At a glance
Franklin BSP Realty Trust Inc is worth $479.8M, about 10 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 20.9% to $270.1M in fiscal 2025, with 30.5% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 18.1% a year. It pays a 15.14% dividend yield, and returned $701.9M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −33.7% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −7.8% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 30.0% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 4 months after the low.
The business in plain English
Franklin BSP Realty Trust is a mortgage REIT. It does not mainly own buildings. It lends money to the people who own commercial property. A REIT (real estate investment trust) avoids most corporate income tax by paying out most of its taxable income as dividends. Benefit Street Partners, part of Franklin Templeton, runs the company day to day and is paid fees for doing so.
The Commercial Real Estate Financing unit makes and acquires property loans. Its focus is first mortgage loans, which have first claim on a building if the borrower defaults. It also makes riskier, lower-ranking loans such as B-notes and mezzanine loans, which are paid only after senior lenders. It also offers bridge loans, which generally run up to three years, to owners improving a property. The unit also holds commercial mortgage-backed securities. It makes long-term conduit loans that it aims to sell into securitizations at a profit. And it owns some buildings taken back through foreclosure.
FBRT earns the gap between what its loans pay and what its own borrowing costs. It funds new loans with short-term borrowings backed by its assets, such as repurchase agreements. It then aims to refinance by bundling loans into longer-term bonds called CLOs and CDOs. On July 1, 2025, it acquired NewPoint Holdings, which became its second unit, the Agency Business. As of December 31, 2025, all 223 of its employees worked there. The 10-K does not split revenue by unit. Total revenue for fiscal 2025 was $270.1 million.
Price history
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FBRT -33.7% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $74.9M, down 16.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $-26.7M (-254.1%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $270.1M (+20.9% year over year; +18.1% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 30.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +18.1% good |
|---|---|
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 5.7% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 1.4% weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $117.6M | $54.7M | — |
| FY2021 | $165.5M | $25.7M | — |
| FY2022 | $206.8M | $14.4M | — |
| FY2023 | $268.7M | $145.2M | — |
| FY2024 | $223.4M | $95.9M | — |
| FY2025 | $270.1M | $82.3M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $479.8M |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 9.9 |
| Dividend yield | 15.14% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Franklin BSP Realty Trust’s market value went from $1.31B at the end of 2021 to $479.8M on Oct 28, 2026, down 63%; since the end of 2025 it is down 41%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $479.8M | -41.4% |
| 2025 | $818.5M | -20.2% |
| 2024 | $1.03B | -7.4% |
| 2023 | $1.11B | +4.2% |
| 2022 | $1.06B | -19.0% |
| 2021 | $1.31B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FBRT price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -31.6% | -33.7% | -9.8% | -7.8% | — |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -31.6% |
| 2025 | -9.0% |
| 2024 | +3.7% |
| 2023 | +16.7% |
| 2022 | -3.3% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 19.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 30%, back to its old high 4.2 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (12 read): 6 open-market purchases ($781K) and 1 sales ($15K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 3, 2026 | Brian Buffone President | buy | $254K |
| Jun 15, 2026 | Buford H Ortale Director | buy | $219K |
| Sep 6, 2022 | Buford H Ortale Director | buy | $200K |
| Jun 15, 2026 | Buford H Ortale Director | buy | $73K |
| Feb 17, 2026 | Buford H Ortale Director | buy | $18K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 9.8% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 4.91% | Sep 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in FBRT
| MORT VanEck Mortgage REIT Income ETF | 2.62% |
| HIPS GraniteShares HIPS US High Income ETF | 2.57% |
| REM iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF | 2.36% |
| XSHD Invesco S&P SmallCap High Dividend Low Volatility ETF | 2.22% |
| SDIV Global X SuperDividend ETF | 0.95% |
| RZV Invesco S&P SmallCap 600® Pure Value ETF | 0.38% |
| PSCF Invesco S&P SmallCap Financials ETF | 0.3% |
| SMLV SPDR SSGA US Small Cap Low Volatility Index ETF | 0.25% |
What could go wrong
- An outside manager with its own interests. Benefit Street Partners is paid fees to run FBRT and also manages other credit funds. The 10-K warns that conflicts over deals and staff time may not favor FBRT, and ending the contract would be costly.
