greeksoup/ stock research

Fidus Investment Corp.: Q4 FY2025 earnings call

What management said about Q4 FY2025, from the documents filed with the SEC on 26 February 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 2 raised, 1 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Total investment income rose 12.5%: Total investment income was $42.2 million in the fourth quarter, up 12.5% from $37.5 million a year earlier. Growth came from interest income, fee income and payment-in-kind interest. Source
  • Net investment income per share declined: Net investment income was $19.6 million, or $0.53 per share, against $0.55 a year earlier. Adjusted net investment income was $0.52 per share, versus $0.54. Source
  • Full-year net investment income slipped: For 2025, net investment income was $73.9 million, or $2.08 per share, against $2.29 in 2024. Total investment income rose 6.6% to $155.9 million. Source
  • Quarterly expenses rose 19.7%: Total expenses were $22.5 million in the fourth quarter, up 19.7% from $18.8 million a year earlier. Interest and financing expense accounted for most of the increase. Source
  • Invested $213.7 million in quarter: Fidus invested $213.7 million in debt and equity securities in the fourth quarter, including eight new companies: Air Burners, Bobcat of Connecticut, GPS Insight, King Green, PIPCO, Sales Rabbit, NOMS Healthcare and CITCO Water. Source
  • Debt yield fell to 12.6%: The weighted average yield on debt investments was 12.6% at December 31, 2025, down from 13.0% at September 30, 2025. Source
  • Q1 2026 dividend declared at $0.52: The board declared first-quarter 2026 dividends totaling $0.52 per share, made up of a $0.43 base and a $0.09 supplemental dividend. Source

“we extended our track record of building our portfolio with a continued focus on credit quality and capital preservation”

Edward Ross, Chairman and CEO of Fidus Investment Corporation

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Total dividend Sourcefirst quarter 2026$0.52 per shareRaised from $0.50
Base dividend Sourcefirst quarter 2026$0.43 per shareKept
Supplemental dividend Sourcefirst quarter 2026$0.09 per shareRaised from $0.07

What changed from last quarter

  • Guidance raised: Total dividend declared for the first quarter of 2026 is $0.52 per share, up from $0.50 declared for the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • New: Fidus made a January 2026 investment in OpenBrand, a market intelligence platform, which is a new portfolio company. Source
  • Ended: The preferred and common equity position in CIH Intermediate was exited on January 30, 2026. Source

Quarter and full-year results

  • Total investment income rose 12.5%: Total investment income was $42.2 million in the fourth quarter, up 12.5% from $37.5 million a year earlier. Growth came from interest income, fee income and payment-in-kind interest. Source
  • Net investment income per share declined: Net investment income was $19.6 million, or $0.53 per share, against $0.55 a year earlier. Adjusted net investment income was $0.52 per share, versus $0.54. Source
  • Full-year net investment income slipped: For 2025, net investment income was $73.9 million, or $2.08 per share, against $2.29 in 2024. Total investment income rose 6.6% to $155.9 million. Source
  • Adjusted income per share lower: Adjusted net investment income was $75.6 million, or $2.13 per share, for 2025. The dollar amount rose 0.3%, while the per-share figure was down from $2.31. Source

Expenses and interest costs

  • Quarterly expenses rose 19.7%: Total expenses were $22.5 million in the fourth quarter, up 19.7% from $18.8 million a year earlier. Interest and financing expense accounted for most of the increase. Source
  • Base management fee rose on assets: The base management fee rose $0.8 million, net of the waiver, on higher average total assets. Professional fees fell $0.3 million year over year. Source
  • Full-year expenses up 14.7%: For 2025, total expenses were $82.0 million, up $10.5 million or 14.7%. Interest and financing expenses rose $7.2 million on a higher weighted average rate and larger borrowings. Source
  • Capital gains fee accrual increased: Capital gains incentive fee expense rose $1.0 million for 2025. The fourth-quarter figure was a reversal of $0.3 million. Source

“In 2026, we expect decent levels of deal activity”

