Hercules Capital Inc (HTGC) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon. My name is Angela, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Hercules Capital fourth-quarter and full year 2025 financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference may be recorded. (Operator Instructions)

午安.我叫安琪拉，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線生。在此，我謹代表 Hercules Capital 歡迎各位參加 2025 年第四季及全年財務業績電話會議。（操作人員說明）請注意，今天的會議可能會被錄音。（操作說明）

I will now turn the call over to Michael Hara, Managing Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我將把電話交給投資者關係總經理邁克爾哈拉。請繼續。

Thank you, Angela. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Hercules conference call for the fourth-quarter and full year 2025. With us on the call today from Hercules are Scott Bluestein, CEO and Chief Investment Officer; and Seth Meyer, CFO. Hercules financial results were released just after today's market close and can be accessed from Hercules Investor Relations section at investor.htgc.com. An archived webcast replay will be available on the Investor Relations web page following the conference call.

謝謝你，安吉拉。各位下午好，歡迎參加 Hercules 公司 2025 年第四季及全年業績電話會議。今天與我們一起參加 Hercules 公司電話會議的有執行長兼首席投資長 Scott Bluestein 和財務長 Seth Meyer。Hercules的財務表現已於今日股市收盤後發布，投資者可造訪investor.htgc.com上的Hercules投資者關係頁面查看。電話會議結束後，投資者關係網頁上將提供網路直播回放。

During this call, we may make forward-looking statements based on our own assumptions and current expectations. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and should not be relied upon in making any investment decision.

在本次電話會議中，我們可能會根據我們自己的假設和當前預期做出前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述並非對未來績效的保證，不應作為任何投資決策的依據。

Actual financial results may differ from the forward-looking statements made during this call for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to, the risks identified in our annual report on Form 10-K and other filings that are publicly available on the SEC's website. Any forward-looking statements made during this call are made only as of today's date, and Hercules assumes no obligation to update any such statements in the future.

實際財務結果可能與本次電話會議中作出的前瞻性陳述有所不同，原因有很多，包括但不限於我們在 10-K 表格年度報告和其他可在美國證券交易委員會網站上公開獲取的文件中確定的風險。本次電話會議中所做的任何前瞻性陳述僅代表截至今日的觀點，Hercules 不承擔在未來更新任何此類陳述的義務。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Scott.

接下來，我將把電話交給史考特。

Thank you, Michael, and thank you all for joining the Hercules Capital Q4 and full year 2025 earnings call. 2025 was another year of record operating performance, record originations, platform expansion and strong and stable credit for Hercules Capital. We were once again able to set several new financial and performance records. And deliver strong platform growth, demonstrating the stability and consistency of the Hercules platform.

謝謝邁克爾，也謝謝各位參加 Hercules Capital 2025 年第四季及全年業績電話會議。 2025 年對 Hercules Capital 而言，是另一個營運績效、貸款發放量、平台擴張以及信貸穩健成長創紀錄的一年。我們再次創造了多項新的財務和業績記錄。並實現強勁的平台成長，展現 Hercules 平台的穩定性與一致性。

Hercules crossed the finish line in record fashion by delivering another strong quarter of record commitments, which led to annual records for new debt and equity commitments, gross fundings, net debt portfolio growth and both total and net investment income.

Hercules 以創紀錄的方式衝過終點線，又一個季度實現了創紀錄的承諾，從而在新增債務和股權承諾、總融資額、淨債務組合增長以及總投資收益和淨投資收益方面都創下了年度紀錄。

Our momentum continued in Q4 with record originations of $1.06 billion, which drove record annual originations of nearly $4 billion and record annual gross fundings of $2.28 billion. Our record fundings led to a new record net debt portfolio growth in 2025. The strong new business activity throughout the year helped to deliver new annual records for both total investment income and net investment income. Our performance in 2025 and our continued confidence in the trajectory of business, put us in position to once again declare a new supplemental distribution program for our shareholders.

第四季度，我們的成長動能得以延續，新增貸款額達到創紀錄的 10.6 億美元，推動年度新增貸款金額接近創紀錄的 40 億美元，年度總融資額達到創紀錄的 22.8 億美元。我們創紀錄的融資使得2025年淨債務組合成長創下新紀錄。全年強勁的新業務活動助力公司實現了總投資收益和淨投資收益的新年度紀錄。我們預計 2025 年業績良好，並且對業務發展前景充滿信心，因此我們能夠再次宣布一項新的股東補充分紅計劃。

Despite operating in a declining rate environment, we were able to achieve 120% coverage of our quarterly base distribution of $0.40 per share in the fourth-quarter and maintain $0.82 per share of spillover income. In addition to not making any changes to our quarterly base distribution, we are maintaining the same quarterly supplemental distribution as last year. Driven by the growth of both the BDC and our private credit funds business. Hercules Capital is now managing more than $5.7 billion of assets, an increase of more than 20% from where we were at year-end 2024.

儘管在利率下降的環境下運營，我們第四季度仍實現了每股 0.40 美元季度基本分紅的 120% 覆蓋率，並保持了每股 0.82 美元的溢出收入。除了不改變季度基本分紅外，我們還將維持與去年相同的季度補充分紅。受 BDC 和我們私人信貸基金業務成長的推動。Hercules Capital 目前管理的資產超過 57 億美元，比 2024 年底的預期增加了 20% 以上。

Let me recap some of the highlights and achievements for 2025. Record new debt and equity commitments of $3.92 billion, an increase of 45.7% year-over-year. Record gross fundings of $2.28 billion, an increase of 25.9% year-over-year. Record total investment income of $532.5 million, an increase of 7.9% year-over-year. Record net investment income of $341.7 million, an increase of 4.9% year-over-year.

讓我回顧一下2025年的一些亮點和成就。新增債務和股權承諾額達 39.2 億美元，創歷史新高，較去年同期成長 45.7%。總融資額達到創紀錄的 22.8 億美元，年增 25.9%。總投資收益創歷史新高，達 5.325 億美元，年增 7.9%。淨投資收益創歷史新高，達 3.417 億美元，年增 4.9%。

Record net debt portfolio growth of approximately $748.5 million. Consistent and growing quarterly dividends from our wholly owned RIA, which generated $23.4 million in dividend and other contributions for the company in 2025. Six consecutive years of delivering supplemental distributions to our shareholders and record platform-level year-end assets under management of more than $5.7 billion, an increase of 20.5% year-over-year.

淨債務組合成長約 7.485 億美元，創歷史新高。我們全資擁有的 RIA 持續派發不斷增長的季度股息，2025 年為公司創造了 2,340 萬美元的股息和其他貢獻。連續六年向股東發放補充分紅，平台層級年末資產管理規模創歷史新高，超過 57 億美元，較去年同期成長 20.5%。

As we enter 2026, we continue to expect higher-than-normal market and macro volatility and we are already seeing this play out with the recent valuation reset that is taking place in certain parts of the tech ecosystem. With our disciplined credit-first approach to underwriting, and our unwavering commitment to always making decisions that we believe are in the best interest of our shareholders and stakeholders, we remain confident in the strength and stability of the Hercules platform and our ability to continue to generate strong operating results irrespective of the market backdrop.

進入 2026 年，我們繼續預期市場和宏觀經濟波動性將高於正常水平，而最近科技生態系統某些領域的估值重置已經印證了這一點。憑藉我們嚴謹的信用優先承保方式，以及我們始終堅持做出我們認為最符合股東和利益相關者利益的決策的堅定承諾，我們對 Hercules 平台的實力和穩定性以及無論市場環境如何，我們都能繼續創造強勁經營業績的能力充滿信心。

With the expansion of our platform capabilities over the last several years, and our expectation for continued market volatility, we expect a very robust new business environment for Hercules in 2026. Our expectation is that we will see more strategic M&A, more capital markets activity, and more support for the innovation economy in 2026. We are already seeing this come to fruition in Q1.

隨著過去幾年我們平台能力的擴展，以及我們對市場持續波動的預期，我們預計 Hercules 在 2026 年將迎來非常強勁的新商業環境。我們預計，2026 年將出現更多策略性併購、更多資本市場活動以及對創新經濟的更多支持。我們已經在第一季看到了這一趨勢的實現。

As we have done over the last several years, we intend to continue to manage our business and balance sheet defensively, while maintaining the flexibility to take advantage of market opportunities that we expect to arise. This includes continuing to enhance our liquidity position as needed, further tightening our credit screens for new underwritings, staying focused on asset diversification and maintaining our higher-than-normal first lien exposure, which was approximately 90% again in Q4.

正如過去幾年我們所做的那樣，我們打算繼續採取防禦性的方式管理我們的業務和資產負債表，同時保持靈活性，以抓住我們預期會出現的市場機會。這包括根據需要繼續增強我們的流動性狀況，進一步收緊我們對新承銷的信用篩選，繼續專注於資產多元化，並維持高於正常水平的第一留置權敞口，該敞口在第四季度再次達到約 90%。

We believe that we are incredibly well positioned to benefit from a more favorable originations market in 2026, which we expect will be a key differentiator of our business this year.

我們相信，我們已做好充分準備，從 2026 年更有利的貸款發放市場中受益，我們預計這將是我們今年業務的關鍵差異化因素。

Let me now recap some of the key highlights of our performance for Q4. In Q4, we originated record total gross debt and equity commitments of $1.06 billion and gross fundings of over $522 million. We generated total investment income of $137.4 million and net investment income of $87 million, or $0.48 per share. With record growth in our debt investment portfolio in 2025, and given that nearly 75% of our prime-based loans are now at their floors, we are generating a level of core income that amply covers our base distribution of $0.40.