- Integrating the NewPoint acquisition. The July 1, 2025 purchase of NewPoint created the Agency Business. The 10-K warns that the expected benefits may arrive late or not at all, and the new unit brings risks of its own.
- Riskier loans can mean bigger losses. Loans on properties in transition, construction loans and junior loans such as mezzanine debt can lose more when borrowers default. Foreclosure can take time, and owning seized buildings adds costs and risks.
- Heavy borrowing and short-term funding. FBRT had $3.04 billion of debt against $1.35 billion of equity as of September 30, 2026. Short-term lenders can demand more collateral when asset values fall, which could strain its cash.
- Interest rate swings squeeze income. Profit depends on the gap between loan income and borrowing costs. Rising short-term rates can lift borrowing costs faster than loan income. Falling rates can cut income from floating-rate loans.
- The dividend could be reduced. The 10-K says FBRT may be unable to maintain its distributions or may choose to cut them. Dividends of $1.42 per share in fiscal 2025 were more than double diluted earnings of $0.64.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Change to shareholder rights; Bylaws or fiscal year changed; Shareholder vote results
For income and retirement investors
FBRT's dividend was large but flat. It paid $1.42 per share in each fiscal year from 2022 through 2025, after $1.26 in fiscal 2021, so there is no streak of increases. The fiscal 2025 dividend equaled 176.9% of diluted earnings of $0.64. The yield was 15.14% as of October 28, 2026, a level that often signals doubts about the payout. Share buybacks totaled $59.7 million over fiscal 2021–2025, and the share count fell 13.9% from October 2021 to October 2026.
In the 2022 bear market, the stock fell 30% from August 12 to September 29, 2022. It recovered by February 3, 2023, about four months after the low. Its history does not reach back to 2008 or the 2020 COVID crash. The stock lost 31.6% from the start of 2026 to October 28, 2026. The company reported a $26.7 million net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Single stocks like FBRT carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Franklin BSP Realty Trust make money?
Mainly by lending. FBRT makes and acquires commercial real estate loans, chiefly first mortgage loans. It earns the gap between the interest borrowers pay and its own borrowing costs. It also holds commercial mortgage-backed securities. It makes long-term conduit loans that it aims to sell into securitizations (pools of loans sold as bonds) at a profit. Since acquiring NewPoint on July 1, 2025, it has also run an Agency Business unit. Revenue for fiscal 2025 was $270.1 million. The 10-K does not split it by unit.
Does FBRT raise its dividend every year?
No. FBRT paid $1.42 per share in dividends in each fiscal year from 2022 through 2025. That followed $1.26 in fiscal 2021 and $0.65 in fiscal 2020, with figures adjusted for a 2-for-1 stock split in 2022. So there is no streak of yearly increases. In fiscal 2025 the dividend was 176.9% of reported earnings. The 10-K warns that the company may be unable to maintain its distributions or may decide to reduce them.
Why is FBRT's dividend yield so high?
Mostly because the stock has dropped. The dividend yield is a year's dividends divided by the share price. It was 15.14% as of October 28, 2026, after the stock lost 33.7% over the year to that date. A yield this high often means investors doubt the payout can last. FBRT paid dividends of $1.42 per share in fiscal 2025, against diluted earnings of $0.64. It reported a net loss of $26.7 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2026.
Is Franklin BSP Realty Trust profitable?
Yes for fiscal 2025, but not in its latest reported quarter. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $82.3 million. That was down 14.2% from fiscal 2024 and below the $145.2 million earned in fiscal 2023, even though revenue rose 20.9% to $270.1 million. For the quarter ended September 30, 2026, FBRT reported a net loss of $26.7 million, and revenue fell 16.3% from a year earlier. Return on equity, which is profit as a share of shareholders' capital, was 5.7% in fiscal 2025.
Who manages Franklin BSP Realty Trust?
Benefit Street Partners, a subsidiary of Franklin Resources (Franklin Templeton), manages FBRT under an advisory agreement and earns fees for doing so. This is called external management. The advisor makes investment, financing and hedging decisions under broad guidelines, without board approval for each one. The 10-K points to possible conflicts of interest and says ending the agreement would be difficult and costly. Large outside holders included BlackRock, with 9.8% as of September 30, 2026, and Vanguard, with 5.15% as of March 31, 2026.