Financial Performance - Record Full-Year 2024 Total Investment Income of 493.6million,anincreaseof7.1325.8 million, an increase of 7.2% year-over-year, equating to 2.00pershare[1][2]−Q42024NIIof81.1 million, or 0.49pershare,providing123121.784 million, a slight decrease of 0.67% from 122.603millioninthesameperiodof2023[63]−NetinvestmentincomeforthetwelvemonthsendedDecember31,2024,increasedto325.832 million, up from 304.037millionin2023,representingagrowthof7.20.49, compared to 0.56inthesameperiodof2023[63]AssetsandInvestments−Approximately4.8 billion of Assets Under Management, an increase of 14.2% year-over-year[2] - The total investments at cost as of December 31, 2024, were 3,708.8million,comparedto3,609.9 million as of September 30, 2024[29] - Hercules' total investments at fair value amounted to 3,659.978million,upfrom3,248.046 million in 2023[60] - Hercules' total assets as of December 31, 2024, were 3,831.591million,comparedto3,416.926 million in 2023[60] - Hercules held equity positions in 72 portfolio companies with a fair value of 128.7millionasofDecember31,2024[46]LiabilitiesandCommitments−Totalliabilitiesincreasedto1,842.010 million as of December 31, 2024, from 1,614.220millionin2023[60]−TheCompanyhad448.5 million of available unfunded commitments, representing 11.7% of total assets, a decrease from 489.0millionor13.4619.5 million[3][9] Distributions and Shareholder Returns - New Supplemental Cash Distribution for 2025 announced at 0.28pershare,payableoverfourquarters[2]−Distributionspaidpercommonshareremainedstableat0.48 for the three months ended December 31, 2024, consistent with the same period in 2023[63] Operating Expenses - Total gross operating expenses for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, were 178.539million,anincreasefrom165.732 million in 2023, reflecting a rise of 7.3%[63] - Employee compensation expenses for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, totaled 67.074million,upfrom63.500 million in 2023, indicating a growth of 5.5%[63] Net Asset Value - As of December 31, 2024, the Company's net assets were 1.99billion,upfrom1.85 billion at the end of Q3 2024, with NAV per share increasing 2.3% to 11.66[41]−Thenetassetvaluepershareincreasedto11.66 as of December 31, 2024, compared to 11.43in2023[60]UnrealizedGainsandLosses−NetUnrealizedAppreciationof13.8 million recorded in Q4 2024, net of foreign currency movements[23] - The net change in unrealized appreciation for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was 13.773million,downfrom31.287 million in the same period of 2023[63] