Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

The stock split is back in fashion. Yet a small club of high-priced names has refused to play along for decades, even as peers embrace splits to court retail investors.

Four stand out: AutoZone (NYSE: AZO | AZO Price Prediction) has not split since its 1991 IPO, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has not split since 2000, NVR (NYSE: NVR) has never split, and TransDigm (NYSE: TDG) has historically returned capital through special dividends. None has announced a split or telegraphed board action. The ranking below counts down from the most entrenched holdout to the one most likely to budge.

4. NVR: The Permanent Holdout The homebuilder carries the highest absolute share price of the four, closing at $6,032.82 on May 26, 2026, with a market cap of roughly $16.3 billion. Q1 2026 was rough: EPS of $67.76 missed the $79.20 consensus estimate, with revenue down 22% year over year and homebuilding settlements off 22%.

CEO Eugene Bredow personally bought 60 shares at $5,776.15 on May 14, 2026, and 80 shares at $6,262.53 on May 6. When insiders happily write four-figure checks per share, splitting the float is not on the agenda. NVR also just authorized a fresh $750 million share buyback. Capital return runs entirely through repurchases.

3. AutoZone: 30+ Years of Stubborn The specialty retailer trades at $3,100.11 a share, down 19.0% over the past year, with a market cap near $51.4 billion and a trailing P/E of 22x. Q3 FY2026 delivered EPS of $38.07 versus $36.17 expected, with revenue up 8.4% year over year.

CEO Phil Daniele has not entertained a split publicly. Capital allocation is all buyback: $586.3 million repurchased in Q3 at $3,582 per share, with $804.2 million remaining. Cumulative buybacks since 1998 hit $38.9 billion, leaving shareholders’ equity negative. There is no dividend program. AutoZone treats a high share price as a deliberate strategic feature. The case for a split is purely cosmetic; the case against it is institutional inertia.

2. TransDigm: The Special-Dividend School The aerospace manufacturer’s stock closed at $1,226, with a market cap of $68.6 billion and a forward P/E of 38x. Q2 FY2026 was strong: adjusted EPS of $9.85 versus $9.31 expected, revenue up 18.3% year over year, and EBITDA margin of 52.6%. Management raised FY2026 guidance to sales of $10.30 billion to $10.42 billion.

TransDigm’s identity centers on M&A and large one-time special dividends over retail-friendly optics. CEO Mike Lisman is busy closing deals, including the recently completed $2.20 billion Jet Parts Engineering and Victor Sierra acquisition, and the pending $960 million Stellant transaction. The lowest share price of the four softens any urgency. A split is conceivable only if leadership decides to court a broader retail base, which is not the current playbook.

1. Goldman Sachs: The Most Plausible Candidate Goldman Sachs closed at $994.52, up 66.2% over the past year, with a market cap of roughly $293 billion. Q4 2025 delivered EPS of $14.01 versus $11.76 expected, a 19.13% beat. Management raised the dividend 12.5% to $4.50 per share, and the firm bought back $12.36 billion of stock in 2025, with roughly $32 billion in capacity remaining.

CEO David Solomon told shareholders the firm has grown “revenues by 60%, improved returns by 500 basis points and delivered total shareholder returns of more than 340%” since its first Investor Day, and expects momentum to “accelerate in 2026.” Goldman has the lowest absolute share price of the four, a retail-investor-facing brand, an active dividend program, and broad employee stock compensation that benefits from a friendlier per-share quote. Prediction markets show zero contracts tracking a Goldman split, and management has signaled nothing.

Key Takeaway for Investors Splits are cosmetic. Market cap, intrinsic value, and fundamentals are unchanged by reslicing the pie. What can shift is retail demand, options accessibility, and short-term sentiment. None of these four companies has announced or signaled a split. Among them, Goldman Sachs carries the cleanest combination of dividend culture, brand recognition, and an employee comp structure that would benefit from a more accessible share price. If any of the four finally budges, the smart money looks to 200 West Street first.

The housing market remains a focal point for investors, making the choice between Lennar (LEN +5.68%)and D.R. Horton (DHI +5.26%)a critical decision for those seeking exposure to residential construction.

Lennar focuses on high-tech homebuilding and financial services, while D.R. Horton maintains its position as the nation's largest builder by volume. Both companies must navigate high interest rates and shifting demographics, but they utilize different land-acquisition strategies and product mixes to capture demand in a changing economic landscape.

The case for LennarLennar operates as a major homebuilder with a geographic footprint spanning 26 states, including high-growth markets in Florida, Texas, and California. The company delivered more than 82,500 new homes in 2025, serving a wide range of buyers from first-time homeowners to luxury clients. It also operates segments for mortgage loans and title insurance, which integrate the home-buying experience for its customers.

In FY 2025, revenue reached nearly $34.2 billion. This figure represented a decrease of approximately 3.5% compared to the previous year, reflecting broader market shifts in the housing industry. Net income for the period was close to $2.1 billion, resulting in a net margin of roughly 6.1%, which measures the percentage of revenue remaining after all expenses are paid.

As of its November 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio was approximately 0.3x. This ratio measures total debt relative to shareholder equity, indicating the company maintains a conservative level of leverage. The current ratio, which measures the ability to pay short-term debts with short-term assets, was roughly 3.1x. Free cash flow, or the cash remaining after capital expenditures, was nearly $28.2 million. Note that stock-based compensation accounted for roughly 75.4% of operating cash flow, thereby inflating reported cash generation, since SBC is a non-cash expense added back in the cash flow statement.

The case for D.R. HortonD.R. Horton is the largest homebuilder in the United States by volume, operating in 126 markets across 36 states. The company focuses heavily on the entry-level market, providing affordable options for buyers who are often sensitive to pricing and interest rates. Its massive scale provides a competitive advantage when participating among consumer discretionary stocks by allowing for better negotiations with suppliers and subcontractors.

For FY 2025, revenue was approximately $34.3 billion. This was a decline of nearly 6.9% compared to the prior year, as the builder faced a more challenging interest rate environment. Despite the revenue dip, the company reported net income of roughly $3.6 billion. This resulted in a net margin of approximately 10.5%, highlighting the company's ability to maintain profitability even during periods of lower volume.

As of its September 2025 balance sheet, the current ratio stood at close to 17.4x. Its debt-to-equity ratio was roughly 0.2x, suggesting the company carries a low amount of debt compared to its equity base. Free cash flow for the year totaled approximately $3.3 billion, providing significant flexibility for shareholder returns or future land acquisitions. Note that stock-based compensation was not a major factor in its cash flow reporting for this period.

Risk profile comparisonLennar faces risks related to the cyclical nature of the housing market, where inflation and interest rates can suddenly dampen demand. The company relies on a land-light strategy that uses options, which could be disrupted if land banks fail to honor contracts or face financial distress. Competition from other large builders, such as PulteGroup(PHM +4.65%) and NVR(NVR +2.77%), also puts pressure on Lennar to maintain its pricing power and delivery schedules.

D.R. Horton is similarly exposed to interest rate volatility, which directly impacts the affordability of its entry-level homes. The company also faces supply chain risks, including shortages of materials such as lumber or drywall, which can delay construction and increase costs. It competes for market share with firms such as KB Home(KBH +4.12%) and Toll Brothers(TOL +5.98%), requiring constant investment in new land and labor to maintain its leading volume position.

Valuation comparisonD.R. Horton appears slightly cheaper based on future earnings estimates, though Lennar offers a more attractive valuation based on its total sales volume.

MetricLennarD.R. HortonSector BenchmarkForward P/E14.5x13.7x29.6xP/S ratio0.7x1.2xSector benchmark uses the SPDR XLY sector ETF.
Valuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.

The success of homebuilders depends on many factors, including mortgage rates, affordability concerns, and homebuyers’ willingness to purchase in an uncertain economy. Both D.R. Horton and Lennar face the same challenges and offer similar products. The question is, which company has the more effective strategy?

D.R. Horton has an asset-light land strategy. Unlike the traditional homebuilding model of buying land, developing it, and then selling homes, Horton uses options agreements and partners with developers to buy lots as needed, so its capital isn’t tied up in land ownership. This works well in uncertain housing markets because there’s less risk of sitting on property that won’t sell.

Lennar is also worth considering, however. It’s one of the largest homebuilders in the country and has rewarded its shareholders through buybacks and dividends. It’s a cyclical industry, and if mortgage rates decline and housing demand rises, the entire homebuilding industry should benefit, including Lennar.

