Horizon Technology Finance Corporation operates as a business development company (BDC) with a core focus on providing financing and making equity investments ...
Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (HRZN) is a leading specialty finance company that provides structured debt products to venture capital-backed companies in the technology and life science sectors. As a business development company (BDC), Horizon offers secured loans, venture debt, and equity investments to companies in their early growth phases, typically ...Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (HRZN) is a leading specialty finance company that provides structured debt products to venture capital-backed companies in the technology and life science sectors. As a business development company (BDC), Horizon offers secured loans, venture debt, and equity investments to companies in their early growth phases, typically those that have already secured funding from venture capital firms. The company's investment strategy focuses on high-growth industries, including technology, life sciences, healthcare information and services, and clean technology, all within the United States.
Horizon's core business is venture lending, providing capital to companies that may not yet have access to traditional bank financing. The company differentiates itself by having deep industry knowledge and a thoughtful, creative approach to structuring debt products. Since its inception, the Horizon team has collectively originated and invested more than $5 billion in venture loans to thousands of companies, demonstrating its significant scale and experience in the niche market of venture debt.
The company was formed as a Delaware corporation on March 16, 2010, for the purpose of continuing and expanding the venture lending activities of its management team, which has been active since 2004. It went public on the NASDAQ Global Select Market in October 2010. As of the latest data, Horizon has a market capitalization of approximately $235 million, with a stock price of $4.70. The company generates revenue primarily through interest income on its loan portfolio and has a gross profit margin of approximately 75.8%. Its financial metrics indicate a price-to-book ratio of 0.731 and a dividend yield of 24%, reflecting its status as a high-yield income stock.
Horizon's management team is led by CEO Michael P. Balkin, who also serves as Chairman of the Board. The company has a relatively small workforce, with employee size estimated between 11 and 50 people, emphasizing its lean and specialized operational model. The headquarters is located at 312 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, Connecticut, and the company maintains a strong focus on the U.S. market.
In 2023, Horizon agreed to be acquired by Monroe Capital, a move that is expected to expand its reach and capabilities. This acquisition highlights Horizon's position as a valuable player in the venture debt space. The company's long-term track record and deep market knowledge make it a key partner for emerging companies seeking non-dilutive growth capital.
YoYYoY means Year-over-Year. It compares the latest annual value with the previous annual value to show long-term trend strength.
QoQQoQ means Quarter-over-Quarter. It compares the latest quarter with the immediately previous quarter to show short-term momentum changes.
RevenueThe total money that came through the front door from selling things, before paying a single bill. Think of it as the grand total of every credit card swipe from customers. (YoY compares this year to last year's performance, while QoQ compares the current three months to the previous three).
$40.0M
+17.9%
-20.9%
Net IncomeThe absolute bottom line. If the company paid every single supplier, employee, banker, and tax collector, this is the actual money left in their pocket at the end of the day.
$-2.7M
+52.8%
-1441.3%
Gross MarginThe basic markup. If they sell a $100 pair of sneakers, this percentage tells you how much of that price tag is profit right after paying for the rubber and shoelaces, but before paying for things like store rent or TV commercials.
+18.0%
+262.9%
+5.5%
Operating MarginThe 'day job' efficiency score. Out of every dollar a customer spends, this shows how many cents the company keeps after making the product AND paying for all the everyday corporate overhead (like salaries, marketing, and keeping the lights on).
-4.0%
+67.4%
-355.3%
Net MarginThe final take-home percentage. When you strip away every conceivable cost, tax, and interest payment, this is the exact number of cents the company truly gets to keep from every dollar in sales.
-6.6%
+59.9%
-1795.4%
Free Cash FlowThe holy grail of corporate cash. It's the spendable, physical money left over after the business pays for its daily operations AND buys the big, expensive upgrades (like new factories or servers) it needs to survive. This is the 'free' money they can use to pay dividends or buy back stock.
$56.6M
+42.9%
+728.2%
FCF MarginThe ultimate cash conversion rate. It shows how good the company is at turning regular sales directly into cold, hard, spendable cash. A high percentage means the business is an absolute cash-printing machine.
+141.5%
+21.2%
+946.8%
Debt / EquityThe financial risk gauge. It compares how much of the company's empire was built using borrowed money (loans) versus the owners' own money (shareholders). A high number means they are heavily leveraged and playing a riskier game; a low number means they are playing it safe.
148.5%
+6.7%
-28.0%
Current RatioThe 12-month survival check. It simply compares the cash they have right now (plus things they can quickly turn into cash) against the immediate bills they absolutely must pay this year. A score above 1 means they have enough in the wallet to cover the upcoming bills without panicking.
1.24x
-75.7%
-41.1%
Total AssetsThe absolute size of the company's empire. It bundles together absolutely everything of value they own—from the cash in the register and the inventory in the warehouse, to the software patents in the vault and the factories on the ground.
Operator: Greetings, and welcome to the Horizon Technology Finance Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Megan Bacon. You may begin.
Megan Bacon: Thank you, and welcome to Horizon Technology Finance Corporation's Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call. Representing the company today are Mike Balkin, Chief Executive Officer; Paul Seitz, Chief Investment Officer; and Dan Trolio, Chief Financial Officer. I would like to point out that the Q2 earnings press release and Form 10-Q are available on the company's website at horizontechfinance.com. Before we begin our formal remarks, I need to remind everyone that during this conference call, the company will make certain forward-looking statements, including statements with regard to the future performance of the company. Words such as believes, expects, anticipates, intends or similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors could cause actual results to differ on a material basis from those projected in these forward-looking statements. And some of these factors are detailed in the risk factor discussion in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Horizon's CEO, Mike Balkin.
Michael Balkin: Thanks, Megan. Welcome, everyone, and thank you for your interest in Horizon. Today, we will update you on our quarterly performance and the current operating environment. Paul Seitz, our Chief Investment Officer, will take us through recent business and portfolio developments as well as the current status of the venture lending market; and Dan Trolio, our Chief Financial Officer, will detail our operating performance and financial condition. We will then take questions. In April, we completed our merger with Monroe Capital Corporation, significantly enhancing our available capital for investments and kicking off our next chapter of growth. To that end, we have been very active over the past several months, laying the foundation for sustainable and profitable long-term growth. That includes enhancing our underwriting and credit capabilities to improve the quality of our portfolio, optimizing the technology stack throughout our organization and making key investments in our people and our origination platform. We believe the investments we are making today and which we expect to make over the next several months are appropriately setting the stage for us to consistently grow our portfolio over time, steadily increase our NII and …
