Annaly rises 3.2% after Q3 earnings beat

What happened

Annaly (NLY) rose 3.2% on October 20, 2026, after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat estimates, lifting the mortgage REIT because of the results. The stock closed at $18.29 after opening 0.4% above the previous close. The earnings release was reported by Business Wire and Zacks Investment Research.

How big was the move

The stock rose 3.2% in a session that was 2.1 times a typical daily move for this stock, a larger-than-normal reaction tied directly to the earnings release. Volume ran at 0.8 times its 20-day average. The move outperformed the Real Estate sector median by 1.3 percentage points on the day, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3%.

The stock's market value was $13.74 billion for the session. The stock's beta of 0.63 indicates it tends to move less than the market, which helps explain why a 3.2% gain stands out for this name. In the past five years the stock had 25 sessions with a gain of at least 3.2%; twenty trading days later the median result was a gain of 7.3%, and 19 of 25 were higher.

The technical picture

The stock remained well below its shorter- and longer-term averages: 3.1% below its 20-day moving average, 13.4% below its 50-day moving average and 17.4% below its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average is below the 200-day average, a sign of a weak longer-term trend. The 14-day Relative Strength Index was 34, which sits in a neutral range between 30 and 70.

Price trends point to persistent weakness: the stock fell 14.2% over one month, fell 18.4% over three months and fell 12.1% over one year. It was 25.4% below the 52-week high and 27.8 percentage points behind the S&P 500 over one year. Volatility was 24% annualized over 60 days, higher than 61% of its own readings over five years.

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through September 30, 2026, Annaly reported revenue of $5.65 billion, a decline of 17.6% from a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share for that period were $1.44, which fell 33.4% from a year earlier. Gross margin was 99.3% versus 99.2% a year earlier, and operating margin was 107.1% compared with 90.0% a year earlier.

The balance sheet showed net cash of $2.18 billion, and the share count over one year increased by 22.7%. Return on invested capital was 5.7%. The stock traded at 12.7 times trailing earnings, a valuation higher than 79% of its own readings over the past five years; the five-year median is 6.7 times earnings. Price to forward earnings was 5.9 times expected earnings.

Annaly's PromtFinance scores underline the company's profile: Value 92 (Exceptional), Quality 100 (Exceptional) and Growth 17 (Very weak). Momentum and Revisions register as 34 (Weak) and 83 (Strong), respectively, while Stability is 72 (Positive). The scores point to a business that looks attractively priced on some metrics but faces clear growth headwinds.

Earnings and analyst expectations

Annaly reported third-quarter 2026 earnings per share of $0.80 against $0.77 expected, 3.6% above estimates, and up from $0.73 per share a year earlier, according to Business Wire and Zacks Investment Research. This marked eight consecutive quarters beating estimates, and the average surprise over the last four reports was 3.4% above estimates. The typical two-day reaction after recent reports was the stock rose 0.4%.

Analysts cover the stock with a consensus rating of Buy from 28 analysts, with 57% assigning a Buy or Strong Buy. The consensus price target is $22.00, which is 20.3% above the closing price on October 20, 2026. Next reported earnings are scheduled for February 10, 2027.

What to watch

• Next report: February 10, 2027
• Consensus price target: $22.00, 20.3% above the closing price
• Share count over one year: increased by 22.7%
• Price to trailing earnings: 12.7 times trailing earnings
• PromtFinance Value score: 92 (Exceptional)