Ares Commercial Real Estate

ACRE

Market cap $246M

Ares Commercial failed to cover its dividend with distributable EPS in Q2'25 due to significant loan losses, mainly from its troubled office loan portfolio. Despite reducing office loan exposure, high non-accruals and realized loan losses continue to pressure earnings and dividend coverage ratios. ACRE shares trade at a steep 51% discount to NAV, reflecting persistent dividend underperformance and continual portfolio shrinkage risks.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE ) Q2 2025 Earnings Conference Call August 5, 2025 12:00 PM ET Company Participants Bryan Patrick Donohoe - CEO & Director Jeffrey Gonzales - CFO & Treasurer John W. Stilmar - Managing Director of Public Investor Relations & Corporate Communications Group Conference Call Participants Christopher Muller - Citizens JMP Securities, LLC, Research Division Douglas Michael Harter - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division Jade Joseph Rahmani - Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc., Research Division Richard Barry Shane - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division Thomas Catherwood - Unidentified Company Operator Good afternoon, everyone.

ACRE's chronic loan defaults and poor underwriting make it the top mortgage REIT to avoid, despite recent distribution cuts. Recent results show a record distributable earnings loss, with only 9 cents per share versus a 15-cent distribution. Balance sheet leverage is lower, but another large office loan is distressed, and interest margins have collapsed nearly 50% year-over-year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (ACRE 1.80%), a specialty finance company focused on commercial real estate lending, reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 on August 4, 2025. The main news in this release was Non-GAAP earnings per share coming in at $(0.51), well below the analyst consensus of $0.00 non-GAAP EPS.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.51 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.02. This compares to a loss of $0.12 per share a year ago.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (the “Company”) (NYSE:ACRE), a specialty finance company primarily engaged in directly originating and investing in commercial real estate assets, reported generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) net income (loss) of $(11.0) million or $(0.20) per diluted common share and Distributable Earnings (Loss)(1) of $(27.9) million or $(0.51) per diluted common share for the second quarter of 2025. “In the second quarter, we co.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: ACRE) announced today that it will report earnings for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025 on Tuesday, August 5, 2025 prior to the opening of the New York Stock Exchange. Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation will hold its webcast/conference call on the same day at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss its second quarter ended June 30, 2025 financial results. All interested parties are invited to participate via telepho.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation is a small mortgage REIT run by a growing, reputable alternative investment manager. ACRE's small size, high office loan exposure, and inability to cover dividends with earnings present significant risks for income investors. ACRE pays a quarterly dividend yielding 13.54%, going ex-dividend around 9/30.

ACRE has stabilized its loan portfolio, showing no new loan losses in Q1 and positive distributable profits, signaling a potential turnaround. The dividend was right-sized after two cuts, and payout metrics are improving, making a third cut unlikely and supporting a more sustainable yield. ACRE trades at a steep 51% discount to book value, which I believe is exaggerated given recent improvements and offers a re-rating opportunity.

Investors need to pay close attention to Ares Commercial Real Estate stock based on the movements in the options market lately.