If I were choosing between the two today, however, I’d pick D.R. Horton. This company appears to have a better plan to handle an uncertain market. Horton's stronger cash flow and capital efficiency should continue to benefit shareholders. If the housing market improves, both companies could grow. But if conditions remain challenging, I'd rather own the company that appears better positioned to weather the downturn.

Paper gains don't pay the bills; real income does. Income investments can fund your lifestyle without dismantling your assets. Financial independence means getting paid, not selling.

Gladstone Land (LAND - Free Report) has been beaten down lately with too much selling pressure. While the stock has lost 19.6% over the past four weeks, there is light at the end of the tunnel as it is now in oversold territory and Wall Street analysts expect the company to report better earnings than they predicted earlier.

We use Relative Strength Index (RSI), one of the most commonly used technical indicators, for spotting whether a stock is oversold. This is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and change of price movements.

RSI oscillates between zero and 100. Usually, a stock is considered oversold when its RSI reading falls below 30.

Technically, every stock oscillates between being overbought and oversold irrespective of the quality of their fundamentals. And the beauty of RSI is that it helps you quickly and easily check if a stock's price is reaching a point of reversal.

So, by this measure, if a stock has gotten too far below its fair value just because of unwarranted selling pressure, investors may start looking for entry opportunities in the stock for benefiting from the inevitable rebound.

However, like every investing tool, RSI has its limitations, and should not be used alone for making an investment decision.

Here's Why LAND Could Experience a TurnaroundThe RSI reading of 29.02 for LAND is an indication that the heavy selling could be in the process of exhausting itself, so the stock could bounce back in a quest for reaching the old equilibrium of supply and demand.

This technical indicator is not the only factor that calls for a potential rebound for the stock. There is a fundamental indicator as well. A strong agreement among sell-side analysts covering LAND in raising earnings estimates for the current year has led to an increase in the consensus EPS estimate by 26.5% over the last 30 days. And an upward trend in earnings estimate revisions usually translates into price appreciation in the near term.

Moreover, LAND currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which means it is in the top 20% of more than 4,000 stocks that we rank based on trends in earnings estimate revisions and EPS surprises. This is a more conclusive indication of the stock's potential turnaround in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 6th, 2026

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR – Get Free Report) and Gladstone Land (NASDAQ:LAND – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility Whitestone REIT has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gladstone Land has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership 69.5% of Whitestone REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.6% of Gladstone Land shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Whitestone REIT shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.2% of Gladstone Land shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability This table compares Whitestone REIT and Gladstone Land’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Whitestone REIT 31.04% 11.23% 4.34% Gladstone Land 15.31% 2.01% 1.08% Dividends Whitestone REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Gladstone Land pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Whitestone REIT pays out 60.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Gladstone Land pays out -466.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Whitestone REIT has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Gladstone Land has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Gladstone Land is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Whitestone REIT and Gladstone Land, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Whitestone REIT 0 1 6 1 3.00 Gladstone Land 0 3 1 0 2.25 Whitestone REIT currently has a consensus target price of $16.80, suggesting a potential upside of 1.47%. Gladstone Land has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.29%. Given Whitestone REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Whitestone REIT is more favorable than Gladstone Land.

Earnings and Valuation This table compares Whitestone REIT and Gladstone Land”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Whitestone REIT $160.86 million 5.29 $49.93 million $0.95 17.43 Gladstone Land $88.34 million 4.88 $13.53 million ($0.12) -86.17 Whitestone REIT has higher revenue and earnings than Gladstone Land. Gladstone Land is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Whitestone REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary Whitestone REIT beats Gladstone Land on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Whitestone REIT (Get Free Report)

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities. The Company believes its strong community connections and deep tenant relationships are key to the success of its current centers and its acquisition strategy.

About Gladstone Land (Get Free Report)

Founded in 1997, Gladstone Land is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires and owns farmland and farm-related properties located in major agricultural markets in the U.S. and leases its properties to unrelated third-party farmers. The Company, which reports the aggregate fair value of its farmland holdings on a quarterly basis, currently owns 169 farms, comprised of approximately 116,000 acres in 15 different states and over 45,000 acre-feet of banked water in California, valued at a total of approximately $1.6 billion. Gladstone Land’s farms are predominantly located in regions where its tenants are able to grow fresh produce annual row crops, such as berries and vegetables, which are generally planted and harvested annually. The Company also owns farms growing permanent crops, such as almonds, apples, cherries, figs, lemons, olives, pistachios, and other orchards, as well as blueberry groves and vineyards, which are generally planted every 20-plus years and harvested annually. Approximately 40% of the Company’s fresh produce acreage is either organic or in transition to become organic, and over 10% of its permanent crop acreage falls into this category. The Company may also acquire property related to farming, such as cooling facilities, processing buildings, packaging facilities, and distribution centers. Gladstone Land pays monthly distributions to its stockholders and has paid 129 consecutive monthly cash distributions on its common stock since its initial public offering in January 2013. The Company has increased its common distributions 32 times over the prior 35 quarters, and the current per-share distribution on its common stock is $0.0464 per month, or $0.5568 per year.

Receive News & Ratings for Whitestone REIT Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Whitestone REIT and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

« PREVIOUS HEADLINENeoleukin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NLTX) & Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME) Critical Contrast

NEXT HEADLINE »Critical Contrast: Magnite (NASDAQ:MGNI) & Cloudastructure (NASDAQ:CSAI)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 10th, 2026

Accordant Advisory Group Inc cut its holdings in Gladstone Land Corporation (NASDAQ:LAND – Free Report) by 49.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 125,383 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Land comprises 0.8% of Accordant Advisory Group Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Accordant Advisory Group Inc owned approximately 0.35% of Gladstone Land worth $1,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gladstone Land by 1,521.9% during the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 266,414 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,440,000 after buying an additional 249,988 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gladstone Land by 570.2% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 283,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,597,000 after buying an additional 241,231 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gladstone Land by 16.5% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 698,201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,396,000 after buying an additional 98,781 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gladstone Land by 58,781.4% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 98,332 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 98,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gladstone Land by 141.1% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 108,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,145,000 after buying an additional 63,702 shares in the last quarter. 53.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth LAND has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Gladstone Land from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gladstone Land from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gladstone Land has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.00.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Gladstone Land

Gladstone Land Stock Performance Shares of NASDAQ LAND opened at $10.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.91. Gladstone Land Corporation has a 52 week low of $8.47 and a 52 week high of $13.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.39 million, a PE ratio of -85.99 and a beta of 1.23.

Gladstone Land (NASDAQ:LAND – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.35). Gladstone Land had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 2.01%. The company had revenue of $41.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 million. Analysts predict that Gladstone Land Corporation will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gladstone Land Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 23rd were given a $0.0467 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 23rd. Gladstone Land’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -466.67%.

Gladstone Land Company Profile (Free Report)

Gladstone Land Corporation (NASDAQ: LAND) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the acquisition and ownership of farmland in the United States. Established in 2013 and headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, the company focuses on purchasing high-quality agricultural properties and leasing them to farmers under long‐term, triple‐net lease agreements. This model provides tenants with operational flexibility while generating stable, recurring rental income for investors.

The company’s portfolio spans several key agricultural regions across the country, including California, the Midwest, and parts of the Southeast.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Gladstone Land Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LAND? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Gladstone Land Corporation (NASDAQ:LAND – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Gladstone Land Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Gladstone Land and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

« PREVIOUS HEADLINESL Green Realty Corporation $SLG Holdings Decreased by Aberdeen Group plc

NEXT HEADLINE »Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Gladstone Land's common shares have likely fully discounted higher rates and are poised to benefit from long-term farmland demand and potential soft commodity rebounds. The preferreds, yielding around 7.2%, remain attractive but are less compelling than at peak spreads; management's capital allocation has supported preferred performance. We expect common shares to outperform as the company halts below-NAV issuance and as farmland fundamentals improve.

Please note that the limited information that follows in this press release is a summary and is not adequate for making an informed investment decision.

MCLEAN, VA / ACCESS Newswire / May 11, 2026 / Gladstone Land Corporation (Nasdaq:LAND) ("Gladstone Land" or the "Company") today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. A description of funds from operations ("FFO"), core FFO ("CFFO"), and adjusted FFO ("AFFO"), all non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles in the United States) financial measures, appear at the end of this press release. All per-share references are to fully-diluted, weighted-average shares of common stock, unless noted otherwise. For further detail, please refer to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the "Form 10-Q"), which is available on the Investors section of the Company's website at www.GladstoneLand.com.

