TriplePoint (TPVG) Earnings Call Transcript

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DATE

Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Chief Executive Officer — Jim Labe
• President and Chief Investment Officer — Sajal K. Srivastava
• Chief Financial Officer — Mike L. Wilhelms

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TAKEAWAYS

• Total Investment Portfolio at Fair Value -- $784,000,000, up 16% from $676,000,000 year over year.
• Net Asset Value -- Increased to $8.73 per share from $8.61 per share year over year.
• Debt Commitments Closed -- $508,000,000 for 2025, up from $175,000,000 in 2024, and the highest origination activity in over two years.
• New Fundings -- $287,000,000 to 31 companies, more than double the $135,000,000 to 13 companies in 2024.
• Weighted Average Annualized Portfolio Yield (Full Year) -- 13.7%, compared to 15.7% in the prior year, with the decrease attributed to lower interest rates and a portfolio shift toward higher-quality, lower-yield borrowers.
• Debt Repayments and Amortizations -- $212,000,000 for the year, resulting in a net increase of approximately $85,000,000 in the debt portfolio at cost.
• Term Sheets Signed by Sponsor -- $1,200,000,000 in 2025, up more than 60% from $736,000,000 in fiscal year 2024.
• Warrants and Equity Positions -- Held in 118 companies (warrants), up from 98, and 55 companies (equity), up from 48, for a total fair value of $138,000,000 (prior year: $116,000,000).
• Fourth Quarter Portfolio Yield (Debt Investments) -- 12.7%, with a core portfolio yield (excluding prepayments) of 12.1%.
• Total Distributions Paid -- $1.08 per share for 2025, including $1.06 in regular quarterly distributions and $0.20 supplemental.
• Estimated Spillover Income -- $42,300,000 or $1.04 per share available to carry into 2026.
• Sponsor Share Purchases -- TriplePoint Capital acquired approximately 1,800,000 shares in 2025, increasing to 2,000,000 shares post-year-end, or nearly 5% of outstanding shares.
• Advisor Income Incentive Fee Waiver -- $5,300,000 waived in 2025, with an extension through 2026, resulting in a $2,000,000 quarterly fee waiver for Q4 and a cumulative positive impact of approximately $8,500,000 on 2025 net investment income.
• Total Liquidity -- $252,400,000, including $47,400,000 in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, plus $205,000,000 available capacity under the revolving credit facility.
• Gross and Net Leverage Ratios -- Ended quarter at 1.33x (gross) and 1.20x (net).
• Unfunded Commitments -- $260,000,000, with around $51,000,000 contingent on performance milestones and the balance expiring between 2025 and 2028.
• Credit Facility Extension -- Revolving credit facility extended to November 30, 2027, with final maturity on May 30, 2029, and improved terms on borrowing spreads and advance rates.
• Notes Issuance and Debt Refinancing -- $75,000,000 senior unsecured notes due February 2028 at a fixed 7.5% rate, proceeds used to repay $200,000,000 of unsecured notes maturing March 1, 2026.
• AI-Focused Portfolio -- 65% of U.S. venture deal value and 39% of deal count associated with AI; 70% of new software investments in 2024-2025 were AI-enabled or AI-native.
• Venture Deal Pipeline -- Ended year with a pipeline exceeding $2,000,000,000, supported by a 131% year-over-year increase in core venture growth market segment deal value.

SUMMARY

TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. (NYSE:TPVG) reported growth in investment portfolio size, net asset value, and capital commitments, while shifting the investment mix toward AI-enabled and emerging technology companies. Management highlighted specific actions to stabilize credit quality and enhance portfolio diversification, including new investments in entrenched market-leader software and domestic priority sectors such as aerospace and advanced manufacturing. The advisor extended its income incentive fee waiver through 2026, combined with ongoing sponsor share repurchases, as part of a multifaceted strategy to improve long-term shareholder value. Key refinancings were completed, liquidity was reinforced, and credit facility terms were extended, positioning the balance sheet for future growth. Changes in prepayment activity, restructured loan exposures, and adjustments following M&A and IPO environment volatility suggest continued active management of risk and capital deployment in 2026.

• Portfolio sector rotation included a renewed focus on U.S. aerospace, defense, and infrastructure investments, aligning with national policy trends.
• Credit quality trends stabilized year over year with no new names added to the credit watch list and a slight improvement in the weighted average credit ranking from the prior quarter.
• Realized gains in the quarter were driven mainly by restructuring transactions, while net unrealized losses were concentrated in warrant and equity holdings due to fair value adjustments on specific companies such as Prodigy Finance.
• Management described AI as a "structural, multi-decade transformation" across sectors and indicated that "AI-native or AI-enabled companies" now characterize the majority of new software portfolio investments.
• Operator-quoted management on market sentiment: Sajal K. Srivastava said, "It is not a short fix; it is a long-term playbook," emphasizing ongoing strategic adaptation to improve earnings power and NAV despite current trading below book value.
• Annual gross portfolio growth exceeded $100,000,000, or 15%, as new fundings outpaced portfolio repayments and amortizations.
• Extension of revolving credit and a large note issuance shifted maturity concentrations to late 2027 and early 2028; management stated it is "actively managing that profile and expect to address those opportunistically well in advance of their respective due dates."
• Initiatives to deploy AI in internal operations began in 2025 and are being expanded to enhance efficiency organization-wide in 2026 and beyond.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• OID (Original Issue Discount): The difference between the face value of a bond and its issue price when a bond is sold at less than par; relevant in debt capital markets for calculating effective yields.
• Spillover Income: Earnings accumulated but not yet distributed to shareholders at year end, available for future distribution.
• Obligor: The borrower or issuer of debt in the lending portfolio, typically a venture-backed company in TPVG’s context.
• Credit Ranking Categories: Portfolio risk ratings, ranging from Category 1 (clear/lowest risk) to Category 5 (red/highest risk), used internally by TPVG for credit quality assessment.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Jim Labe: Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp.'s fourth quarter earnings call. 2025 was a year of meaningful progress and improved performance across the portfolio. We continued taking important steps aimed at increasing TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp.'s scale, durability, income-generating assets, and NAV, as we seek to create enduring shareholder value over the long term. During the year, our team executed with discipline and focus, proactively managing our portfolio and selectively capitalizing on opportunities with high-quality U.S.-based venture growth stage companies.

We are pleased to have achieved progress in strengthening the portfolio during 2025 and continuing to resolve past credit situations while at the same time making strong progress on our path of portfolio diversification, geographic and investment sector rotation. The portfolio continued to stabilize during the year, with NAV increasing year over year from 2024 to 2025. We believe this reflects the progress we are making in creating a more durable platform and portfolio that is supportive of increasing NAV over time. In 2025, the investment portfolio grew year over year. TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. closed $508,000,000 of new debt commitments to venture growth stage companies.

This represents a significant increase from the $175,000,000 we recorded back in 2024, and it marks the highest levels of originations activity in over two years. In the second half of the year, as expected, our fundings began to increase as we executed on the pipeline and existing borrowers drew on their committed facilities amid the improvements in the venture landscape. We ended the year with $287,000,000 in fundings, more than double that of the previous year. The demand for venture debt remains active and our platform ended the year with a pipeline exceeding $2,000,000,000. We benefited from the notable uptick in venture capital investment activity throughout 2025.

According to PitchBook, venture capital deal value increased to $339,000,000,000 across more than 16,000 deals as of 2025, second highest in a decade. Deal value in our core venture growth market segment rose 131% year over year. As a result of this strong market environment, in 2025, we signed $1,200,000,000 of term sheets alone with venture growth stage companies at our sponsor TriplePoint Capital, one of the largest venture lending firms serving this market. Taking a closer look at the portfolio, throughout the year, we made significant progress diversifying our business, with commitments to eight new borrowers during the fourth quarter and 28 new borrowers in 2025. This was an increase of 250% over the previous year.

These borrowers are all in what we believe are high-potential, durable sectors, including those leveraging AI to drive product differentiation, market disruption, and efficiency. We continue to take advantage of this strong market demand, preferring companies with meaningful revenues, strong margins, solid cash runways, and at or near EBITDA-positive or with paths to cash flow generation and debt service without the need for further equity fundraising. Turning to our ongoing portfolio investment sector rotation and in particular AI, we believe AI is no longer a cyclical theme. It is a structural, multi-decade transformation reshaping every sector of the economy.

AI alone represented 65% of the total U.S. venture deal value last year and 39% of the deal count, underscoring both the scale and the breadth of capital flowing into the space. We expect this momentum to continue, driving significant venture investment activity this year and a sustained opportunity as a result for us in the years to come. Over the past, we have been proud to support innovative AI leaders in our portfolio such as Observe.ai, Etch, Aridoo, Marvin, Encode, and Encharge.ai, among others. These companies reflect our strategy of backing what we believe to be category-defining companies at the forefront of applied AI infrastructure and deployment.

