Creative Media & Community Trust Corporation Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
May 8, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Completed the redemption of $243 million of preferred into common in Q1 (about $396 million redeemed since Sep 2024), which management says will reduce preferred dividend obligations and increase FFO by approximately $16 million per year starting in Q2 2026.
  • Positive Sentiment: Shifted financing to an asset‑based approach—completed financings on 9 assets, fully retired the recourse credit facility, and sold the lending division for net cash proceeds of roughly $31 million—leaving the company with minimal recourse debt and improved liquidity.
  • Negative Sentiment: First‑quarter operating results weakened as total segment NOI fell to $9.8 million from $11.8 million year‑over‑year, and management reported FFO of -$28.8 million (-$58.47 per diluted share) with Core FFO of -$5.9 million.
  • Positive Sentiment: Multifamily performance is materially stronger—ex‑JV multifamily NOI increased 64% YoY, overall multifamily occupancy rose to 89.6% (up 940 bps) with Oakland at 91.9%, and management cited strong Bay Area rent growth as evidence of recovery.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Management is pursuing targeted refinancing and asset actions (loan extensions at 1150 Clay and Oakland, potential larger/cheaper loan at the Sheraton Grand, selective asset sales and development options), but outcomes are not guaranteed and could affect near‑term cash flow.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Creative Media & Community Trust Corporation Q1 2026
00:00 / 00:00

Transcript Sections

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Operator

Good afternoon, welcome to the Creative Media & Community Trust first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. All participants will be in only-listen mode. Should you need assistance, please signal conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Steve Altebrando, Portfolio Oversight. Please go ahead.

Steve Altebrando
Steve Altebrando
Portfolio Oversight at Creative Media & Community Trust

Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us. My name is Steve Altebrando, the Portfolio Oversight for CMCT. Also on the call today are David Thompson, our Chief Executive Officer, and Brandon Hill, our Chief Financial Officer. This call is being webcast and will be temporarily archived on the Investor Relations section of our website, where you can also find our earnings release. Our earnings release includes a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures discussed during today's call. During this call, we will make forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of, assumptions made by, and information currently available to us. Our actual results will be affected by known and unknown risks, trends, and uncertainties, and other factors that are beyond our control or ability to predict.

Steve Altebrando
Steve Altebrando
Portfolio Oversight at Creative Media & Community Trust

Although we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, they are not guarantees of future performance, and some will prove to be incorrect. Therefore, our actual future results can be expected to differ from our expectations, and those differences may be material. For a more detailed description of potential risks, please refer to our SEC filings, which can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website. With that, I'll turn the call over to David Thompson.

David Thompson
David Thompson
CEO at Creative Media & Community Trust

Thanks, Steve. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'd like to begin with an update on the strategic plan we outlined on prior calls to strengthen our balance sheet, improve liquidity, and sharpen our focus on premier multifamily assets and the meaningful progress we've made against those priorities in the first quarter. Over the past several months, we've taken actions to position CMCT for long-term stability and growth. During the quarter, we completed the redemption of $243 million of preferred stock into common stock. This was a transformational step for the company that significantly improved our balance sheet and will improve our funds from operations starting in the second quarter of 2026. We expect the redemption to increase our FFO by approximately $16 million per year, and it returns the company's capital structure back in line with our long-term targets.

David Thompson
David Thompson
CEO at Creative Media & Community Trust

Since first announcing our plan to strengthen our balance sheet and improve liquidity in September of 2024, the company has redeemed approximately $396 million of preferred stock into common stock. In parallel, we have also shifted our financing strategy towards an asset-based approach. We have completed financings on nine assets and have fully retired our recourse credit facility. As a result, we now operate with minimal recourse debt, significantly reducing risk and improving our flexibility. We also sold our lending division in January of 2026. After accounting for debt repayment, transaction expenses, and other related items, this transaction yielded net cash proceeds to the company of approximately $31 million. In summary, we believe that we have restored the company to a position of financial health. With a stronger balance sheet, improved liquidity, and a more focused portfolio, we are now well-positioned for growth.

David Thompson
David Thompson
CEO at Creative Media & Community Trust

Going forward, our primary focus is on improving FFO in 2026 and 2027. We believe there are two key levers that will enable us to achieve this. First, we are focused on improving property-level performance across our portfolio. Second, we expect a substantial reduction in preferred dividend obligations. As a reminder, we completed the redemption near the end of the first quarter, so the impact of that action was only minimally reflected in our first quarter FFO. The full benefit of that redemption will begin in the second quarter. In addition, we are continuing to take proactive steps to further strengthen our financial profile. We are actively working to extend debt maturities on a handful of assets, and at the same time, we will continue to evaluate selective asset sales where we see opportunities to unlock value, improve portfolio quality, or redeploy capital more efficiently.

David Thompson
David Thompson
CEO at Creative Media & Community Trust

We believe that executing on these priorities is critical to reducing what we believe is a substantial gap between our current share price and the intrinsic value of the portfolio. To put that in perspective, on a cost basis, our undepreciated book value was approximately $147 per share at the end of the first quarter. We believe this highlights the underlying value of our assets and reinforces the opportunity ahead as we translate operational improvements and capital structure efficiencies into stronger financial performance. Turning to net operating income and trends for the first quarter. Starting with office, NOI declined approximately $600,000 year-over-year. This was primarily driven by a one-time benefit in the prior year period related to a tax appeal we won and which should not recur this year.

David Thompson
David Thompson
CEO at Creative Media & Community Trust

Excluding our Oakland office asset, our office lease percentage was approximately 85.7% at the end of the first quarter, representing a 470 basis point increase year-over-year. In our multifamily segment, performance was notably stronger. Excluding our joint venture properties, NOI increased 64% year-over-year. When including our JV properties, NOI increased modestly, primarily due to non-cash changes in appraised values. Occupancy across the multifamily portfolio improved to 89.6% at quarter end, an increase of 940 basis points compared to the prior year.

David Thompson
David Thompson
CEO at Creative Media & Community Trust

Importantly, after several very challenging years in Oakland, we are beginning to see early signs of recovery, supported by improving fundamentals in that market. Turning to our hotel asset, NOI declined by approximately $700,000 year-over-year. This was largely attributable to temporary factors, including renovation-related disruptions early in the quarter and an issue in one of the mechanical systems that temporarily removed a number of rooms from service in March.

David Thompson
David Thompson
CEO at Creative Media & Community Trust

I'm pleased to report that the renovation was substantially completed during the first quarter. Over the past two years, we have renovated all 505 guest rooms, along with the property's common areas, positioning the asset for improved performance going forward. In summary, we continue to see encouraging operating trends across the multifamily portfolio, as well as in our Los Angeles and Austin office assets and at the company's hotel property in Sacramento. With that, I'll turn the call over to Steve to provide additional color on our refinancing activities and property level performance.

Steve Altebrando
Steve Altebrando
Portfolio Oversight at Creative Media & Community Trust

Thanks, David. The actions we've taken over the past several quarters have significantly improved our balance sheet and will strengthen our funds from operations. We are now well-positioned to benefit from improving fundamentals, particularly in our multifamily assets in the Bay Area. Today, CMCT owns 621 residential units across two premier Class A assets in the market. After several challenging years, we're beginning to see the recovery gain momentum, supported by a strengthening San Francisco residential market, with demand increasingly bolstered by growth in AI-related employment and investment. At the end of the first quarter, our Oakland multifamily occupancy increased to 91.9%, representing an improvement of 860 basis points compared to the end of the first quarter last year. In addition, we are also seeing concessions ease in the market, particularly at our 1150 Clay asset.

Steve Altebrando
Steve Altebrando
Portfolio Oversight at Creative Media & Community Trust

More broadly, in the adjacent downtown San Francisco market, multifamily fundamentals have rebounded significantly. In 2025, rent growth reached 7.6%, the highest growth rate in 25 years, followed by an additional 7% increase in the first quarter of 2026. Vacancy has declined to 4.3%, the lowest level in nearly 20 years. In Oakland, we are also seeing encouraging signs of recovery. Vacancy has declined to 7.8% at the end of the first quarter, down from a peak of approximately 18% in 2021. Importantly, rent growth turned positive in 2025 after three consecutive years of decline and increased by 2.9% in the first quarter of 2026. Turning to Los Angeles, we have made solid progress across our two new L.A. multifamily assets.

Steve Altebrando
Steve Altebrando
Portfolio Oversight at Creative Media & Community Trust

At 701 South Hudson, our partial conversion of office to residential is now 88.2% occupied. As we mentioned on our last call, we received entitlements in the first quarter of 2026 to build an additional 50 units on the back surface lot of the property. We are currently working on pre-development and anticipate having the option to start that project later this year. At 1915 Park, our ground-up development in Echo Park, we achieved 52.8% leased at quarter end. This 36-unit project, delivered in the fourth quarter, is located in a highly desirable walkable submarket with significant dining and entertainment options. The development is a joint venture with an international pension fund and was built on land adjacent to our office property at 1910 West Sunset. Including our joint ventures, we now have five operating multifamily assets.

