Stocks · Financial Services · Asset Management
Hercules Capital, Inc. HTGC
$16.69 -0.30% Close, Oct 5, 2026 · NYSE · Market cap $3.13B
Strong growth
Next earnings report: Oct 29, 2026
Scroll or pinch to zoom, drag to move. Daily prices adjusted for splits. Markers: E = earnings (green beat, red miss), S = split, D = dividend.
Three things to know
- Operating margin widened to 75.3% from 59.9% a year earlier.
- Revenue over the last four quarters was $579.8M, up 33.9% from a year earlier, slowing from 41.2% a quarter earlier.
- Net debt is 5.3× EBITDA, a high level of leverage.
PromtFinance scores
Each score is a percentile within the Financial Services sector (0–100). Under each score: how the stock ranks in its sector on every component. As of Oct 6, 2026.
How fast revenue, earnings and cash flow are growing.
- Revenue growth (TTM, YoY)Top 12%
- EPS growth (TTM, YoY)Top 33%
- Revenue growth, 3-year CAGRTop 14%
- Revenue growth accelerationBottom 20%
Returns on capital, margins, earnings quality and balance-sheet strength.
- Return on invested capitalTop 16%
- Gross marginTop 6%
- Operating marginTop 2%
- Cash conversion (OCF / net income)Bottom 21%
- Accruals (lower is better)Bottom 5%
- Net debt / EBITDA (lower is better)Bottom 24%
- Interest coverTop 22%
How cheap the shares are relative to earnings, cash flow and their own history.
- Earnings yieldTop 10%
- Free-cash-flow yieldBottom 26%
- EBITDA / enterprise valueTop 40%
- Sales / enterprise valueBottom 11%
- P/E vs own 5-year history (lower is better)Top 25%
Strength and persistence of the price trend, including versus the S&P 500.
- 12-month return excluding last monthBottom 20%
- 6-month returnTop 36%
- 1-year return vs S&P 500Bottom 21%
- Distance from 52-week highBottom 42%
- Trend checklist (0–4)Top 48%
Earnings surprises and analyst sentiment (estimate-revision history is being collected).
- Average EPS surprise, last 4 quartersBottom 35%
- Consecutive EPS beatsTop 42%
- Share of analysts rating BuyTop 31%
- Upside to consensus price targetBottom 5%
Low volatility, shallow drawdowns, low market sensitivity and modest leverage.
- Volatility, 60 days (lower is better)Top 43%
- Maximum drawdown, 3 yearsBottom 30%
- Beta vs S&P 500 (lower is better)Bottom 37%
- Net debt / EBITDA (lower is better)Bottom 24%
What changed
Latest four quarters versus the same period a year earlier (growth: versus one quarter earlier).
| Measure | Before | Now | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 41.2% | 33.9% | ↓ |
| EPS growth (YoY) | 33.1% | 31.8% | ↓ |
| Gross margin | 80.8% | 89.9% | ↑ |
| Operating margin | 59.9% | 75.3% | ↑ |
| FCF margin | -70.1% | 1.5% | ↑ |
Fundamental momentum
| Measure | Now (TTM) | Year / quarter before | Sector rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth (TTM, YoY) | 33.9% | 41.2% | ↓ | Top 12% |
| EPS growth (TTM, YoY) | 31.8% | 33.1% | ↓ | Top 33% |
| Gross margin | 89.9% | 80.8% | ↑ | Top 6% |
| Operating margin | 75.3% | 59.9% | ↑ | Top 2% |
| Net margin | 66.1% | 59.9% | ↑ | — |
| Free-cash-flow margin | 1.5% | -70.1% | ↑ | — |
| Return on invested capital | 9.3% | — | Top 16% | |
| Revenue growth, 3-year CAGR | 31.7% | — | Top 14% |
Quality of earnings and balance sheet
- Cash conversion (OCF / net income)Above 1× means profits are backed by cash.
- 0.02×
- Accruals (net income − OCF) / assetsLower is better; high accruals can signal weaker earnings quality.
- 8.0%
- Stock-based compensation / revenueA cost to shareholders through dilution.
- 0.0%
- Receivables growth vs revenue growthReceivables growing much faster than sales can be a warning.
- -28.9 pp
- Net debt / EBITDABelow 1× is conservative; above 3× is high leverage.
- 5.27×
- Interest cover (operating income / interest)How many times operating profit covers interest.
- 4.1×
Shareholder returns
- Dividend yield (dividends paid, TTM)
- 10.75%
- Net buyback yield (TTM)
- -2.00%
- Shareholder yield
- 8.76%
- Share count change, 1 year
- +4.6%
- Share count change, 3-year CAGR
- +12.0%
Shareholder yield = dividends + net buybacks over the last four quarters, divided by market cap.
Based on the four quarters through Jun 30, 2026 (filed Jul 30, 2026).
Earnings and expectations
Earnings momentum
- Consecutive EPS beats
- 2
- Beats in the last 8 reports
- 4 of 8
- Average EPS surprise, last 4
- +1.8%
- Average 2-day reaction, last 8
- -0.3%
- Positive 20 days after report
- 3 of 8
Analysts
- Consensus price target
- $15.50
- Target vs current price
- -7.1%
- Analysts with a rating
- 31
- Share rating Buy or Strong Buy
- 61%
- Consensus rating
- Buy
How the stock reacted to recent reports
| Report date | EPS surprise | 2 days | 5 days | 20 days | 60 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2026 | +3.1% | -0.2% | +4.5% | +10.5% | — |
| May 5, 2026 | +2.1% | +0.8% | -2.4% | -5.6% | -3.0% |
| Feb 12, 2026 | +0.0% | -1.1% | -6.8% | -16.4% | -3.8% |
| Oct 30, 2025 | +2.1% | -0.9% | +1.9% | +0.7% | +5.4% |
| Jul 31, 2025 | +6.4% | -0.8% | +3.2% | +2.6% | -6.7% |
| May 1, 2025 | -2.2% | -0.5% | -3.5% | -2.6% | +6.8% |
| Feb 13, 2025 | -3.9% | +0.6% | +3.7% | -14.0% | -16.5% |
| Oct 30, 2024 | +0.0% | -0.5% | -4.3% | -5.9% | +5.1% |
Returns from the close before each report. Past reactions do not determine future ones.
Earnings history
| Report date | EPS | Estimate | Surprise | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2026 | $0.50 | $0.48 | +3.1% | $149.1M |
| May 5, 2026 | $0.48 | $0.47 | +2.1% | $141.5M |
| Feb 12, 2026 | $0.48 | $0.48 | +0.0% | $137.4M |
| Oct 30, 2025 | $0.49 | $0.48 | +2.1% | $169.3M |
| Jul 31, 2025 | $0.50 | $0.47 | +6.4% | $79.8M |
| May 1, 2025 | $0.45 | $0.46 | -2.2% | $102.1M |
| Feb 13, 2025 | $0.49 | $0.51 | -3.9% | $47.9M |
| Oct 30, 2024 | $0.51 | $0.51 | +0.0% | $119.0M |
Valuation in context
| Multiple | Now | 5-year median | 5-year percentile | Sector rank (cheapness) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E (trailing) | 8.4× | 9.8× | 29th | Top 10% |
| P/E (forward) | 8.6× | — | — | — |
| EV / EBITDA | 12.4× | — | — | Top 40% |
| EV / Sales | 9.37× | — | — | Bottom 11% |
| Free-cash-flow yield | 0.27% | — | — | Bottom 26% |
| Earnings yield | 11.92% | — | — | Top 10% |
P/E over the past five years
Range 6.0× – 141.4× since Jun 30, 2021. Each point: price on the filing date divided by trailing-twelve-month EPS known then.
What moved the stock over the past year
- Price return, 1 year
- -11.0%
- Earnings per share growth (TTM)
- +31.8%
- Change in P/E multiple
- -35.5%
Most of the move came from a change in the valuation multiple.