We would be remiss not to discuss the current view of SaaS and the potential impact AI has on this industry. Despite persistent headlines warning a “SaaSpocalypse,” we believe concerns surrounding software and SaaS markets—especially those with venture capital-backed businesses—are overstated. While this is clearly a headline issue, this is more problematic in our minds for PE sponsors and middle-market lenders dealing with those legacy software companies in their portfolios and is less relevant in the VC industry, particularly at these venture growth stages.

We note that most of the TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. portfolio companies in this space are typically considered AI-native or AI-enabled companies and market disruptors, not the disrupted, and are leveraging AI to enhance product offerings, drive more efficient operations, or take market share from those legacy incumbents. As we highlighted in the last four earnings calls, we have been adding AI-enabled software companies ever since AI and large language models began gaining widespread adoption in 2023.

If you look at the makeup of our portfolio, while under 35% of our exposures could be classified in the broader software category, 70% of those companies that we invested in were 2024 and 2025 vintage investments—all companies in which we invested during the last two years during this AI era—and all of them with AI enablement and tech-forward AI attributes. Importantly, even those vintages prior to 2024—only five companies by count—are all made of embedded vertical application software companies that are so entrenched and mission-critical it would be a major challenge to replace them. It is not all AI. In addition to it, we continue to pursue opportunities in other diversified sectors.

We are witnessing a renewed focus on American domestic priorities, particularly in aerospace and defense, infrastructure, and the onshoring of advanced manufacturing. Policy tailwinds and national security are driving notable capital markets activity, reinforcing the durability of investment in those sectors. We are positioning TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. to benefit directly from these secular trends through portfolio companies such as Perry Labs, USCT, Valor, and Standardbots, among others. These are businesses that align with national priorities and are building mission-critical technologies.

As capital increasingly flows toward these strategic sectors, supported by federal policy and procurement reform, we believe venture-backed innovators in cybersecurity, aerospace, defense, robotics, energy and resources, and advanced manufacturing will remain durable recipients of both equity and venture debt capital. I would say we are also encouraged by the health of these venture markets and some reemerging signs of liquidity with M&A and IPOs. As the exit market continues to improve, we are well positioned to realize value for shareholders with our sizable equity and warrant portfolio. At year’s end, we held warrant positions in 118 portfolio companies and equity investments in 55.

As we have been mentioning, we have positions in several leading companies cited as top IPO candidates, including Cohesity, ZEVS, Revolut, Dialpad, Filevine, Grubhub Market, and others. Finally, in 2025, and building off the momentum of a strong year of performance, we successfully refinanced our $200,000,000 in 2020 notes. This further strengthens our capital structure, and Mike will provide further details during his prepared remarks. We intend to continue building on the momentum we experienced in 2025, positioning TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. for growth and shareholder value creation with the strong support of our sponsor TriplePoint Capital, the parent of our investment advisor.

TPC brings an exceptional brand name, reputation, proven track record, venture capital relationships, and direct originations capabilities. As we mentioned last quarter, our advisor’s income incentive fee waiver has been extended through 2026, and in addition, our sponsor also purchased 1,800,000 shares of TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. during the third and fourth quarters under the discretionary share purchase program. In summary, we delivered measurable progress in 2025 and saw improved venture market conditions throughout the year. As we look ahead, we are excited about the path forward and believe the combination of durable AI tailwinds, strong demand, disciplined underwriting, and creative, customized structuring places us in a strong position to capitalize on these market conditions in 2026 and beyond.

I will now turn the call over to Sajal.

Sajal K. Srivastava: Thank you, Jim, and good afternoon. 2025 was a year of disciplined execution as we continued to build a strong foundation and position TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. for the long term. Beginning with investment activity, TriplePoint Capital signed $107,000,000 of term sheets with venture growth stage companies during Q4 and $1,200,000,000 for the full year, up more than 60% from $736,000,000 of signed term sheets in fiscal year 2024. With regards to new investment allocation to TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. during the fourth quarter, our advisor allocated $90,000,000 in new commitments with 12 companies. Two-thirds of the commitments made during the fourth quarter were to new portfolio companies, reflecting our focus on obligor diversification and sector rotation.

For the full year, we closed $508,000,000 of debt commitments with 28 new portfolio companies and seven existing obligors, up almost two times from the $175,000,000 of debt commitments in 2024 with 13 companies. As mentioned during our Q3 call, in anticipation of prepayment and scheduled repayment activity during this quarter, we exceeded our guided range and funded $93,000,000 in debt investments to 16 companies. These funded investments carried a weighted average annualized portfolio yield of 12%. For the full year, we funded $287,000,000 in debt investments to 31 companies, up more than 100% from $135,000,000 to 13 companies in 2024.