First Quarter 2026 Activity:

Timing Shift in Earnings Recognition: For the 2026 crop year, three of our farms remain under modified lease agreements that include reduced or eliminated fixed base rent and, in some cases, provide cash lease incentives to tenants in exchange for significantly higher participation rent components. We also continue to operate two properties (consisting of four farms) under management agreements with third-party operators. Collectively, these properties are referred to as our "Repositioned Farms," reflecting a temporary shift toward greater participation-based revenues. These arrangements result in a shift in the timing of revenue recognition and increase our reliance on participation rents, which are generally recognized once crop results are known, typically in the fourth quarter. Consequently, consistent with 2025, a substantial majority of our 2026 revenue and earnings is expected to be recognized in the fourth quarter.

Portfolio Activity:

Participation Rents: Recorded approximately $4.9 million of participation rent revenue, compared to approximately $465,000 in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to a partial early bonus payment received from one of our processors related to the 2025 pistachio crop (the "Early 2025 Pistachio Bonus Payment") on certain of our Repositioned Farms. Typically, this bonus payment would be received in late 2026 or early 2027; however, a portion was received early, with the remaining portion still expected to be paid on the normal schedule.

Crop Sales: Recorded net income from crop sales on direct-operated farms of approximately $1.9 million, primarily driven by the Early 2025 Pistachio Bonus Payment.

Debt Activity:

Redemption of Series D Term Preferred Stock: Redeemed all outstanding shares of our 5.00% Series D Cumulative Term Preferred Stock (the "Series D Term Preferred Stock") for approximately $60.6 million, including accrued dividends.

Interest Patronage: Recorded approximately $1.4 million of interest patronage, or refunded interest, related to our 2025 borrowings from various Farm Credit associations. Total 2025 interest patronage resulted in a 21.0% reduction (approximately 95 basis points) to the interest rate on such borrowings.

Equity Activity:

Common Stock- ATM Program: Sold 3,744,263 shares of our common stock for net proceeds of approximately $36.7 million under our "at-the-market" sales program (the "ATM Program").

Repurchase Program: Repurchased a total of 123,897 shares of our 6.00% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (the "Series B Preferred Stock") and our 6.00% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (the "Series C Preferred Stock") at an average repurchase price of $19.92 per share for a total gain on repurchase of approximately $325,000.

Paid Distributions: Paid monthly cash distributions totaling $0.1401 per share of common stock during the quarter ended March 31, 2026.

First Quarter 2026 Results:

Net loss for the quarter was approximately $4.3 million, compared to net income of approximately $15.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Net loss attributable to common stockholders during the quarter was approximately $10.0 million, or $0.24 per share, compared to net income attributable to common stockholders of approximately $9.1 million, or $0.25 per share, in the prior-year quarter. AFFO for the quarter was approximately $3.1 million, or $0.08 per share, compared to approximately $2.0 million, or $0.06 per share, in the prior-year quarter. Common stock dividends declared were approximately $0.14 per share for both periods.

Total cash lease revenues decreased by approximately $351,000, primarily due to a $2.4 million reduction in fixed base cash rents resulting from lost revenues associated with farms sold over the past year and farms that were either placed on non-accrual status, transitioned to direct operations, or remain vacant, as well as a termination fee of approximately $2.4 million recorded during the prior-year period. These decreases were largely offset by an increase in participation rent of approximately $4.4 million, primarily attributable to receipt of the Early 2025 Pistachio Bonus Payment.

In connection with our direct farming operations, during the current quarter, we recorded approximately $1.9 million of net income from crop sales, primarily attributable to the Early 2025 Pistachio Bonus Payment. The related growing costs for the 2025 crop were previously recognized during the three months ended December 31, 2025. We expect to recognize additional revenue from the 2025 pistachio harvest as remaining marketing bonus payments are settled later in 2026.

Aggregate related-party fees decreased by approximately $35,000 during the current quarter, primarily due to a lower base management fee as a result of property sales over the past year. Excluding related-party fees, recurring cash operating expenses increased by approximately $786,000, driven by higher property operating expenses, including additional costs incurred to provide supplemental water to one of our properties in accordance with its lease, as well as higher legal expenses related to protecting water rights on certain farms in California. General and administrative expenses increased by approximately $101,000 due to higher professional fees. Interest expense also declined as a result of debt repayments made over the past year, as well as the redemption of our Series D Term Preferred Stock on January 30, 2026.

Cash flows from operations for the current quarter increased by approximately $4.8 million compared to the prior-year quarter, primarily due to higher cash receipts from participation rents and crop sales, partially offset by the receipt of a termination fee in the prior-year period, as noted above.

Subsequent to March 31, 2026:

Debt Activity-New Farm Credit Facility: Entered into a new revolving line of credit with Farm Credit of Central Florida, ACA, that provides for borrowings of up to $37.0 million (the "Farm Credit Facility"). The Farm Credit Facility matures on April 1, 2030, and borrowings thereunder bear interest at a variable rate equal to the prime rate less 0.50%, prior to the effect of any interest patronage.

Equity Activity:

Registration Statement: Filed a new registration statement (which the SEC declared effective on April 23, 2026), permitting us to issue up to an aggregate of $1.0 billion of securities over the next three years.

Common Stock- ATM Program: Sold 1,377,392 shares of our common stock for net proceeds of approximately $14.1 million.

Repurchase Program: Repurchased a total of 171,283 shares of our Series B Preferred Stock and Series C Preferred Stock at an average repurchase price of $20.53 per share for a total gain on repurchase of approximately $346,000.

Second Quarter Distributions: Declared monthly cash distributions of $0.0467 per share of common stock for each of April, May, and June (totaling $0.1401 per share of common stock for the quarter).

Comments from David Gladstone, President and CEO of Gladstone Land: "We had a successful 2025 harvest on the farms where we oversee the growing operations, although the full financial impact has not yet been reflected in our results, as a significant portion of the revenue from the 2025 pistachio harvest is expected to be recognized later in 2026 following the completion of the marketing period. Market trends for pistachios and almonds, our two primary nut crop exposures on our Repositioned Farms, remain favorable, with strong demand and stable-to-improved year-over-year pricing for both crops. We view the recent lease modifications as temporary and continue to target a return to more traditional lease structures that include fixed base rents. In the meantime, we remain focused on enhancing the long-term viability of our farms by pursuing opportunities to acquire additional water resources at below-market prices, further strengthening water security for our farms and growers. Our balance sheet remains in excellent condition, with nearly 100% of our outstanding debt at fixed interest rates. We also continue to maintain strong liquidity, including over $145 million in immediately available capital and more than $110 million in unencumbered properties that could be pledged as additional collateral, if needed."

Quarterly Summary Information
(Dollars in thousands, except per-share amounts)

For and As of the Quarters Ended

Change

Change

3/31/2026

3/31/2025

($ / #)

(%)

Operating Data:

Total operating revenues

$

16,552

$

16,804

$

(252

)

(1.5

)%

Total operating expenses

(16,601

)

(13,127

)

(3,474

)

26.5

%

Other (expense) income, net

(4,256

)

11,431

(15,687

)

(137.2

)%

Net (loss) income

$

(4,305

)

$

15,108

$

(19,413

)

(128.5

)%

Less: Aggregate dividends declared on and gains on or charges related to extinguishment of cumulative redeemable preferred stock, net(1)

(5,680

)

(6,002

)

322

(5.4

)%

Net (loss) income attributable to common stockholders

(9,985

)

9,106

(19,091

)

(209.7

)%

Plus: Real estate and intangible depreciation and amortization

10,370

8,429

1,941

23.0

%

Plus (less): Losses (gains) on dispositions of real estate assets, net

459

(15,410

)

15,869

(103.0

)%

Plus: Impairment charges

884

-

884

-

%

Adjustments for unconsolidated entities(2)

59

14

45

321.4

%

FFO available to common stockholders

1,787

2,139

(352

)

(16.5

)%

Plus: Acquisition- and disposition-related expenses, net

30

21

9

42.9

%

Plus: Other nonrecurring charges, net(3)

126

173

(47

)

(27.2

)%

CFFO available to common stockholders

1,943

2,333

(390

)

(16.7

)%

Net adjustment for normalized cash rents(4)

1,196

(792

)

1,988

(251.0

)%

Plus: Amortization of debt issuance costs

149

365

(216

)

(59.2

)%

(Less) plus: Other non-cash (receipts) charges, net(5)

(184

)

129

(313

)

(242.6

)%

AFFO available to common stockholders

$

3,104

$

2,035

$

1,069

52.5

%

Share and Per-Share Data:

Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, fully diluted

40,856,330

36,184,658

4,671,672

12.9

%

Diluted net (loss) income per weighted-average common share

$

(0.244

)

$

0.252

$

(0.496

)

(197.1

)%

Diluted FFO per weighted-average common share

$

0.044

$

0.059

$

(0.015

)

(26.0

)%

Diluted CFFO per weighted-average common share

$

0.048

$

0.064

$

(0.017

)

(26.2

)%

Diluted AFFO per weighted-average common share

$

0.076

$

0.056

$

0.020

35.1

%

Cash distributions declared per common share

$

0.140

$

0.140

$

0.000

-

%

Balance Sheet Data:

Net investments in real estate and related assets, at cost(6)

$

1,143,781

$

1,204,803

$

(61,022

)

(5.1

)%

Total assets

$

1,203,712

$

1,281,736

$

(78,024

)

(6.1

)%

Total indebtedness(7)

$

486,030

$

561,339

$

(75,309

)

(13.4

)%

Total equity

$

688,325

$

698,878

$

(10,553

)

(1.5

)%

Total common shares outstanding (fully diluted)

41,759,181

36,184,658

5,574,523

15.4

%

Other Data:

Cash flows from operations

$

9,295

$

4,467

$

4,828

108.1

%

Farms owned

144

150

(6

)

(4.0

)%

Acres owned

98,688

103,001

(4,313

)

(4.2

)%

Occupancy rate(8)

94.9

%

95.9

%

(1.0

)%

(1.0

)%

Acre-feet of water assets owned

55,649

55,350

299

0.5

%

(1) Includes cash dividends paid on our cumulative redeemable preferred stock and the net gain (loss) recognized as a result of shares of cumulative redeemable preferred stock that were redeemed.
(2) Represents our pro-rata share of depreciation expense recorded in unconsolidated entities.
(3) Consists primarily of (i) net property and casualty losses (recoveries) recorded and the cost of related repairs expensed as a result of damage to improvements on certain of our farms caused by certain non-recurring events, (ii) one-time legal costs incurred related to certain corporate organizational matters, (iii) costs incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2026, related to the redemption of our Series D Term Preferred Stock, and (iv) for 2025 only, the capital gains fee recorded during the three months ended March 31, 2025.
(4) This adjustment removes the effects of straight-lining rental income, as well as the amortization related to above-market lease values and certain non-cash lease incentives and accretion related to below-market lease values, deferred revenue, and tenant improvements, resulting in rental income reflected on a modified accrual cash basis. The effect to AFFO is that cash rents received pertaining to a lease year are normalized over that respective lease year on a straight-line basis, resulting in cash rent being recognized ratably over the period in which the cash rent is earned.
(5) Consists of (i) the net (gain) loss recognized as a result of shares of cumulative redeemable preferred stock that were redeemed, which were non-cash (gains) charges, (ii) our remaining pro-rata share of (income) loss recorded from investments in unconsolidated entities, and (iii) (less) plus net non-cash (income) expense recorded as a result of additional water assets (received) used in certain transactions.
(6) Consists of the initial acquisition price (including the costs allocated to both tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed), plus subsequent improvements and other capitalized costs associated with the properties, and adjusted for accumulated depreciation and amortization and impairment charges, if any.
(7) Consists of the principal balances outstanding on all indebtedness, including our lines of credit, notes and bonds payable, and, as of March 31, 2025, only, our Series D Term Preferred Stock, which was redeemed in full on January 30, 2026.
(8) Based on farmable acreage; includes direct-operated farms.

Conference Call for Stockholders: The Company will hold a conference call on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss its earnings results. Please call (877) 407-9046 to join the conference call. An operator will monitor the call and set a queue for any questions. A conference call replay will be available after the call and will be accessible through May 19, 2026. To hear the replay, please dial (877) 660-6853, and use playback conference number 13759087. The live audio broadcast of the Company's conference call will also be available online on the Investors section of the Company's website, www.GladstoneLand.com.

About Gladstone Land Corporation:

Founded in 1997, Gladstone Land is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns farmland and farm-related properties located in major agricultural markets in the U.S. The Company currently owns 144 farms, comprised of approximately 99,000 acres in 14 different states and nearly 56,000 acre-feet (or over 18.1 billion gallons) of water assets in California. Gladstone Land's farms are predominantly located in regions where its tenants are able to grow fresh produce annual row crops, such as berries and vegetables, which are generally planted and harvested annually. The Company also owns farms growing permanent crops, such as almonds, blueberries, figs, olives, pistachios, and wine grapes, which are generally planted every 20-plus years and harvested annually. Gladstone Land pays monthly distributions to its stockholders and has paid 159 consecutive monthly cash distributions on its common stock since its initial public offering in January 2013. The current per-share distribution on its common stock is $0.0467 per month, or $0.5604 per year. Additional information, including detailed information about each of the Company's farms, can be found at www.GladstoneLand.com.

Owners or brokers who have farmland for sale in the U.S. or those looking to buy farms should contact:

Western U.S. - Bill Reiman at (805) 263-4778 or [email protected];

Midwestern U.S. and Mid-Atlantic U.S. - Joey Van Wingerden at (703) 287-5914 or [email protected]; or

Southeastern U.S. - Brett Smith at (904) 687-5284 or [email protected].

Lenders who are interested in providing us with long-term financing on farmland should contact Jay Beckhorn at (703) 587-5823 or [email protected].

For stockholder information on Gladstone Land, call (703) 287-5893. For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of the monthly dividend-paying Gladstone funds, please visit www.GladstoneCompanies.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

FFO: The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT") developed FFO as a relative non-GAAP supplemental measure of operating performance of an equity REIT in order to recognize that income-producing real estate historically has not depreciated on the basis determined under GAAP. FFO, as defined by NAREIT, is net income (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains (or losses) from sales of property and impairment losses on property, plus depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. The Company believes that FFO per share provides investors with an additional context for evaluating its financial performance and as a supplemental measure to compare it to other REITs; however, comparisons of its FFO to the FFO of other REITs may not necessarily be meaningful due to potential differences in the application of the NAREIT definition used by such other REITs.

CFFO: CFFO is FFO, adjusted for items that are not indicative of the results provided by the Company's operating portfolio and affect the comparability of the Company's period-over-period performance. These items include certain non-recurring items, such as acquisition- and disposition-related expenses, the net incremental impact of operations conducted through our taxable REIT subsidiary, income tax provisions, and property and casualty losses or recoveries. Although the Company's calculation of CFFO differs from NAREIT's definition of FFO and may not be comparable to that of other REITs, the Company believes it is a meaningful supplemental measure of its sustainable operating performance. Accordingly, CFFO should be considered a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. For a full explanation of the adjustments made to arrive at CFFO, please read the Form 10-Q, filed today with the SEC.

AFFO: AFFO is CFFO, adjusted for certain non-cash items, such as the straight-lining of rents and amortizations into or against rental income (resulting in cash rent being recognized ratably over the period in which the cash rent is earned). Although the Company's calculation of AFFO differs from NAREIT's definition of FFO and may not be comparable to that of other REITs, the Company believes it is a meaningful supplemental measure of its sustainable operating performance on a cash basis. Accordingly, AFFO should be considered a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. For a full explanation of the adjustments made to arrive at AFFO, please read the Form 10-Q, filed today with the SEC.

A reconciliation of FFO (as defined by NAREIT), CFFO, and AFFO (each as defined above) to net income (loss), which the Company believes is the most directly-comparable GAAP measure for each, and a computation of fully-diluted net income (loss), FFO, CFFO, and AFFO per weighted-average share is set forth in the Quarterly Summary Information table above. The Company's presentation of FFO, CFFO, or AFFO, does not represent cash flows from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered an alternative to net income as an indication of its performance or to cash flow from operations as a measure of liquidity or ability to make distributions.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Certain statements in this press release, including, but not limited to, the Company's ability to maintain or grow its portfolio and FFO, expected increases in capitalization rates, benefits from increases in farmland values, increases in operating revenues, and the increase in NAV per share, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements inherently involve certain risks and uncertainties, although they are based on the Company's current plans that are believed to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to procure financing for investments, downturns in the current economic environment, the performance of its tenants, the impact of competition on its efforts to renew existing leases or re-lease real property, and significant changes in interest rates. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by its forward-looking statements are disclosed under the caption "Risk Factors" within the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, as amended, as filed with the SEC on April 7, 2026, and certain other documents filed with the SEC from time to time. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Gladstone Land Corporation, (703) 287-5893

SOURCE: Gladstone Land Corporation

2 hours ago

IDEX Corporation $IEX Stock Position Cut by Weitz Investment Management Inc.Weitz Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 391,475 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1

NYSE:IEX

Read IDEX Corporation $IEX Stock Position Cut by Weitz Investment Management Inc.

2 hours ago

Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH Shares Sold by Weitz Investment Management Inc.MarketBeat

Weitz Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,750 shares of the medical research company's stock after s

NYSE:LH

Read Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH Shares Sold by Weitz Investment Management Inc.

2 hours ago

Weitz Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Perimeter Solutions, SA $PRMMarketBeat

Weitz Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Perimeter Solutions, SA (NYSE:PRM - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 509,400 shares of the c

NYSE:PRM

Read Weitz Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Perimeter Solutions, SA $PRM

2 hours ago

Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR Shares Sold by Weitz Investment Management Inc.MarketBeat

Weitz Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) by 99.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 650 shares of the company's stock after selling 101

NASDAQ:CHTR

Read Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR Shares Sold by Weitz Investment Management Inc.

2 hours ago

Weitz Investment Management Inc. Boosts Position in Roper Technologies, Inc. $ROPMarketBeat

Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Roper Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROP - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,550 shares of the industrial products company's stock a

NASDAQ:ROP

Read Weitz Investment Management Inc. Boosts Position in Roper Technologies, Inc. $ROP

2 hours ago

Weitz Investment Management Inc. Has $36.02 Million Stock Position in Analog Devices, Inc. $ADIMarketBeat

Weitz Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,800 shares of the semicond

NASDAQ:ADI

Read Weitz Investment Management Inc. Has $36.02 Million Stock Position in Analog Devices, Inc. $ADI

Sort By

Time Frame

Alert Type

Keywords

Page 1 of 321

Gladstone Land is navigating severe agricultural headwinds by restructuring leases and recapitalizing its balance sheet. LAND's shift from fixed-base rents to participation-based leases increases earnings volatility but supports tenant viability amid industry stress. A $500 million share issuance and ongoing asset sales are focused on deleveraging and capital preservation, with acquisitions paused.

MCLEAN, VA / ACCESS Newswire / June 2, 2026 / Gladstone Land Corporation (NASDAQ:LAND) (the "Company") announced that George "Chip" Stelljes, III has been elected to the 2028 class of directors for the Company, effective June 1, 2026. Mr. Stelljes has also been appointed to serve on the Company's Compensation Committee, Ethics, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee and Valuation Committee. In connection with Mr. Stelljes' appointment, the size of the Company's board of directors has been expanded from seven to eight directors. Mr. Stelljes was selected to serve as a director due to his more than twenty-five years of experience in the investment analysis, management, and advisory industries.

"We are excited to strengthen our board with the appointment of Chip Stelljes," said David Gladstone, CEO of the Company and Chairman of its board of directors. "His prior service with the Gladstone companies and his deep experience in private equity fund investment will be a valuable asset to the Company as we continue to grow."

Mr. Stelljes is currently the managing partner of St. John's Capital, LLC, a vehicle used to make private equity investments. From 2001 to 2013, Mr. Stelljes held various senior positions with the Gladstone Companies, including serving as the chief investment officer, president and a director of Gladstone Capital Corporation, Gladstone Investment Corporation, Gladstone Commercial Corporation, and Gladstone Management Corporation. Prior to his service at the Gladstone companies, for 23 years, Mr. Stelljes served in a variety of roles at multiple private equity and venture capital funds, including Patriot Capital, Camden Partners, and Columbia Capital as well as Allied Capital.

Mr. Stelljes is currently the chairman of the board of directors of Equalize Community Development Fund, a closed-end investment company that operates as an interval fund and an independent director of Oxford Square Capital Corporation, a publicly-traded, closed-end management investment company. He is also a former board member and regional president of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies. Mr. Stelljes holds an MBA from the University of Virginia and a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University

About Gladstone Land Corporation:
Founded in 1997, Gladstone Land is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns farmland and farm-related properties located in major agricultural markets in the U.S. The Company currently owns 144 farms, comprised of approximately 99,000 acres in 14 different states and nearly 56,000 acre-feet (or over 18.1 billion gallons) of water assets in California. Gladstone Land's farms are predominantly located in regions where its tenants are able to grow fresh produce annual row crops, such as berries and vegetables, which are generally planted and harvested annually. The Company also owns farms growing permanent crops, such as almonds, blueberries, figs, olives, pistachios, and wine grapes, which are generally planted every 20-plus years and harvested annually. Gladstone Land pays monthly distributions to its stockholders and has paid 159 consecutive monthly cash distributions on its common stock since its initial public offering in January 2013. The current per-share distribution on its common stock is $0.0467 per month, or $0.5604 per year. Additional information, including detailed information about each of the Company's farms, can be found at www.GladstoneLand.com.

Owners or brokers who have farmland for sale in the U.S. or those looking to buy farms should contact:

Western U.S. - Bill Reiman at (805) 263-4778 or [email protected];

Midwestern U.S. and Mid-Atlantic U.S. - Joey Van Wingerden at (703) 287-5914 or [email protected]; or

Southeastern U.S. - Brett Smith at (904) 687-5284 or [email protected].

Lenders who are interested in providing us with long-term financing on farmland should contact Jay Beckhorn at (703) 587-5823 or [email protected].

For stockholder information on Gladstone Land, call (703) 287-5893. For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of the monthly dividend-paying Gladstone funds, please visit www.GladstoneCompanies.com.

About the Gladstone Companies:
Information on the business activities of all the Gladstone family of funds can be found at www.gladstonecompanies.com.

CONTACT: For further information: Gladstone Land Corporation, (703) 287-5893

SOURCE: Gladstone Land Corporation

Many income-oriented investors prefer stocks that pay monthly dividends rather than quarterly dividends. You pay your bills monthly. Why not have a monthly cash flow as well to even out your finances?

Two of the best monthly dividend payers are Gladstone Land (LAND 1.21%) and Realty Income (O 0.32%). Both are real estate investment trusts (REITs), an asset class known for paying above-average dividends. Tax law requires REITs to pay at least 90% of their net income in dividends.

An added bonus of the two real estate companies is their stability, especially in times of economic uncertainty. Realty Income performs well in downturns because many of its tenants are retailers focused on basic needs, such as 7-Eleven and Dollar General stores, as well as CVS and Walgreens pharmacies. Gladstone is inherently stable because its tenants grow the crops you eat, a need that is growing as the world population increases.

Here are the best reasons to buy each stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

Gladstone Land: Farmland is a great inflation hedge Gladstone Land owns and leases farmland, which has historically been a reliable hedge against inflation. The supply of arable land is steadily decreasing, thanks to urban expansion, while global food demand continues to rise. Gladstone specializes in leasing acreage for fresh produce, such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts, rather than commodity crops like corn or soy. The demand for fresh groceries remains high, and Gladstone is sheltered from global commodity price shocks.

More than half of Gladstone's parcels are in California, where irrigated cropland has increased in value by 260% over the past 25 years. It has properties in 14 states, which gives it diversification in case of drought or other weather factors.

Today's Change

(

-1.21

%) $

-0.11

Current Price

$

9.00

Gladstone pays out a dividend that yields around 6% annually at its current share price, and that dividend is delivered monthly. Gladstone has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years, and raised it 35 times over the past 45 quarters, for a total increase of 55.7%. One concern, albeit a temporary one, is that its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) payout ratio in the first quarter was 184.2%. Some of its clients, feeling a credit pinch, have switched to cash-based accounting, meaning their payments won't come until the fourth quarter.

In Q1, the company reported adjusted funds from operations of $0.076 per share, up 35.1% year over year. Revenue fell 1.5% over the same period last year, to $16.5 million. Gladstone's occupancy levels are consistently high, at 94.9% in fiscal 2026's Q1. The company has strengthened its finances and reduced its total debt by 13.4% year over year in Q1.

Realty Income's strong balance sheet Realty Income is one of only a handful of U.S. REITs to command a premier A-/A3 investment-grade credit rating. This high rating is a competitive advantage, giving it access to cheap capital even in restrictive credit environments.

Realty Income recently formed a strategic partnership with Apollo Global Management, securing a $1 billion investment backed by institutional private capital. This deep pool of liquidity allows the company to aggressively fund its massive pipeline -- recently raising its full-year 2026 investment guidance to $9.5 billion.

In Q1, Realty Income reported AFFO per share of $1.13, up 6.6% year over year. Revenue was $1.55 billion, up 12% over the same period a year ago.

