NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 2026--
CION Investment Corporation $(CION)$ ("CION" or the "Company") today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2025 and filed its Form 10-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
CION also announced that, on March 9, 2026, its co-chief executive officers declared base distributions of $0.10 per share for each of April, May, and June 2026, which will be payable to shareholders on April 24, May 29, and June 26, 2026, respectively, to shareholders of record as of April 10, May 15, and June 12, 2026, respectively.
FOURTH QUARTER AND OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
-- Net investment income and earnings per share for the quarter ended
December 31, 2025 were $0.35 per share and $(0.80) per share,
respectively;
-- Net asset value per share was $13.76 as of December 31, 2025 compared
to $14.86 as of September 30, 2025, a decrease of $1.10 per share, or
7.4%. The decrease was primarily due to mark-to-market price adjustments
to certain investments in the Company's equity portfolio during the
quarter ended December 31, 2025;
-- As of December 31, 2025, the Company had $1.14 billion of total
principal amount of debt outstanding, of which 35% was comprised of
senior secured bank debt and 65% was comprised of unsecured debt. The
Company's net debt-to-equity ratio was 1.44x as of December 31, 2025
compared to 1.28x as of September 30, 2025;
-- As of December 31, 2025, the Company had total investments at fair
value of $1.70 billion in 89 portfolio companies across 22 industries.
The investment portfolio was comprised of 80.8% in first lien
investments;1
-- During the quarter, the Company funded new investment commitments of
$66 million, funded previously unfunded commitments of $12 million, and
had sales and repayments totaling $79 million, resulting in a net
decrease to the Company's funded portfolio of $1 million;
-- As of December 31, 2025, investments on non-accrual status amounted to
1.78% and 4.32% of the total investment portfolio at fair value and
amortized cost, respectively, compared to 1.75% and 4.08%, respectively,
as of September 30, 2025;
-- During the quarter, the Company repurchased 555,652 shares of its
common stock under its 10b5-1 trading plan at an average price of $9.37
per share for a total repurchase amount of $5.2 million. Through December
31, 2025, the Company repurchased a total of 5,540,574 shares of its
common stock under its 10b5-1 trading plan at an average price of $10.02
per share for a total repurchase amount of $55.5 million;
-- On December 16, 2025, the Company entered into a note purchase
agreement with certain institutional investors in connection with the
Company's issuance of $172.5 million aggregate principal amount of its
senior unsecured notes, consisting of (i) $125 million in aggregate
principal amount of its 7.70% fixed rate senior unsecured notes due 2029
and (ii) $47.5 million in aggregate principal amount of its 7.41% fixed
rate senior unsecured notes due 2027;
-- On December 29, 2025, the Company fully repaid all outstanding
principal and interest on and otherwise satisfied all its obligations
under its $125 million 2026 Notes using a portion of the net proceeds
from the Company's issuance of the senior unsecured notes on December 16,
2025; and
-- On February 9, 2026, the Company completed a public baby bond offering
in the U.S. pursuant to which the Company issued $135 million in
aggregate principal amount of its 7.50% fixed rate senior unsecured notes
due 2031, which listed and commenced trading on the NYSE under the ticker
symbol "CICC" on February 12, 2026.
DISTRIBUTIONS
-- For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, the Company paid a quarterly
base distribution totaling $18.6 million, or $0.36 per share, on December
15, 2025 to shareholders of record as of December 1, 2025; and
-- On January 6, 2026, the Company's co-chief executive officers declared
base distributions of $0.10 per share for each of January, February, and
March 2026, which were paid or will be payable to shareholders on January
30, February 27, and March 27, 2026, respectively, to shareholders of
record as of January 16, February 13, and March 13, 2026, respectively.
Michael A. Reisner, co-Chief Executive Officer of CION, commented:
"We believe that our core first lien portfolio, which represents approximately 81% of our investments, continues to perform well -- weighted average interest coverage increased to 2.26 times from 1.94 times in the prior quarter. We also believe that our intentionally low software exposure of 1.8% reflects the defensive construction of our book. While fourth quarter NAV was impacted by unrealized mark-to-market adjustments in a handful of equity positions, we successfully raised $307.5 million in unsecured debt capital during and subsequent to the quarter, and we remain confident in the durability of our first lien focused strategy heading into 2026."
SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
As of
-----------------------------------------
(in thousands, except per
share data and ratios) December 31, 2025 September 30, 2025
------------------------------ ------------------- --------------------
Investment portfolio, at fair
value(1) $ 1,696,980 $ 1,738,184
Total debt outstanding(2) $ 1,139,844 $ 1,092,344
Net assets $ 707,628 $ 772,506
Net asset value per share $ 13.76 $ 14.86
Debt-to-equity 1.61x 1.41x
Net debt-to-equity 1.44x 1.28x
Three Months Ended
-------------------------------------------
(in thousands, except
share and per share
data) December 31, 2025 September 30, 2025
-------------------------- ------------------- ----------------------
Total investment income $ 53,792 $ 78,711
Total operating expenses
and income tax expense $ 35,493 $ 40,144
Net investment income
after taxes $ 18,299 $ 38,567
Net realized gains
(losses) $ 118 $ (9,605)
Net unrealized (losses)
gains $ (59,537) $ 6,916
Net (decrease) increase in
net assets resulting from
operations $ (41,120) $ 35,878
Net investment income per
share $ 0.35 $ 0.74
Net realized and
unrealized losses per
share $ (1.15) $ (0.05)
Earnings per share $ (0.80) $ 0.69
Weighted average shares
outstanding 51,616,723 52,065,707
Distributions declared per
share $ 0.36 $ 0.36
Total investment income for the three months ended December 31, 2025 and September 30, 2025 was $53.8 million and $78.7 million, respectively. The decrease in total investment income was primarily driven by lower interest income earned as a result of certain investment restructurings and lower transaction fees earned from origination and restructuring activities during the quarter ended December 31, 2025 compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2025.
Operating expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2025 and September 30, 2025 were $35.5 million and $40.1 million, respectively. The decrease in operating expenses was driven primarily by lower advisory fees due to lower total investment income during the quarter ended December 31, 2025 compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2025.
PORTFOLIO AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY(1)
A summary of the Company's investment activity for the three months ended December 31, 2025 is as follows:
New Investment
Commitments Sales and Repayments
------------------------- ------------------------
$ in % $ in %
Investment Type Thousands of Total Thousands of Total
---------------- ------------- ---------- ------------- ---------
Senior secured
first lien
debt $ 71,064 93 % $ 79,128 100 %
Collateralized
securities and
structured
products -
equity 1,003 1 % -- --
Equity 4,206 6 % -- --
--------- ---------- --------- ---------
Total $ 76,273 100 % $ 79,128 100 %
--------- ---------- --------- ---------
During the three months ended December 31, 2025, new investment commitments were made across 1 new and 14 existing portfolio companies. During the same period, the Company received the full repayment on investments in 2 portfolio companies and wrote-off the remaining investment in 1 portfolio company. As a result, the number of portfolio companies decreased from 91 as of September 30, 2025 to 89 as of December 31, 2025.
PORTFOLIO SUMMARY(1)
As of December 31, 2025, the Company's investments consisted of the following:
Investments at Fair Value
-----------------------------
$ in %
Investment Type Thousands of Total
------------------------------------------ ---------------- -----------
Senior secured first lien debt $ 1,370,525 80.8 %
Senior secured second lien debt -- --
Collateralized securities and structured
products - equity 5,028 0.3 %
Unsecured debt 6,639 0.4 %
Equity 314,788 18.5 %
------------ -----------
Total $ 1,696,980 100.0 %
------------ -----------
The following table presents certain selected information regarding the Company's investments:
As of
-------------------------------------
December 31, 2025 September 30, 2025
----------------- ------------------
Number of portfolio companies 89 91
Percentage of performing loans
bearing a floating rate(3) 88.7 % 89.3 %
Percentage of performing loans
bearing a fixed rate(3) 11.3 % 10.7 %
Yield on debt and other income
producing investments at
amortized cost(4) 10.72 % 10.85 %
Yield on performing loans at
amortized cost(4) 11.29 % 11.42 %
Yield on total investments at
amortized cost 9.15 % 9.31 %
Weighted average leverage (net
debt/EBITDA)(5) 4.70x 5.15x
Weighted average interest
coverage(5) 2.26x 1.94x
Median EBITDA(6) $35.9 million $34.6 million
As of December 31, 2025, investments on non-accrual status represented 1.78% and 4.32% of the total investment portfolio at fair value and amortized cost, respectively. As of September 30, 2025, investments on non-accrual status represented 1.75% and 4.08% of the total investment portfolio at fair value and amortized cost, respectively.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had $1,140 million of total principal amount of debt outstanding, comprised of $400 million of outstanding borrowings under its senior secured credit facilities and $740 million of unsecured notes and term loans. The combined weighted average interest rate on debt outstanding was 7.35% for the quarter ended December 31, 2025. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had $124 million in cash and short-term investments and $100 million available under its financing arrangements.(2)
EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL
CION will host an earnings conference call on Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 11:00 am Eastern Time to discuss its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2025. Please visit the Investor Resources - Earnings Presentation section of the Company's website at www.cionbdc.com for a slide presentation that complements the earnings conference call.