The lower overall onboarding yields in 2025 reflect a number of factors in addition to the declining rate environment, including originating revolving loans, which enable us to be the sole lender to our portfolio companies; lending to more robust enterprises from a size and scale perspective, including EBITDA-positive companies; and lower OID as a result of reduced enterprise valuations. During Q4, we had $44,000,000 of loans prepaid from relatively seasoned loans, resulting in an overall weighted average portfolio yield of 12.7%, and excluding prepayments our core portfolio yield was 12.1%. For the full year, we had $120,000,000 of loan prepays as compared to $170,000,000 of loan prepayments in fiscal year 2024.

We also had $64,000,000 of scheduled principal amortization and repayments under revolvers during the quarter. For the full year, we had $92,000,000 of these payments, which together with the previously mentioned $120,000,000 of prepays provided substantial liquidity to reinvest in our portfolio and to use strategically as we refinance and optimize our go-forward debt stack. During the fiscal year, our investment portfolio grew by over $100,000,000, or 15%, as a result of new fundings exceeding prepayment, repayment, and amortization within the portfolio. Of our 55 obligors with outstanding loans as of year end, seven were added in 2024 and 22 were added in 2025, showing progress on our plans for obligor vintage and sector rotation.

Although we continue to see robust demand for debt financing from venture growth stage companies, as demonstrated by our $155,000,000 of new term sheets and $15,000,000 of funding so far in Q1, our quarterly target for new fundings continues to be in the $25,000,000 to $50,000,000 range for 2026 unless we have line of sight to higher-than-expected prepayment activity. Two portfolio companies with debt outstanding raised $71,000,000 of equity capital during the quarter, and for the full year, 15 debt portfolio companies raised $74,000,000 of equity capital. Although down from 2024, it is not unexpected given the number of new obligors we have added in the past year.

In addition, the pace of up-round valuations has picked up, which is reflected well in our credit quality as well as the warrant and equity investments associated with these debt investments. No new companies were added to our credit watch list during the quarter, and the weighted average credit ranking of our portfolio slightly improved from Q3. During the quarter, we saw a fair amount of prepayment and repayment activity, along with both net unrealized and net realized gains in the debt portfolio from the resolution of credit situations in addition to fair value adjustments related to obligor performance, sector outlook changes, and foreign currency exchange.

Briefly reviewing material updates across all of our credit rating categories, during the quarter, we had two category one, or clear-rated, obligors repay their loans. We added $72,000,000 of loans to 13 obligors to category two, or white rating, as a result of new investment activity, offset by $42,000,000 of loans to five companies as a result of prepayments and repayments due to acquisition, the most material being Thirty Madison, which closed its acquisition by RemedyMed. As a reminder, Thirty Madison was an existing TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. portfolio company, but also acquired the assets of TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. portfolio company, Pill Club, and assumed our outstanding loan.

This transaction represents a full recovery inclusive of end-of-term payments on both transactions. With regards to our category three, or yellow-rated, loans, during the quarter, we saw a partial prepay for one obligor, fair value increases in our loans to Flink as a result of its recently announced equity raise, as well as reductions in the fair value of our loans to Prodigy Finance, a FinTech focused on lending to international graduate students, due to sector and business performance. With regards to category four, or orange-rated, loans, the most material development is associated with our portfolio company Naked, an EBITDA-positive Swedish women's fashion e-commerce company.

During the quarter, Naked lenders, which include TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. and other investment vehicles controlled by our sponsor, have recapitalized and restructured the company and now own a controlling position of the equity of the company. As part of this process, the lenders reduced the total amount of debt outstanding by converting a portion of the outstanding loans into a hybrid loan instrument, which we now treat as an equity investment on our balance sheet, and a small amount into common equity to take the controlling position.

As part of our process, we experienced gains as a result of getting full recognition for unaccrued interest, end-of-term payments, and fees, which was higher than both our cost basis and fair value. The lenders are working with Naked to evaluate strategic alternatives for the business over the next 12 to 18 months. Our sole category five, or red, obligor, Rubana, continues to work through its recovery process, and here in Q4, we received recoveries of approximately 25% of Q4’s fair value.

We believe that the resolution on Thirty Madison/Pill Club and the developments with Naked demonstrate that while some of these credit journeys may take longer than expected, our continued efforts have the potential to work out in our favor. As of year end, we held warrants in 118 companies and equity investments in 55 companies, with a total fair value of $138,000,000, up from warrants in 98 companies and equity investments in 48 companies with a fair value of $116,000,000 last year.

During the quarter, we did experience a fair amount of volatility in our warrant and equity portfolio resulting in an overall net unrealized loss despite the unrealized gains from our debt investments and a slight reduction in our NAV for the quarter, although NAV is still up $0.12 year over year. These unrealized warrant and equity losses were driven from fair value marks on Prodigy’s preferred equity, which, as previously mentioned, was due to performance concerns, and write-offs resulting from companies acquired or where our investments expired, offset by unrealized gains from positive results from recent equity rounds by Upgrade, Filevine, FoodFootage, and others.

As we take a step back to assess 2025 and our outlook for 2026, our playbook continues to be focused on building a strong foundation for TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. and positioning TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. for the long term by strengthening our balance sheet, driving portfolio scale and quality, rotating the portfolio into newer vintages, resolving credit situations, increasing the earnings power of our business, and growing net asset value and shareholder value over the long term. I will now hand the call over to Mike.

Mike L. Wilhelms: Thank you, Sajal. Good afternoon, everyone. For the full year, we generated net investment income of $42,300,000, or $1.05 per share, on total investment and other income of $90,900,000. Our weighted average annualized portfolio yield on debt investments was 13.7% for the year compared to 15.7% in the prior year. The decline in yield primarily reflects the lower interest rate environment, including reductions in the prime rate, as well as a shift in portfolio mix toward lower-yielding, higher-quality borrowers. During the year, we funded $287,000,000 of new debt investments, compared to $135,000,000 in the prior year, reflecting the continued strength of our origination platform.

We received $212,000,000 of scheduled principal amortization, prepayments, and early repayments during the year, resulting in a net increase of approximately $85,000,000 in our debt investment portfolio at cost. As of year end, our total investment portfolio at fair value totaled approximately $784,000,000 compared to $676,000,000 at 12/31/2024, representing a 16% increase year over year. For the full year 2025, we declared and paid total distributions of $1.08 per share, consisting of $1.06 of regular quarterly distributions and a $0.20 supplemental distribution. We ended the year with estimated spillover income of $42,300,000, or $1.04 per share, providing meaningful earnings carryover into 2026.

Net asset value increased year over year to $8.73 per share at 12/31/2025, compared to $8.61 per share at 12/31/2024. For the full year, we recorded a net increase in net assets resulting from operations of $49,200,000, or $1.22 per share, compared to $32,000,000, or $0.82 per share, in the prior year. Overall, 2025 was characterized by disciplined capital deployment, active portfolio repositioning, and continued strengthening of our balance sheet. Total investment and other income for the fourth quarter was $22,500,000, representing a weighted average annualized portfolio yield on debt investments of 12.7%. The decrease in yield compared to the prior quarter primarily reflects lower base rates, including reductions in the prime rate.

Approximately 63% of the debt portfolio is floating rate and 79% of those loans are at their prime rate floors as of 12/31/2025. As a result, we expect the impact of any additional interest rate reductions on our net investment income to be limited, particularly as lower base rates would also reduce interest expense on our floating rate borrowings under the revolving credit facility. This structural positioning continues to serve as an important stabilizing factor in a declining rate environment. Net investment income for the fourth quarter was $9,900,000, or $0.25 per share, compared to $10,300,000, or $0.26 per share, in the prior quarter. Net increase in net assets resulting from operations was $8,100,000, or $0.20 per share.

During the fourth quarter, the company recognized net realized gains on investments of $4,800,000, resulting primarily from the restructuring of an investment in one portfolio company. The net change in unrealized losses on investments for the fourth quarter was $6,600,000, consisting of $11,600,000 of net unrealized losses on the existing warrant and equity portfolio resulting from fair value adjustments, offset by $3,300,000 of net unrealized gains on the existing debt investment portfolio from fair value adjustments and $1,700,000 of net unrealized gains from the reversal of previously recorded unrealized losses from investments realized during the period. Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter were $12,600,000 net of income incentive fee waivers.

During the quarter, $2,000,000 of income incentive fees were earned but fully waived by the advisor. For the full year, the advisor waived $5,300,000 of income incentive fees. In addition, under the total return requirement embedded in our incentive fee structure, income incentive fees were further reduced by approximately $3,100,000 earlier in the year. Collectively, these items increased net investment income by approximately $8,500,000 for fiscal year 2025. As previously announced, the advisor amended its waiver in November to waive the quarterly income incentive fee through the end of fiscal year 2026.

As of 12/31/2025, we had total liquidity of $252,400,000, consisting of $47,400,000 of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, and $205,000,000 of available capacity under our revolving credit facility. We ended the quarter with a gross leverage ratio of 1.33 times and a net leverage ratio of 1.20 times. We ended the quarter with $260,000,000 of unfunded commitments, down modestly from $264,000,000 in the prior quarter. Of these commitments, approximately $51,000,000 are milestone-based and therefore contingent upon borrowers achieving specified performance targets. The remaining commitments are well laddered over the next several years, with approximately $80,000,000 scheduled to expire in 2025, $71,000,000 in 2026, $83,000,000 in 2027, and $27,000,000 in 2028.

During the quarter, we successfully extended our revolving credit facility, extending the revolver period to 11/30/2027 and the final maturity to 05/30/2029. The amendment also improved key economic terms, including reduced borrowing spreads and higher advance rates. On 02/27/2026, the company entered into a note purchase agreement providing for the issuance of $75,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due February 2028, with a fixed interest rate of 7.5%. On 03/02/2026, we used the net proceeds from this issuance together with borrowings under our revolving credit facility and cash on hand to repay in full the $200,000,000 of unsecured notes that matured 03/01/2026.

With the March 2026 maturity fully addressed, our capital management strategy remains focused on preserving liquidity and financial flexibility while optimizing our overall fixed-to-floating debt mix and managing our forward maturity profile. While certain maturities are now more concentrated in late 2027 and early 2028 as a result of recent refinancing activity, we are actively managing that profile and expect to address those opportunistically well in advance of their respective due dates, consistent with our disciplined and proactive approach to capital markets execution. During 2025, our sponsor, TPC, purchased approximately 1,800,000 shares of our common stock under its discretionary share purchase program, further demonstrating alignment with shareholders.

Following year end, TPC continued purchasing shares, bringing total purchases under the program to approximately 2,000,000 shares, or nearly 5% of our outstanding shares. Combined with the extension of the income incentive fee waiver through the end of fiscal year 2026, these actions underscore our continued focus on long-term shareholder value. In summary, 2025 was a year of stabilization and repositioning. We strengthened overall credit quality, enhanced our capital structure, and extended our revolving credit facility on improved terms. With a higher-quality portfolio mix, approximately 79% of our floating rate debt investments already at their prime rate floors, and the income incentive fee waiver in place through 2026, we believe TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. enters 2026 on solid footing.

That concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, please open the lines for questions.

Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please do so. The first question today will come from Finian O’Shea with Wells Fargo Securities. Please go ahead.

Finian O’Shea: Hey, everyone. Good afternoon. Thanks for having me on. So the one thing we picked up, it said two names raised money this quarter—two debt investment names. Can you remind us, is that a low number in the historical context? And if so, anything to see there on the macro for venture, or is that a one-off timing thing? Thanks.

Sajal K. Srivastava: Yes, Fin, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, I think it is a reflection of the freshness of the vintages of our portfolio given the number of new obligors we added both in 2024 and 2025. So we expect the fundraising activity for those names to be more in 2026–2027. I would say it is a reflection though obviously more of the capital going into AI and AI-related investments overall, as Jim mentioned during his remarks, but I would say if anything just again a reflection of the rebalancing and rotation of our portfolio into newer vintages.

Finian O’Shea: Okay. Appreciate that. And sort of high level on the long-term goals as you outlined, I just wanted to ask if there is any change in the playbook. You have been an above-book, fairly well-above-book BDC at one time—obviously, more generous environment—but today, the starting point is below ground for you. It is a pretty small BDC; your cost of capital is pretty high. It just feels like a pretty long march to be generating an adequate market yield.

So seeing if there is any—if you have—and I appreciate that you could only say so much if there was something, but do you think about change in strategy, or is it the same playbook to get back to the ideal clean, high-yielding venture debt portfolio?

Sajal K. Srivastava: I would definitely say it is not the same playbook. I think our playbook is refined every year in reflection of market conditions and strategic initiatives. I would say, yes, obviously, we are disappointed with the performance of TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. from a market cap and a trading perspective—not a reflection of our sponsor and our platform and the size and scale of our originations and our capabilities—but we are very much focused on it, demonstrated by things our sponsor has done, particularly with the share purchase program. More importantly to your point, Fin, listen, we have been articulating it is a multifaceted playbook to get TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. back to where it should be.

It is a combination of building this foundation and positioning for the long term. It is about strengthening the balance sheet—the activities that Mike has done. It is about what Jim and the team are doing about driving new investments and portfolio scale and rotating into newer vintages. It is what our credit teams are working on in resolving credit situations. It is about improving fundamentally the percentage of income-earning assets in the book, and I think shareholders will benefit from that over the long term. And then I think the wildcard always is the warrant and equity portfolio. Again, Revolut continues to do amazing things—fingers crossed they continue—but we have others. We are not just a one-trick pony.

So I would say it is a multifaceted strategy. It is a refined strategy dealing with the realities of the market and market conditions, and also the advisor’s strategy and experience. Jim and I are now in our 26th year of working together, and we are working hard. It is not a short fix; it is a long-term playbook, and we appreciate the support and patience of our investors along that journey.

Finian O’Shea: Great. That is all for me. Thanks.

Operator: The next question will come from Brian McKenna with Citizens. Please go ahead.

Brian McKenna: Okay, great. Thanks. Good evening, everyone. When you look across the portfolio today, do you think you have worked through most of the negative marks? I am trying to think through the trajectory of NAV from here. It did increase modestly in 2025, so I am wondering, is this maybe a new trend, and should we expect this to persist moving forward?

Sajal K. Srivastava: I would say that, again, you can never fully have the crystal ball in credit. We continue to work through the situations. There are known situations. I think we are pleased that credit has generally been stabilized over the course of 2025. I think the biggest concern is market conditions and macroeconomic impact. I am hesitant to say we are out of the woods, but I would say we are as proactive as can be in resolving situations, and we are making progress and will continue to do so.

Brian McKenna: All right, that is helpful, thanks. And then two questions for Mike. Repayments were clearly elevated in the quarter. You also disclosed that there has been $24,000,000 of prepayments quarter-to-date, but any visibility for the rest of the quarter here in March? And then my other question: why not start buying back more of the stock at 60% of book value and maybe use some of the incremental NII from waiving the incentive fees in 2026? Just curious on those as well.

Sajal K. Srivastava: I will take the remaining prepayment and the activity in the quarter. You are correct; we saw an elevated amount of prepayments in the fourth quarter. We saw some prepayments here early on. Currently, not a ton more visibility in prepayments for the remainder of the quarter, but it is something we are monitoring. Nothing material to note as far as the remainder of the quarter.

Jim Labe: And starting to add on the share repurchases, these are things we have done before—I can remember at least twice—and we remain committed to creating long-term shareholder value. In the near term, the focus these days is, as Sajal mentioned, on our investment earnings and enhancing the earnings power, growing the NAV, and maintaining financial flexibility. But absolutely, with that said, management and the board are going to continue to consider all these options, including buybacks, to create value for our investors.

Brian McKenna: Thanks so much.

Operator: The next question will come from Piper Sandler. Please go ahead.

Ben Graham: This is Ben Graham in for Kristen Love. Thanks so much for taking the question. Looking at your investment portfolio composition, roughly 27% is made up of software companies. I am wondering if you could drill a little deeper within the cohorts of software where you have exposure and what areas in your portfolio you are most confident in, and then also which areas you are more cautious on given these AI disruption themes? Thank you.

Sajal K. Srivastava: On the software, the way we think of it is that literally last year TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. added 28 portfolio companies, 14 of them were software, of which nine were native AI. The other ones were all tech-enabled AI or absolutely leveraging AI—tech-forward kind of plays. There are only five companies, and these were all ones done pre-2024. It is about $85,000,000 to $89,000,000 or so of exposure. Those ones would be more your general software companies, except each of those in themselves are not these SaaS software makeup-type companies.

So at the end of the day, in terms of software, the majority of the portfolio of TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. is deals we have done in the last two years, and as I mentioned in prepared remarks, the overwhelming majority all have, or are part of, if not AI-native, AI-enabled solutions.

Ben Graham: Awesome. Thanks so much for the color there. And then if I could ask one more, I was wondering if you could share your latest views on M&A and IPO activity expectations for 2026, and if these expectations have changed given these market reactions to AI disruption impacts in the public software as well as other sectors? Thanks.