現在讓我回顧一下我們第四季業績的一些主要亮點。第四季度，我們創紀錄地完成了 10.6 億美元的債務和股權總承諾，以及超過 5.22 億美元的總融資。我們共獲得投資收益 1.374 億美元，淨投資收益 8,700 萬美元，即每股 0.48 美元。2025 年，我們的債務投資組合實現了創紀錄的增長，而且鑑於我們近 75% 的優質貸款目前已達到最低水平，我們產生的核心收入足以完全覆蓋我們 0.40 美元的基本分紅。

We generated a return on equity in Q4 of 16.4% and our portfolio generated a GAAP effective yield of 12.9%, which was impacted by lower early payoffs and a core yield of 12.5%, which was consistent with Q3. We expect core yield to decline slightly in Q1 with the full impact of the most recent Fed rate cut.

我們在第四季度實現了 16.4% 的股本回報率，投資組合的 GAAP 有效收益率為 12.9%，這受到早期收益減少的影響，核心收益率為 12.5%，與第三季度一致。我們預計，隨著聯準會最近一次降息的全面影響，核心殖利率將在第一季略有下降。

Our balance sheet with moderate leverage and low cost of leverage remains very well positioned to support our continued growth objectives and provides us with the ability to continue to focus on high-quality originations versus chasing higher-yielding assets, which we believe have more risk. While delivering record new originations in Q4, we still maintained a conservative and defensive balance sheet.

我們資產負債表槓桿率適中，槓桿成本低，因此能夠很好地支持我們持續的成長目標，並使我們能夠繼續專注於高品質的貸款業務，而不是追逐我們認為風險更高的高收益資產。儘管第四季新增貸款金額創歷史新高，但我們仍然維持了保守穩健的資產負債表。

As we guided, GAAP leverage increased to 104.4% in Q4, up from 99.5% in Q3. Our Q4 GAAP leverage remained at the very low end of our typical historical range of 100% to 115% and below the average of our BDC peers. We ended Q4 with over $1 billion of liquidity across the platform, and we further strengthened our liquidity position with our recent $300 million investment-grade bond offering.

正如我們之前預測的那樣，第四季 GAAP 槓桿率上升至 104.4%，高於第三季的 99.5%。我們的第四季度 GAAP 槓桿率仍處於我們通常歷史範圍 100% 至 115% 的極低水平，低於我們 BDC 同行的平均水平。在第四季末，我們平台上的流動性超過 10 億美元，並且透過最近發行的 3 億美元投資等級債券，進一步加強了我們的流動性狀況。

The current market volatility is creating a very favorable capital deployment environment for Hercules, and we want to ensure that we are positioned to opportunistically take advantage of that for the long-term benefit of our shareholders and stakeholders.

當前市場波動為 Hercules 創造了非常有利的資本部署環境，我們希望確保我們能夠抓住機遇，並利用這個環境為我們的股東和利害關係人帶來長期利益。

The focus of our origination efforts in Q4 was on maintaining a disciplined approach to capital deployment while emphasizing diversification across the asset base. Our Q4 fundings activity was well balanced between life sciences and tech companies. Although our new commitment activity was more heavily weighted towards life sciences companies, which reflects a slightly more defensive posture. This is consistent with our public guidance during our Q3 call, where we noted certain pockets of frothiness in the market that we were avoiding.

第四季度，我們的業務拓展重點是維持穩健的資本部署方式，同時強調資產基礎的多元化。我們在第四季的融資活動中，對生命科學公司和科技公司的投資分佈較為均衡。儘管我們新的投資活動更側重於生命科學公司，這反映出一種略顯保守的姿態。這與我們第三季財報電話會議上的公開指導意見一致，當時我們指出市場中存在一些泡沫，我們正在避免這些泡沫。

In Q4, approximately 69% of our commitments and about half of our fundings were to life sciences companies, while approximately 31% of our new commitments were to tech companies. We funded debt capital to 33 different companies in Q4, of which 12 were new borrower relationships. For the year, we added 39 new borrowers to the Hercules portfolio. We also increased our capital commitments to several portfolio companies during the quarter, and supporting our existing portfolio companies will continue to be a key priority for us in 2026.

在第四季度，我們約 69% 的承諾和約一半的資金流向了生命科學公司，而我們約 31% 的新承諾流向了科技公司。第四季度，我們向 33 家不同的公司提供了債務資本，其中 12 家是新的借款人關係。今年，我們為 Hercules 投資組合新增了 39 位借款人。本季度，我們也增加了對幾家投資組合公司的資本投入，支持我們現有的投資組合公司仍將是我們在 2026 年的首要任務。

Our available unfunded commitments declined to approximately $385.6 million from $437.5 million in Q3. Again, reflecting a slightly more defensive positioning of the portfolio. The momentum that we saw in Q4 for new originations has further accelerated in Q1. Since the close of Q4 and as of February 9, 2026, our investment team has closed $894.8 million of new commitments, and funded $253.9 million. We have pending commitments of an additional $587.5 million in signed nonbinding term sheets and we expect this number to continue to grow as we progress in Q1.

我們可用的未撥付承諾從第三季的 4.375 億美元下降至約 3.856 億美元。這再次反映出該投資組合的配置略微偏向防禦性。我們在第四季看到的新增貸款成長動能在第一季進一步加速。自第四季結束至 2026 年 2 月 9 日，我們的投資團隊已完成 8.948 億美元的新承諾，並已投入 2.539 億美元。我們已簽署不具約束力的條款清單，待定金額為 5.875 億美元，我們預計隨著第一季的推進，這一數字將繼續增長。

Our active pipeline remains very robust, both in terms of quantity and most importantly, quality, and our quarter-to-date commitment activity has remained more heavily weighted towards life sciences companies. We are focused on maintaining our high bar for new originations, given some of our recent market observations. The volume of deals that our teams are screening and passing on remains elevated. And yet we are continuing to see deals get done in the market without strong structure, and well outside of what we believe are prudent underwriting metrics for the asset class.

我們的在研項目依然非常強勁，無論從數量或最重要的品質方面來看都是如此，而且我們本季迄今的承諾活動仍然更集中在生命科學公司。鑑於我們近期對市場的一些觀察，我們致力於維持對新業務發放的高標準。我們的團隊正在篩選和拒絕的交易數量仍然居高不下。然而，我們仍然看到市場上有許多交易缺乏強有力的結構，遠遠超出了我們認為該資產類別審慎的承銷標準。

As we have always done, we intend to remain disciplined, patient and focused on the long term while being aggressive where we believe it makes sense. We continue to be pleased with the exit activity that we saw in our portfolio during the quarter. In Q4, we had four new M&A events in our portfolio, which included one life sciences portfolio company and three technology portfolio companies announcing acquisitions. That brings us to 15 M&A events plus one IPO in our portfolio through year-end.

我們將一如既往地保持自律、耐心和長遠的戰略眼光，同時在我們認為合適的地方採取積極進取的態度。我們對本季投資組合的退出活動感到滿意。第四季度，我們的投資組合中有四起新的併購事件，其中包括一家生命科學投資組合公司和三家技術投資組合公司宣布收購。截至年底，我們的投資組合中共有 15 起併購事件和 1 起 IPO。

We had one additional technology portfolio company announce an M&A event in Q1 quarter-to-date. Based on current market conditions and the volatility, we respect -- with respect to valuations, we expect exit activity to accelerate in 2026. Early loan repayments of $149.7 million came in at the lower end of our range of $150 million to $200 million for Q4.

截至目前，我們第一季投資組合中的一家科技公司宣布了一項併購交易。根據當前的市場狀況和波動性，我們尊重——就估值而言，我們預計退出活動將在 2026 年加速。第四季提前償還的貸款金額為 1.497 億美元，處於我們先前預測的 1.5 億美元至 2 億美元範圍的下限。

The lower level of early loan prepayments had a small negative impact on Q4 NII, but it helped drive strong net debt portfolio growth and continues to position us well for strong core earnings growth into 2026. For Q1, we expect prepayments to be in the range of $150 million to $200 million, although this could change as we progress in the quarter.

提前償還貸款的減少對第四季度淨利息收入產生了輕微的負面影響，但有助於推動淨債務組合的強勁增長，並繼續為我們到 2026 年實現強勁的核心盈利增長奠定良好基礎。我們預計第一季的預付款額將在 1.5 億美元至 2 億美元之間，但隨著季度的推進，這一數字可能會發生變化。

Our net asset value per share in Q4 was $12.13, an increase of 0.7% from Q3 2025. We ended Q4 with solid liquidity of $525.5 million in the BDC and over $1 billion of liquidity across the platform. Our liquidity position was further boosted by the $300 million capital raise that we completed post quarter end.

2025 年第四季度，我們的每股淨資產價值為 12.13 美元，比 2025 年第三季成長 0.7%。第四季末，BDC 的流動資金充足，達到 5.255 億美元，整個平台的流動資金超過 10 億美元。我們在季度末後完成了 3 億美元的融資，進一步增強了我們的流動性。

With healthy liquidity, a low cost of debt relative to our peers and four investment-grade corporate credit ratings, we remain well positioned to compete aggressively on quality transactions, which we believe is prudent in the current environment. Credit quality of the debt investment portfolio remains strong and improved quarter-over-quarter.

憑藉健康的流動性、相對於同業較低的債務成本以及四項投資級企業信用評級，我們仍然處於有利地位，可以積極參與優質交易的競爭，我們認為這在當前環境下是審慎的做法。債務投資組合的信用品質依然強勁，且較上季有所改善。

Our weighted average internal credit rating of 2.20 improved from the 2.27 rating in Q3 and remains well within our normal historical range. Our Grade 1 and 2 credits increased to 66.6% compared to 64.5% in Q3. Grade 3 credits decreased slightly to 31.7% in Q4 versus 32.7% in Q3. Our rated 4 credits decreased to 1.7% from 2.8% in Q3, and we did not have any rated 5 credits for the third consecutive quarter. The 1.7% of loans rated at 4 and 5 as of year-end is the lowest that we have reported since Q3 of 2022.

我們的加權平均內部信用評級為 2.20，較第三季的 2.27 有所提高，並且仍處於我們正常的歷史範圍內。我們的 1 級和 2 級學分率從第三季的 64.5% 提高到 66.6%。第四季三級學分略微下降至 31.7%，而第三季為 32.7%。第三季度，我們評級為 4 的信用額度從 2.8% 下降到 1.7%，並且連續第三個季度沒有評級為 5 的信用額度。截至年底，評級為 4 和 5 的貸款佔比為 1.7%，這是我們自 2022 年第三季以來報告的最低水準。

In Q4, the number of companies with loans on nonaccrual decreased by one to a single loan on nonaccrual with an investment cost and fair value of approximately $10.7 million and $6.3 million, respectively, or 0.2% and 0.1% as a percentage of our total investment portfolio at cost and fair value, respectively. In Q4, we generated $20.3 million of net realized gains. And as of the most recent reporting that we have, 100% of our debt investments that are on accrual are current with respect to the payment of scheduled principal and interest.

第四季度，非應計貸款的公司數量減少了一家，只剩下一筆非應計貸款，其投資成本和公允價值分別約為 1,070 萬美元和 630 萬美元，分別占我們總投資組合成本和公允價值的 0.2% 和 0.1%。第四季度，我們實現了2,030萬美元的淨收益。根據我們最新的報告，我們所有應計債務投資均已按時支付預定的本金和利息。

With respect to our broader credit book and outlook, we generally remain pleased by what we are seeing on a portfolio level, and our portfolio monitoring remains enhanced given the volatility in the market.

就我們更廣泛的信貸組合和前景而言，我們總體上對投資組合層面的情況感到滿意，鑑於市場的波動性，我們將繼續加強對投資組合的監控。

We believe that our conservative underwriting and ensuring appropriate structural alignment on the deals that we do will continue to serve us well. As of the end of Q4, the weighted average loan-to-value across our debt portfolio was approximately 14%. Our asset base is intentionally diversified with approximately 50% of our assets in our life sciences vertical, and approximately 50% of our assets in our technology vertical.

我們相信，我們保守的承銷策略以及確保我們所做交易的結構適當調整，將繼續為我們帶來良好的結果。截至第四季末，我們債務組合的加權平均貸款價值比約為 14%。我們的資產基礎有意進行多元化配置，其中約 50% 的資產投資於生命科學領域，約 50% 的資產投資於技術領域。

No single subsector makes up more than 25% of our total investment portfolio and our debt investments are spread across 127 different companies. With the continued enhanced focus on PIK across the private credit markets, as well as the recent market uncertainty surrounding software investments broadly, we wanted to provide some additional commentary on both topics for Hercules. For Q4, PIK was approximately 10.4% of total revenue, which decreased from where it was in Q3 and during the first half of 2025.

沒有一個子產業在我們投資組合中的佔比超過 25%，我們的債務投資分散在 127 家不同的公司。鑑於私募信貸市場對實物支付 (PIK) 的持續關注，以及近期軟體投資領域普遍存在的市場不確定性，我們希望就 Hercules 的這兩個主題提供一些補充評論。第四季度，PIK 約佔總收入的 10.4%，低於第三季和 2025 年上半年的水平。

Approximately 86% of our PIK income in Q4 was attributable to PIK that was part of the original underwriting and not a result of any credit or performance-related amendment. Nearly 91% of our PIK income in Q4 came from loans that we rated 1, 2 or 3.

第四季我們約 86% 的 PIK 收入歸因於原始核保中的 PIK，而不是任何信用或績效相關修改的結果。第四季度，我們近 91% 的 PIK 收入來自我們評級為 1、2 或 3 的貸款。

With respect to the increased focus on software and AI-related investments, we note the following. Over the coming years, we believe that AI will be a net positive for our business and investment portfolio, which is largely comprised of innovative tech-oriented businesses that embrace technology with an entrepreneurial mindset. Many of our portfolio companies are differentiating themselves from legacy software competitors by integrating general and more importantly, agenetic AI into their core product offerings.

鑑於對軟體和人工智慧相關投資的日益重視，我們注意到以下幾點。我們相信，在未來幾年裡，人工智慧將對我們的業務和投資組合產生積極影響，我們的投資組合主要由具有企業家精神、擁抱科技的創新科技企業組成。我們投資組合中的許多公司透過將通用人工智慧（更重要的是，將基因人工智慧）整合到其核心產品中，從而與傳統軟體競爭對手區分開來。

Many are also led by technical founders, which we believe provides a distinct advantage as companies look to integrate AI into their software products. AI will continue to become a key component of software offerings and many software companies will benefit from that. The software companies that are most susceptible to AI disruption are the legacy providers that are not providing a core mission-critical business function, utilizing proprietary data from their customers and who are not analyzing the data that they do have with AI to then offer solutions to customers.

許多公司也由技術創辦人領導，我們認為這為該公司在尋求將人工智慧整合到其軟體產品中提供了明顯的優勢。人工智慧將繼續成為軟體產品的重要組成部分，許多軟體公司將從中受益。最容易受到人工智慧顛覆的軟體公司是那些不提供核心關鍵業務功能、不利用客戶專有數據、也不利用人工智慧分析現有數據以向客戶提供解決方案的傳統供應商。

Hercules factors this into our technology underwritings, and our focus over the last 12 to 18 months has largely been centered on software companies with a hardware moat or with customer bases that are highly regulated. Hercules does not lend into pure-play AI or data center GPU financing structures. This deliberate positioning allows us to avoid the highest volatility, highest risk segments of the market, while still constructing a portfolio of companies that we believe will benefit from the operating efficiencies and productivity gains emerging across the broader AI ecosystem.

Hercules 將此因素納入我們的技術承保範圍，在過去 12 到 18 個月中，我們的重點主要集中在擁有硬體護城河或客戶群受到嚴格監管的軟體公司。Hercules 不會向純粹的 AI 或資料中心 GPU 融資結構提供貸款。這種精心佈局使我們能夠避開市場中波動性最高、風險最大的部分，同時建立一個我們認為將受益於更廣泛的人工智慧生態系統中出現的營運效率和生產力提升的公司投資組合。

Many of the software companies in our portfolio serve as the gatekeepers to their customers' structured data and they provide the tools to these customers that serve mission-critical functions. Our software portfolio is largely comprised of businesses who have very specific domain expertise and competencies with very high switching costs for customers.

我們投資組合中的許多軟體公司充當客戶結構化資料的守門人，並向這些客戶提供執行關鍵任務功能的工具。我們的軟體產品組合主要由那些擁有非常具體的領域專業知識和能力，且客戶轉換成本非常高的企業所組成。

We continue to underwrite the software sector very conservatively with ARR attachment points less than 1x on average, and historical duration of our software loans less than 24 months, which materially derisks the debt portfolio. On the life sciences side of our business, we are continuing to see many of our health care services companies and drug discovery companies benefit from the efficiencies that can be derived from utilizing some of the new AI tech that is now available to them.

我們繼續以非常保守的方式承銷軟體產業，平均年經常性收入掛鉤點低於 1 倍，軟體貸款的歷史期限低於 24 個月，這大大降低了債務組合的風險。在生命科學領域，我們不斷看到許多醫療保健服務公司和藥物研發公司受益於利用目前可用的某些新型人工智慧技術所帶來的效率提升。

Lastly, underwriting growth stage and venture-backed software credits is fundamentally different than more traditional and customary middle market software credits. In the latter, deals are generally underwritten with LTVs in the 40% to 60% range, debt-to-invested equity ratios in the 50% to 70% range, and at ARR attachment points between 1x and 2.5x. For us, with our software credits, we are targeting LTVs that are less than 20%, debt to invested equity ratio is less than 30% and ARR attachment points that are sub 1x, which we believe reflects a more conservative approach to underwriting these credits.

最後，為成長階段和創投支援的軟體提供信貸，與為更傳統的、慣常的中端市場軟體提供信貸有著根本的不同。在後一種情況下，交易的貸款價值比 (LTV) 通常為 40% 至 60%，債務與投資權益比率為 50% 至 70%，年度經常性收入 (ARR) 的掛鉤點為 1 倍至 2.5 倍。而對於我們的軟體信貸，我們的目標是 LTV 低於 20%，債務與投資權益比率低於 30%，ARR 掛鉤點低於 1 倍，我們認為這反映了我們對這類信貸更保守的承銷方式。

Venture capital investment activity in Q4 again paralleled what we experienced in our deal flow and originations. Full year 2025 investment activity was the second highest in history at $339.4 billion, second only to the $358.2 billion invested in 2021, according to data gathered by PitchBook-NVCA.

第四季創投活動再次與我們在交易量和專案發起方面所經歷的情況相吻合。根據 PitchBook-NVCA 收集的數據，2025 年全年投資活動達 3,394 億美元，是史上第二高，僅次於 2021 年的 3,582 億美元。

While the aggregate data remains strong, it remains highly concentrated with over 65% of the full year VC equity investments going into AI and cybersecurity companies. M&A exit activity for 2025 for US venture capital-backed companies was $140.7 billion. Again, the second highest amount since 2021.

雖然整體數據仍然強勁，但投資仍然高度集中，全年創投股權投資的 65% 以上都流向了人工智慧和網路安全公司。2025 年美國創投支持的公司併購退出活動總額為 1,407 億美元。這是自 2021 年以來的第二高金額。

The number of IPOs for the year remained flat compared to 2024, but the dollars raised increased by nearly three times over 2024. Fundraising for VC firms slowed for the third straight year to $66.1 billion in 2025, and this is something that we will watch closely in 2026. Consistent with the aggregate data for the ecosystem, during Q4, capital raising across our portfolio remains strong, with 20 companies raising $2.9 billion in new capital. For 2025, we had 57 companies raise over $7.9 billion in new capital, which is the highest amount since we began tracking the data across our portfolio.

今年的IPO數量與2024年相比持平，但籌集的資金比2024年增加了近三倍。2025 年創投公司的融資額連續第三年放緩至 661 億美元，我們將密切關注 2026 年的情況。與生態系統的整體數據一致，在第四季度，我們投資組合中的公司融資情況依然強勁，20 家公司共籌集了 29 億美元的新資金。2025 年，我們有 57 家公司籌集了超過 79 億美元的新資金，這是我們開始追蹤投資組合數據以來的最高金額。

Given our strong sustained operating performance, we exited Q4 with undistributed earnings spillover of $149.9 million, or $0.82 per ending shares outstanding. For Q4 we are maintaining our quarterly base distribution of $0.40, and we declared a new supplemental distribution of $0.28 for 2026, which will be distributed equally over four quarters or $0.07 per share per quarter for a total of $0.47 of shareholder distributions each quarter. Our Q4 net investment income covered our base distribution by 120% and our full distribution, including our $0.07 supplemental distribution by 102%.

鑑於我們強勁的持續經營業績，截至第四季度末，我們未分配的收益溢出額為 1.499 億美元，即每股期末流通股 0.82 美元。第四季度，我們維持每股0.40美元的季度基本分紅，並宣布2026年新增每股0.28美元的補充分紅，該分紅將在四個季度內平均分配，即每季度每股0.07美元，每個季度股東分紅總額為0.47美元。我們第四季的淨投資收益涵蓋了基本分配額的 120%，涵蓋了全部分配額（包括 0.07 美元的補充分配額）的 102%。

Based on our recent and anticipated near-term operating performance, we continue to be very comfortable with our quarterly base distribution and our ability to continue to provide our shareholders with supplemental distributions this year. This is our 22 consecutive quarter of being able to provide our shareholders with a supplemental distribution in addition to our regular quarterly base distribution.

根據我們近期和預期的近期經營業績，我們對季度基本分紅以及今年繼續向股東提供補充分紅的能力仍然非常有信心。這已經是我們連續第 22 個季度能夠在常規季度基本分紅之外，向股東提供額外分紅。

Similar to what we did at year-end 2024, we want to provide a brief update on our growing private fund business, which continues to provide meaningful benefits to Hercules Capital. As a reminder, Hercules Advisor LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hercules Capital, our internally managed BDC. And as a result, 100% of the earnings and value of that business, benefit our public shareholders and stakeholders.

與我們在 2024 年底所做的類似，我們希望簡要介紹我們不斷增長的私募股權基金業務，該業務繼續為 Hercules Capital 帶來實質性的收益。再次提醒，Hercules Advisor LLC 是 Hercules Capital 的全資子公司，Hercules Capital 是我們內部管理的商業發展公司 (BDC)。因此，該業務的全部收益和價值都將惠及我們的公眾股東和利害關係人。

We are very excited about the momentum in this business and the value that we are delivering for our institutional partners, and we view it as a strong tailwind for Hercules and our shareholders moving forward. Since inception in 2021, HTGC has received approximately $65 million in cumulative benefits from its wholly owned private credit funds business.

我們對這項業務的發展勢頭以及我們為機構合作夥伴創造的價值感到非常興奮，我們認為這將是大力神公司和我們的股東未來發展的強勁助力。自 2021 年成立以來，HTGC 已從其全資擁有的私人信貸基金業務中累計獲得約 6,500 萬美元的收益。

Hercules Advisor LLC, now manages nearly $2 billion in committed equity and debt capital. And these private funds continue to provide a differentiated avenue for institutional investors to access the scale and proven performance of Hercules.

Hercules Advisor LLC 目前管理著近 20 億美元的承諾股權和債務資本。這些私人基金繼續為機構投資者提供一條差異化的途徑，讓他們能夠接觸到 Hercules 的規模和已證明的表現。

During 2025, between new capital commitments and the extension of existing capital commitments, we raised over $1 billion across our private fund business. In closing, our scale, institutionalized lending platform and our ability to capitalize on a rapidly changing competitive and macro environment continues to drive our business forward and our operating performance to record levels. In Q4, Hercules delivered its 11 consecutive quarter of over $100 million of quarterly core income, which excludes the benefit of prepayment fees or fee accelerations from early repayments.

2025 年，透過新增資本承諾和現有資本承諾的延期，我們在私募股權基金業務中籌集了超過 10 億美元。總之，我們的規模、制度化的貸款平台以及我們利用快速變化的競爭和宏觀環境的能力，繼續推動我們的業務向前發展，並將我們的經營業績提升至創紀錄的水平。第四季度，Hercules 連續第 11 個季度實現超過 1 億美元的季度核心收入，這還不包括提前還款費用或提前還款帶來的費用加速收益。

Despite the declining rate environment that we are now operating in, we were able to achieve 120% coverage of our quarterly base distribution in Q4. Our continued success is attributable to the tremendous dedication, efforts and capabilities of our 115-plus employees and the trust that our venture capital and private equity partners place with us every day. We are thankful to the many companies, management teams and investors that continue to make Hercules their partner of choice.

儘管我們目前所處的利率環境不斷下降，但我們在第四季度仍實現了季度基本分紅的 120% 覆蓋率。我們持續取得成功，歸功於我們 115 多名員工的巨大奉獻精神、努力和能力，以及我們的創投和私募股權合作夥伴每天對我們的信任。我們衷心感謝眾多公司、管理團隊和投資者，他們始終選擇 Hercules 作為他們的首選合作夥伴。

I will now turn the call over to Seth.

現在我將把通話轉給賽斯。

Thank you, Scott, and good afternoon and evening, ladies and gentlemen. 2025 was another very strong year for Hercules Capital with record operating performance and an acceleration of the growth of the Hercules platform. Our strong business momentum and performance results throughout the year continued into the fourth-quarter. We delivered strong growth across both the BDC and our wholly owned private credit fund business, which continues to provide us with significant capital flexibility and the capacity to take advantage of market opportunities as they arise.

謝謝斯科特，女士們、先生們，下午好/晚上好。 2025年對赫拉克勒斯資本來說又是強勁的一年，營運績效創下歷史新高，赫拉克勒斯平台也加速發展。我們全年強勁的業務發展動能和業績表現延續到了第四季。我們在商業發展公司 (BDC) 和我們全資擁有的私人信貸基金業務方面都實現了強勁增長，這繼續為我們提供了巨大的資本靈活性，並使我們能夠抓住市場出現的機會。

We continue to maintain strong available liquidity of approximately $526 million as of quarter end in the BDC and more than $1 billion across the platform including the adviser funds managed by our wholly owned subsidiary, Hercules Capital -- Hercules Advisor LLC. As mentioned by Scott, after quarter end, we strengthened our liquidity position by issuing $300 million of institutional 5.35% unsecured notes.

截至季末，我們在 BDC 中繼續保持約 5.26 億美元的強勁可用流動性，整個平台（包括由我們的全資子公司 Hercules Capital - Hercules Advisor LLC 管理的顧問基金）的可用流動性超過 10 億美元。正如 Scott 所提到的，季度末之後，我們透過發行 3 億美元的機構級 5.35% 無擔保票據加強了我們的流動性狀況。

Finally, based on the performance of the quarter, Hercules Adviser delivered a quarterly dividend of $2.1 million, which when combined with the expense reimbursement of approximately $4.4 million resulted in approximately $6.5 million in NII contribution to the BDC for the quarter.

最後，根據本季的業績，Hercules Adviser 派發了 210 萬美元的季度股息，加上約 440 萬美元的費用報銷，本季為 BDC 帶來了約 650 萬美元的淨利息收入。

For 2025, Hercules Adviser delivered $23 million in NII contribution to the BDC, an increase of approximately 33% year-over-year. With those points in mind, I'll review the income statement performance and highlights, NAV unrealized and realized activity, leverage and liquidity, and finally, the financial outlook.

2025 年，Hercules Adviser 向 BDC 貢獻了 2,300 萬美元的 NII，年成長約 33%。考慮到以上幾點，我將回顧損益表表現和亮點、淨資產值未實現和已實現活動、槓桿率和流動性，以及最後的財務展望。

Turning first to the income statement performance and highlights. Total investment income in Q4 was $137.4 million, supported by our year-to-date debt portfolio growth. Core investment income, a non-GAAP measure, increased as well to a record $133.3 million. Core investment income excludes the benefit of income recognized because of early loan prepayments.

首先來看損益表表現和亮點。第四季總投資收益為 1.374 億美元，這得益於我們年初至今的債務投資組合成長。核心投資收益（非GAAP指標）也成長至創紀錄的1.333億美元。核心投資收益不包括因提前償還貸款而確認的收益。

Net investment income was $87 million or $0.48 per share in Q4, and this number was partially impacted by prepayments being lower than anticipated in the fourth-quarter. Our effective and core yields were 12.9% and 12.5%, respectively, compared to 13.5% and 12.5% in the prior quarter. The effective yield was down on lower prepayments, as previously noted. However, I would highlight that this is the third-quarter in a row, our core yield has remained at 12.5%. 12.5% despite the base rate decreases throughout the latter half of 2025.

第四季淨投資收益為 8,700 萬美元，即每股 0.48 美元，這一數字部分受到第四季度預付款低於預期的影響。我們的有效收益率和核心收益率分別為 12.9% 和 12.5%，而上一季分別為 13.5% 和 12.5%。如前所述，由於提前還款額減少，實際收益率有所下降。不過，我要強調的是，這已經是連續第三個季度，我們的核心報酬率維持在12.5%。儘管2025年下半年基準利率有所下降，但我們的核心殖利率仍維持在12.5%。

As of quarter end, approximately 75% of our prime-based loans were at their contractual floor, and thus the impact of any future rate reductions will continue to be muted. Fourth-quarter operating expenses were $54.9 million compared to $53.6 million in the prior quarter. Net of costs recharged to the RIA, our net operating expenses were $50.5 million. Interest expense and fees increased to $28.2 million due to the growth of the business and corresponding increase of leverage. SG&A remained stable at $26.7 million, just above my guidance on the growth of the business.

截至季末，我們約 75% 的優質貸款已達到合約規定的最低利率，因此未來任何降息的影響將繼續保持溫和。第四季營運支出為 5,490 萬美元，而上一季為 5,360 萬美元。扣除重新計入 RIA 的成本後，我們的淨營運支出為 5,050 萬美元。由於業務成長和槓桿率相應提高，利息支出和費用增加至 2,820 萬美元。銷售、一般及行政費用保持穩定，為 2,670 萬美元，略高於我對業務成長的預期。

Net of cost recharge to the RIA, SG&A expenses decreased slightly to $22.2 million. Our weighted average cost of debt remained stable at 5.1%. Our ROAE or NII over average equity decreased to 16.4% for the fourth-quarter and our ROAA or NII over average total assets decreased to 8.2%. In the NAV unrealized and realized activity during the quarter, our NAV per share increased by $0.08 per share to $12.13 per share. The main driver was the net realized gains and accretion due to the use of the ATM during the quarter.

扣除向 RIA 收取的成本後，銷售、一般及行政費用略為下降至 2,220 萬美元。我們的加權平均債務成本維持穩定在 5.1%。第四季度，我們的 ROAE 或 NII 相對於平均權益下降至 16.4%，我們的 ROAA 或 NII 相對於平均總資產下降至 8.2%。在本季未實現且已實現的淨資產值活動中，我們的每股淨值增加了 0.08 美元，達到每股 12.13 美元。主要驅動因素是本季使用 ATM 帶來的淨實現收益和增值。

During 2025, our NAV per share increased by 4%, and this is the highest year-end NAV we've delivered since 2007. During Q4, Hercules had net realized gains of $20.3 million comprised of gross realized gains of $28.8 million, primarily due to the gain on equity investments offset by $8.5 million of losses. The losses were due to $5.3 million of losses on equity investments, $3.1 million from the write-off of one legacy debt investment and $0.1 million from a realized loss on debt extinguishment.

2025 年，我們的每股淨資產成長了 4%，這是自 2007 年以來我們實現的最高年末淨資產。第四季度，赫拉克勒斯公司實現淨收益 2,030 萬美元，其中實現毛收益 2,880 萬美元，主要來自股權投資收益，但被 850 萬美元的損失所抵消。損失包括：股權投資損失 530 萬美元，一項遺留債務投資註銷損失 310 萬美元，以及債務清償實現損失 10 萬美元。

Our $16.4 million of net realized depreciation was primarily attributable to $18.3 million of net unrealized depreciation due to reversals of previous quarter appreciation upon a realization event, and $8.9 million of net unrealized depreciation attributable to debt investments.

我們1640萬美元的淨已實現折舊主要歸因於1830萬美元的淨未實現折舊（由於實現事件導致上一季度增值被沖回），以及890萬美元的淨未實現折舊（歸因於債務投資）。

This was partially offset by $8.1 million of net unrealized appreciation attributable to valuation movements in publicly held equity in warrants, $2.4 million of net unrealized appreciation attributable to valuation movements in privately held equity warrants and investment funds, and $0.3 million of net unrealized depreciation attributable to net foreign exchange and escrow movements.

這部分被以下因素抵銷：公開持有的股權認股權證估值變動帶來的未實現淨增值 810 萬美元；私募股權認股權證和投資基金估值變動帶來的未實現淨增值 240 萬美元；以及外匯和託管資金淨變動帶來的未實現淨減值 30 萬美元。

Next, on leverage and liquidity. Consistent with our previous guidance, our GAAP and regulatory leverage increased to 104.4% and 88.6%, respectively, compared to the prior quarter due to the growth in the balance sheet, mostly being financed by leverage. Netting out leverage with cash on the balance sheet, our GAAP and regulatory leverage was 101.8% and 86%, respectively.

接下來，我們來談談槓桿和流動性。與先前的預期一致，由於資產負債表的成長（主要透過槓桿融資），我們的 GAAP 槓桿率和監管槓桿率分別比上一季增長至 104.4% 和 88.6%。扣除資產負債表上的現金槓桿後，我們的 GAAP 槓桿比率和監管槓桿比率分別為 101.8% 和 86%。

We ended the quarter with $526 million of available liquidity. As a reminder, this excludes the capital raised by the funds managed by our wholly owned RIA subsidiary. Inclusive of these amounts, Hercules platform had more than $1 billion of available liquidity as of year-end.

本季末，我們擁有5.26億美元的可用流動資金。需要提醒的是，這不包括我們全資擁有的RIA子公司管理的基金所籌集的資金。加上這些金額，截至年底，Hercules平台擁有超過10億美元的可用營運資金。

The strong liquidity positions us well to support our existing portfolio companies and source new opportunities. As mentioned, subsequent to quarter close, Hercules Capital raised $300 million of institutional 5.35% unsecured notes due in 2029. Finally, on the outlook points. For the first-quarter, we expect our core yield to be in the middle of our previous disclosed range of 12% to 12.5%. As a reminder, 98% of our debt portfolio is floating with the floor. And as of today, approximately 75% of our prime-based portfolio is at the

充裕的流動性使我們能夠更好地支持現有投資組合公司並尋找新的機會。如前所述，在季度結束後，Hercules Capital 發行了 3 億美元的機構債券，票面利率為 5.35%，2029 年到期，無擔保債券。最後，談談展望方面。我們預計第一季核心殖利率將處於先前公佈的 12% 至 12.5% 區間的中間位置。再次提醒，我們98%的債務組合都處於浮動利率狀態。截至今日，我們約有75%的優質資產組合處於…

contractual floor.

合約最低價。

Although very difficult to predict, as Scott mentioned, we expect $150 million to $200 million in prepayment activity in the first-quarter. We expect our first-quarter interest expense to increase compared to the prior quarter based on the debt portfolio growth. For the first-quarter, we expect SG&A expenses of $26 million to $27 million and an RIA expense allocation of approximately $4.5 million. Finally, we expect a quarterly dividend from the RIA of approximately $2 million to $2.5 million per quarter.

雖然很難預測，但正如斯科特所提到的那樣，我們預計第一季預付款活動將達到 1.5 億美元至 2 億美元。由於債務組合成長，我們預計第一季利息支出將比上一季增加。第一季度，我們預計銷售、一般及行政費用為 2,600 萬美元至 2,700 萬美元，RIA 費用分配約 450 萬美元。最後，我們預計 RIA 每季將派發約 200 萬至 250 萬美元的股息。

In closing, as we report out another record year we have started 2026 with the same momentum of growth and strength of our balance sheet. These two dimensions, along with our superior credit standards and selection will help Hercules to continue scaling our platform.

最後，在我們宣布又一個創紀錄的年份到來之際，我們以同樣的成長動能和強勁的資產負債表開啟了 2026 年。這兩個方面，加上我們卓越的信貸標準和篩選機制，將幫助 Hercules 繼續擴大我們的平台規模。

I will now turn the call over to the operator to begin the Q&A portion of our call. Angela, over to you.

現在我將把通話轉交給接線員，開始我們通話的問答環節。安吉拉，該你了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Brian McKenna, Citizens.

Brian McKenna，市民。

So I appreciate all the detail on the current backdrop for software and AI and that you think AI will actually be a net positive for your business and portfolio over time. With all that said, given the dislocation we've seen across the public markets, is there an incremental opportunity here on the deployment front to take advantage of some of this volatility? And if so, where would you be looking to lean into?

我很欣賞您詳細介紹了當前軟體和人工智慧的背景，也感謝您認為從長遠來看，人工智慧實際上會對您的業務和投資組合產生積極影響。綜上所述，鑑於我們目前在公開市場看到的混亂局面，部署方面是否存在利用這種波動性的機會？如果是這樣，你會傾向於在哪方面努力？

Sure. Thanks for the question, Brian. So I hope that we emphasized that in the prepared remarks. We absolutely think that there is an interesting opportunity here for us to play offense and our teams right now across both the tech vertical and the life sciences vertical are looking to do that. Hercules has typically performed its best in periods of volatility, and we've tried to position our balance sheet to be able to do the same this time. Our liquidity position is incredibly robust. Our balance sheet is conservative with low leverage, long liquidity and robust liquidity.

當然。謝謝你的提問，布萊恩。所以我希望我們在準備好的演講稿中強調了這一點。我們絕對認為這裡有一個讓我們發揮進攻優勢的絕佳機會，我們目前在科技領域和生命科學領域的團隊都在尋求這樣做。Hercules通常在市場波動時期表現最佳，我們也努力調整資產負債表，讓這次也能做到這一點。我們的流動性狀況非常穩健。我們的資產負債表穩健，槓桿率低，流動性充足。

And so we do plan to be aggressive with respect to taking advantages of what we see are some pockets of real deployment opportunities. Our Q1 quarter-to-date numbers are as strong as we've ever announced on a Q4 call. If you look at the -- not just the pending, but what's already closed quarter-to-date, we're well north of $1.2 billion, $1.3 billion in commitments for Q1 and a large part of that is us being aggressive in taking advantage of some of the market dislocation that we think is creating some of these unique opportunities that we can be aggressive on.

因此，我們計劃積極利用我們看到的一些真正的部署機會。我們第一季迄今的業績數據是我們以往在第四季度財報電話會議上公佈的最強勁的業績。如果你看一下——不僅僅是待定的交易，還有本季度迄今為止已經完成的交易，我們第一季的承諾額已經遠遠超過 12 億美元、13 億美元，這很大程度上是因為我們積極利用了一些我們認為正在創造一些獨特機會的市場錯位，我們可以積極把握這些機會。

And then just switching gears a little bit. On the RIA, it's great to hear all the momentum there. And it really feels that business has inflected. But how should we think about fundraising and growth for that platform in 2026? I know you mentioned the $1 billion of fundraising, if you will, in 2025. And then -- just where does fundraising stand for Fund IV? Will that get wrapped up this year? Could you actually commence fundraising in for the next fund? And then are there any other opportunities from a new product perspective?

然後稍微換個話題。關於RIA，很高興聽到它目前的發展勢頭良好。確實感覺商業環境改變了。但是，我們應該如何看待該平台在 2026 年的募款和發展呢？我知道你提到了2025年籌集10億美元的目標。那麼——第四期基金的募款情況究竟如何？今年能解決這個問題嗎？現在您可以開始為下一期基金籌款了嗎？那麼，從新產品的角度來看，還有其他機會嗎？

Sure. So we continue to be very pleased by the growth of our private funds business. We're not going to disclose additional details outside of what we disclosed on the call, but I can tell you that we absolutely expect to continue to raise additional capital throughout 2026.

當然。因此，我們對私募股權基金業務的成長感到非常滿意。除了我們在電話會議上披露的內容之外，我們不會透露更多細節，但我可以告訴大家，我們絕對預計在 2026 年將繼續籌集更多資金。

We expect Fund IV to have a final close in 2026 and discussions are already well underway for what will be the next vehicle as part of our private funds business. I think the key thing that I would continue to emphasize, given our unique ownership structure, the larger that business becomes, the more we're able to raise, the more we're able to deploy, the better it is for HTGC shareholders and stakeholders, and that has been and will continue to be our primary focus with that business.z

我們預計第四期基金將於 2026 年完成最終募集，目前我們已經在積極討論我們私募股權基金業務的下一個投資工具。我認為，鑑於我們獨特的股權結構，我需要繼續強調的關鍵一點是：業務規模越大，我們能夠籌集的資金就越多，能夠投入的資金就越多，這對HTGC的股東和利益相關者就越有利，這過去是、現在是、將來也仍是我們這項業務的首要關注點。

That's helpful. And congrats on all the momentum into '26.

那很有幫助。恭喜你們在2026年取得如此佳績。

Thanks, Brian.

謝謝你，布萊恩。

Crispin Love, Piper Sandler.

克里斯平·洛夫，派珀·桑德勒。

First, just looking at your investment portfolio composition, about 35% is made up of software companies across application software and system software. Can you drill a little deeper within those cohorts. What areas in your portfolio are you most confident in? And then on the other side, any areas in your portfolio where you're more cautious just given the AI disruption theme out there.

首先，僅從您的投資組合組成來看，大約 35% 由應用軟體和系統軟體等軟體公司組成。你能否對這些群體進行更深入的分析？你對自己投資組合中的哪些領域最有信心？另一方面，鑑於人工智慧顛覆性的主題，您在投資組合中某些領域會更加謹慎。

Yes. So look, I appreciate the question, Crispin. So system software is very different than application software, which is why we break it out. Think of sort of system software as companies that are providing software to more sort of general IT companies, so cybersecurity, for example, whereas application software would be software companies that are providing solutions for more general users, I would tell you that across the board, we generally feel pretty good about what we're seeing in our software portfolio.

是的。所以，克里斯平，我很感謝你的提問。所以系統軟體與應用軟體非常不同，這就是我們將其單獨列出的原因。系統軟體公司是指那些為更廣泛的 IT 公司提供軟體的公司，例如網路安全公司；而應用軟體公司是指那些為更廣泛的用戶提供解決方案的軟體公司。總的來說，我們對目前的軟體產品組合感到非常滿意。

Our view, as I discussed in the prepared remarks is that there should be no ambiguity that AI is a disruptive technology. That does not mean that it has to be a destructive technology for all software businesses. Software companies that are focused on providing core mission-critical solutions, software companies that are embracing artificial intelligence, software companies that are utilizing and building AI agentic solutions into their software offerings, we think are actually going to do pretty well. They'll become more value add for some of their customers. There are software companies that aren't doing that, and we

正如我在準備好的演講稿中所討論的，我們的觀點是，人工智慧是一項顛覆性技術，這一點毋庸置疑。但這並不意味著它對所有軟體企業來說都是一種破壞性技術。我們認為，專注於提供核心關鍵任務解決方案的軟體公司、擁抱人工智慧的軟體公司、將人工智慧代理解決方案融入其軟體產品的軟體公司，實際上會發展得相當不錯。它們將為部分客戶帶來更多附加價值。有些軟體公司並沒有這樣做，而我們

think that those companies will be negatively impacted. That will take place over several years. The way we structure our investments, the way we underwrite with low LTVs, low attachment points and shorter duration than you typically see in software private credit, we think will position us relatively well.

我認為這些公司會受到負面影響。這將持續數年時間。我們認為，我們建構投資的方式，以及我們採用的低貸款價值比、低附加點和較短期限的承銷方式（與軟體私募信貸中常見的情況相比），將使我們處於相對有利的地位。

And then just on share a little bit on your views on M&A and IPO activity into '26. You did call out an expectation more strategic M&A, just -- what's your view on tech M&A as well as the IPO pipeline for tech companies? And has that been impacted at all just from recent volatility.

然後，請您稍微分享一下您對 2026 年併購和 IPO 活動的看法。您確實提到了對更具策略性的併購的期望，那麼—您對科技業的併購以及科技公司的IPO前景有何看法？而最近的市場波動是否對此產生了影響？

Yes. So it's interesting. If you look at the M&A data that we track in sort of each of the last four years, so '22, '23, '24 and '25. We've had roughly 1,000 venture-backed M&A exits per year. The dollar volumes are up pretty considerably. So last year, 934 M&A exits, about $84 billion of M&A exits. In '25, roughly the same number, so about 1,029 M&A exits, but that number ballooned to about $141 billion of transaction value. Our current expectation is that M&A will continue to be robust in '26.

是的。所以這很有意思。如果你看一下我們在過去四年（即 2022 年、2023 年、2024 年和 2025 年）追蹤的併購數據。我們每年約有 1000 起由創投支持的併購退出案例。美元交易量大幅上升。所以去年共有 934 件併購退出案例，併購退出總額約 840 億美元。2025 年，併購退出數量大致相同，約 1029 起，但交易額卻飆升至約 1,410 億美元。我們目前的預期是，2026年併購活動將持續保持強勁勢頭。

We think that there will be a lot of strategic activity with acquisitions from larger competitors that are picking up some smaller competitors that are distressed from a valuation perspective. And we think that's a net positive for our business. We generally expect the IPO market to remain muted.

我們認為，大型競爭對手會進行大量的策略性收購，收購一些估值陷入困境的小型競爭對手。我們認為這對我們的業務來說是件好事。我們普遍預期IPO市場將維持低迷。

The number of IPOs that have been done have declined in each of the last four years, although the dollar volume has increased considerably, and that's just a function of the number -- the IPOs that are getting done tend to be the larger, much larger ones, which is moving that dollar value up despite the number of IPOs remaining flat and we don't expect that to change in 2026.

過去四年，IPO 的數量逐年下降，儘管金額大幅增加，但這僅僅是因為 IPO 的數量更多，而且這些 IPO 往往規模更大，因此推高了金額，儘管 IPO 的數量保持不變，我們預計這種情況在 2026 年不會改變。

John Hecht, Jefferies.

約翰‧赫克特，傑富瑞集團。

Congrats on just continued momentum. And I guess my question -- my first question is kind of tied to that. Scott, maybe I know the venture capital companies like to use debt for a portion (technical difficulty) the dilution. The last time I checked it (technical difficulty) . It's still a relatively small component of the overall pie for them in terms of capital raising for their portfolio companies. Is the structure of the industry changed (technical difficulty) .

恭喜你們保持了持續成長的勢頭。我想我的問題——我的第一個問題——其實和這個有關。史考特，也許我知道創投公司喜歡用債務來稀釋一部分股權（技術上比較複雜）。我上次查看的時候（技術難題）就其投資組合公司的融資而言，這仍然是他們整體融資金額中相對較小的一部分。產業結構是否發生了變化（技術難題）

Hey, John, I think we're losing you. Okay.

嘿，約翰，我覺得我們要失去你了。好的。

It looks like John did disconnect. Finian O'Shea, Wells Fargo.

約翰似乎斷開了連結。Finian O'Shea，富國銀行。

So a couple of things tied together. On one, and you've had a lot of records this quarter, perhaps even more than usual. But looking at a few other items, ATM has been light for a while. Adviser dividend sounds like a stable guide. The Hercules dividend holds up, but sort of same base dividend. So you keep a lot of supplemental, which tells us less long-term stability on that part.

所以有兩件事連在一起。一方面，你們本季創下了許多紀錄，或許比平常還要多。但從其他一些項目來看，ATM 的供應量已經低迷了一段時間。顧問分紅聽起來像是穩定的參考指標。赫拉克勒斯的股息保持不變，但基本股息水準與之前大致相同。所以你保留了很多補充藥物，這表示你在這一方面長期穩定性較差。

Sort of tying this all together, is Hercules like is the expectation to sort of run in place this year as repayments are high, perhaps the impressive growth you've achieved in the past few years we'll take a bit of a breather, I'll leave it there.

把所有這些聯繫起來，Hercules 是否像預期那樣，由於還款額很高，今年可能會原地踏步？也許鑑於你們在過去幾年取得的令人矚目的成長，我們會稍作喘息，我就說到這裡。

Yes, sure. Thanks for the question, Fin. And the answer is unequivocally no. I think if you take our prepared comments and you look at just the quarter-to-date data for Q1, we have tremendous conviction in the growth opportunity for the platform this year. And we are positioning the business to be able to take advantage of that. A couple of things specifically that you referenced on the ATM. I think we've been very clear on this. We have no interest in using the ATM for the purpose of diluting our shareholders until and unless we actually need that capital.

當然可以。謝謝你的提問，芬恩。答案毫無疑問是否定的。我認為，如果你參考我們準備好的評論，並且只看第一季至今的數據，我們會發現我們對該平台今年的成長機會充滿信心。我們正在調整業務方向，以便能夠從中受益。您特別提到了ATM機上的幾個問題。我認為我們在這一點上已經說得很清楚了。除非我們真的需要這筆資金，否則我們無意利用自動櫃員機來稀釋股東權益。

And so in periods where we don't need to use the ATM, we are not going to use the ATM facility just to raise additional capital. We ended the year with $1 billion of liquidity across the platform, over $525 million of that in the BDC, the rest in the private fund business.

因此，在不需要使用自動櫃員機的時期，我們不會只為了籌集額外資金而使用自動櫃員機。到年底，我們平台上的流動資金總額達到 10 億美元，其中超過 5.25 億美元在 BDC，其餘在私募股權基金業務。

We've already funded close to $250 billion -- sorry, $250 million of deals in Q1 and we have well north of $1.4 billion in closed and pending commitments quarter-to-date, which would be the strongest quarter in the history of Hercules Capital, and our pipeline is not showing any signs of slowing down. We also just gave prepayment guidance that was flat from last quarter, so $150 million to $200 million. So our full expectation assuming we can deliver on those numbers is that you will see continued strong growth from Hercules Capital over the course of 2026.

我們已經為近 2500 億美元（抱歉，是 2.5 億美元）的交易提供了資金，而截至目前，我們已完成和待定的承諾金額已超過 14 億美元，這將是 Hercules Capital 歷史上最強勁的一個季度，而且我們的項目儲備沒有絲毫放緩的跡象。我們還給出了預付款預期，與上一季持平，即 1.5 億美元至 2 億美元。因此，假設我們能夠實現這些數字，我們完全預期 Hercules Capital 在 2026 年將繼續保持強勁成長。

I appreciate that. Just a follow-up on sort of another one on the RIA. And I know you tend to hold your cards close here, but I'll give it a shot. Some of your peers are starting to offer or plan to offer venture debt in the nontraded wealth channel. Do you think that's the right -- do you think the sort of product venture debt is right for that market? And then if sort of different question, if these are successful, do you think that's a sort of significant headwind to terms and spreads and so forth in the market?

我很感激。算是對之前關於RIA（註冊投資顧問）那篇文章的後續。我知道你在這裡通常不會輕易透露自己的底牌，但我還是想試試看。你們的一些同行已經開始或計劃在非上市財富管道提供風險債務。你認為這種產品創投債務適合該市場嗎？那麼，如果換個角度問，如果這些措施成功，你認為這會對市場上的條款和價差等造成重大不利影響嗎？

Yes. So again, I appreciate the question, respectively, I can't speak to what our competitors are doing. And so I'm not going to take a position whether I think that's good or bad. I can just tell you what our focus has been, we think that the best path for capital raising for this asset class in the private fund side of the business is the institutional market.

是的。所以，再次感謝您的提問，但我無法評論我們的競爭對手正在做什麼。所以，我不會表明我認為這件事是好是壞的立場。我可以告訴你我們一直在關注的重點是什麼，我們認為，對於私募股權基金業務而言，為這類資產籌集資金的最佳途徑是機構市場。

We have four active private credit funds right now that are investing. They are 100% institutional with very large institutional well-capitalized investors and that has, and that will continue to be our focus with respect to raising capital in that channel for this asset class.

我們目前有四支活躍的私募信貸基金正在進行投資。他們是 100% 的機構投資者，擁有非常龐大的機構投資者和雄厚的資本，這一直是，並將繼續是我們透過該管道為該資產類別籌集資金的重點。

John Hecht, Jefferies.

約翰‧赫克特，傑富瑞集團。

Thanks for letting me back in the queue. Sorry about that. So the question to go back to it was, Scott, I mean, there's been tremendous growth in the venture industry overall. Your momentum, obviously, it's correlated to that. But I'm wondering kind of structurally, are the venture capitalists using debt more as a component of funding their businesses or are you just -- is the momentum of growth just tied to the total industry growth?

謝謝讓我重新加入排隊。抱歉。所以回到這個問題上來，史考特，我的意思是，創投產業整體上取得了巨大的成長。你的勢頭顯然與此相關。但我很好奇，從結構上看，創投家是否更多地將債務作為其業務融資的一部分，或者成長勢頭是否僅僅與整個行業的成長掛鉤？

So I think it's a function of both, John, I appreciate you jumping back in the queue to ask the question. So there is no question that the overall growth in the ecosystem, the growth in terms of the dollars being invested from the VC partners that we work with, has created more of a market opportunity, more of a TAM for us. So that is sort of what is contributing to the growth in our business. I would also say that there is a component of the first part of what you said, which is that certain companies are utilizing more debt than they typically would have used and that could be for a variety of reasons.

所以我認為這取決於兩者，約翰，感謝你重新排隊提問。因此毫無疑問，生態系統的整體成長，以及與我們合作的創投夥伴投資金額的成長，為我們創造了更大的市場機會，更大的潛在市場規模。這就是我們業務成長的驅動因素之一。我還要補充一點，你剛才說的第一部分確實包含一些因素，那就是某些公司使用的債務比他們通常使用的要多，這可能是由於多種原因造成的。

Number one, because there's a valuation disconnect and they don't want to raise around at a lower valuation. It could be because they can't raise equity capital, so they're trying to raise as much debt and as much leverage as they can. I would tell you, when we sort of said this in each of our last few calls, with venture or growth stage lending, you have to be disciplined, you have to be patient, you can't chase the market. And I think our teams, while not perfect, I think have done a pretty good job on that.

第一，因為估值有脫節，他們不想以較低的估值進行融資。這可能是因為他們無法籌集股權資本，所以他們試圖盡可能地舉債和提高槓桿率。我想告訴你，就像我們在最近幾次電話會議中提到的那樣，對於創投或成長階段的貸款，你必須自律，你必須耐心，你不能追逐市場。我認為我們的團隊雖然不完美，但在這方面做得相當不錯。

So if you look at our metrics in terms of debt to invested equity, debt to paid-in capital, all of our metrics and all of our ratios are largely flat over the last several years, which at least gives me comfort that we're not chasing some of that aggressiveness in the market as leverage has gone up for many of these companies.

因此，如果你看一下我們的債務與投資權益比率、債務與實收資本比率等指標，就會發現我們所有的指標和比率在過去幾年里基本上保持平穩，這至少讓我感到欣慰，因為我們並沒有像市場上的許多公司那樣盲目追求激進的投資策略，因為這些公司的槓桿率已經上升了。

A second question maybe for Seth. Just in terms of deal structures, kind of the minutia there. Anything going on or worth calling out with respect to the call it, the fees that are part of the deals and the structures around that or kind of warrant coverage, and are those factors changing given some of the recent dislocation.

第二個問題或許該問塞思。就交易結構而言，就是一些細枝末節的問題。關於此交易，有哪些值得注意的事項，例如交易費用、相關結構或認股權證保障等，以及鑑於最近的一些市場動盪，這些因素是否正在改變。

Yes, John, I'm happy to take that one. So no real change. We're generally pretty consistent in terms of how we structure these deals. I would tell you, and we've always said this, it's not a one-size-fits-all model. So I think our teams work very closely with our management team partners and our VC partners to try to put together custom-tailored solutions that work well for the companies.

是的，約翰，我很樂意接受這個任務。所以沒有實質改變。我們在建立這些交易方面通常都相當一致。我想告訴你，而且我們一直都這麼說，這不是一刀切的模式。所以我認為我們的團隊與管理團隊合作夥伴和創投合作夥伴密切合作，努力製定適合公司的客製化解決方案。

But generally speaking, the deals are going to have an upfront facility fee, they're going to have a cash coupon with floor protection. The vast majority of our venture and growth stage loans will be based off of prime. Vast majority of our loans are going to have some form of end-of-term economics.

但總的來說，這些交易都會收取預付場地費，還會提供現金券和地板保護。我們絕大多數的創投和成長階段貸款都將以優質利率為基礎。我們絕大多數貸款都將包含某種形式的期末經濟條款。

And then in about 80% of the deals that we do, we will get some form of equity upside, whether it's from warrants or from an RTI, which gives us the right to invest in a subsequent equity round. So depending on the profile, depending on the stage, those metrics, those sort of tools that we have may change. But generally speaking, the deals are going to look pretty similar in terms of those different levers.

然後，在我們進行的約 80% 的交易中，我們會獲得某種形式的股權增值，無論是透過認股權證還是 RTI，這賦予我們投資後續股權輪次的權利。所以，根據不同的情況，根據不同的階段，我們所擁有的這些指標和工具可能會改變。但總的來說，就這些不同的手段而言，這些交易看起來會非常相似。

Doug Harter, UBS.

道格·哈特，瑞銀集團。

Can you just talk about how you look to balance taking advantage of kind of the opportunity from dislocations today versus kind of continuing to be patient in case things get worse before they get better?

您能否談談您如何看待把握當前局勢動盪帶來的機會與保持耐心以防情況在好轉之前惡化之間的平衡？

Sure. Thanks, Doug. So it's a balance, right? I think our team right now is being pretty targeted. So we've identified a handful of what we think are very attractive, strong opportunities, and we're going after those opportunities as aggressively as we think is prudent. At the same time, we are making sure that we are maintaining a significant amount of dry powder. I think the $300 million raise that we closed last week, I think, is sort of evidence of that, that we are trying to position ourselves to be aggressive now but not overly aggressive where we utilize all of our available liquidity.

當然。謝謝你，道格。所以這是一種平衡，對吧？我認為我們球隊目前正處於被重點盯上的位置。因此，我們已經確定了一些我們認為非常有吸引力、很有潛力的機會，我們將以我們認為審慎的方式積極爭取這些機會。同時，我們正在確保保持充足的乾粉庫存。我認為我們上週完成的 3 億美元融資，某種程度上證明了這一點，即我們正在努力讓自己處於積極進取的狀態，但又不會過於激進，以至於動用我們所有的可用流動資金。

We do think that over the course of the next several quarters, more and more opportunities will come to fruition, and we want to make sure that we're positioned to take advantage of that. So we're being aggressive, we're picking our spots, but I would describe it as targeted. And we expect that to continue certainly over the remainder of Q1 and well into Q2 as well.

我們認為，在接下來的幾個季度裡，越來越多的機會將會實現，我們希望確保我們能夠抓住這些機會。所以我們採取了積極主動的策略，我們挑選了合適的時機，但我會將其描述為有針對性的。我們預計這種情況將在第一季剩餘時間以及第二季的大部分時間持續下去。

Appreciate that. And I guess as you think about the ability to be targeted here, can you get wider spreads in these deals in this environment? Or is it you're able to kind of finance and pick kind of cleaner companies or better credits and get the same returns. So just how to think about the risk return trade-off where you're able to kind of pick something up in this environment?

謝謝。我想，考慮到被針對性，在這種環境下，這些交易能否獲得更大的價差？或者，你能夠通過某種融資方式，選擇更乾淨的公司或更好的信用評級，並獲得相同的回報？那麼，在這種環境下，我們該如何權衡風險和回報，才能有所收穫呢？

I think it's the latter, Doug. We're focused right now on credit. We're not focused on chasing yield. So I think we're getting relatively speaking, the same overall economics, but we're deploying capital into what we think are better overall more stable scale credits. That's been our focus for the last several years. I think we've tried to emphasize we're not chasing yield, we think that the deals that are getting done outside of sort of the typical yield spot or just a much more challenging difficult stories.

我認為是後者，道格。我們目前的工作重點是信貸。我們並不專注於追求收益。所以我認為，相對而言，我們獲得了相同的整體經濟效益，但我們將資本投入到我們認為整體上更好、更穩定的規模信貸。過去幾年，這一直是我們的工作重點。我認為我們已經努力強調，我們不是在追逐收益，我們認為在典型的收益點之外達成的交易，或者只是更具挑戰性的複雜項目。

And I think we're doing a pretty good job staying away from that. So I would think about it as we are maintaining our underwriting yields, but we're targeting better quality, more mature, more scale, more sophisticated businesses that we think have more staying power.

我認為我們在避免這種情況方面做得相當不錯。所以我認為，我們在維持承保報酬率的同時，將目標鎖定在品質更高、更成熟、規模更大、更複雜的企業上，我們認為這些企業具有更強的持久力。

Ethan Kaye, Lucid Capital Markets.

Ethan Kaye，Lucid Capital Markets。

Most of mine have been asked and answered. I just have one, hopefully quicker one on software. So you talked a bit about kind of a more enhanced or sharper portfolio monitoring approach, given AI disruption risk, I guess, what are the red flags or like warning signs that you're looking out for that could maybe indicate whether AI disruption is materializing? It sounds like maybe you haven't seen them yet in the portfolio, but any color you can provide on what specifically you're looking for, I think, would be helpful.

我的大部分問題都已經被問過並得到了解答。我只有一個，希望軟體方面能更快一些。鑑於人工智慧帶來的顛覆性風險，您剛才談到了一種更完善、更精準的投資組合監控方法。那麼，您會關注哪些危險訊號或預警訊號，以判斷人工智慧顛覆是否正在發生？聽起來你可能還沒有在作品集中看到它們，但如果你能具體說明你想尋找什麼顏色，我認為會很有幫助。

Sure. I think it's just -- it's aggressive, active, consistent discussion, conversation and monitoring. One of the benefits that we have of operating at scale, right? And for us, that scale is $5.7 billion of AUM. It's a debt portfolio north of $5 billion. It's 127 different companies. It's $4 billion of committed capital last year. We have access to a lot of different companies, a lot of executives, a lot of venture capital partners.

當然。我認為就是積極主動、持續的討論、對話和監督。這就是規模化營運的優勢之一，對吧？對我們來說，這個規模相當於 57 億美元的資產管理規模。這是一個超過50億美元的債務組合。共有127家不同的公司。去年承諾的資本額為40億美元。我們能夠接觸到很多不同的公司、很多主管、很多創投合作夥伴。

And so we are constantly having conversations with our portfolio ecosystem, which I think gives us a pretty good insight as to what our customers, what the investors are hearing and seeing on the ground. We also have very robust documentation. We require monthly financials. We require monthly compliance certificates and bring down of reps and warranties.

因此，我們一直在與我們的投資組合生態系統進行對話，我認為這讓我們能夠很好地了解我們的客戶、投資者在實際工作中聽到和看到的情況。我們也擁有非常完善的文件。我們需要每月提交財務報表。我們要求每月提供合規證書，並撤回代表和保固單。

Our investment teams are having conversations with the vast majority of our companies on a biweekly basis where we're touching base, hearing what they are hearing from their customers, and I think that puts us in a position to sort of avoid the red flag scenario where we can work with our companies to identify the yellow flags where if we start to see deterioration in KPIs, if we start to hear from a good portion of our companies in a particular software vertical that there's some pushback we can react pretty aggressively and pretty quickly.

我們的投資團隊每兩週都會與絕大多數投資公司溝通，以了解他們從客戶那裡聽到的情況。我認為這使我們能夠避免出現危險信號，我們可以與投資公司合作，識別出危險信號。如果我們開始看到關鍵績效指標惡化，如果我們開始聽到某個特定軟體垂直領域的大部分投資公司反映存在一些阻力，我們可以迅速且積極地做出反應。

Christopher Nolan, Ladenburg Thalmann.

克里斯多福諾蘭，拉登堡塔爾曼。

Scott, in your comments, it sounds like the venture debt market is a little bit more active than the venture equity market. Is that more a function of just these portfolio companies are now focusing more on cash flow generation rather than growth?

Scott，從你的評論來看，風險債務市場似乎比風險股市場更活躍一些。這是否更反映了這些投資組合公司目前更注重現金流的產生而不是成長？

Yes. Chris, I think the venture equity market, certainly in 2025, was incredibly robust. Second strongest year on record. The only year where more equity dollars were invested was 2021, which is sort of the peak of COVID. In 2025, $339.4 billion invested in about 15,000 different venture capital companies. So from the data that we have that we track, the aggregate data is pretty robust.

是的。克里斯，我認為風險股權市場，尤其是在 2025 年，將會非常強勁。史上第二強勁的一年。唯一一年股權投資額超過往年同期的年份是 2021 年，而那一年恰好是新冠疫情的高峰期。到 2025 年，約有 15,000 家不同的創投公司獲得了 3,394 億美元的投資。因此，根據我們追蹤的數據，匯總數據相當可靠。

The one data point that is not as robust is VC fundraising. That has declined in each of the last four years, but it's really declined and reverted back to what it was pre-COVID where historically, the venture capital firms would raise somewhere between $30 million and $60 billion per year. There was obviously the large spike '21 through '24. And then last year, that number reverted back down to about $66 billion. So that's the one data point that was down.

唯一不太可靠的數據點是創投融資。過去四年裡，這一數字逐年下降，但實際上已經大幅下降，並恢復到新冠疫情前的水平。在疫情前，創投公司每年籌集的資金通常在 3,000 萬美元到 600 億美元之間。很明顯，2021年至2024年間出現了大幅成長。而去年，這個數字回落至約 660 億美元。所以，這是唯一一個下降的數據點。

But in terms of the equity dollars being invested, those numbers are very robust. They've increased in each of the last three years. And as I mentioned, 2025 was the second strongest year on record since we've been tracking it.

但就投入的股權資金而言，這些數字非常強勁。過去三年，它們的數值逐年上升。正如我之前提到的，2025 年是自我們開始追蹤以來表現第二好的年份。

As a follow-up question, in the news, it's been reported that a new tax law in California could tax unrealized gains. And I think it applies only to billionaires. But how does that apply to the conversations that you're having with your portfolio companies?

作為後續問題，新聞報道稱，加州一項新的稅法可能會對未實現的收益徵稅。我認為這只適用於億萬富翁。但這與你和投資組合公司之間的對話有何關聯呢？

It actually doesn't. So we're not interested in the equity exit. I mean we wanted to be successful and such, and we certainly want these founders to be successful. But our main goal is getting our debt repaid, making sure that they're operating to the plan in between granting them the money and getting it back. So we're not focused on that at this time.

實際上並非如此。所以我們對股權退出不感興趣。我的意思是，我們都想獲得成功，當然，我們也希望這些創辦人能夠成功。但我們的主要目標是償還債務，確保他們在獲得資金和收回資金之間按照計劃運作。所以我們目前並沒有把重點放在這上面。

I'm showing no further questions. I would now like to turn the call back to Scott Bluestein, for any closing remarks.

我不再提問。現在我想把電話轉回給史考特‧布魯斯坦，請他作總結發言。

Thank you, Angela, and thanks to everyone for joining our call today. We look forward to reporting our progress on our Q1 2026 earnings call. Thanks, and have a great rest of the day.

謝謝安吉拉，也感謝今天所有參加我們電話會議的朋友。我們期待在 2026 年第一季財報電話會議上匯報我們的進展。謝謝，祝您今天餘下的時間過得愉快。

This does conclude today's Hercules Capital fourth-quarter and full year 2025 financial results conference call. You may now disconnect your lines, and have a wonderful day.

至此，Hercules Capital 2025 年第四季及全年財務業績電話會議結束。現在您可以斷開線路了，祝您有美好的一天。