EQT H1 – The Fundraising Machine Just Proved the Bulls Right
EQT AB reported H1 2026 results on July 17.
The Swedish alternative asset manager — which manages approximately €155bn in fee-generating assets across private equity, infrastructure, and real estate — delivered a half-year that answered almost every question the market had been asking.
| Consensus est. H1 2026 | Actual H1 2026 | Beat/Miss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted revenue | ~€1,370m | €1,407m | Beat |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | ~58–60% | 60% | In line |
| EPS (adjusted) | €0.55–0.65 | €0.590 | In line / slight beat |
| FAUM (end of period) | Flat to slight increase | €155bn (+10% vs Jun-25) | Beat |
The number that mattered most going into this report was not on the income statement.
It was EQT XI — and it delivered. The fund has secured commitments corresponding to half its €23bn target, with activation expected toward the end of Q3.
That confirmation, combined with FAUM (Fee-generating Assets Under Management) jumping from €141.6bn to €155bn in a single half, was the catalyst the re-rating required.
What strikes me most is the AI Infrastructure strategy. Launched in Q1, it reached $9.4bn in NAV in less than three months — a fundraising velocity that very few strategies in EQT’s history have matched.
The evergreen platform hit €10bn in combined NAV (including Coller Capital), and Private Capital value creation in EQT X accelerated meaningfully, with weighted average EBITDA growth of 24 percent over the last twelve months.
The fee-related EBITDA margin came in at 50 percent versus 54 percent in H1 2025, which looks like a miss at first glance — but the decline is entirely explained by lower retroactive fees that inflated H1 2025.
Adjusted for that effect, underlying fee-related revenue growth was plus 5 percent. The market read through it correctly.
Coller Capital remains on track for a Q3 close. EQT Infrastructure VII has set its target at €21bn.
The pipeline of new strategies — Scaleup Europe Fund, Active Core Infrastructure, US Industrial Value VII — adds four platforms each with expected FAUM above €5bn, all launched within six months. The next inflection point is EQT XI activation in Q3 and EQT Infrastructure VII activation around year-end.
The stock’s 11 percent move to SEK 318 on the day felt proportionate. The market spent six months pricing in “good business, bad timing.” The H1 2026 report closed that debate.
