Start here if you're new
what it is
Annaly borrows money, buys mortgage bonds, and pockets the spread between its funding cost and what those bonds pay.
how it gets paid
Last year Annaly Capital made $1.1B in revenue (FY anchor in this feed). A single quarter can print much larger on GAAP—see $769M below—because mREIT revenue lines jump with portfolio activity; do not multiply one quarter by four.
why it's growing
GAAP “revenue” for mREITs jumps around with accounting and portfolio sales—ignore triple-digit vs. prior year % unless you know the line item. Spread economics, book value, and the ~$98B portfolio scale matter more.
what just happened
Annaly posted $0.74 EPS (Q), beating the $0.72 estimate by ~2.8%, while GAAP revenue for that quarter was $769M—pair with the $1.1B FY line above, not a naive annualization.
At a glance
C+ balance sheet — struggling to keep the lights on
5/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
7.7x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
12.5% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
xvary composite: 33/100 — weak
What they do
Annaly borrows money, buys mortgage bonds, and pockets the spread between its funding cost and what those bonds pay.
Annaly lives in Agency MBS (mortgage bonds guaranteed by Fannie, Freddie, or Ginnie → lower credit risk → cheaper funding). That matters because a government-backed book supports a 12.5% dividend yield on a $22.36 stock. You are not betting on flashy growth here; you are betting that cheap borrowing against safer mortgage paper keeps working.
How they make money
$1.1B
annual revenue · GAAP growth % is noisy for mREITs—focus on net interest income and portfolio trends
total revenue
$1.1B
see filing
The products that matter
invests in government-backed mortgages
Agency MBS Portfolio
$1.1B revenue · core business
it's the whole $1.1B business. the job sounds simple — fund mortgage paper cheaply, collect a higher yield, keep the gap — but the result depends on rate moves, funding markets, and constant portfolio resets.
entire story
Key numbers
12.5%
dividend yield
You are being paid 12.5% a year to own NLY, which is the whole attraction when the stock itself has limited upside.
7.7x
trailing p/e
P/E (price-to-earnings ratio → how many dollars you pay for $1 of profit → cheaper stocks have lower numbers) at 7.7x says the market does not trust these earnings to stay smooth.
$3.10
FY2026 EPS
That estimate sits below the $4.00 forward EPS consensus, which tells you forecasts are still all over the place.
15.0%
base-case gap
The base-case target sits 15.0% below today's price, which tells you the dividend is doing a lot of the selling.
Financial health
C+
strength
- balance sheet grade C+ — weak — may struggle to fund operations
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 75 / 100
- net profit margin 35.0% — Q · GAAP with the $769M quarter in earnings; do not treat as a clean FY margin on the ~$1.1B anchor.
- return on equity 16% — $0.16 profit for every $1 investors have put in
C+ — net profit margin looks solid but balance sheet grade needs watching.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in NLY 3 years ago → it's now worth $15,420.
The index would have given you $13,920.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Annaly posted $0.74 in EPS, beating the $0.72 estimate by 2.78%, while revenue hit $769M.
Results improved as new assets came on, portfolio yields looked better, and borrowing costs eased. Quiet part out loud: this business gets prettier when rates stop fighting it.
$769M
Q revenue (GAAP)
$0.74
eps (Q)
35.0%
net margin (Q · GAAP)
the number that mattered
The 12.5% dividend yield matters most because NLY is being owned for cash now, not for a huge move in the stock.
-
annaly capital management will likely close out 2025 with respectable results.for the full year, we look for the reit to post higher income from its various mortgage-related investment portfolios.
-
here, the addition of new assets, more attractive yields, and lower borrowing costs should help lift business.
-
looking ahead, the reit’s results should benefit from a lower interest-rate environment.mortgage reits are somewhat dependent on strength in the housing markets and healthy loan demand.
-
the reit is doing a good job increasing its assets.
-
as of the third quarter, the total investment portfolio reached almost $98.0 billion.there were sizable increases at the agency segment, which contains mortgage-backed securities, and accounts for most of annaly’s holdings. in addition, there were solid additions to the residential credit, and mortgage servicing rights segments.
source: company earnings report, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
the #1 risk is agency mortgage spreads no longer covering short-term funding and the dividend.
med
yield-curve whiplash
Annaly funds itself short and owns longer-duration mortgage paper. When rate moves get violent, asset values and financing economics can move against you at the same time.
This is the core business risk. If the spread narrows, earnings power narrows with it.
med
funding-cost pressure
A mortgage REIT lives on borrowed money. If repo and other financing costs stay elevated while portfolio yields lag, the income statement gets squeezed fast.
That pressure does not just hit earnings. It also raises the dividend question again.
med
mortgage-market slowdown
If housing activity and loan demand soften, reinvestment options get thinner. Annaly needs a liquid market with attractive new paper to keep resetting the portfolio at better yields.
A weaker mortgage market limits flexibility right when spread income needs help.
med
agency-market rule changes
This business depends on agency mortgage securities staying liquid, financeable, and economically attractive. Rule changes can alter that math without warning.
The damage would hit returns and portfolio flexibility more than revenue optics.
the entire $1.1B revenue stream and the 12.5% yield depend on spread income staying wide enough to fund roughly $1.9B a year in shareholder payouts
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
dividend coverage
watch whether quarterly EPS keeps supporting the payout. the yield gets the headline. coverage keeps the story alive.
risk
funding-cost direction
if borrowing costs stay high while portfolio yields flatten, the spread compresses and your income thesis gets less comfortable fast.
calendar
next earnings report
you want the next update to answer the same two questions: what happened to EPS, and what happened to the portfolio economics behind it.
trend
portfolio growth quality
the portfolio reached almost $98.0B in the third quarter. growth helps only if the added assets come with yields worth the balance-sheet risk.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
below average
momentum score 4. in human-speak, analysts think this could lag most stocks from here.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — not unusually safe, not a total rollercoaster either.
chart momentum
top 20%
technical score 2 — the tape looks better than the fundamental scorecard.
earnings predictability
5 / 100
earnings are hard to model here because rate-sensitive businesses do not move in straight lines.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 393 buyers vs. 193 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.4B shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$13
$25
$22
current price
$19
target midpoint · 15% from current · 3-5yr high: $40 (+80% · 24% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive