Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: STWD) is the largest commercial mortgage real estate investment trust in the United States, with a core focus on the real estate and infrastructure sectors. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida, the company is an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, a global ...Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: STWD) is the largest commercial mortgage real estate investment trust in the United States, with a core focus on the real estate and infrastructure sectors. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida, the company is an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, a global private investment firm. The company operates through four main segments: Commercial and Residential Lending, which originates and manages commercial first mortgages, non-agency residential mortgages, subordinated mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, and various mortgage-backed securities; Infrastructure Lending, which focuses on infrastructure debt investments; Property, which acquires and manages stabilized commercial real estate properties, including multifamily, medical office, and single-tenant net lease properties; and Investing and Servicing, which manages problem assets, acquires and manages various rated CMBS, originates conduit loans for securitization, and acquires commercial real estate assets from CMBS trusts. Starwood Property Trust qualifies as a REIT and distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to stockholders. The company has approximately 324 full-time employees and is led by Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht, who also founded Starwood Capital Group in 1991. Financially, STWD has a market capitalization of around $6.1 billion, a dividend yield of 11.7%, and a price-to-earnings ratio of about 24.6. The company generates revenue primarily through interest income, property rentals, and fee income, with a focus on maintaining a diversified portfolio across real estate debt and equity investments. As a major player in the commercial real estate finance industry, Starwood Property Trust aims to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns to its shareholders through a combination of dividends and capital appreciation.
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).
$1.9B
-7.9%
+0.1%
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.
$411.5M
+14.3%
-87.4%
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.
+80.5%
-6.6%
+0.3%
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).
+76.2%
-5.4%
-3.5%
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.
+21.9%
+24.1%
-87.4%
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.
$708.8M
+14.6%
-152.9%
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.
+37.7%
+24.4%
-152.6%
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.
325.1%
+132.4%
+5.0%
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.
0.09x
—
-28.2%
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 Starwood Property Trust, Inc. first quarter 2026 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance, please press 0 on your telephone keypad. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Zachary H. Tanenbaum, Head of Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.
Zachary H. Tanenbaum: Thank you, operator. Good morning, and welcome to the Starwood Property Trust, Inc. earnings call. This morning, we filed our 10-Q and issued a press release with a presentation of our results, which are both available on our website and have been filed with the SEC. Before the call begins, I would like to remind everyone that certain statements made in the course of this call are forward-looking statements which do not guarantee future results or performance. Please refer to our 10-Q and press release for cautionary factors related to these statements. Additionally, certain non-GAAP financial measures will be discussed on this call. For reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, please refer to our press release filed this morning. Joining me on the call today are Barry Stuart Sternlicht, the company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Jeffrey F. DiModica, the company's President; and Rina Paniry, the company's Chief Financial Officer. With that, I am now going to turn the call over to Rina.
Rina Paniry: Thank you, Zach, and good morning, everyone. Today, we reported distributable earnings of $147 million, or $0.39 per share, for the first quarter. Our results were impacted by continued higher-than-normal cash balances, the resolution of nonperforming assets, and the ongoing optimization of our new net lease cylinder, adjusted for which DE would have been $0.47. I will provide more detail for these items within my business segment discussion. As we continue on our stated task to grow our investment base, resolve our nonperforming assets, and optimize our new net lease platform, our underlying earnings power continues to build. In the quarter, we deployed $2.5 billion of capital across our businesses, including $1.5 billion in commercial lending, $597 million in infrastructure lending, and $128 million in net lease, bringing total undepreciated assets to a record $31.7 billion at quarter end. We deployed another $1.5 billion after the quarter, 70% of which was in commercial lending. Our company is diverse, with commercial lending comprising just 52% of our investment base and owned property increasing to 25% this quarter. We are really not a typical mortgage REIT. I will now take you through our individual segment results, beginning with commercial and residential lending, which contributed DE of $172 million to the quarter, or $0.45 per share. In commercial lending, we funded $894 million of our $1.5 billion in loan …