Today's Change

(

-0.32

%) $

-0.20

Current Price

$

61.91

Realty Income provides a monthly dividend, with a current yield of around 5.3%. It has also increased its dividend for 114 consecutive quarters and for 31 consecutive years. Its dividends are also well-covered, with a 71.7% AFFO payout ratio.

The company owns 15,500 properties located in all 50 U.S. states, the United Kingdom, and eight other European countries, and 98.9% of those properties were occupied as of the end of Q1.

That diversity, spread across multiple tenants, industries, and geographies, insulates the company against downturns. When older leases expired during the quarter, Realty Income re-leased those spaces at a 103.4% rent recapture rate, demonstrating strong pricing power and the structural health of its underlying real estate.

A relatively easy choice Gladstone has a more enticing dividend yield, but it currently isn't as well-covered as Realty Income's. While both stocks have low volatility, over the past five years, Realty Income's monthly beta is only 0.76, compared to 1.07 for Gladstone.

Realty Income also has a longer track record of dividend increases. Combined with lower volatility, it is the clear winner of the two.

Nice (NICE - Free Report) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.

Over the past month, shares of this software company have returned -3.4%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.5% change. During this period, the Zacks Internet - Software industry, which Nice falls in, has lost 4%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?

While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.

Earnings Estimate RevisionsRather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company's earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.

Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.

For the current quarter, Nice is expected to post earnings of $2.63 per share, indicating a change of -12.6% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -0.4% over the last 30 days.

For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $11.1 points to a change of -9.8% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed +2.1%.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $12.64 indicates a change of +13.9% from what Nice is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +1.5%.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Nice.

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Revenue Growth ForecastWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.

For Nice, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $767.17 million indicates a year-over-year change of +5.6%. For the current and next fiscal years, $3.18 billion and $3.49 billion estimates indicate +7.9% and +9.7% changes, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryNice reported revenues of $768.62 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +9.8%. EPS of $2.64 for the same period compares with $2.87 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $761.09 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +0.99%. The EPS surprise was +4.76%.

The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.

ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.

Comparing the current value of a company's valuation multiples, such as its price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), to its own historical values helps ascertain whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, whereas comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of how reasonable its stock price is.

The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

Nice is graded A on this front, indicating that it is trading at a discount to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Nice. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

HOBOKEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NiCE (Nasdaq: NICE) today announced NiCE World 2026, taking place June 8–10 at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin in Orlando, Florida. NiCE World is for enterprises that are moving past AI experimentation and into execution at scale. At this year's event, NiCE will unveil groundbreaking advances to its CX AI platform and agentic AI portfolio, giving attendees a front-row view of where enterprise CX is heading. Leaders from Citi, Hyatt, Fabletics, Aetna, Briti.

The artificial intelligence boom has produced two very different winners in the software space. Choosing between SoundHound AI (SOUN +3.70%) and NICE (NICE 0.23%) requires weighing explosive revenue growth against steady, billion-dollar profitability.

SoundHound AI focuses on voice-enabled interactions for cars, restaurants, and smart devices, while NICE dominates the back-end of customer service through its cloud-based contact center platforms. Both companies are integrating advanced AI to automate human tasks and improve efficiency. This comparison evaluates their financials and risk profiles for retail investors looking at 2026.

The case for SoundHound AISoundHound AI ranks among the faster-growing tech stocks because of its specialized focus on conversational software. The company develops tools that allow users to speak naturally to devices like cars and restaurant kiosks. By targeting the automotive and retail industries, it aims to replace traditional touchscreens with agentic AI. For the year ended December 31, 2025, no single customer accounted for more than 10% of total revenues.

In its 2025 fiscal year (FY), revenue reached $168.9 million, representing a growth rate of 99.4% compared to the previous year. The company reported a net loss of $14.0 million for the period, which is a significant improvement from the $350.7 million loss in FY 2024. This trend shows a rapid scaling of the business as it expands its footprint. Explosive growth indicates high demand for voice automation as businesses look to lower labor costs.

As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the company carries a debt-to-equity ratio of zero. This ratio compares total debt to shareholder equity, showing that the company has no debt. The current ratio is 4.6x, a figure that measures the ability to cover short-term debts. The company did not report positive free cash flow for 2025. Free cash flow equals the cash a company generates from its operations minus what it spends on physical assets.

The case for NICENICE provides cloud-based software that helps large corporations manage their customer service operations and contact centers. Its platform uses artificial intelligence to route calls, provide self-service options, and analyze customer sentiment in real time. The company serves over 25,000 customers worldwide across banking, telecommunications, and healthcare. By focusing on the customer experience market, NICE aims to automate repetitive tasks that usually require human agents. This established presence allows it to cross-sell new AI features to a massive existing base of users.

During FY 2025, NICE generated revenue of $2.9 billion, a growth of roughly 7.7% over the prior year. The company achieved net income of $612.1 million, showcasing a high level of profitability compared to younger software enterprises. Its net margin, which is the percentage of revenue remaining after all expenses are paid, was 20.8%. This performance continues a multi-year trend of expanding net margins and steady top-line growth.

The balance sheet for December 2025 shows a debt-to-equity ratio of zero. This indicates that total debt does not exceed shareholder equity and the firm relies very little on external borrowing. The current ratio is approximately 1.6x, a figure that measures its capacity to pay off short-term liabilities. Free cash flow for the year reached nearly $703.2 million. Free cash flow equals the cash a company generates from its operations minus what it spends on physical assets like equipment.

Risk profile comparisonSoundHound AI faces intense competition from large technology firms, such as Amazon and its comparable Alexa product, that have vast resources for AI development. The voice software market is also subject to rapidly changing regulations, such as the EU AI Act, which could increase legal and compliance costs. Additionally, the business relies heavily on the automotive industry, which is cyclical and prone to economic downturns. There is also the risk of AI hallucinations, where the software provides inaccurate information, potentially damaging the company's brand reputation.

NICE competes in a crowded customer service software market against well-funded incumbents like Salesforce. While its cloud transition is well underway, the company must continue to innovate to prevent its older product lines from being disrupted by newer startups. The industry also faces pressure from Amazon, which offers competing contact center tools. Any slowdown in corporate IT spending could lead to longer sales cycles and reduced demand for high-end analytics platforms.

Valuation comparisonNICE appears significantly more affordable than SoundHound AI when comparing their P/S ratio and Forward P/E, which measure price against revenue and future earnings estimates.

MetricSoundHound AINICESector BenchmarkForward P/En/a8.4x40.4xP/S ratio20.2x1.9xSector benchmark uses the SPDR XLK sector ETF. Valuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.

When deciding whether to invest in SoundHound AI or NICE, a few factors jump out as key considerations. SoundHound is the younger organization, and a native AI company. In addition, its sales are rising rapidly. In the first quarter, SoundHound reported a jaw-dropping 52% year-over-year revenue increase to $44.2 million. However, some of that growth is due to acquisitions, and the company isn’t profitable with a Q1 net loss of $25 million.

NICE is an industry veteran, established in 1986, so it is not a native AI operation. That said, it has built a formidable business, and it’s incorporating AI into its platform.

NICE’s Q1 sales of $768.6 million exceeded the top end of its guidance and was an increase over the prior year’s $700.2 million, demonstrating it continues to see business expansion. It’s also a profitable business with Q1 net income of $46.8 million.

Although I invested in SoundHound some time ago, I believe NICE is the better stock to buy in 2026. That’s because SoundHound’s growth is fueled in part by acquisitions, yet those acquired businesses led to higher operating costs and an erosion in its margins.

Meanwhile, NICE’s Q1 results demonstrate its business remains solid after many decades in operation. It may not have the explosive growth SoundHound is showing, but it also doesn’t entail the risk. Also, its stock valuation is far lower, as illustrated by its P/S ratio, indicating it is the better value.

Leveraging NICE Actimize X–Sight platform, the collaboration unifies DNB's financial crime systems into an intelligence driven, cloud-native platform

, /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in AI-first business consulting and technology services, today announced the expansion of its strategic collaboration with DNB Bank ASA (DNB), Norway's largest bank, to modernize its Financial Crime (FinCrime) operations using NICE Actimize X-Sight Enterprise platform. Through this engagement, Infosys will help DNB transform fragmented, legacy systems into a unified, intelligence-driven, cloud-native platform that enhances risk insights, improves detection accuracy, and strengthens multi-jurisdiction regulatory compliance.

As the systems integration partner, Infosys will in collaboration with DNB lead the end-to-end modernization of the bank's FinCrime technology landscape, including enterprise architecture design, platform integration, and data migration. It will consolidate key functions including customer and payment screening, customer due diligence, and transaction and fraud monitoring onto a single, scalable SaaS platform with unified enterprise case management.

