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Side-by-side financial comparison of Essex Property Trust (ESS) 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 $479.6M, roughly 1.2× Essex Property Trust). Essex Property Trust runs the higher net margin — 17.9% vs -21.0%, a 38.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, StepStone Group Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (73.0% vs 5.5%). Over the past eight quarters, StepStone Group Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (28.2% CAGR vs 6.0%).

Essex Property Trust is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in apartments in California and in the Seattle metropolitan area.

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.

ESS vs STEP — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
STEP
STEP
1.2× larger
STEP
$586.5M
$479.6M
ESS
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
STEP
STEP
+67.5% gap
STEP
73.0%
5.5%
ESS
Higher net margin
ESS
ESS
38.9% more per $
ESS
17.9%
-21.0%
STEP
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
STEP
STEP
Annualised
STEP
28.2%
6.0%
ESS

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2026

Metric
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Revenue
$479.6M
$586.5M
Net Profit
$85.7M
$-123.5M
Gross Margin
70.0%
Operating Margin
31.7%
-33.2%
Net Margin
17.9%
-21.0%
Revenue YoY
5.5%
73.0%
Net Profit YoY
-71.6%
35.7%
EPS (diluted)
$1.24
$-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
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$479.6M
$586.5M
Q3 25
$473.3M
$454.2M
Q2 25
$469.8M
$364.3M
Q1 25
$464.6M
$377.7M
Q4 24
$454.5M
$339.0M
Q3 24
$450.7M
$271.7M
Q2 24
$442.4M
$186.4M
Q1 24
$426.9M
$356.8M
Net Profit
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$85.7M
$-123.5M
Q3 25
$172.7M
$-366.1M
Q2 25
$231.5M
$-38.4M
Q1 25
$212.8M
$-18.5M
Q4 24
$301.7M
$-192.0M
Q3 24
$125.5M
$17.6M
Q2 24
$99.0M
$13.3M
Q1 24
$285.1M
$30.8M
Gross Margin
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
70.0%
Q3 25
69.2%
Q2 25
70.7%
Q1 25
69.6%
Q4 24
70.0%
Q3 24
69.5%
Q2 24
70.8%
Q1 24
69.7%
Operating Margin
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
31.7%
-33.2%
Q3 25
44.5%
-148.8%
Q2 25
59.5%
-5.6%
Q1 25
55.3%
2.6%
Q4 24
67.0%
-101.7%
Q3 24
28.6%
21.3%
Q2 24
31.1%
29.4%
Q1 24
31.0%
26.5%
Net Margin
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
17.9%
-21.0%
Q3 25
36.5%
-80.6%
Q2 25
49.3%
-10.5%
Q1 25
45.8%
-4.9%
Q4 24
66.4%
-56.6%
Q3 24
27.8%
6.5%
Q2 24
22.4%
7.2%
Q1 24
66.8%
8.6%
EPS (diluted)
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$1.24
$-1.55
Q3 25
$2.56
$-4.66
Q2 25
$3.44
$-0.49
Q1 25
$3.16
$-0.37
Q4 24
$4.00
$-2.61
Q3 24
$1.84
$0.26
Q2 24
$1.45
$0.20
Q1 24
$4.25
$0.47

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$76.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$270.2M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$5.5B
$-378.8M
Total Assets
$13.2B
$5.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$76.2M
Q3 25
$66.0M
Q2 25
$58.7M
Q1 25
$98.7M
Q4 24
$66.8M
Q3 24
$71.3M
Q2 24
$55.2M
Q1 24
$499.0M
Total Debt
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$270.2M
Q3 25
$6.4B
$269.9M
Q2 25
$6.4B
$269.6M
Q1 25
$6.8B
$269.3M
Q4 24
$168.9M
Q3 24
$6.4B
$172.3M
Q2 24
$6.2B
$172.1M
Q1 24
$6.6B
$148.8M
Stockholders' Equity
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$5.5B
$-378.8M
Q3 25
$5.6B
$-233.5M
Q2 25
$5.6B
$153.9M
Q1 25
$5.6B
$179.4M
Q4 24
$5.5B
$209.8M
Q3 24
$5.4B
$397.5M
Q2 24
$5.5B
$366.9M
Q1 24
$5.5B
$324.5M
Total Assets
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$13.2B
$5.2B
Q3 25
$13.2B
$5.3B
Q2 25
$13.2B
$4.8B
Q1 25
$13.2B
$4.6B
Q4 24
$12.9B
$4.3B
Q3 24
$12.6B
$4.0B
Q2 24
$12.5B
$3.8B
Q1 24
$12.9B
$3.8B
Debt / Equity
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
Q3 25
1.15×
Q2 25
1.14×
1.75×
Q1 25
1.22×
1.50×
Q4 24
0.81×
Q3 24
1.18×
0.43×
Q2 24
1.13×
0.47×
Q1 24
1.19×
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
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$1.1B
$27.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$26.7M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
4.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
12.53×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$18.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$1.1B
$27.2M
Q3 25
$342.6M
$16.2M
Q2 25
$216.1M
$46.3M
Q1 25
$281.5M
$-66.5M
Q4 24
$1.1B
$27.6M
Q3 24
$316.2M
$53.7M
Q2 24
$218.9M
$50.2M
Q1 24
$314.9M
$7.6M
Free Cash Flow
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
$26.7M
Q3 25
$15.9M
Q2 25
$45.2M
Q1 25
$-69.2M
Q4 24
$27.0M
Q3 24
$52.4M
Q2 24
$49.6M
Q1 24
$6.7M
FCF Margin
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
4.6%
Q3 25
3.5%
Q2 25
12.4%
Q1 25
-18.3%
Q4 24
8.0%
Q3 24
19.3%
Q2 24
26.6%
Q1 24
1.9%
Capex Intensity
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
0.1%
Q3 25
0.1%
Q2 25
0.3%
Q1 25
0.7%
Q4 24
0.2%
Q3 24
0.5%
Q2 24
0.3%
Q1 24
0.3%
Cash Conversion
ESS
ESS
STEP
STEP
Q4 25
12.53×
Q3 25
1.98×
Q2 25
0.93×
Q1 25
1.32×
Q4 24
3.54×
Q3 24
2.52×
3.05×
Q2 24
2.21×
3.76×
Q1 24
1.10×
0.25×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ESS
ESS

Segment breakdown not available.

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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