# Ellington Financial (EFC.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/EFC

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:28:11.432Z. Financial observations: FY2008–FY2025.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $11.90 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 3 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 3

- Years with a net loss: 3

- Operating margin variation: 1.53×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 0.13×

- FY2017: 6.06×

- FY2018: 1.35×

- FY2019: 0.70×

- FY2020: 1.16×

- FY2021: 1.12×

- FY2022: -0.58×

- FY2023: 0.35×

- FY2024: 0.41×

- FY2025: 0.62×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- Recent gross margin fell 15.7pp below the typical margin (limit 4pp)

- ROIC, median of available years: 1.1%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: 0.0%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 15.7 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 100.0%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 84.3%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 0.0%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: -1.2%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 0.0%

- FY2017: 3.0%

- FY2018: 3.8%

- FY2019: 1.4%

- FY2020: 0.7%

- FY2021: 2.5%

- FY2022: -0.1%

- FY2023: 0.6%

- FY2024: 0.7%

- FY2025: 2.2%

### economics: fail

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- Owner earnings / net income, 5-yr: 0.01×

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: $2.7M

- Net income, five-year total: $389M

- Return on incremental invested capital: 2.1%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: -1592.7 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: -10060.9 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 94.1%

Chart: Annual owner cash / profit; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: -1.50×

- FY2022: 0.92×

- FY2023: 1.34×

- FY2024: -2.95×

- FY2025: 3.47×

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2016 to 2025 (9 years)

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks leaned toward cheaper years (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 3.0% vs 0.7%

- Per-share earnings: 0.19 to 1.48 (three-year endpoint medians)

- five-year and ten-year diluted share growth both above threshold

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 11.4%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 17.6%

- Market cap gain: $1.0B

- Cumulative retained earnings: -$1.1B

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 11.4%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 17.6%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2016

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value growth: 29.1%

- Per-share value change: $1.29

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: $0.19

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: $1.48

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 0.26

- Average buyback yield: 1.9%

- Buyback history: 8 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Acquisition spending: $3.3M

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: $474M

- ROIC, first three-year median: 3.0%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 0.7%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -$0.49

- FY2017: $0.19

- FY2018: $1.47

- FY2019: $1.62

- FY2020: -$0.22

- FY2021: $1.46

- FY2022: -$1.16

- FY2023: $1.17

- FY2024: $1.63

- FY2025: $1.48

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -1.9%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 0.42×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 0.0%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 3.47×

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.00×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -3.6%

- FY2017: 15.7%

- FY2018: 13.6%

- FY2019: -0.5%

- FY2020: -3.8%

- FY2021: 0.6%

- FY2022: -0.8%

- FY2023: 2.1%

- FY2024: 3.5%

- FY2025: -1.9%

## Holders

## Price story

Down 35% since Oct 2021 · sales +139%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:58:40.579Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

- 2025-08-08: Earnings call transcript: Ellington Financial beats Q2 2025 forecasts, stock rises ([investing.com](https://www.investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-ellington-financial-beats-q2-2025-forecasts-stock-rises-93CH-4181307))

- 2025-11-07: EFC Q3 Deep Dive: Securitization Expansion and Loan Portfolio Growth Drive Results ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/efc-q3-deep-dive-securitization-000044687.html))

- 2026-08-03: Is Ellington Financial a Buy as Earnings Improve but Costs Rise Now? ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/ellington-financial-buy-earnings-improve-160700359.html))

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales +139%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411342/000162828026013279/efc-20251231.htm; observed 2026-03-02.

- FY2016: $2.3M 

- FY2017: $11M 

- FY2018: $77M 

- FY2019: $85M 

- FY2020: $31M 

- FY2021: $122M 

- FY2022: $43M 

- FY2023: $257M 

- FY2024: $282M 

- FY2025: $675M 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 84.3%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411342/000162828026013279/efc-20251231.htm; observed 2026-03-02.

- FY2018: 99.5% 

- FY2025: 84.3% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in property rentals; annual sales are USD 674.5 million.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411342/000162828026013279/efc-20251231.htm (filed 2026-03-02); FY2025: revenue 674545000; grossProfit 568372000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-15); EFC.US: Ellington Financial Inc., through its subsidiary, Ellington Financial Operating Partnership LLC, acquires and manages mortgage-related, consumer-related, corporate-related, and other financial assets in the United States. It operates in two segments, Investment Portfolio and Longbridge. The company acquires and manages residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) backed by prime jumbo, Alt-A, non-QM, manufactured housing, subprime residential, and single-family-rental mortgage loans; RMBS for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the U.S. government agency or the U.S. government-sponsored entity; residential and commercial mortgage loans; residential mortgage-backed securities; commercial mortgage-backed securities; consumer loans and asset-backed securities backed by consumer loans; investments referencing mortgage servicing rights on traditional forward mortgage loans; collateralized loan obligations; non-mortgage- and mortgage-related derivatives; debt and equity investments in loan origination companies; and other strategic investments. It also offers reverse mortgage loans, including associated financial assets, financing, hedging, and allocated expenses. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes that intends to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income as dividends to shareholders. Ellington Financial Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 84.3% to 100% during 2023–25; it earns 1.1% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 100%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 100%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411342/000162828026013279/efc-20251231.htm (filed 2026-03-02); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 84.3%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,0.0001502556527956419],[2017,0.03012488561666749],[2018,0.03844055763093504],[2019,0.014332705817633727],[2020,0.006877804816199478],[2021,0.02455056891723998],[2022,-0.0014745133911246463],[2023,0.0060701639900492994],[2024,0.007430917586923674],[2025,0.021784276848635643]]; median 0.0108818117022787. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 10 of 10 years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2019: growth capex 0; upkeep 49758000; owner earnings 29015000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2023: growth capex 0; upkeep 37000; owner earnings 112519000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411342/000162828026013279/efc-20251231.htm (filed 2026-03-02); FY2025: growth capex 0; upkeep 0; owner earnings 509044000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); Dividend observations: [[2016,65148000],[2017,57636000],[2018,50736000],[2019,54312000],[2020,65026000],[2021,85704000],[2022,123065000],[2023,149271000],[2024,163538000],[2025,183625000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 2.6% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-15); EFC.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 2.5839999999999996 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-15.

