Cash conversion is erratic, with operating cash flow swinging from -$60.1M in 2024Q4 to $169.0M in 2024Q3 and dividends paid averaging roughly $28-30M per quarter, suggesting distributions depend heavily on episodic inflows.
Ladder Capital Corp (LADR) cash flow statement — 15-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 87.68M | 87.02M | 133.92M | 180.6M | 106.71M | 79.74M | 111.94M | 183.21M | 200.43M | 11.98M | 338.43M | -38.31M | 208.67M | 475.08M | -116.01M | 340.3M |
| Operating CF Growth % | 178.69% | -35.02% | -25.85% | 69.25% | 33.82% | -28.77% | -38.9% | -8.59% | 1572.37% | -96.46% | 983.46% | -118.36% | -56.08% | 509.53% | -134.09% | - |
| Operating CF / Revenue % | 22.86% | 22.18% | 26.2% | 34.39% | 19.63% | 22.26% | 31.26% | 36.5% | 33.37% | 2.62% | 85.83% | -8.81% | 53.3% | 130.97% | -40.06% | 236.8% |
| Net Income | 98.92M | 63.7M | 107.45M | 100.5M | 165.31M | 56.89M | -9.46M | 137M | 221.68M | 125.88M | 113.72M | 146.13M | 97.63M | 188.73M | 169.45M | 71.73M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 33.92M | 32M | 32.33M | 28.12M | 30.91M | 35.91M | 36.84M | 37.15M | 40.22M | 39.55M | 39.34M | 38.81M | 29.1M | 22.37M | 3.64M | 1.04M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 24.59M | 20.33M | 18.83M | 18.58M | 31.58M | 15.3M | 42.73M | 21.78M | 8.83M | 18.96M | 17.64M | 13.79M | 14.45M | 2.88M | 2.41M | 150.7K |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -78.42M | -11.65M | -16.79M | -2.21M | -150.69M | -30.03M | 78.98M | -11.4M | -85.23M | -168.71M | 180.95M | -226.04M | 79.68M | 224M | -284.39M | 263.86M |
| Working Capital Changes | 9.41M | -19.38M | -9.57M | 34.43M | 30.11M | 1.39M | -37.25M | -6.13M | 22.47M | -9.29M | -15.09M | -13.9M | -5.01M | 37.1M | -7.12M | 3.51M |
| Cash from Investing | -1.27B | -1.61B | 932.76M | 793.5M | 81.59M | -651.46M | 1.54B | -126.59M | -342.87M | -306.63M | 36.28M | 34.65M | -2.37B | -1.08B | 288.11M | -330.38M |
| Acquisitions (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Purchase of Investments | -1.48B | -1.98B | -912.29M | -143.95M | -97.27M | -247.09M | -440.81M | -1.7B | -775.96M | -212.53M | -988M | -757.31M | -2.16B | -1.2B | -435.06M | -1B |
| Sale of Investments | 928.73M | 947.72M | 312.76M | 254.2M | 195.75M | 609.68M | 1.09B | 1.36B | 453.48M | 1.22B | 1.29B | 1.11B | 954.9M | 584.91M | 1.23B | 954.4M |
| Other Investing | -712.69M | -579.25M | 1.53B | 683.48M | -16.89M | -1.01B | 896.72M | 223.61M | -12.61M | -1.3B | -258.6M | -311.34M | -1.16B | -468.14M | -506.68M | -282.71M |
| Cash from Financing | 828.36M | 227.04M | -796.59M | -557.77M | -150.24M | -91.02M | -725.67M | 200.68M | 58.2M | 387.9M | -448.08M | 22M | 2.16B | 640.35M | -211.27M | -12.56M |
| Dividends Paid | -147.4M | -117.41M | -117.71M | -116.42M | -107.01M | -100.55M | -118.89M | -144.53M | -122.77M | -100.08M | -67.17M | -39.93M | -369K | -93.64M | -73.16M | -43.98M |
| Common Dividends | -88.11M | -117.41M | -117.71M | -116.42M | -107.01M | -100.55M | -118.89M | -144.53M | -122.77M | -100.08M | -67.17M | -39.93M | -369K | -93.64M | -73.16M | -43.98M |
| Debt Issuance (Net) | 2M | 1000K | -1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | 1000K | -1000K |
| Share Repurchases | -9.76M | -11.75M | -6.53M | -2.48M | -7.92M | -9.01M | -3.04M | -637K | 0 | -2.59M | -4.65M | -994K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Financing | -353.48M | -20.67M | -27.55M | -11.78M | -49.02M | -6.96M | -42.35M | -34.13M | -43.34M | -79.5M | -47.02M | -79.76M | -78.8M | 98M | -816.25M | -90.52M |
| Net Change in Cash | -357.38M | -1.29B | 270.1M | 416.34M | 38.06M | -662.74M | 928.54M | 257.3M | -84.23M | 93.25M | -73.37M | 18.34M | -2.52M | 33.56M | -39.17M | -2.64M |
| Exchange Rate Effect | -4.64M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash at Beginning | 37.59M | 1.35B | 1.08B | 659.6M | 621.55M | 1.28B | 355.75M | 98.45M | 182.68M | 89.43M | 162.79M | 144.45M | 78.74M | 45.18M | 84.35M | 86.99M |
| Cash at End | 41.78M | 52.84M | 1.35B | 1.08B | 659.6M | 621.55M | 1.28B | 355.75M | 98.45M | 182.68M | 89.43M | 162.79M | 76.22M | 78.74M | 45.18M | 84.35M |
| Free Cash Flow | 87.66M | 87.02M | 133.92M | 180.6M | 106.71M | 79.74M | 111.94M | 183.21M | 200.43M | 11.98M | 338.43M | -38.31M | 208.67M | 475.08M | -116.36M | 338.98M |
| FCF Growth % | 574.74% | -35.02% | -25.85% | 69.25% | 33.82% | -28.77% | -38.9% | -8.59% | 1572.37% | -96.46% | 983.46% | -118.36% | -56.08% | 508.29% | -134.33% | - |
| FCF / Revenue % | 22.85% | 22.18% | 26.2% | 34.39% | 19.63% | 22.26% | 31.26% | 36.5% | 33.37% | 2.62% | 85.83% | -8.81% | 53.3% | 130.97% | -40.18% | 235.88% |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying LADR stock.
