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Side-by-side financial comparison of Confluent, Inc. (CFLT) and StepStone Group Inc. (STEP). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

StepStone Group Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($586.5M vs $314.8M, roughly 1.9× Confluent, Inc.). StepStone Group Inc. runs the higher net margin — -21.0% vs -25.2%, a 4.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, StepStone Group Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (73.0% vs 20.5%). Confluent, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($41.7M vs $26.7M). Over the past eight quarters, StepStone Group Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (28.2% CAGR vs 20.4%).

Confluent, Inc. is an American technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Confluent was founded by Jay Kreps, Jun Rao and Neha Narkhede on September 23, 2014, in order to commercialize an open-source streaming platform Apache Kafka, created by the same founders while working at LinkedIn in 2008 as a B2B infrastructure company. Confluent's products are the Confluent Cloud, Confluent Platform, Connectors, Apache Flink, Stream Governance and Confluent Hub.

Rosetta Stone Inc. is an American education technology software company that develops language, literacy and brain-fitness software. Best known for its language-learning products, in 2013, the company expanded beyond language into education-technology with its acquisitions of Livemocha, Lexia Learning, Fit Brains, and Tell Me More. In 2021, it became a subsidiary of IXL Learning.

CFLT vs STEP — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
STEP
STEP
1.9× larger
STEP
$586.5M
$314.8M
CFLT
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
STEP
STEP
+52.5% gap
STEP
73.0%
20.5%
CFLT
Higher net margin
STEP
STEP
4.1% more per $
STEP
-21.0%
-25.2%
CFLT
More free cash flow
CFLT
CFLT
$14.9M more FCF
CFLT
$41.7M
$26.7M
STEP
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
STEP
STEP
Annualised
STEP
28.2%
20.4%
CFLT

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2026

Metric
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Revenue
$314.8M
$586.5M
Net Profit
$-79.2M
$-123.5M
Gross Margin
74.7%
Operating Margin
-31.5%
-33.2%
Net Margin
-25.2%
-21.0%
Revenue YoY
20.5%
73.0%
Net Profit YoY
10.0%
35.7%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.23
$-1.55

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$314.8M
$586.5M
Q3 25
$298.5M
$454.2M
Q2 25
$282.3M
$364.3M
Q1 25
$271.1M
$377.7M
Q4 24
$261.2M
$339.0M
Q3 24
$250.2M
$271.7M
Q2 24
$235.0M
$186.4M
Q1 24
$217.2M
$356.8M
Net Profit
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$-79.2M
$-123.5M
Q3 25
$-66.5M
$-366.1M
Q2 25
$-82.0M
$-38.4M
Q1 25
$-67.6M
$-18.5M
Q4 24
$-88.1M
$-192.0M
Q3 24
$-74.1M
$17.6M
Q2 24
$-89.9M
$13.3M
Q1 24
$-93.0M
$30.8M
Gross Margin
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
74.7%
Q3 25
74.2%
Q2 25
73.7%
Q1 25
74.5%
Q4 24
74.1%
Q3 24
74.5%
Q2 24
72.3%
Q1 24
71.8%
Operating Margin
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
-31.5%
-33.2%
Q3 25
-27.9%
-148.8%
Q2 25
-34.2%
-5.6%
Q1 25
-37.3%
2.6%
Q4 24
-40.5%
-101.7%
Q3 24
-37.4%
21.3%
Q2 24
-46.1%
29.4%
Q1 24
-51.3%
26.5%
Net Margin
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
-25.2%
-21.0%
Q3 25
-22.3%
-80.6%
Q2 25
-29.0%
-10.5%
Q1 25
-24.9%
-4.9%
Q4 24
-33.7%
-56.6%
Q3 24
-29.6%
6.5%
Q2 24
-38.3%
7.2%
Q1 24
-42.8%
8.6%
EPS (diluted)
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$-0.23
$-1.55
Q3 25
$-0.19
$-4.66
Q2 25
$-0.24
$-0.49
Q1 25
$-0.20
$-0.37
Q4 24
$-0.26
$-2.61
Q3 24
$-0.23
$0.26
Q2 24
$-0.28
$0.20
Q1 24
$-0.30
$0.47

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$347.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.1B
$270.2M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.2B
$-378.8M
Total Assets
$3.0B
$5.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.94×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$347.2M
Q3 25
$298.5M
Q2 25
$295.6M
Q1 25
$278.6M
Q4 24
$386.0M
Q3 24
$322.6M
Q2 24
$311.3M
Q1 24
$336.4M
Total Debt
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$1.1B
$270.2M
Q3 25
$1.1B
$269.9M
Q2 25
$1.1B
$269.6M
Q1 25
$1.1B
$269.3M
Q4 24
$1.1B
$168.9M
Q3 24
$1.1B
$172.3M
Q2 24
$1.1B
$172.1M
Q1 24
$1.1B
$148.8M
Stockholders' Equity
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$1.2B
$-378.8M
Q3 25
$1.1B
$-233.5M
Q2 25
$1.1B
$153.9M
Q1 25
$1.0B
$179.4M
Q4 24
$961.2M
$209.8M
Q3 24
$934.3M
$397.5M
Q2 24
$873.9M
$366.9M
Q1 24
$845.2M
$324.5M
Total Assets
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$3.0B
$5.2B
Q3 25
$2.9B
$5.3B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$4.8B
Q1 25
$2.7B
$4.6B
Q4 24
$2.7B
$4.3B
Q3 24
$2.6B
$4.0B
Q2 24
$2.5B
$3.8B
Q1 24
$2.4B
$3.8B
Debt / Equity
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
0.94×
Q3 25
0.98×
Q2 25
1.03×
1.75×
Q1 25
1.07×
1.50×
Q4 24
1.14×
0.81×
Q3 24
1.17×
0.43×
Q2 24
1.25×
0.47×
Q1 24
1.29×
0.46×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$42.1M
$27.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$41.7M
$26.7M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
13.2%
4.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.1%
0.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$60.7M
$18.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$42.1M
$27.2M
Q3 25
$30.8M
$16.2M
Q2 25
$18.1M
$46.3M
Q1 25
$-26.8M
$-66.5M
Q4 24
$35.2M
$27.6M
Q3 24
$15.6M
$53.7M
Q2 24
$8.6M
$50.2M
Q1 24
$-26.0M
$7.6M
Free Cash Flow
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$41.7M
$26.7M
Q3 25
$30.0M
$15.9M
Q2 25
$17.2M
$45.2M
Q1 25
$-28.2M
$-69.2M
Q4 24
$34.5M
$27.0M
Q3 24
$15.0M
$52.4M
Q2 24
$7.5M
$49.6M
Q1 24
$-26.1M
$6.7M
FCF Margin
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
13.2%
4.6%
Q3 25
10.0%
3.5%
Q2 25
6.1%
12.4%
Q1 25
-10.4%
-18.3%
Q4 24
13.2%
8.0%
Q3 24
6.0%
19.3%
Q2 24
3.2%
26.6%
Q1 24
-12.0%
1.9%
Capex Intensity
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
0.1%
0.1%
Q3 25
0.3%
0.1%
Q2 25
0.3%
0.3%
Q1 25
0.5%
0.7%
Q4 24
0.3%
0.2%
Q3 24
0.2%
0.5%
Q2 24
0.5%
0.3%
Q1 24
0.1%
0.3%
Cash Conversion
CFLT
CFLT
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
3.05×
Q2 24
3.76×
Q1 24
0.25×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CFLT
CFLT

Confluent Cloud$169.4M54%
Post Contract Customer Support$93.8M30%
License$38.4M12%
Services$13.2M4%

STEP
STEP

Other$210.1M36%
Management And Advisory Fees Net Focused Commingled Funds$143.3M24%
Carried Interest Allocation Focused Commingled Funds$85.1M15%
Carried Interest Allocation Separately Managed Accounts$63.6M11%
Carried Interest Allocation Realized$46.7M8%
Management And Advisory Fees Net Advisory And Other Services$18.3M3%
Legacy Carried Interest Allocation Focused Commingled Funds$10.3M2%
Income Based Incentive Fees$6.0M1%
Management And Advisory Fees Net Fund Reimbursement Revenues$3.1M1%

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