Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (ACRE) Earnings Call Transcript

Good morning. Welcome to Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation's Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded on Friday, November 6, 2026. I will now turn the call over to Mr. John Stilmar, Partner of Public Markets Investor Relations.

Thank you, and good morning. We appreciate you for joining us on today's conference call. Before we begin, I will remind everyone that comments made during the course of accompanying documents contain forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as anticipates, believes, expects, intends, will, should, may and similar such expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations of market conditions and management's judgment. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed in its forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those listed in its SEC filings. Ares Commercial Real Estate assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. During this call, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. We use these as measures of operating performance, and these measures should not be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. These measures may not be comparable to like titled measures used by other companies. Now I'd like to turn the call over to our CEO, Bryan Donohoe. Bryan?

Thank you, John. I'm here today with Jeff Gonzales, our CFO, as well as other members of the management and Investor Relations teams. Overall, the commercial real estate market remains moderately constructive as the recent rise in interest rates runs counter to the generally positive underlying property fundamentals. We believe at times like these, it is valuable to be a part of the scaled Ares platform, which provides us with differentiated market insights and a deep pipeline of opportunities, allowing us to remain patient and highly selective as the market continues to adjust to these macro drivers. During the third quarter and so far in the fourth quarter, we sold 1 of our 2 REO properties. We were fully repaid on our only loan in default, and we made progress on our risk-rated 4 and 5 loans. Leading off with the REO property. We completed the sale of the Charlotte, North Carolina office asset in the third quarter with net proceeds of approximately $7 million above our carrying value. When we acquired title in 2024, we believe that our ownership would allow us to enhance the value of the property, benefit from a relatively attractive cash flow yield and control the exit in a more constructive environment. This successful exit underscores the merits of our view, the strength of our active management approach and the benefits of our balance sheet position. Supported by this outcome, our office loan and office REO investments totaled $444 million at the end of the third quarter, down 10% quarter-over-quarter and 19% year-over-year. There are 7 remaining office loans, of which 5 are risk rated 1 through 3 and continue to exhibit stable to improving performance with sponsor support to further advance their respective business plans. Additionally, subsequent to quarter end, the $28 million Newark, New Jersey industrial loan that had been in maturity default was fully repaid, including all accrued default interest. Now let us discuss the advancements towards resolutions across 4 risk-rated 4 and 5 loans. As of 3Q 2026, the Chicago office loan and the Brooklyn Residential condo loan accounted for 95% of the outstanding principal balance of risk-rated 4 and 5 loans. Starting with the Chicago office loan. Our goal is to accelerate the resolution of this loan and have, therefore, recently begun the process of acquiring title to the property. We believe this action will provide us with greater control over the sales process while benefiting from the cash flow of the property. Importantly, fundamentals at the property remained stable with occupancy above 90% and a weighted average lease term over 7 years. The property's operating cash flow relative to our carrying value net of CECL as of September 30, 2026, represents a double-digit debt yield. Taken together with the balance sheet flexibility we have maintained, we believe we have the ability to better determine the optimal outcome for this asset. Turning to the Brooklyn Residential Condo. It was completed supporting increased marketing and greater buyer interest. While we continue to monitor the potential impact of higher interest rates on buyer behavior, we remain encouraged by activity at the property as traffic has continued to pick up since Labor Day and early market signs remain positive. As we have increased visibility of timing and proceeds from condominium sales based on the progression of the project, we have greater clarity into the probability of our financial results, which was one of the primary factors that drove the adjustment of the risk rating from a 4 to a 5. With respect to timing of recognizing losses, as a condominium project, proportional losses will be recognized as individual unit sales are closed. The remaining 2 risk-rated 4 and 5 loans totaled $20 million of carrying value at quarter end or $6 million net of related CECL reserves. Collectively, the 4 risk-rated 4 and 5 loans represent 10% of carrying value net of related CECL reserves. While we continue to make progress on our risk-rated 4 and 5 loans, we selectively added to the portfolio. Supported by the depth and breadth of the Ares platform, we continue to see compelling opportunities to invest. However, as we have long communicated, the pace of portfolio growth reflects our management of liquidity, the pace of resolutions and our assessment of market conditions. To that end, during the third quarter, we closed one new senior co-investment loan on a portfolio of industrial properties with a $35 million commitment, of which $28 million is classified as held for investment and $7 million was classified as held for sale and thereafter sold. Over the past 12 months, ACRE's portfolio has increased over 40%. We believe the Ares platform provides us with the scale, deep market insights and broad opportunity set to selectively invest in loans that we believe offer attractive risk-adjusted returns. By leveraging the Ares real estate debt platform, which has completed nearly $10 billion of new loan commitments globally over the past 12 months and co-investing alongside other Ares managed vehicles, ACRE is able to access what we believe are high-quality investment opportunities. This scale enables ACRE to drive greater portfolio diversification objectives while participating in larger institutional quality loans. Despite a backdrop of higher interest rates, we continue to see generally healthy fundamentals in our risk-rated 1 through 3 loans. These loans represent 90% of our loan portfolio carrying value net of related CECL. Given the change in interest rates and the market's focus on multifamily assets, let me now provide a little bit more specificity on the positioning of our multifamily portfolio. Following the full repayment of our largest multifamily loan in October, we now have 6 multifamily loans. 4 of the loans were originated in 2025 or 2026 and continue to make progress on their business plan. The two pre-2025 vintage multifamily loans continue to benefit from strong sponsorship and structural protections. Subsequent to quarter end, the larger of these 2 loans, a $67 million multifamily loan in San Antonio, Texas was extended after the sponsor contributed new equity to reduce the principal amount of the loan. In addition, the loan benefits from the partial principal guarantee as well as interest and carry guarantees for the remainder of the loan term. The other pre-2025 loan, a $57 million multifamily loan in Cincinnati, Ohio, qualified for a contractual extension given the property performance exceeded its required extension tests. We are encouraged by the performance of our risk-rated 1 through 3 loans, including both our multifamily and office portfolios. The stability of our risk rated 1 through 3 risk ratings and the level of our overall CECL reserve reinforce our view of the underlying health and quality of our portfolio. In conclusion, we're proud of our progress this year while recognizing there is more work to do. Our focus remains clear. Number one, resolving our remaining REO asset and risk-rated 4 and 5 loans, including loans that are on nonaccrual, which in the aggregate total approximately $160 million of carrying value net of CECL, but gross of associated financing; and two, deploying our available capital in a disciplined manner to drive additional portfolio growth, utilizing cost-efficient leverage. As we execute on our business plan, we believe that the resolution of our nonaccruing investments represents a more significant potential driver of earnings growth as those resolutions can redeploy capital currently generating little or no income into new earning assets. Combined with the diversification and repositioning of our portfolio, we expect our actions to drive EPS growth and support earnings that meet or exceed our dividend while delivering long-term value for shareholders. With that, I'll turn the call over to Jeff, who will walk through our third quarter financial results.

Thank you, Bryan. For the third quarter of 2026, we reported GAAP net income of approximately $10 million or $0.18 per diluted common share. Our distributable earnings for the third quarter of 2026 was approximately $6.7 million or $0.12 per diluted common share. This includes the impact from the net realized gain of $300,000 or $0.01 per diluted common share related to the sale of the North Carolina office REO property Bryan previously mentioned. For distributable earnings purposes, the $7.1 million GAAP gain is adjusted to exclude the impact of accumulated depreciation and amortization as those charges were not previously recognized in distributable earnings since the acquisition of the REO property. Distributable earnings for the third quarter, excluding this realized net gain was approximately $6.4 million or $0.11 per diluted common share. Additionally, during the third quarter, we collected $1.7 million or $0.03 per diluted common share of cash interest on loans that were on nonaccrual and was accounted for as a reduction in our loan basis. Turning to liquidity and leverage. We've made meaningful progress towards strengthening and diversifying our funding model with a focus on creating greater capacity, flexibility and efficiency as we reposition the portfolio. We continue to maintain moderate leverage, which supports further resolutions of underperforming loans and future growth. We ended the quarter with a net debt-to-equity ratio, excluding CECL of 1.9x. In the third quarter of 2026, we collected $35 million of repayments, bringing year-to-date total repayments to $146 million. Given the timing of repayments and resolutions during the quarter, we closed one new senior co-investment loan on a portfolio of industrial properties with a $35 million commitment, of which $28 million is classified as held for investment and $7 million was classified as held for sale at origination and sold during the quarter. During the period between origination and the completion of the sale, we earned interest and fee income on the portion of the loan classified as held for sale. While the loan held for sale this quarter was small relative to the overall portfolio, we continue to believe the strategy of short-term originations provides an efficient way to deploy excess liquidity while preserving balance sheet flexibility for longer-term investment opportunities. As we continue to address our remaining risk-rated 4 and 5 loans, office loans and REO property, we remain focused on maintaining a flexible balance sheet. As of September 30, 2026, available capital totaled $116 million, providing ample liquidity to support asset resolutions and selective deployment of capital into new investment opportunities. Our balance sheet also benefits from a well-matched asset and liability profile with predominantly floating rate assets and liabilities. To that end, subsequent to quarter end, we fully repaid the secured term loan and its term was not extended. The repayment of the term loan was supported by our flexible balance sheet position and reflects our broader strategy to optimize and align our financing structure with the evolving composition of the portfolio. As part of this strategy, we also consider the interest rate structure of our portfolio. Importantly, we have intentionally structured both our assets and liabilities with features designed to mitigate interest rate risk. Currently, ACRE's predominantly floating rate portfolio is 100% financed with floating rate borrowings, providing a natural alignment between our assets and liabilities. At the individual loan level, we also seek to employ structural protections that mitigate the impact of changes in interest rates while our borrowers execute their respective business plans. Across our risk rated 1 to 3 loans, 100% are floating rate and 94% have interest rate caps with an average 1-month SOFR strike rate of 4.3%. Importantly, the expiration of these caps generally aligned with the maturity of the underlying loans. More broadly, we underwrite and stress test our loans for potential rate fluctuations and continuously monitor the portfolio. Now turning to our CECL reserve. The total CECL reserve remained relatively stable for the second consecutive quarter at $141 million as of September 30, 2026, an increase of approximately $2 million from the CECL reserve as of June 30, 2026. This increase was largely attributed to certain asset level changes in our risk rated 4 and 5 loans as well as a relative decline in the macroeconomic forecast compared to the prior quarter. The total CECL reserve at the end of the third quarter of $141 million represents approximately 8% of the total outstanding principal balance of our loans held for investment. 94% of our total CECL reserve or $133 million relates to risk-rated 4 and 5 loans and nearly half of the total CECL reserve is attributed to the risk-rated 5 Chicago office loan. Overall, the $133 million of reserves attributable to our risk-rated 4 and 5 loans represent approximately 34% of the outstanding principal balance of those risk-rated 4 and 5 loans. Our book value remained relatively stable at $8.86 per share. This continued stability reflects the progress we have made repositioning the portfolio and paired with stable CECL reserve is increasingly evident of the strength and health of the overall portfolio. To conclude, the Board declared a regular cash dividend of $0.15 per common share for the fourth quarter of 2026. The fourth quarter dividend will be payable on January 15, 2027, to common stockholders of record as of December 31, 2026. At our current stock price on November 3, 2026, the annualized dividend yield on our third quarter dividend is approximately 18%. With that, I will turn the call back over to Bryan for some closing remarks.