Leveraging its expertise in transforming anti-FinCrime systems, Infosys will implement NICE Actimize X-Sight platform, a secure and scalable system that supports seamless data integration, advanced analytics, and intelligent automation. Infosys will integrate X-Sight's key solutions for anti-money laundering and fraud to provide DNB with a holistic view of customer risk visibility and improve detection of complex and evolving financial crime patterns. By implementing the platform's AI-driven capabilities, Infosys will deliver value at scale, enabling advanced automation and laying the groundwork for continuous innovations, including intelligent orchestration and AI-assisted investigations. This will enhance detection accuracy, accelerate investigations with actionable insights, and improve DNB's response time to regulatory demands, future-proofing its financial crime controls.

Elin Sandnes, COO and Group Executive Vice President Technology & Services, DNB, said, "Protecting customers and the integrity of the financial system requires us to continuously raise the bar on detection and investigation. By working closely with Infosys and leveraging NICE Actimize's X–Sight Enterprise platform, we are enhancing our ability to detect, investigate, and prevent complex financial crime more effectively, while supporting our long–term digital transformation and regulatory compliance objectives."

Craig Costigan, Chief Executive Officer, NICE Actimize, said "Financial institutions globally are seeking more intelligent, cloud–native approaches to combat evolving financial crime. Through this collaboration with Infosys, our X–Sight Enterprise platform's AI-driven capabilities will help protect DNB and its customers from growing fraud and financial crimes, while boosting operational efficiency and reducing costs."

Dennis Gada, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Banking & Financial Services, Infosys, said, "Legacy systems are struggling to keep pace with the rapid evolution of financial crime. By consolidating anti–money laundering and fraud capabilities onto an AI–enabled enterprise cloud platform, we're helping DNB Bank ASA move from fragmented controls to a unified, intelligence–led operating model. This allows the bank to detect earlier, investigate smarter, and respond with greater consistency across jurisdictions. This modernization program reinforces our role as the strategic system integration and transformation lead, bringing intelligent operations to unlock AI value at scale across monitoring, detection, and investigations."

About DNB Bank ASA

DNB is Norway's largest financial services group and one of the largest in the Nordic region in terms of market capitalisation. The Group offers a full range of financial services, including loans, savings, advisory services, insurance and pension products for retail and corporate customers. 

DNB's mobile solutions, internet bank, customer service centres, real estate broking- and branch offices in Norway as well as international offices ensure that we are present where our customers are. We are a major operator in a number of industries, for which we also have a Nordic or international strategy. 

DNB is now much more than Norway's largest bank and a key business in the Norwegian economy. As Norway's largest bank we are also a leading technology company.

About NICE Actimize

As a global leader in artificial intelligence, platform services, and cloud solutions, NICE Actimize excels in preventing fraud, detecting financial crime, and supporting regulatory compliance. Over 1,000 organizations across more than 70 countries trust NICE Actimize to protect their institutions and safeguard assets throughout the entire customer lifecycle. With NICE Actimize, customers gain deeper insights and mitigate risks. Learn more at www.niceactimize.com.

About NiCE

NiCE (NASDAQ: NICE) is transforming the world with AI that puts people first. Our purpose-built AI-powered platforms automate engagements into proactive, safe, intelligent actions, empowering individuals and organizations to innovate and act, from interaction to resolution. Trusted by organizations throughout 150+ countries worldwide, NiCE's platforms are widely adopted across industries connecting people, systems, and workflows to work smarter at scale, elevating performance across the organization, delivering proven measurable outcomes.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in AI first business consulting and technology services. Over 325,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses, and communities. As navigators of enterprise transformation, we enable businesses in 63 countries to unlock AI value at scale. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we accelerate business transformation through our AI-first value framework, deep domain expertise, and our unique ability to orchestrate innovations from our AI-native partner ecosystem. Infosys is counted among the world's Top 100 brands committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable partner for our clients where deep talent expertise, in an inclusive workplace, help them navigate their next.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, or our future financial or operating performance, are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the execution of our business strategy, increased competition for talent, our ability to attract and retain personnel, increase in wages, investments to reskill our employees, our ability to effectively implement a hybrid work model, economic uncertainties and geo-political situations, technological disruptions and innovations such as artificial intelligence ("AI"), generative AI, the complex and evolving regulatory landscape including immigration regulation changes, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, our corporate actions including acquisitions, and cybersecurity matters. Important factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our US Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/5460444/Infosys_Logo.jpg 

HOBOKEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NICE Actimize, a NiCE (NASDAQ: NICE) business, today announced that DNB Bank ASA, Norway's largest financial services group, has selected NICE Actimize X-Sight Enterprise platform to modernize its fraud and financial crime operations by leveraging an array of cloud solutions designed to address the financial institution's most pressing challenges while improving operational efficiency. This comprehensive digital transformation program is being delivered in collab.

Integrated Cloud PBX and Contact Center Platform Extends AI, Analytics, and Operational Intelligence Across the Entire Organization

, /PRNewswire/ -- BluIP, a leading provider of AI-powered cloud communications, today announced an expanded go-to-market partnership with NiCE to deliver a tightly integrated Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solution. The integration brings BluIP Cloud PBX solutions together with NiCE's CX AI platform, CXone, enabling enterprises to modernize legacy telephony systems while unlocking enterprise-wide intelligence and extending AI, analytics, and operational visibility across the entire organization.

For existing NiCE CXone customers, the partnership creates a seamless path to replace outdated, on-premise phone systems with BluIP's intelligent cloud solution that is natively aligned with their contact center environment.

Enterprise-Wide Intelligence and AI

With BluIP and NiCE, AI-powered capabilities now extend beyond traditional contact center boundaries. Centralized call recording and enterprise-wide analytics provide compliance visibility and coaching insights across back-office teams, clinical staff, administrative departments, and distributed locations.

AI-generated call summaries seamlessly transfer between CXone and BluIP Cloud PBX environments. When calls move from the contact center to another department, the receiving employee can review the AI summary before connecting. Mobile and desk phone users receive the summary as a whisper announcement, eliminating the need for customers to repeat information and significantly improving efficiency.

Extending CXone Value Beyond the Contact Center

Many enterprises have invested significantly in optimizing contact center performance, yet their broader enterprise phone systems often remain siloed, costly to maintain, and disconnected from analytics and compliance oversight.

Through BluIP's UCaaS integration with NiCE CXone, organizations can:

Replace legacy systems with a modern Cloud PBX Incorporate both UCaaS and CCaaS call recordings into CXone's call recording ecosystem for AI analysis Apply Quality Management and Interaction Analytics to all enterprise calls Improve operational visibility through unified dashboards and presence management Reduce operational costs and minimize outage risk with cloud-based architecture "Guests, customers and patients interact with your entire organization — not just your contact center," said Armen Martirosyan, CEO at BluIP. "By integrating our UCaaS solutions and NiCE CXone CCaaS at the carrier level, we enable enterprises to apply the same AI-driven oversight, compliance, and insight across every call."

"At NiCE, we help organizations orchestrate smarter, more connected experiences with NiCE CXone at the core," said Dan Belanger, President, NiCE Americas. "By integrating CXone's AI-driven analytics and automation with BluIP's carrier-grade UCaaS solutions, we're extending intelligence beyond the contact center and across the enterprise — enabling seamless interactions, stronger compliance, and measurable business outcomes."

Cloud Migration with Confidence

Organizations operating legacy systems often face rising maintenance costs, hardware refresh cycles, and business continuity risks. The BluIP and NiCE partnership provides a strategic migration path to secure, geographically redundant cloud infrastructure designed to reduce cost, improve reliability, and support long-term scalability.

For current NiCE CXone customers, BluIP UCaaS is more than a phone system upgrade — it is a natural extension of their existing investment, delivering enterprise-wide AI insights, improved compliance visibility, and a unified communications ecosystem designed to enhance both operational performance and customer experience.

NiCE is a BluIP UCaaS Authorized Reseller.

For more information, visit: https://cxexchange.niceincontact.com/en-US/apps/426707/bluips-cxone-integrated-unified-communications

About BluIP
BluIP is a leading provider of AI-powered cloud communications for hospitality, healthcare, and distributed enterprises. Since 2011, BluIP has replaced fragmented, connectivity-only systems with an intelligent platform combining carrier-grade voice, multi-channel engagement, and conversational AI. Organizations reduce missed revenue, streamline administrative workload, and resolve guest, customer and patient needs faster. Backed by secure, redundant infrastructure and strategic partnerships, BluIP delivers resilient, scalable solutions that drive revenue, efficiency, and loyalty. BluIP is a DEVone Technology Partner and a NiCE Authorized Reseller.

