Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp
NYSE:ACRE
Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp
Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp. engages in originating and investing in commercial real estate loans and related investments. The company is headquartered in New York City, New York and currently employs 2,100 full-time employees. The company went IPO on 2012-04-26. The firm is primarily engaged in originating and investing in commercial real estate loans and related investments. The firm operates through an operating segment primarily focused on directly originating and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate (CRE) debt-related investments for the Company’s own account. The Company’s investments include senior mortgage loans, subordinated debt, preferred equity, mezzanine loans and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities. These investments are generally held for investment and are secured, directly or indirectly, by office, multifamily, retail, industrial, lodging, self-storage, student housing, residential and other commercial real estate properties, or by ownership interests therein. The Company’s portfolio is externally managed by Ares Commercial Real Estate Management LLC (the Manager).
Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp. engages in originating and investing in commercial real estate loans and related investments. The company is headquartered in New York City, New York and currently employs 2,100 full-time employees. The company went IPO on 2012-04-26. The firm is primarily engaged in originating and investing in commercial real estate loans and related investments. The firm operates through an operating segment primarily focused on directly originating and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate (CRE) debt-related investments for the Company’s own account. The Company’s investments include senior mortgage loans, subordinated debt, preferred equity, mezzanine loans and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities. These investments are generally held for investment and are secured, directly or indirectly, by office, multifamily, retail, industrial, lodging, self-storage, student housing, residential and other commercial real estate properties, or by ownership interests therein. The Company’s portfolio is externally managed by Ares Commercial Real Estate Management LLC (the Manager).
Net Loss: Ares Commercial Real Estate reported a GAAP net loss of $1 million for 2025 and $4 million for the fourth quarter.
Distributable Earnings: Fourth quarter distributable earnings were $8 million, including a $2 million gain from a partial REO sale.
Office Loan Reduction: Office loan exposure was cut by 30% in 2025 to $447 million, now representing 28% of the total loan portfolio.
Portfolio Growth: The loan portfolio reached $1.6 billion, up 24% quarter-over-quarter, driven by $393 million in new Q4 loan commitments.
Dividend Maintained: The board declared a $0.15 per share dividend for Q1 2026, with a ~12% annualized yield.
Balance Sheet Strength: Liquidity exceeded $100 million at year-end, and net debt-to-equity rose to 1.6x, with a long-term target of 3.0x.
Risk Loan Focus: Management remains focused on resolving 5 remaining risk rated 4 and 5 loans, led by large positions in Chicago office and Brooklyn condo assets.
Outlook: Management expects a path toward earnings growth to support the dividend as risk assets are resolved and capital is redeployed.