Ladder Capital Corp (LADR) generated $87.0M in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Ladder Capital Corp (LADR) generated $87.0M in free cash flow in 2025. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
Ladder Capital Corp (LADR) spent $0.0M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2025, Ladder Capital Corp (LADR) returned $117.4M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $11.8M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Dividend coverage volatility and FFO swings
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
AFFO Coverage Tightens in Recent Quarters
Based on LADR's reported quarterly figures, dividends paid exceeded AFFO in 2026Q2 and 2025Q4 at roughly 1.2x, while 2026Q3 coverage improved to 0.80x, indicating that distribution sustainability depends heavily on lumpy quarterly results.
The Div/AFFO ratio ranged from 0.70x in 2024Q2 to 2.65x in 2026Q1, a range too wide to treat any single quarter as representative of the dividend's underlying coverage. The 2026Q3 reading of 0.80x suggests a retained AFFO buffer that may have been absent in the preceding two quarters, but one favorable quarter does not establish a trend. Investors should monitor whether AFFO stabilizes above dividend levels across multiple quarters before drawing firm conclusions about payout durability.
FFO-to-Operating Cash Conversion Is Erratic
According to the reported figures, LADR's operating cash flow swung from negative $60.1M in 2024Q4 to $169.0M in 2024Q3 and negative $8.0M in 2026Q1, suggesting that conduit loan sale timing drives cash generation more than recurring earnings.
FFO-to-NI ratios reaching 6.05x in 2024Q3 and negative values in several quarters indicate that net income is a poor proxy for cash earnings in this business. The divergence between FFO and operating cash flow in quarters such as 2024Q4 and 2025Q1 may reflect working capital movements tied to loan originations and sales rather than core earnings deterioration. Analysts should treat quarterly OCF as directional only and anchor assessments to multi-quarter AFFO trends.
GAAP Earnings Diverge From Distributable Results
Based on LADR's reported figures, 2026Q2 net income of $14.6M sat against FFO of $23.9M, while 2026Q1 net income of $2.6M contrasted with FFO of $11.5M, suggesting non-cash charges weigh on GAAP earnings.
The consistent gap between reported net income and FFO in recent quarters is consistent with depreciation, amortization, and CECL reserve movements depressing GAAP results without affecting cash generation. This pattern supports the prior statement analysis finding that the 2026Q2 EPS miss may reflect non-cash pressure rather than core deterioration. However, the inference rests on quarterly data alone and warrants verification against the underlying 10-Q reconciliation before being treated as established.
Dividend Dependence on Capital Markets Unclear
Based on LADR's reported quarterly figures, dividends paid averaged roughly $28-30M per quarter across the ten periods while FCF was negative in four of them, raising questions about how the gap was funded.
When operating cash flow turned negative in 2024Q4, 2025Q1, and 2026Q1, dividend obligations of approximately $29-31M per quarter had to be met from other sources, which the provided data does not disclose. Investors should monitor financing activity, including any equity issuance or debt draws, to determine whether distributions are being sustained by balance sheet reserves rather than earned cash flow. The available data does not allow a conclusion on this point.
Share-Based Compensation Rises Sharply in 2026Q1
As reported in financial statements, LADR's stock-based compensation jumped to $14.2M in 2026Q1 from $3.1M in 2025Q4, a step-change that appears material relative to quarterly AFFO of roughly $11-25M.
A spike of this magnitude in one quarter may reflect vesting or award timing rather than a sustained change in compensation intensity, but the data alone cannot confirm which. Because SBC is a non-cash charge, it affects GAAP earnings more than distributable cash, yet it dilutes shareholders over time and should be considered when evaluating per-share AFFO. Investors should monitor whether this level recurs.
Reported Cash Strength May Overstate Durability
Based on LADR's reported figures, the strongest quarters of 2024Q3 and 2026Q2 reflect episodic cash inflows, and the 2026Q3 AFFO coverage improvement rests on a single quarter, so the cash flow picture may be less stable than headline results suggest.
The 2024Q3 operating cash flow of $169.0M appears to be an outlier relative to the surrounding quarters, and excluding it would materially change the apparent conversion profile. Recent AFFO coverage improvement to 0.80x in 2026Q3 may not persist if conduit sale timing reverses, which the provided data cannot rule out. Investors should treat the favorable recent quarter as a hypothesis to test against subsequent reporting rather than as evidence of a durable shift in payout capacity.