About NiCE
NiCE (NASDAQ: NICE) is transforming the world with AI that puts people first. Our purpose-built AI-powered platforms automate engagements into proactive, safe, intelligent actions, empowering individuals and organizations to innovate and act, from interaction to resolution. Trusted by organizations throughout 150+ countries worldwide, NiCE's platforms are widely adopted across industries connecting people, systems, and workflows to work smarter at scale, elevating performance across the organization, and delivering proven measurable outcomes.

MEDIA CONTACT
Beth McClure
Head of Marketing, BluIP
(866) 443-6494
[email protected]

SOURCE BluIP, Inc.

HOBOKEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NiCE (Nasdaq: NICE) today introduced the Workforce Empowerment Suite, giving enterprises one operating model to manage, govern, and empower human employees and AI agents at scale. Announced at NiCE World 2026, the Suite provides enterprises a single framework to deliver customer experience operational excellence across their people and AI workforce, helping them optimize customer and employee experiences, maximize profitability, and manage compliance as the workf.

HOBOKEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NiCE (Nasdaq: NICE) today announced the winners of its 2026 CX Excellence Awards at NiCE World, recognizing the organizations leading the AI era of customer experience. This year's honorees have moved beyond AI experimentation to embed AI deeply into how customer experience operates, scales, and improves. By orchestrating AI agents, human agents, workflows, and data as one coordinated intelligence layer, they are running a new operating model for CX, one that com.

NICE Ltd. (NICE) Analyst/Investor Day Transcript

When deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock, investors often rely on analyst recommendations. Media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts often influence a stock's price, but are they really important?

Let's take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about Nice (NICE - Free Report) before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage.

Nice currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 2.00, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 17 brokerage firms. An ABR of 2.00 indicates Buy.

Of the 17 recommendations that derive the current ABR, eight are Strong Buy and one is Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 47.1% and 5.9% of all recommendations.

Brokerage Recommendation Trends for NICE

Check price target & stock forecast for Nice here>>>

While the ABR calls for buying Nice, it may not be wise to make an investment decision solely based on this information. Several studies have shown limited to no success of brokerage recommendations in guiding investors to pick stocks with the best price increase potential.

Are you wondering why? The vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover often results in a strong positive bias of their analysts in rating it. Our research shows that for every "Strong Sell" recommendation, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations.

This means that the interests of these institutions are not always aligned with those of retail investors, giving little insight into the direction of a stock's future price movement. It would therefore be best to use this information to validate your own analysis or a tool that has proven to be highly effective at predicting stock price movements.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near-term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision.

Zacks Rank Should Not Be Confused With ABRIn spite of the fact that Zacks Rank and ABR both appear on a scale from 1 to 5, they are two completely different measures.

The ABR is calculated solely based on brokerage recommendations and is typically displayed with decimals (example: 1.28). In contrast, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model allowing investors to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.

It has been and continues to be the case that analysts employed by brokerage firms are overly optimistic with their recommendations. Because of their employers' vested interests, these analysts issue more favorable ratings than their research would support, misguiding investors far more often than helping them.

On the other hand, earnings estimate revisions are at the core of the Zacks Rank. And empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

Furthermore, the different grades of the Zacks Rank are applied proportionately across all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide earnings estimates for the current year. In other words, at all times, this tool maintains a balance among the five ranks it assigns.

There is also a key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank when it comes to freshness. When you look at the ABR, it may not be up-to-date. Nonetheless, since brokerage analysts constantly revise their earnings estimates to reflect changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in predicting future stock prices.

Is NICE Worth Investing In?Looking at the earnings estimate revisions for Nice, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has remained unchanged over the past month at $11.1.

Analysts' steady views regarding the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by an unchanged consensus estimate, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Nice. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

It may therefore be prudent to be a little cautious with the Buy-equivalent ABR for Nice.

Currently, BDCs provide very high-yield opportunities. The fact that additional interest rate cuts are unlikely to happen this year should theoretically support the existing levels. Yet for most BDCs, the damage has already been done.

© Panchenko Vladimir / Shutterstock.com

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital (NYSE:PFLT) has paid its shareholders a $0.1025 monthly dividend without interruption for over three years, producing an annualized yield near 14% at current prices. But the income backing it is not keeping up.

How PennantPark earns its income PennantPark is a Business Development Company that lends directly to smaller private businesses and must distribute most of its income to shareholders. Its core business is making first lien senior secured floating-rate loans to core middle-market companies with roughly $10 million to $50 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Income comes almost entirely from interest payments on those loans.

The floating-rate structure is critical. Approximately 99% of the debt portfolio is variable rate, meaning when benchmark interest rates rise, income goes up, and when rates fall, income compresses. That dynamic is now working against shareholders.

The dividend coverage problem Net investment income (NII) per share has not covered the quarterly distribution for at least four consecutive quarters. Q1 2026 NII came in at $0.27 per share against a declared distribution of $0.3075. That same shortfall appeared in Q4 2025 ($0.28 NII vs. $0.31 distribution), Q3 2025 ($0.27 vs. $0.3075), and Q2 2025 ($0.28 vs. $0.3075).

Rate compression is driving this gap. The weighted average yield on debt investments has fallen from 11.5% a year ago to 9.9% in Q1 2026, as the Federal Reserve cut rates by 75 basis points between October and December 2025. The fund’s borrowing costs have also declined, but not fast enough to offset the income squeeze.

Management is using a spillover income buffer of $0.25 per share accumulated from prior periods to supplement net investment income and keep the distribution intact. CEO Art Penn described the path forward: “Once you get up to about a billion dollars, you know, with our 75% ownership, you know, we should be covering that dividend.” He was referring to PSSL II, a new joint venture with Hamilton Lane launched in late 2025.

PSSL II and the recovery timeline PSSL II is the stated mechanism for restoring full dividend coverage. The joint venture had approximately $325 million in total assets as of post-quarter-end, with a credit facility upsized to $250 million in February 2026. Management’s target is over $1 billion, which Penn estimated could take “eighteen months just as a big broad kind of number.”

This is not a near-term fix. The spillover buffer of $0.25 per share covers roughly two to three quarters of shortfalls at the current pace. If PSSL II deployment slows or yield compression deepens, that buffer erodes faster than management’s timeline assumes.

NAV erosion and credit stress NAV per share has declined every quarter for a year: from $11.31 in September 2024 to $10.83, then $10.96, $11.07, and $10.49 in Q1 2026. Net unrealized depreciation on the portfolio has widened to $78.4 million in Q1 2026, up from $46.1 million the prior quarter.

Non-accrual companies (borrowers no longer making interest payments) have risen from 2 in Q3 2025 to 4 in Q1 2026. Penn attributed most markdowns to “2021 vintage” loans made during the post-COVID period and expressed confidence that the pipeline is largely flushed. The CFO and a director each made open-market stock purchases in early 2026, a modest positive signal, but NAV has been consistently downward.

Shares trade at a steep discount to NAV, but the yield math is complicated Shares are currently around $8.42, down roughly 6% year to date and trading at a meaningful discount to the Q1 2026 NAV of $10.49 per share. Over five years, the stock has returned roughly 14% in price appreciation. The high yield partially offsets that sluggish price performance, but investors collecting 14% distributions while NAV erodes quarter after quarter are not getting ahead by as much as the yield implies.

A buffer buys time, but the math still doesn’t work The distribution is under pressure but has not yet reached a breaking point. PennantPark has a genuine plan in PSSL II, a conservative underwriting history with only 26 non-accruals across $8.7 billion deployed since inception, and a spillover buffer that buys time. But the dividend has not been earned from operations in over a year, NAV is declining, and full coverage depends on a joint venture still in its early ramp. The discount to NAV reflects the market’s skepticism about the recovery timeline, and the spillover buffer’s durability will be the key variable to watch over the next several quarters.

Monthly pay dividend equities offer high yields and potential gains, with the top ten broker-estimated MoPay stocks projected to net 27.10%–65.84% by 2027. BCP Investment Corp (BCIC), CION Investment Corp (CION), and Dynex Capital (DX) stand out for both yield and upside, with CION forecasted to deliver a 45.69% net gain. Thirty 'IDEAL' MoPay equities are highlighted for safer dividends, combining positive one-year returns, free-cash-flow yields above dividend yields, and dividends from $1K invested exceeding share price.