Technical state
Trend checklist
- ✗ Price above 20-day average
- ✗ Price above 50-day average
- ✓ Price above 200-day average
- ✓ 50-day average above 200-day
- ✗ MACD histogram positive
Trend quality
- Days above the 50-day average
- 0
- Days above the 200-day average
- 45
- 50-day average slope (20 days)
- +3.1%
- 200-day average slope (20 days)
- -0.6%
- Distance from 50-day average
- -2.3%
- Distance from 200-day average
- +2.0%
- RSI (14)
- 38.8
- Relative volume
- 0.93×
Risk and drawdowns
- Volatility, 60 days (annualized)
- 19.4%
- Volatility vs own 5-year history
- 33th percentile · Normal for this stock
- Beta vs S&P 500 (2 years, weekly)
- 0.81
- Correlation with S&P 500
- 0.51
- Current drawdown from 1-year high
- -12.4%
- Maximum drawdown, 3 years
- -36.9%
Largest declines in the past six years
| From peak | To low | Decline | Length | Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 2022 | Sep 29, 2022 | -39.5% | 112 days | 393 days (Apr 24, 2024) |
| Feb 19, 2025 | Mar 27, 2026 | -36.9% | 277 days | Not yet recovered |
| Jul 30, 2024 | Aug 5, 2024 | -18.3% | 4 days | 134 days (Feb 18, 2025) |
| Nov 1, 2021 | Dec 17, 2021 | -10.7% | 33 days | 34 days (Feb 7, 2022) |
Declines of 10% or more from a closing high, measured on daily closes.
Financial statements
- Market cap
- $3.13B
- P/E (TTM)
- 8.4
- EPS, diluted (TTM)
- $1.99
- Revenue (TTM)
- $579.8M
- Dividend yield
- 11.68%
- 52-week range
- $13.70 – $19.13
| FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $309.6M | $239.4M | $494.1M | $430.9M | $547.1M |
| Gross profit | $255.1M | $184.6M | $426.5M | $353.7M | $477.3M |
| Operating income | $174.2M | $102.1M | $337.5M | $263.0M | $365.2M |
| Net income | $174.2M | $102.1M | $337.5M | $263.0M | $339.7M |
| EPS (diluted) | $1.49 | $0.79 | $2.31 | $1.61 | $1.85 |
| Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $110.8M | $102.2M | $92.4M | $127.6M | $169.3M | $157.7M | $95.9M | $156.8M |
| Net income | $68.7M | $61.4M | $50.3M | $78.9M | $119.7M | $90.8M | $42.5M | $130.2M |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.42 | $0.37 | $0.29 | $0.43 | $0.63 | $0.48 | $0.23 | $0.65 |
| FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | $128.6M | -$424.8M | $68.3M | -$118.1M | -$425.8M |
| Capital expenditure | -$106,000 | -$114,000 | -$887,000 | -$705,000 | -$89,000 |
| Free cash flow | $128.5M | -$424.9M | $67.4M | -$118.8M | -$425.9M |
| Dividends paid | -$145.4M | -$169.3M | -$273.7M | -$303.5M | -$276.1M |
| Net share buybacks | -$2.8M | -$4.5M | $331.6M | $217.4M | -$6.5M |
Cash outflows are shown as negative numbers.
- Cash and short-term investments
- $48.2M
- Total assets
- $4.69B
- Total liabilities
- $2.41B
- Total debt
- $2.35B
- Net debt
- $2.30B
- Shareholders’ equity
- $2.27B
As of Jun 30, 2026 (filed Jul 30, 2026).
Dividends
| Ex-date | Amount | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2026 | $0.47 | Aug 18, 2026 |
| May 14, 2026 | $0.47 | May 21, 2026 |
| Feb 25, 2026 | $0.47 | Mar 4, 2026 |
| Nov 12, 2025 | $0.54 | Nov 19, 2025 |
| Aug 12, 2025 | $0.47 | Aug 19, 2025 |
| May 13, 2025 | $0.54 | May 20, 2025 |
| Feb 26, 2025 | $0.54 | Mar 5, 2025 |
| Nov 13, 2024 | $0.48 | Nov 20, 2024 |
Short interest
- Shares sold short
- 9,402,604
- Days to cover
- 7.33
- Change vs previous report
- +8.4%
FINRA short interest, settlement date Sep 15, 2026.