Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. Announces First Quarter 2026 Results

Published: 2026-05-07 07:16:04 ET NCDL

Reports First Quarter Net Investment Income of $0.41 per Share Declares Second Quarter Distribution of $0.38 per Share, Consisting of a Regular Distribution of $0.36 per Share and a Supplemental Distribution of $0.02 per Share

Published on 05/07/2026 at 07:16 am EDT

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE: NCDL) (“NCDL” or the “Company”), a business development company externally managed by its investment adviser, Churchill DLC Advisor LLC (the “Adviser”), and by its sub-adviser, Churchill Asset Management LLC (“Churchill”), today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

Financial Highlights for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2026

“We are pleased with NCDL’s financial performance to start the year, reflecting the overall strength of our investment portfolio,” said Ken Kencel, President and Chief Executive Officer of NCDL. “Recent market volatility has created attractive opportunities to deploy capital with improving financing terms and pricing. We remain confident that NCDL is well-positioned with an experienced investment team and our ability to originate high-quality investments in various market conditions and economic environments.”

“During the quarter, we continued to optimize our balance sheet and capital structure by refinancing one of our CLOs, allowing us to meaningfully reduce our borrowing costs,” said Shai Vichness, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of NCDL. “Our investment portfolio remains well-diversified with an average position size of 0.4%, and our top 10 investments represent only 13.2% of the total fair value of the portfolio. In today’s environment, we remain focused on selectively investing in high-quality companies and rewarding shareholders with an attractive dividend yield.”

Distribution Declaration

The Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board“) has declared a regular distribution of $0.36 per share and a supplemental distribution of $0.02 per share, payable on or around July 28, 2026 to shareholders of record as of June 30, 2026.

PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION

As of March 31, 2026, the fair value of the Company's portfolio investments was $2.0 billion across 236 portfolio companies in 26 industries compared to $2.0 billion as of December 31, 2025 across 227 portfolio companies in 26 industries.

As of March 31, 2026, the Company’s portfolio based on fair value consisted of approximately 89.7% first-lien debt investments, 7.5% subordinated debt investments, and 2.8% equity investments. As of December 31, 2025, the Company’s portfolio based on fair value consisted of 89.5% first-lien debt investments, 8.2% subordinated debt investments, and 2.3% equity investments.

As of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the weighted average Internal Risk Rating of the portfolio at fair value was 4.3 and 4.2 (4.0 being the initial rating assigned at origination), respectively. As of March 31, 2026, there were investments in five portfolio companies on non-accrual status representing 0.6% of total investments at fair value (or 1.3% of total investments at cost). As of December 31, 2025, there were investments in four portfolio companies on non-accrual status representing 0.5% of total investments at fair value (or 1.2% of total investments at cost).

PORTFOLIO AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

For the three months ended March 31, 2026, the Company funded $85.4 million of portfolio investments and received $65.0 million of proceeds from principal repayments and sales, compared to $80.4 million and $84.3 million, respectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2025.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2026

Investment Income

Investment income decreased to $46.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026 from $53.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. As of March 31, 2026, the size of the Company's portfolio decreased to $2.0 billion from $2.1 billion as of March 31, 2025, at cost. As of March 31, 2026, the weighted average yield of the Company's debt and income producing investments decreased to 9.31% from 10.10% as of March 31, 2025, at cost, primarily due to overall tightening of spreads in newly originated investments, the refinancing or repricing of existing portfolio companies to marginally lower spreads, and the decline in base interest rates compared to the prior period.

Net Expenses

Net expenses increased slightly to $26.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026 from $26.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Interest and debt financing expenses decreased due to a lower average interest rate and lower average daily borrowings, partially offset by $0.8 million of one-time costs associated with a CLO refinancing completed during the first quarter of 2026. However, this decrease was largely offset by higher management fees resulting from the higher base rate and income-based incentive fees totaling $1.5 million, as the incentive fee waiver expired effective March 31, 2025 pursuant to the terms of the Advisory Agreement.

Net Realized Gain (Loss) and Net Change in Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments

For the three months ended March 31, 2026, the Company recorded a net realized loss on investments of $(3.3) million, compared to a net realized gain of $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The net realized loss for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was primarily driven by the restructuring of two underperforming debt positions, partially offset by realized gains from full or partial repayments and sales of investments in portfolio companies. The Company recorded a net change in unrealized loss of $(7.8) million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to a net change in unrealized loss of $(13.6) million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The total net change in unrealized loss for the three months ended March 31, 2026 primarily resulted from benchmark spread widening and decreases in the fair value of certain underperforming portfolio companies, partially offset by the reversal of unrealized losses on debt positions that were restructured during the period.

Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of March 31, 2026, the Company had $50.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and $1.1 billion in total aggregate principal amount of debt outstanding. Subject to borrowing base and other conditions, the Company had approximately $233.0 million available for additional borrowings under its revolving credit facility as of March 31, 2026. At March 31, 2026, the Company's debt to equity ratio was 1.32x (1.26x net debt to equity ratio) compared to 1.27x (1.20x net debt to equity ratio) at December 31, 2025.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST INFORMATION

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will hold a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2026 financial results today at 11:00 AM Eastern Time. All interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing (866) 605-1826 approximately 10-15 minutes prior to the call; international callers should dial +1 (215) 268-9877. Participants should reference Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. when prompted.

A live webcast of the conference call will also be available on the Events section of the Company's website at https://www.ncdl.com/news/events. A replay will be available under the same link following the conclusion of the conference call.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (“NCDL”) is a specialty finance company focused primarily on investing in senior secured loans to private equity-owned U.S. middle market companies. NCDL has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. NCDL is externally managed by its investment adviser, Churchill DLC Advisor LLC, and by its sub-adviser, Churchill Asset Management LLC (“Churchill”). Both the investment adviser and sub-adviser are affiliates and subsidiaries of Nuveen, LLC (“Nuveen”), the investment management division of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (“TIAA”) and one of the largest asset managers globally. Churchill is a leading capital provider for private equity-backed middle market companies and operates as the exclusive U.S. middle market direct lending and private capital business of Nuveen and TIAA. Churchill is a registered investment advisor and majority-owned, indirect subsidiary of TIAA.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains historical information and “forward-looking statements” with respect to the business and investments of NCDL, including, but not limited to, statements about NCDL’s future financial performance and financial condition, which involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors and undue reliance should not be placed thereon. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about us, our current and prospective portfolio investments, our industry, our beliefs, and our assumptions. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “will,” “may,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond NCDL’s control and difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in NCDL’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including changes in the financial, capital, and lending markets; changes in the interest rate environment and its impact on NCDL's business, its financial condition and its portfolio companies; the uncertainty associated with the imposition of tariffs and trade barriers and changes in trade policy, and its impact on NCDL's portfolio companies and the general economy; the impact of geopolitical conditions; general economic, political and industry trends and other external factors; the dependence of NCDL’s future success on the general economy and its impact on the industries in which it invests; and other risks, uncertainties and other factors we identify in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in NCDL’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Report on Form10-Q, which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date on which NCDL makes them. NCDL does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or any other information contained herein, except as required by applicable law.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES (dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)

March 31, 2026

December 31, 2025

Assets

(Unaudited)

Investments

Non-controlled/non-affiliated company investments, at fair value (cost of $2,022,433 and $2,001,207, respectively)

1,975,862

1,962,449

Cash

15,269

8,554

Cash equivalents

35,131

53,927

Interest receivable

14,253

13,729

Derivative asset, at fair value (Note 4)

7,500

14,965

Receivable for investments sold

352

518

Other assets

331

327

Total assets

2,048,698

2,054,469

Liabilities

Debt (net of $8,568 and $8,511 deferred financing and issuance costs, respectively, and net of unamortized discount of $443 and $471, respectively) (See Note 7)

1,137,789

1,115,052

Interest payable

8,391

15,350

Incentive fees payable

1,535

2,809

Management fees payable

4,940

5,048

Collateral due to broker

7,000

14,750

Distributions payable

19,755

22,224

Directors’ fees payable

142

156

Accounts payable and accrued expenses

5,034

3,900

Total liabilities

1,184,586

1,179,289

Commitments and contingencies (See Note 8)

Net Assets: (See Note 9)

Common shares, $0.01 par value, 500,000,000 and 500,000,000 shares authorized, 49,387,065 and 49,387,065 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively

494

Paid-in-capital in excess of par value

930,393

Total distributable earnings (loss)

(66,775

)

(55,707

)

Total net assets

864,112

875,180

Total liabilities and net assets

2,048,698

2,054,469

Net asset value per share (See Note 11)

17.50

17.72

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2026

2025

Investment income:

Non-controlled/non-affiliated company investments:

Interest income

42,862

50,846

Payment-in-kind interest income

3,122

2,365

Other income

274

375

Total investment income

46,258

53,586

Expenses:

Interest and debt financing expenses

17,749

20,643

Management fees (See Note 6)

4,940

3,914

Incentive fees on net investment income (See Note 6)

1,535

2,253

Professional fees

763

493

Directors' fees

162

156

Administration fees (See Note 6)

680

586

Other general and administrative expenses

385

342

Total expenses before incentive fees waived

26,214

28,387

Incentive fees waived (See Note 6)

—

(2,253

)

Net expenses after incentive fees waived

26,214

26,134

Net investment income

20,044

27,452

Realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments:

Net realized gain (loss) on non-controlled/non-affiliated company investments

(3,289

)

1,103

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation):

Non-controlled/non-affiliated company investments

(7,813

)

(13,573

)

Income tax (provision) benefit

(255

)

Total net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

(8,068

)

(13,534

)

Total net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(11,357

)

(12,431

)

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

8,687

15,021

Per share data:

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations per share - basic and diluted

0.18

0.29

Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic and diluted

49,387,065

52,211,340

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

PORTFOLIO AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY (dollars in thousands)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2026

2025

Net funded investment activity

New gross commitments at par 1

82,876

166,239

Net investments funded

85,359

153,019

Investments sold or repaid

(65,015

)

(148,350

)

Net funded investment activity

20,344

4,669

—

Gross commitments at par 1

First-lien debt

70,168

151,995

Subordinated debt

2,144

13,230

Equity investments

10,564

1,014

Total gross commitments

82,876

166,239

Portfolio company activity

Portfolio companies, beginning of period

227

210

Number of new portfolio companies

Number of exited portfolio companies

)

(12

)

Portfolio companies, end of period

236

210

Count of investments

554

490

Count of industries

New investment activity

Weighted average annual interest rate on new debt investments at par

8.47

9.38

Weighted average annual interest rate on new floating rate debt investments at par

8.40

9.10

Weighted average spread on new floating rate debt investments at par

4.71

4.81

Weighted average annual coupon on new fixed rate debt investments at par

10.33

12.57

Weighted average annual interest rate on exited or repaid investments at par

9.23

9.11

__________________

1 Gross commitments at par includes unfunded investment commitments.

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

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