Executive Summary

Q2 2025 EPS was $0.52 and net investment income (NII) per share was $0.32; total investment income declined sequentially to $52.2M due to lower transaction fees and interest income write-offs tied to restructurings, partially offset by higher dividend income .
NAV per share increased 1.5% q/q to $14.50 (from $14.28), driven primarily by mark-to-market price increases; net realized losses of $(32.4)M were more than offset by $42.8M in net unrealized gains .
The Board upsized the share repurchase authorization by $20M to $80M and declared a Q3 2025 base distribution of $0.36 per share (payable Sep 16, 2025; record Sep 2, 2025) .
Portfolio remains predominantly first-lien (85.0% of FV) with non-accruals at 1.37% of fair value (3.03% at amortized cost), while net debt-to-equity stayed at 1.39x and cash/short-term investments were $65M with $106M of available capacity .
Versus consensus, Q2 slightly missed: EPS $0.32 NII/share vs ~$0.33* and revenue $52.2M vs ~$53.3M*; we expect estimate adjustments to reflect lower fee income and restructuring-related interest write-offs (Wall Street consensus via S&P Global)* .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

NAV per share increased to $14.50, up $0.22 q/q, driven by mark-to-market gains: “pleased with our growth in NAV and continued steady credit performance” — Co-CEO Michael Reisner .
Unrealized gains rebounded sharply q/q to $42.8M (from $(64.3)M) helping deliver EPS of $0.52 vs $(0.80) in Q1 .
Capital allocation supportive: $6.6M of share repurchases in Q2 (699,565 shares at $9.37 avg) and $20M increase to buyback authorization, totaling up to $80M .

What Went Wrong

Total investment income fell to $52.2M from $56.1M q/q and $61.4M y/y, pressured by lower origination/amendment fees and interest income write-offs from restructurings .
Net realized losses of $(32.4)M persisted, partly offset by unrealized gains; NII per share stepped down q/q to $0.32 (from $0.36) and y/y to $0.32 (from $0.43) .
Non-accruals increased modestly to 1.37% of FV (from 1.20% in Q1), indicating incremental credit friction in parts of the book (though still low) .

Financial Results

Sequential comparison (oldest → newest)

Metric	Q4 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Total Investment Income ($USD Millions)	$57.9	$56.1	$52.2
Net Investment Income After Taxes ($USD Millions)	$18.7	$19.3	$16.9
EPS ($USD)	$0.10	$(0.80)	$0.52
NII per Share ($USD)	$0.35	$0.36	$0.32
Net Realized Gains (Losses) ($USD Millions)	$(2.2)	$2.3	$(32.4)
Net Unrealized Gains (Losses) ($USD Millions)	$(11.0)	$(64.3)	$42.8

Year-over-year comparison (oldest → newest)

Metric	Q2 2024	Q2 2025
Total Investment Income ($USD Millions)	$61.4	$52.2
EPS ($USD)	$0.42	$0.52
NII per Share ($USD)	$0.43	$0.32

Margins (derived; NII after tax / Total Investment Income)

Margin	Q4 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Net Investment Income Margin %	32.3% (=$18.686M/$57.894M)	34.4% (=$19.252M/$56.074M)	32.4% (=$16.922M/$52.244M)

Segment / Portfolio Mix (FV, oldest → newest)

Investment Type (% of FV)	Q4 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Senior Secured First Lien Debt	86.0%	86.9%	85.0%
Senior Secured Second Lien Debt	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Collateralized/Structured Equity	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%
Unsecured Debt	0.6%	0.7%	0.4%
Equity	13.2%	12.1%	14.3%

KPIs (oldest → newest)

KPI	Q4 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
NAV per Share ($USD)	$15.43	$14.28	$14.50
Debt-to-Equity (x)	1.36x	1.48x	1.47x
Net Debt-to-Equity (x)	1.27x	1.39x	1.39x
Portfolio Companies (count)	105	104	99
Non-Accruals (% FV / % Cost)	1.41% / 3.22%	1.20% / 3.16%	1.37% / 3.03%
Yield on Performing Loans (amortized cost)	12.74%	12.62%	12.84%
Weighted Avg Leverage (Net Debt/EBITDA)	5.02x	5.28x	5.64x
Weighted Avg Interest Coverage	2.07x	1.99x	1.93x
Cash and Short-term Investments ($USD Millions)	$76	$62	$65
Available Capacity ($USD Millions)	$131	$106	$106

Results vs Estimates (S&P Global; oldest → newest)

Metric	Q1 2025 Estimate*	Q1 2025 Actual	Q2 2025 Estimate*	Q2 2025 Actual
EPS ($USD)	0.343*	0.36	0.333*	0.32
Revenue / Total Investment Income ($USD Millions)	54.15*	56.07	53.34*	52.24

Values marked with * are retrieved from S&P Global consensus estimates.