All interested parties are invited to participate via telephone or listen via the live webcast, which can be accessed by clicking the following link: CION Investment Corporation Fourth Quarter and Year-End Conference Call. Domestic callers can access the conference call by dialing (877) 484-6065. International callers can access the conference call by dialing +1 (201) 689-8846. All callers are asked to dial in approximately 10 minutes prior to the call. An archived replay will be available on a webcast link located in the Investor Resources - Earnings Call section of CION's website.
ENDNOTES
1. The discussion of the investment portfolio excludes short-term
investments.
2. Total debt outstanding excludes netting of debt issuance costs of $14.3
million and $13.8 million as of December 31, 2025 and September 30, 2025,
respectively.
3. The fixed versus floating rate composition has been calculated as a
percentage of performing debt investments measured on a fair value basis,
including income producing preferred stock investments and excludes
investments, if any, on non-accrual status.
4. Computed based on the (a) annual actual interest rate or yield earned
plus amortization of fees and discounts on the performing debt and other
income producing investments as of the reporting date, divided by (b) the
total performing debt and other income producing investments (excluding
investments on non-accrual status) at amortized cost. This calculation
excludes exit fees that are receivable upon repayment of the investment.
5. For a particular portfolio company, the Company calculates the level of
contractual indebtedness net of cash ("net debt") owed by the portfolio
company and compares that amount to measures of cash flow available to
service the net debt. To calculate net debt, the Company includes debt
that is both senior and pari passu to the tranche of debt owned by it but
excludes debt that is legally and contractually subordinated in ranking
to the debt owned by the Company. The Company believes this calculation
method assists in describing the risk of its portfolio investments, as it
takes into consideration contractual rights of repayment of the tranche
of debt owned by the Company relative to other senior and junior
creditors of a portfolio company. The Company typically calculates cash
flow available for debt service at a portfolio company by taking EBITDA
for the trailing twelve-month period. Weighted average net debt to EBITDA
is weighted based on the fair value of the Company's performing debt
investments and excluding investments where net debt to EBITDA may not be
the appropriate measure of credit risk, such as cash collateralized loans
and investments that are underwritten and covenanted based on recurring
revenue. For a particular portfolio company, the Company also
calculates the level of contractual interest expense owed by the
portfolio company and compares that amount to EBITDA ("interest coverage
ratio"). The Company believes this calculation method assists in
describing the risk of its portfolio investments, as it takes into
consideration contractual interest obligations of the portfolio company.
Weighted average interest coverage is weighted based on the fair value of
the Company's performing debt investments, and excludes investments where
interest coverage may not be the appropriate measure of credit risk, such
as cash collateralized loans and investments that are underwritten and
covenanted based on recurring revenue. Portfolio company statistics,
including EBITDA, are derived from the financial statements most recently
provided to the Company for each portfolio company as of the reported end
date. Statistics of the portfolio companies have not been independently
verified by the Company and may reflect a normalized or adjusted amount.
6. Median EBITDA is calculated based on the portfolio company's EBITDA as
of the Company's initial investment.
CĪON Investment Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
December 31, 2025 September 30, 2025
------------------- ----------------------
(unaudited)
Assets
Investments, at fair
value:
Non-controlled,
non-affiliated
investments (amortized
cost of $1,238,358 and
$1,272,011,
respectively) $ 1,158,985 $ 1,204,003
Non-controlled,
affiliated investments
(amortized cost of
$360,895 and $339,972,
respectively) 364,335 363,771
Controlled investments
(amortized cost of
$342,843 and
$298,172,
respectively) 289,670 272,810
-------------- ---------------
Total investments,
at fair value
(amortized cost of
$1,942,096 and
$1,910,155,
respectively) 1,812,990 1,840,584
Cash 8,159 3,931
Interest receivable on
investments 27,979 31,192
Receivable due on
investments sold and
repaid 3,699 5,218
Prepaid expenses and other
assets 1,973 3,019
-------------- ---------------
Total assets $ 1,854,800 $ 1,883,944
============== ===============
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Liabilities
Financing arrangements
(net of unamortized debt
issuance costs of $14,263
and $13,822,
respectively) $ 1,125,580 $ 1,078,522
Payable for investments
purchased 2,529 9,277
Accounts payable and
accrued expenses 785 1,154
Interest payable 5,764 6,194
Accrued management fees 6,423 6,571
Accrued subordinated
incentive fee on income 3,882 8,181
Accrued administrative
services expense 2,182 1,499
Share repurchases payable 27 40
-------------- ---------------
Total liabilities 1,147,172 1,111,438
-------------- ---------------
Shareholders' Equity
Common stock, $0.001 par
value; 500,000,000 shares
authorized; 51,420,629
and
51,975,626 shares issued,
and 51,417,866 and
51,973,518 shares
outstanding,
respectively 51 52
Capital in excess of par
value 1,004,496 1,009,701
Accumulated distributable
losses (296,919) (237,247)
-------------- ---------------
Total shareholders'
