Company Overview
Ladder Capital Corp operates as an internally-managed real estate investment trust within the United States, utilizing three distinct segments—Loans, Securities, and Real Estate—to originate and acquire balance sheet loans for borrowers seeking interim financing. The company is classified within the Real Estate sector and specifically functions in the REIT - Mortgage industry, a classification that denotes its primary reliance on real estate-backed assets and mortgage lending activities rather than traditional equity holdings. With a market capitalization of $1.23B and an annual revenue of $215.38M, the entity employs a workforce of 60 individuals to execute its lending and securitization strategies. These valuation and revenue figures indicate that Ladder Capital Corp holds a significant position in the niche mortgage REIT market, supported by a substantial asset base relative to its employee count, which suggests a capital-intensive operational model typical of the industry.
Financial Health
The company reported revenue of $215.38M for the trailing twelve months, with net income of $64.18M, while EBITDA figures are not available in the current data set. The substantial gap between the revenue of $215.38M and the net income of $64.18M reveals a cost structure where operating expenses, interest costs, and provisions for loan losses consume approximately 70% of total revenue, which is consistent with the high gross margin environment of mortgage lending. Although free cash flow metrics are not provided, the company holds cash reserves of $38.22M against a total debt load of $3.52B, indicating that the available liquidity is a small fraction of total obligations. The balance sheet appears highly leveraged, evidenced by a debt-to-equity ratio of 237.94, which reflects the capital structure typical of REITs that utilize significant debt financing to amplify returns on equity. Despite the high leverage, the current ratio stands at 3.08, indicating that the company possesses more than three times the liquid assets required to cover its short-term liabilities, suggesting robust short-term liquidity management. Return on Equity is recorded at 4.2% and Return on Assets at 1.3%, metrics that reveal management generates modest returns relative to the capital employed and the total asset base, respectively.
Valuation Assessment
The trailing twelve-month P/E ratio is 18.96, while the forward P/E is projected at 7.95, implying a significant expectation of future earnings contraction or a re-rating of valuation multiples based on anticipated market conditions. The price-to-book ratio is 0.83, indicating that the market values the company at a discount to its tangible book value, which often occurs in mortgage REITs with high leverage or when the market discounts the quality of the underlying loan portfolio. Alternative valuation metrics include a price-to-sales ratio of 5.72 and an EV/EBITDA of N/A, suggesting that analysts rely heavily on revenue-based comparisons due to the absence of reported EBITDA data. The stock has traded between a 52-week high of $11.92 and a 52-week low of $9.67; without the current share price explicitly listed in the facts, the valuation context relies on these established trading boundaries to define the recent price range volatility. The beta is 1.03, meaning the stock exhibits volatility that is slightly higher than the broader market benchmark, reflecting the specific risk profile of the mortgage REIT sector.
Growth & Income
Revenue growth for the trailing twelve months is -26.4%, while earnings growth is -49.2%, indicating that earnings are declining at a much faster rate than revenue, which points to rising costs, increased loan loss provisions, or a decline in the yield on the loan portfolio. The company offers a dividend yield of 9.5% with a payout ratio of 180.4%, meaning that the dividends paid exceed the net income generated, which raises questions regarding the sustainability of the payout given the high payout ratio relative to earnings. Since the payout ratio is unsustainable at 180.4% without external capital or asset sales, the company likely depends on cash flow from operations or asset liquidation to fund these distributions rather than reinvesting earnings for organic growth. The overall growth and income profile is characterized by significant negative earnings growth and a high, potentially unsustainable dividend yield, typical of a company navigating a challenging interest rate or credit environment within the real estate finance sector.