### What the price says

The price is 1.8 times annual sales.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); Closing price 11.9 USD; reporting-to-trading FX 1; FY2025 annual sales per share 6.7835736841046685; price multiple 1.7542375971951463. FY2025 cash earnings/share 5.11920995997506. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2016-10: $15.86 per share

- 2016-11: $15.97 per share

- 2016-12: $15.52 per share

- 2017-01: $15.68 per share

- 2017-02: $15.92 per share

- 2017-03: $15.83 per share

- 2017-04: $16.48 per share

- 2017-05: $16.59 per share

- 2017-06: $16.21 per share

- 2017-07: $16.10 per share

- 2017-08: $15.85 per share

- 2017-09: $15.79 per share

- 2017-10: $15.28 per share

- 2017-11: $14.95 per share

- 2017-12: $14.51 per share

- 2018-01: $14.59 per share

- 2018-02: $14.12 per share

- 2018-03: $14.81 per share

- 2018-04: $14.92 per share

- 2018-05: $15.94 per share

- 2018-06: $15.61 per share

- 2018-07: $16.48 per share

- 2018-08: $16.17 per share

- 2018-09: $16.01 per share

- 2018-10: $15.38 per share

- 2018-11: $15.48 per share

- 2018-12: $15.33 per share

- 2019-01: $16.54 per share

- 2019-02: $16.63 per share

- 2019-03: $17.90 per share

- 2019-04: $18.04 per share

- 2019-05: $17.35 per share

- 2019-06: $17.97 per share

- 2019-07: $17.48 per share

- 2019-08: $17.47 per share

- 2019-09: $18.07 per share

- 2019-10: $18.42 per share

- 2019-11: $18.11 per share

- 2019-12: $18.33 per share

- 2020-01: $18.27 per share

- 2020-02: $16.53 per share

- 2020-03: $5.71 per share

- 2020-04: $10.39 per share

- 2020-05: $10.20 per share

- 2020-06: $11.78 per share

- 2020-07: $11.76 per share

- 2020-08: $12.46 per share

- 2020-09: $12.26 per share

- 2020-10: $12.24 per share

- 2020-11: $14.40 per share

- 2020-12: $14.84 per share

- 2021-01: $14.96 per share

- 2021-02: $15.72 per share

- 2021-03: $16.01 per share

- 2021-04: $17.94 per share

- 2021-05: $18.88 per share

- 2021-06: $19.15 per share

- 2021-07: $18.18 per share

- 2021-08: $18.52 per share

- 2021-09: $18.29 per share

- 2021-10: $18.18 per share

- 2021-11: $16.57 per share

- 2021-12: $17.09 per share

- 2022-01: $17.77 per share

- 2022-02: $17.67 per share

- 2022-03: $17.75 per share

- 2022-04: $16.19 per share

- 2022-05: $15.49 per share

- 2022-06: $14.67 per share

- 2022-07: $16.05 per share

- 2022-08: $14.68 per share

- 2022-09: $11.37 per share

- 2022-10: $13.38 per share

- 2022-11: $13.64 per share

- 2022-12: $12.37 per share

- 2023-01: $13.73 per share

- 2023-02: $12.87 per share

- 2023-03: $12.21 per share

- 2023-04: $12.77 per share

- 2023-05: $12.54 per share

- 2023-06: $13.80 per share

- 2023-07: $13.52 per share

- 2023-08: $13.37 per share

- 2023-09: $12.47 per share

- 2023-10: $12.03 per share

- 2023-11: $13.00 per share

- 2023-12: $12.71 per share

- 2024-01: $12.21 per share

- 2024-02: $11.33 per share

- 2024-03: $11.81 per share

- 2024-04: $11.44 per share

- 2024-05: $12.12 per share

- 2024-06: $12.08 per share

- 2024-07: $12.69 per share

- 2024-08: $13.15 per share

- 2024-09: $12.89 per share

- 2024-10: $12.09 per share

- 2024-11: $12.36 per share

- 2024-12: $12.12 per share

- 2025-01: $12.56 per share

- 2025-02: $14.35 per share

- 2025-03: $13.26 per share

- 2025-04: $13.03 per share

- 2025-05: $12.57 per share

- 2025-06: $12.99 per share

- 2025-07: $12.69 per share

- 2025-08: $13.64 per share

- 2025-09: $12.98 per share

- 2025-10: $13.32 per share

- 2025-11: $13.70 per share

- 2025-12: $13.58 per share

- 2026-01: $12.85 per share

- 2026-02: $12.42 per share

- 2026-03: $11.85 per share

- 2026-04: $13.25 per share

- 2026-05: $13.57 per share

- 2026-06: $13.61 per share

- 2026-07: $13.28 per share

- 2026-08: $13.38 per share

- 2026-09: $11.83 per share

- 2026-10: $11.90 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411342/000162828026013279/efc-20251231.htm); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-03-02.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.