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Base Distribution per Share	Q3 2025	$0.36 (Q2 base maintained)	$0.36; payable Sep 16; record Sep 2	Maintained
Share Repurchase Authorization	Ongoing	$60M authorization	Increased by $20M to $80M total	Raised
Advisory & Administration Agreements	12 months from Aug 9, 2025	Prior terms	Renewed by Board	Maintained

Note: No formal revenue/EPS/margin guidance was provided; management reiterated expectations for additional repayments in Q3 to redeploy into forward pipeline while balancing leverage .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Note: CION hosted the call and furnished an earnings presentation, but did not furnish a transcript in the 8-K; slides were attached as Exhibit 99.2 .

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q4 2024 & Q1 2025)	Current Period (Q2 2025)	Trend
Macro & Rates	Shifting expectations around inflation and interest rates; lower SOFR impacted investment income in Q4	Lower transaction fees and interest write-offs from restructurings impacted TII; dividend income increased	Neutral-to-slight headwind to fee/interest income
Credit Performance & Non-Accruals	Non-accruals improved q/q in Q4 (1.41% FV) and slightly improved into Q1 (1.20% FV)	Non-accruals modestly higher (1.37% FV; 3.03% cost) but remained low	Slight deterioration from Q1 but broadly stable
Portfolio Repayments & Deployment	Q1: selective deployment; UBS facility refinanced at lower spread (SOFR+2.75%) to enhance funding	Accelerated repayments in Q2; expect additional repayments in Q3 to redeploy into pipeline while balancing leverage	Improving redeployment opportunity set
Capital Allocation	Ongoing repurchases; Q4 baby bond CICB issued; Q1 UBS facility favorable refi	$6.6M Q2 repurchases; authorization increased by $20M to $80M	More aggressive buyback
Portfolio Composition & Yields	Predominantly first-lien; performing loan yield ~12.6%	First-lien 85.0%; performing loan yield 12.84%	Stable-to-marginally higher yields

Management Commentary

Michael Reisner (Co-CEO): “Overall, we are pleased with our growth in NAV and continued steady credit performance in our portfolio. Repayments accelerated this quarter, and we expect additional repayments in the third quarter, which should allow us to deploy into our forward pipeline while balancing our overall leverage profile.”
On capital return: “our board has authorized a $20M upsize to our share repurchase program” .
Mark Gatto (Co-CEO, prior quarter): emphasized a “dynamic and differentiated investment approach…flex into wherever we see the greatest risk-adjusted returns while preserving conservative first lien focus” .

Q&A Highlights

The company hosted an earnings call and provided an investor presentation; no call transcript was furnished in the 8-K exhibits on EDGAR (Ex. 99.2 was the slide deck) .
No additional Q&A details were accessible from furnished documents; any guidance clarifications should be cross-checked against call replay/webcast mentioned in the press release .

Estimates Context

Q2 2025 delivered a modest miss vs consensus: EPS $0.32 vs ~$0.33* and total investment income $52.2M vs ~$53.3M*, driven by lower transaction fee income and interest income write-offs from restructurings; dividend income rose q/q .
Q1 2025 was a slight beat vs revenue and EPS; Q3 2025 consensus (pre-actuals) implied ~$0.33* EPS and ~$52.4M* revenue (subsequently actuals were different; shown for context) (Wall Street consensus via S&P Global)*.
Implication: Sell-side models likely need to reflect lower fee contribution and restructuring-related interest impacts; NII trajectory suggests modest compression vs prior quarters absent outsized dividend income uplift .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Sequential softness in investment income was primarily a function of lower transaction fees and restructuring-related interest write-offs, rather than broad deterioration in performing loan yields, which ticked up to 12.84% .
NAV rose 1.5% q/q to $14.50 on net unrealized gains, supporting book value stability even as realized losses persisted; this dynamic can be a positive narrative driver in the near term .
Non-accruals remain low (1.37% FV), though slightly higher q/q; watch credit migration and internal risk ratings in sectors with observed stress (e.g., media, healthcare names cited in schedules) .
Capital returns accelerated: $6.6M repurchases in Q2 and authorization lifted to $80M; with net debt-to-equity steady at 1.39x, buybacks could be a support for the stock near-term .
Expect Q3 repayments and redeployment as catalysts; management highlighted a forward pipeline and leverage balance, which should influence NII run-rate and fee trajectory .
Versus Street, Q2 was a slight miss on EPS and revenue; anticipate modest downward revisions to fee income assumptions and a greater focus on restructuring impacts in coverage models (Wall Street consensus via S&P Global)* .
Dividend coverage tightened (NII/share $0.32 vs $0.36 distribution); watch sustainability of coverage and any supplemental/special distribution commentary in future periods .

Values marked with * are retrieved from S&P Global.

CION Investment Corp (CION)·Q2 2025 Earnings Summary