Arbor Realty Trust

Arbor Realty Trust is mainly a lender, not a landlord. Formed in Maryland in 2003, it is a real estate investment trust (REIT), a structure that generally spares it federal income tax on profits it pays out, as long as it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income. Arbor makes and services loans on commercial property across the US, mostly apartment buildings. It has two segments.

The Structured Business keeps loans on Arbor's balance sheet. Most are bridge loans: short-term first mortgages for investors purchasing properties, usually apartments, that they plan to improve and later refinance with a long-term loan. It also makes construction and single-family rental loans, plus mezzanine loans and preferred equity, which rank behind the first mortgage. Arbor earns the gap between the interest it collects and its borrowing costs.

The Agency Business makes apartment loans under programs run by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), then sells them, earning fees. Arbor keeps the servicing rights on nearly all of them, collecting payments and managing the loans for steady fees. It is one of 25 lenders in Fannie Mae's Delegated Underwriting and Servicing program and focuses on smaller loans. The segments feed each other: Arbor aims to refinance its bridge loans into agency loans.

• In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was —, and net income was $-85.4M (-321.9%).
• For fiscal 2025, revenue was — (— year over year) with a null% net margin.

• Over FY2021–FY2025: $85.3M in buybacks and $1.64B in dividends.
• Regular dividends per share grew +3.4% a year over 5 years (FY2020–FY2025).
• Dividends took 297.8% of earnings in the latest fiscal year.
• Shares outstanding changed +21.1% from Feb 11, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Market value at each year end

Arbor Realty Trust’s market value went from $383.5M at the end of 2016 to $543.3M on Oct 28, 2026, up 42%; since the end of 2025 it is down 64%.

Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (25 read): 16 open-market purchases ($408K) and 3 sales ($202K).

Large shareholders (13G filings)

ETFs with the most weight in ABR

1. Problem loans and foreclosures have risen. Arbor's annual report says a long commercial property slump, driven by inflation and high interest rates, has increased non-paying loans, loan modifications, loss reserves and foreclosures. It expects more harm if conditions persist.
2. Reworked loans and foreclosed buildings. Arbor increasingly modifies loan terms for struggling borrowers, and modified loans may keep underperforming. It also takes back more properties through foreclosure, and owning and running buildings can bring losses beyond those on a loan.
3. Heavy borrowing magnifies losses. Arbor uses a significant amount of debt, including CLOs (bonds backed by pools of its loans). As of June 30, 2026, assets were $14.35 billion against $2.78 billion of equity. Lenders can demand extra collateral.
4. Sharing losses on loans sold to Fannie Mae. Under Fannie Mae's DUS program, Arbor shares losses when loans it sold default. It must also advance payments when borrowers fall behind. If a lender's letter of credit lapsed, it could breach Fannie Mae requirements.
5. Reliance on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD. The Agency Business depends on approvals from these programs and on servicing fees. Losing approval, lower fees, or changes to the government's control (conservatorship) of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could seriously hurt this business.
6. Riskier construction and rental-home lending. Arbor's growing single-family rental and build-to-rent construction loans carry more risk than loans on stable apartment buildings. Cost overruns, delays, permit or contractor problems, and slow leasing could raise defaults and foreclosures.

• Oct 30, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• Oct 30, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Aug 11, 2026 Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation; Investor presentation or announcement
• Aug 3, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• Jul 31, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jul 6, 2026 Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation; Unregistered sale of shares
• Jul 1, 2026 Other company announcement
• May 20, 2026 Shareholder vote results
• May 8, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• May 8, 2026 Quarterly results released

Arbor's dividend has been large but not steady. Dividends per share rose each year from $1.29 in 2020 to $1.92 in 2024, then fell to $1.53 in 2025, ending the run of increases. That payout equaled about 298% of 2025 earnings of $0.56 per diluted share. The dividend yield was 31.86% as of October 28, 2026, after the share price fell 71% over the prior year; a yield that high usually signals doubts about the payout. Buybacks were small, about $85 million over FY2021–FY2025, and the share count grew about 30.5% between October 2021 and July 2026.

The stock has fallen hard in past downturns. It lost about 97% in the 2008 financial crisis and did not recover until July 2018. It dropped about 70% in the 2020 COVID crash, recovering in about 7.6 months, and fell 34% in the 2022 bear market, recovering in about 9.5 months. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.