, before income taxes. Source

Asset classes and fee base

  • Private equity fee base grew most: Private equity fee-earning AUM was $87.7 billion, up 25%. Infrastructure was $31.0 billion, up 15%; private debt $27.0 billion, up 20%; real estate $12.6 billion, down 6%. Source
  • Private equity AUM rose 28%: AUM in private equity was $136.4 billion. Private debt AUM was $52.5 billion, up 30%; infrastructure $51.3 billion, up 21%; real estate $20.8 billion, up 5%. Source
  • Infrastructure assets under advisement rose 43%: Infrastructure AUA was $112.7 billion. Private equity AUA was $353.6 billion, up 25%, and real estate AUA was $199.7 billion, up 13%. Source
  • Focused commingled funds grew faster than SMAs: Focused commingled fund fee-earning AUM was $73.6 billion, up 35%. Separately managed accounts were $84.7 billion, up 8%. Source

Performance fees and carried interest

  • Total performance fees rose 101%: Total performance fees were $480.0 million, against $238.7 million a year earlier. Legacy Greenspring carried interest allocations were $115.0 million, against $27.1 million. Source
  • Unrealized carried interest roughly doubled: Unrealized carried interest allocations were $301.7 million, against $147.8 million. Realized carried interest allocations were $60.8 million, against $58.9 million. Source
  • Realized performance fees held level: Gross realized performance fees were $65.1 million, against $64.9 million a year earlier. PRE was $32.3 million, down 5% from $33.9 million. Source
  • Accrued carried interest grew on the balance sheet: Accrued carried interest allocations were $2.38 billion, against $2.04 billion at March 31, 2026. Source

Costs and margins

  • FRE margin rose to 42%: FRE margin was 42%, against 36% a year earlier and 39% in the June quarter. Source
  • Equity-based compensation fell from prior year: GAAP equity-based compensation was $378.8 million, against $884.5 million a year earlier. Adjusted equity-based compensation was $6.2 million, against $4.3 million. Source
  • Performance fee-related compensation doubled: Total performance fee-related compensation was $243.9 million, against $119.7 million, including $211.0 million of unrealized compensation. Source
  • Cash compensation and G&A increased: Cash-based compensation was $121.4 million, against $100.3 million. General, administrative and other expense was $58.5 million, against $45.3 million. Source

Fundraising and capital deployment

  • Fee-earning contributions rose to $8.5 billion: Contributions were $8.5 billion, against $6.1 billion a year earlier. Contributions are new capital commitments and capital contributions to funds that earn fees. Source
  • Distributions from fee-earning capital rose: Distributions were $4.5 billion, against $1.3 billion a year earlier. They include returns of capital from fee-paying funds and reductions from funds that moved to a net invested capital fee basis. Source
  • Separately managed account contributions rose: SMA contributions were $4.6 billion, against $2.6 billion. Focused commingled fund contributions were $3.9 billion, against $3.5 billion. Source

Balance sheet and share count

  • Cash and equivalents rose: Cash and cash equivalents were $297.0 million at September 30, 2026, against $213.1 million at March 31, 2026. Source
  • Class A shares outstanding rose: Class A shares outstanding were 82.5 million, up from 80.7 million at March 31, 2026. Class B shares outstanding were 38.3 million. Source
  • Adjusted weighted-average shares rose 2%: Adjusted weighted-average shares, the basis for ANI per share, were 125.5 million, against 122.5 million a year earlier. Source

Consolidated funds and interest

  • Consolidated fund assets more than doubled: Assets of Consolidated Funds were $3.47 billion, against $1.70 billion at March 31, 2026. Total assets were $9.26 billion. Source
  • Consolidated funds investment income rose: Investment income of Consolidated Funds was $210.1 million, against $46.0 million. The company's non-GAAP measures remove the impact of Consolidated Funds. Source
  • Interest expense rose with consolidated funds: GAAP interest expense was $23.5 million, against $4.4 million. Adjusted interest expense, which removes Consolidated Funds interest, was $4.5 million. Source

Coming up, as management said on 5 November 2026

  • Dividend payment and record date: The declared quarterly dividend is payable December 15, 2026, to holders of record at the close of business on November 30, 2026. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Assets under management (AUM) Source$261.0 billion, up 25% year on year
Assets under advisement (AUA) Source$697.2 billion, up 24% year on year
Fee-earning AUM (FEAUM) Source$158.2 billion, up 19% year on year
Undeployed fee-earning capital (UFEC) Source$42.4 billion, up 42% year on year
Total capital responsibility Source$958.2 billion, up 24% year on year

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.