Thank you, Jeff. As we look ahead, we believe ACRE is increasingly well positioned to benefit from the progress we have made repositioning the portfolio. We have greater diversification, a growing mix of newer vintage loans and a flexible balance sheet while continuing to advance resolutions across our remaining risk-rated 4 and 5 loans. We believe executing against the strategy we outlined today can drive earnings growth over time while maintaining the discipline and flexibility that remains central to our strategy. As always, we appreciate you joining our call today, and we'd be happy to open the line for questions.

[Operator Instructions] We'll take our first question from Jade Rahmani with KBW.

This is Jason Sabshon on for Jade. Did you say that an industrial loan in default.

That's correct.

Great. And was that in the risk 4 and 5 bucket? And what was the carrying value of that loan?

It was not in the risk rated 4 and 5 bucket. We felt we were very well collateralized. So therefore, I believe, Jeff, it was still 3. And we realized 100% of principal plus interest as well as default interest. So we felt the default is more of a technical nature and not indicative of distressed value.

And just to add, that was our only defaulted loan in the portfolio.

Great. Yes. And also, I'd be curious if you're seeing incremental pressure anywhere in your existing portfolio due to higher rates. I know you commented on it a bit, but I guess also within that, in your multifamily book, what kind of debt yields are you seeing?

Yes. I think we've spoken when we -- if you were to go back whatever it was, 3 years ago now when you saw SOFR move up, I think, at 10x order of magnitude than it has over the last 6 months or so, there was certainly more stress. But we've always spoken about interest rates effectively being like gravity for values. So I think the impact of the rate movement over the past stretch here has probably moved values 2% to 6% for most product and some good variability. The backdrop of that in many markets, though, is improving fundamentals. The inflation story is going to further limit supply. So you're seeing less of a move in cap rates in real time than you are necessarily in the rates themselves. So I think we'd all be remiss to think about rates not impacting valuations. But as you heard us describe in the prepared remarks, we feel like the earlier vintage transactions that withstood both of these rate movements would, in general, be more impacted. But as we outlined on the 2 remaining multifamily deals from that vintage, we saw one perform in keeping with our original underwriting, qualifying as of right for its extension and the second, seeing a pretty significant structural support from sponsorship. So certainly, rates are impactful and directionally negative for real estate, but the stability of our risk-rated 1 to 3 book, I think, should be indicative of how we feel about that part of the portfolio.

Great. And then lastly, on the risk 5 Chicago office loan, it would be helpful if you could provide an update. And if you were to take it REO, what kind of income yield would you see?

If we did take it back, I think it's just to simplify the structure to some degree. We've been collecting all free cash flow for some period of time and paying down debt as you're paying down our basis as you're aware. I think by stepping in, it may just simplify the structure, change the manner in which we benefit and allow us to have more direct control over the resolution and the resolution timing. But the profile of the transaction has not changed. We outlined the lease term. This is not a CapEx-intensive asset. This has quality tenancy. So really not much of a change, except a change in the control and the path towards resolution.