Steve Altebrando
Steve Altebrando
Portfolio Oversight at Creative Media & Community Trust

Turning to the office segment, we executed approximately 20,562 sq ft of leases in the first quarter and continue to see an active pipeline of activity, particularly in L.A. and Austin. Excluding the company's one Oakland office asset, our lease percentage stood at 85.7% at the end of the first quarter, representing an improvement of 470 basis points year-over-year. At 11600 Wilshire Boulevard, we recently commenced a renovation program focused on several small suites. We believe this targeted investment will enhance leasing activity and tenant demand. This project is expected to be completed over the next few months. Finally, in our hotel segment, we have substantially completed the renovation of the property's public spaces following the full renovation of all 505 guest rooms.

Steve Altebrando
Steve Altebrando
Portfolio Oversight at Creative Media & Community Trust

This marks the first comprehensive renovation of the asset since its acquisition in 2008 and positions the hotel well for improved performance in 2026 and beyond. We are also evaluating the opportunity to add eight new guest rooms by converting currently underutilized space, which we believe would be highly accretive. Turning to financing, we are actively engaged in three initiatives. At the Sheraton Grand, with the renovation now substantially complete, we believe there's an opportunity to both increase the loan balance and reduce the borrowing spread.

Steve Altebrando
Steve Altebrando
Portfolio Oversight at Creative Media & Community Trust

At 1150 Clay, we are in active discussions with the lender and anticipate securing a one-year extension on the mortgage as we continue to work to improve the asset's NOI. Finally, at our Oakland office property, we're seeking extension of the loan maturity. We cannot guarantee we will reach an agreement with the lender. For context, in the first quarter of 2025, this asset generated approximately $800,000 of cash flow after debt service. With that, I'll turn the call over to Brandon.

Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill
CFO at Creative Media & Community Trust

Thank you, Steve. Good afternoon. I'm going to spend a few minutes going over the comparative financial highlights for the first quarter of 2026 versus the first quarter of 2025, starting with our segment NOI, which was $9.8 million in the first quarter of 2026 compared to $11.8 million in the prior year comparable period. Broken down by segment, the decrease of approximately $1.9 million was driven by decreases of $728,000 from our hotel property, $602,000 from our office properties, and $590,000 from our lending business. Our hotel segment NOI for Q1 2026 was $4 million versus $4.7 million in Q1 2025.

Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill
CFO at Creative Media & Community Trust

This decrease was largely attributable to temporary factors, including a renovation-related disruption early in the quarter and an issue in one of the mechanical systems that temporarily removed a number of rooms from service in March. Our office segment NOI for Q1 2026 was $6.5 million versus $7.1 million in Q1 2025. The decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in tenant reimbursement revenue at an office property in Oakland, California, and an increase in real estate tax expense at an office property in Beverly Hills, California, driven by a tax refund recorded in the prior year period. In January 2026, we completed the sale of our lending business, First Western, for a purchase price of approximately $44.9 million.

Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill
CFO at Creative Media & Community Trust

As the lending segment activity was de minimis during the period it remained under our ownership during Q1 2026, the related amounts were excluded from segment-level activity. Our lending division NOI was $590,000 in the prior year comparable period. Our multifamily segment net operating loss of $613,000 remained fairly consistent compared to the prior year comparable period. Below the segment NOI line, we had an increase in depreciation and amortization expense of $1.2 million, primarily due to an increase in tenant improvement amortization at an office property located in Beverly Hills, California, as well as an increase at our hotel property due to renovation projects which have increased depreciable assets.

Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill
CFO at Creative Media & Community Trust

We also had an increase in loss in early extinguishment of debt of $705,000, which was incurred in connection with the full payoff of our lending division revolving credit facility during the first quarter of 2026. These were partially offset by a gain on sale of $1.7 million as a result of our sale of First Western during Q1 2026. Our FFO was -$28.8 million, or -$58.47 per diluted share, compared to -$5.4 million or -$900.83 per diluted share in the prior year comparable period.

Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill
CFO at Creative Media & Community Trust

The decrease in our FFO was primarily driven by an increase in preferred stock redemptions of $21.9 million, a decrease of approximately $1.9 million in total segment NOI, and an increase of $705,000 in loss on early extinguishment of debt, partially offset by a decrease of $1.3 million in redeemable preferred stock dividends. Our Core FFO was -$5.9 million, or -$11.89 per diluted share, compared to -$5.1 million or -$846.50 per diluted share in the prior year comparable period.

Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill
CFO at Creative Media & Community Trust

This decrease in Core FFO is attributable to the previously discussed changes in FFO while not impacted by the increase in loss on early extinguishment of debt or the increase in redeemable preferred stock redemptions, as these are excluded from our Core FFO calculation. With that, we can open the line for questions.

Operator

We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. Showing no questions, this concludes our question and answer session and the conference has also now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

Executives
Analysts
    • Brandon Hill
      CFO at Creative Media & Community Trust
    • Steve Altebrando
      Portfolio Oversight at Creative Media & Community Trust
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