equity 707,628 772,506
-------------- ---------------
Total liabilities and
shareholders' equity $ 1,854,800 $ 1,883,944
============== ===============
Net asset value per share
of common stock at end of
period $ 13.76 $ 14.86
--------------------------- ============== ===============
CĪON Investment Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
Three Months Ended December Year Ended
31, December 31,
----------------------------- ----------------------------
2025 2024 2025 2024
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
(unaudited) (unaudited)
Investment income
Non-controlled,
non-affiliated
investments
Interest income $ 26,919 $ 31,289 $ 123,768 $ 165,786
Paid-in-kind
interest
income 4,525 11,586 29,782 31,397
Fee income 4,159 3,754 9,447 9,865
Dividend income 407 371 2,660 5,855
Non-controlled,
affiliated
investments
Interest income 3,225 2,095 8,550 6,426
Paid-in-kind
interest
income 3,018 2,810 13,627 11,692
Fee income 275 50 975 3,648
Dividend income 4,645 282 5,645 411
Controlled
investments
Interest income 2,920 3,584 30,896 12,970
Paid-in-kind
interest
income 3,385 -- 5,821 --
Fee income 314 2,073 9,650 4,382
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Total investment
income 53,792 57,894 240,821 252,432
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Operating expenses
Management fees 6,422 6,762 26,076 27,321
Administrative
services expense 1,480 1,261 5,180 4,783
Subordinated
incentive fee on
income 3,882 3,963 19,736 20,334
General and
administrative 1,456 1,859 6,334 7,157
Interest expense 22,253 25,244 90,540 96,870
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Total operating
expenses 35,493 39,089 147,866 156,465
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net investment
income before
taxes 18,299 18,805 92,955 95,967
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Income tax expense
(benefit),
including excise
tax -- 119 (85) 107
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net investment
income after
taxes 18,299 18,686 93,040 95,860
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Realized and
unrealized gains
(losses)
Net realized gains
(losses) on:
Non-controlled,
non-affiliated
investments 118 (5,383) (39,569) (24,367)
Non-controlled,
affiliated
investments -- 3,145 -- (3,946)
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net realized gains
(losses) 118 (2,238) (39,569) (28,313)
Net change in unrealized
(depreciation) appreciation on:
Non-controlled,
non-affiliated
investments (13,489) 1,124 (42,242) (8,218)
Non-controlled,
affiliated
investments (17,202) (4,358) 10,757 5,059
Controlled
investments (28,846) (7,756) (42,617) (30,486)
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net change in
unrealized
depreciation (59,537) (10,990) (74,102) (33,645)
Net realized and
unrealized losses (59,419) (13,228) (113,671) (61,958)
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net (decrease)
increase in net
assets resulting
from operations $ (41,120) $ 5,458 $ (20,631) $ 33,902
========== ========== ========== ==========
Per share
information--basic
and diluted
Net (decrease)
increase in net
assets per share
resulting from
operations $ (0.80) $ 0.10 $ (0.39) $ 0.63
========== ========== ========== ==========
Net investment
income per share $ 0.35 $ 0.35 $ 1.78 $ 1.79
========== ========== ========== ==========
Weighted average
shares of common
stock outstanding 51,616,723 53,268,577 52,341,612 53,564,788
========== ========== ========== ==========
ABOUT CION INVESTMENT CORPORATION
CION Investment Corporation is a leading publicly listed business development company that had approximately $1.9 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2025. CION seeks to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation for investors by focusing primarily on senior secured loans to U.S. middle-market companies. CION is advised by CION Investment Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser and an affiliate of CION. For more information, please visit www.cionbdc.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should, " "expect," "anticipate," "project," "target," "estimate," "intend," "continue," or "believe" or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss CION's plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning its business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. These statements represent CION's belief regarding future events that, by their nature, are uncertain and outside of CION's control. There are likely to be events in the future, however, that CION is not able to predict accurately or control. Any forward-looking statement made by CION in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause CION's actual results to differ, possibly materially from its expectations, include, but are not limited to, the risks, uncertainties and other factors CION identifies in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in filings CION makes with the SEC, and it is not possible for CION to predict or identify all of them. CION undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
OTHER INFORMATION
The information in this press release is summary information only and should be read in conjunction with CION's Annual Report on Form 10-K, which CION filed with the SEC on March 12, 2026, as well as CION's other reports filed with the SEC. A copy of CION's Annual Report on Form 10-K and CION's other reports filed with the SEC can be found on CION's website at www.cionbdc.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
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CONTACT: Media and Investor Relations
general@cioninvestments.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 12, 2026 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT)