Company Description
Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on mortgage credit. According to the company’s disclosures, its principal business objective is to provide risk‑adjusted returns and distributable income through investment performance linked to mortgage credit fundamentals. Chimera is incorporated in Maryland and its common stock, multiple series of preferred stock, and senior notes are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Chimera describes itself as a fully integrated mortgage business that operates through mortgage lending, investment management, and advisory services platforms. It is engaged in investing for its own account and, through its investment management and advisory activities, on behalf of third‑party clients. The company invests, directly or indirectly and generally on a levered basis, across diversified portfolios of mortgage assets.
Mortgage assets and investment focus
Based on its public statements, Chimera’s investment focus spans a spectrum of mortgage‑related assets. These include residential mortgage loans, Non‑Agency residential mortgage‑backed securities (RMBS), Agency RMBS, Agency commercial mortgage‑backed securities (CMBS), mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), and business purpose and investor loans, including rehab‑to‑rent loans (RTLs). The company also references investments in other real estate‑related assets and other targeted mortgage assets.
Chimera indicates that it generally invests in these assets on a levered basis, using secured financing agreements, securitized debt, and senior notes as part of its capital structure, as reflected in its consolidated financial statements and related SEC filings. The company’s disclosures also note the presence of consolidated variable interest entities (VIEs) whose assets and liabilities are included in its financial statements.
Mortgage lending and origination activities
Through its platforms, Chimera is involved in originating, managing, and investing in mortgage assets. The company states that, through a subsidiary, it originates consumer non‑qualified mortgage (Non‑QM) loans, investor business purpose loans, and other Non‑Agency and Agency mortgage loan products. Following the completion of its acquisition of HomeXpress Mortgage Corp., Chimera has also highlighted HomeXpress as an originator of consumer Non‑QM, investor business purpose, and other non‑Agency and Agency mortgage loan products.
Chimera’s public communications describe its evolution toward a hybrid residential mortgage REIT, combining the acquisition, financing, and management of residential mortgage credit assets with the production of those assets through origination platforms. The company has also referenced portfolio diversification through the addition of Agency RMBS and MSRs.
Investment management and advisory services
In several press releases, Chimera notes that it is engaged in the business of investing for its own account and on behalf of third‑party clients through its investment management and advisory services activities. It earns investment management and advisory fees, as shown in its consolidated statements of operations. These activities are part of its fully integrated mortgage business, which combines asset origination, portfolio management, and advisory functions.
Capital structure and listed securities
Chimera’s SEC filings list multiple classes of securities registered on the New York Stock Exchange. These include:
- Common stock, par value $0.01 per share, trading under the symbol CIM.
- 8.00% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, trading under CIM PRA.
- 8.00% Series B Fixed‑to‑Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, trading under CIM PRB.
- 7.75% Series C Fixed‑to‑Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, trading under CIM PRC.
- 8.00% Series D Fixed‑to‑Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, trading under CIM PRD.
- 9.000% Senior Notes due 2029, trading under CIMN.
- 9.250% Senior Notes due 2029, trading under CIMO.
- 8.875% Senior Notes due 2030, trading under CIMP.
The company has disclosed public offerings of its senior notes, including 8.875% senior notes due 2030, and indicates that it intends to use the net proceeds to finance the acquisition of mortgage assets such as residential mortgage loans, Non‑Agency RMBS, Agency RMBS, Agency CMBS, MSRs, and other targeted assets, as well as for general corporate purposes.
Dividends and REIT status
As a REIT, Chimera emphasizes its objective of generating distributable income and has announced regular common and preferred stock dividends in its press releases and related Form 8‑K filings. The company discusses metrics such as earnings available for distribution as one measure of its investment portfolio’s ability to generate income for distribution to common stockholders. It also references the requirement under U.S. federal income tax law that a REIT generally distribute a substantial portion of its REIT taxable income.
Chimera’s disclosures also highlight factors that can affect its ability to make distributions, including access to funding, leverage and liquidity management, credit risk, interest rate and prepayment dynamics, regulatory requirements, and the performance of servicers and other third parties.
Corporate developments and acquisitions
Chimera has reported several notable corporate developments in its SEC filings and press releases. These include the acquisition of The Palisades Group and the acquisition of HomeXpress Mortgage Corp. through its taxable REIT subsidiary, Chimera Funding TRS, LLC. The HomeXpress acquisition was completed pursuant to a stock purchase agreement, with consideration consisting of cash and shares of Chimera common stock, and resulted in HomeXpress becoming an indirect wholly owned subsidiary.
In connection with the HomeXpress acquisition, Chimera adopted the Chimera Investment Corporation 2025 Inducement Award Plan, reserving shares of common stock for inducement grants under NYSE Rule 303A.08, and issued restricted stock units to certain HomeXpress employees as a material inducement for continued employment. The company has also supplemented its risk factors to address risks related to acquisitions and integration, as described in its Form 8‑K filings.
Risk considerations and regulatory environment
Chimera’s forward‑looking statements and risk factor disclosures identify a range of risks that could affect its results. These include the potential that it may not fully realize expected benefits from acquisitions, its ability to obtain funding on favorable terms and access capital markets, manage leverage and liquidity, and handle changes in inflation, the yield curve, interest rates, and mortgage prepayment rates. The company also cites credit risk, default and delinquency rates on its investments, geographic concentration of properties securing its securities and loans, and challenges in valuing assets.
Additional risks noted in its filings include integration of acquisitions, the ability to originate or acquire quality and profitable loans, the effectiveness of hedging strategies, execution of securitization strategies, competition for target assets, dependence on key personnel, performance and compliance by servicers and third parties, cybersecurity and information technology risks, and compliance with extensive federal and state consumer lending regulations. Chimera also highlights the importance of maintaining its exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and its classification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Summary
Overall, Chimera Investment Corporation presents itself, through its public disclosures, as a mortgage‑focused REIT that combines mortgage asset origination, portfolio investment, and investment management and advisory services. It invests across a range of residential and commercial mortgage‑related assets, uses leverage as part of its strategy, and seeks to generate risk‑adjusted returns and distributable income linked to mortgage credit fundamentals.