Sajal K. Srivastava: I would definitely say, given the developments of the last week or so, there is a significant amount of volatility in the market, and so I would say any overall optimism we had about the IPO markets probably is delayed. I would not say closed, but I would say delayed with regards to IPO activity. As Jim mentioned in his prepared remarks, we have a number of portfolio companies that are preparing and hope to be part of the next class of IPO activity. I think we are pleased, though, that we are seeing M&A discussions pick up.

Now, it is to be determined on valuations and multiples and seeing those transactions actually close, but folks remember in prior years we saw a significant lack of M&A activity, and I think we are pleased to see that activity pick up and are cautiously optimistic that, even if the IPO markets do not open up, the M&A markets will continue to be opportunistic and open for those unique or compelling opportunities.

Ben Graham: Awesome. That is it for me. Thank you so much again.

Operator: The next question will come from Christopher Nolan with Ladenburg Thalmann. Please go ahead.

Christopher Nolan: Hey, guys. A recent discussion I had indicated that some of the concern around software is not so much their near-term cash flow; it is the terminal value, where these companies are thinking AI is going to cut the legs out from under them over time. If that is the case, and given that you guys have a significant exposure to software, does this affect how you evaluate software companies? And if so, is there a risk of meaningful markdowns in your equity portfolio?

Sajal K. Srivastava: Chris, let me go through that with a couple of nuances. As Jim first talked about, the majority of our software companies are the class of 2024 and the class of 2025, and the majority of them are AI-enabled. The industry codes we use do not have AI categories yet, so we define those as fundamentally AI or AI-enabled companies. As we look more fundamentally to the other companies that are not in those vintages, as Jim was saying, they are so entrenched with their customers that the ability for a company to replace them is particularly challenging, which makes them incumbents—which again I think is important because now let us add the part of the venture lending aspect.

These are three-year loans—cash-paying loans—and this is where we add in the unique nature of our business: these are short-term financings, and our exit is not predicated on a sponsor selling the company or the company getting acquired. It is fundamentally on companies’ ability to raise another round of financing or cash flow from the business to service our debt. So that is what gives us comfort. Fundamentally, that is the benefit of venture lending to software companies or SaaS companies or AI companies versus more traditional middle-market lending.

Christopher Nolan: Sajal, do you guys think in general that AI is a real product now, or is it just something in the product pipeline of these companies that is going to hit?

Sajal K. Srivastava: It is all of the above. I would say it is not a sector; it is absolutely horizontal across everything. The way I think of it, everything these days is AI-topia, AI euphoria, and to your question, we are not looking at, and really do not look at, software-only plays on-prem software—anything like that. It is all AI-enabled software across the board.

Christopher Nolan: Great. And I guess a final question on this: you guys see a lot of AI out there. Is there any way that this could come into your own operations and start improving your operating leverage on your earnings?

Jim Labe: We are already using AI actively—software including some of our portfolio companies’ AI—in our due diligence processes and other aspects and parts of our business. That is absolutely something we are doing, and we are actually using it as well when we are looking at AI opportunities themselves and actually have some AI software companies whose business is evaluating other AI companies for identity and other issues. Mike, I do not know if you wanted to add.

Mike L. Wilhelms: Yes, I was going to add just from an operations—back of the house, middle of the house—standpoint, we began deploying AI in 2025 and are going to continue that in 2026, rolling it out to all associates and really asking them to, rather than us tell them how to use the AI, look for them to find ways to make their jobs more efficient. We are definitely seeing some efficiency already, and I expect to see more in 2026 and 2027 for sure.

Christopher Nolan: Okay. Is it something you can quantify as you go along—provide some guidance? It would be helpful if we can get this efficiency ratio improved.

Mike L. Wilhelms: From my standpoint, it would be a headcount standpoint as far as whether it is the accounting and finance division or the operations division. I am not sure that is something we would be disclosing to you all as far as our headcount within the back of the office, but it is something we can talk about further.

Operator: The next question will come from Finian O’Shea with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.

Finian O’Shea: Hi, everyone. Thanks for the follow-up. Just seeing if you could tell us the OID on the post-quarter bonds?

Mike L. Wilhelms: 0%. When you say OID, are you talking about the discount? Yes, there is no discount, so it is 7.5%. We did not issue it at a premium or a discount. Sorry, I did not quite understand the question at first, but yes, the $75,000,000 was issued and proceeds were at face value.

Finian O’Shea: Great. Thanks so much.

Operator: This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Jim Labe for any closing remarks. Please go ahead.

Jim Labe: As always, I would like to thank everyone for listening and participating in today’s call. We look forward to updating and talking with you all again next quarter. Thanks again and have a nice day.

Operator: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect.

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