Edward Ross, Chairman and CEO of Fidus Investment Corporation

Portfolio growth and deal activity

  • Invested $213.7 million in quarter: Fidus invested $213.7 million in debt and equity securities in the fourth quarter, including eight new companies: Air Burners, Bobcat of Connecticut, GPS Insight, King Green, PIPCO, Sales Rabbit, NOMS Healthcare and CITCO Water. Source
  • Full-year investments reached $498.2 million: For 2025, Fidus invested $498.2 million across 20 new portfolio companies, compared with $74.5 million invested in the third quarter alone. Source
  • Repayments and realizations rose: Proceeds from repayments and realizations were $84.7 million in the quarter, up from $36.7 million in the third quarter. Full-year proceeds were $288.0 million. Source
  • Portfolio at $1.3 billion: The portfolio had 97 active companies, up from 92 at September 30, plus six companies that have sold their operations. Fair value was approximately 102.0% of cost basis. Source
  • Management expects decent deal activity: Management said it expects decent levels of deal activity in 2026. Source
  • Sponsor relationships guide origination: The plan is to build the portfolio deliberately, using sponsor relationships and industry knowledge. Source

Yields, fees and debt mix

  • Debt yield fell to 12.6%: The weighted average yield on debt investments was 12.6% at December 31, 2025, down from 13.0% at September 30, 2025. Source
  • Variable-rate debt share 75.3%: Debt at 58 portfolio companies bore variable rates: $890.1 million, or 75.3% of debt at fair value, up from 72.0% in September. Source
  • Average investment size rose: The average active portfolio company investment at amortized cost was $13.4 million, up from $12.6 million at September 30. Source
  • Fee income up on origination fees: Fee income rose $1.8 million in the quarter to $4.8 million, mainly from origination fees. Full-year fee income was $12.2 million. Source

Liquidity, debt and capital

  • Cash and undrawn capacity: At year-end the company held $70.0 million of cash, $9.6 million of restricted cash and $141.2 million of unused SPV facility capacity. Source
  • Equity, notes and SBA funding in 2025: The company received $79.3 million net from its at-the-market equity program and issued $200.0 million of March 2030 Notes, plus $91.0 million of SBA debentures. Source
  • Weighted average debt rate 5.2%: The weighted average interest rate on total debt was 5.2%, up from 4.9% at September 30. Source
  • Debt outstanding by instrument: Year-end debt included $237.5 million of SBA debentures, $125.0 million of 3.50% notes due November 2026, and $200.0 million of 6.75% notes due March 2030. Source

Dividends and net asset value

  • Q1 2026 dividend declared at $0.52: The board declared first-quarter 2026 dividends totaling $0.52 per share, made up of a $0.43 base and a $0.09 supplemental dividend. Source
  • 2025 dividends paid $2.15 per share: Dividends paid in 2025 included regular quarterly dividends of $1.72 and supplemental dividends of $0.43. Estimated spillover income was $1.01 per share. Source
  • Net asset value $19.55 per share: Net asset value was $741.9 million, or $19.55 per share, at December 31, 2025, against $19.33 a year earlier and $19.56 at September 30. Source

Subsequent events in early 2026

  • OpenBrand investment on January 28: Fidus invested $6.0 million in first lien debt and $1.0 million in preferred equity of Gap Intelligence Acquisition, LLC (dba OpenBrand), a market intelligence platform. Source
  • CIH Intermediate equity exit: On January 30, 2026, Fidus exited its preferred and common equity in CIH Intermediate with a realized gain of approximately $3.4 million. Source
  • SBA debentures issued in February: The company issued $30.0 million of additional SBA debentures, bearing an interim fixed rate of 4.587% until pooling in March 2026. Source
  • Early repayment of SBA debentures: The company repaid $5.0 million and $2.0 million of SBA debentures with weighted average rates of 5.439% and 5.861%. Source

Coming up, as management said on 26 February 2026

  • Q1 2026 dividend payable March 30: The $0.52 first-quarter dividend is payable March 30, 2026, to holders of record on March 20, 2026. Source
  • Interim SBA rate until March pooling: The February SBA debentures carry a 4.587% interim rate until the pooling date in March 2026. Source

Risks management discussed

  • Financial: Interest and financing expense rose $3.1 million in the quarter, reflecting higher borrowings and the cost of refinancing the 4.75% January 2026 notes. Source
  • Financial: Net realized loss was $(3.1) million in the quarter, compared with $(0.5) million a year earlier, and $(0.7) million for the full year. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: Management reiterated its commitment to growing net asset value over time. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.