Bullish indicating open at $55-$60, IPO prices at $37
Investing.com -- EQT AB (ST:EQTAB) posted stronger-than-expected first-half (1H) results for 2025, supported by a sharp increase in exit activity and solid fund performance across the board.
The Swedish private equity firm reported adjusted EBITDA of €806 million ($937 million), up 32% year-on-year and ahead of the €775 million consensus estimate.
Fee-generating assets under management rose 5.7% from 2024 to €140.7 billion, though that figure came in just below expectations.
The solid results come despite a difficult environment for private equity exits, as firms across the industry face headwinds from subdued global growth, trade policy uncertainty in the U.S., and limited IPO activity.
Still, EQT managed to buck the trend with exit volumes reaching €13 billion, more than triple the level seen a year earlier.
“Global markets have regained strength – yet the outlook remains uncertain,” Chief Executive Officer Per Franzen said. He added that the firm’s key funds are “on or above plan, with several recent investments outperforming expectations.”
EQT is currently ranked as the world’s second-largest private equity group by capital raised.
"EQT shares have had a strong run into 1H results, +48% from Apr-25 lows. But today’s print justifies the optimism behind that, in our view," Jefferies analyst Tom Mills said in a note.
"That’s particularly true as it relates to realisations - the single most important proof point for the industry right now - where it saw €13bn of gross fund exits in the period, more than all of FY24 (€11bn). Our tracker indicates there is a strong near-term pipeline of potential additional sales to add to that tally," they added.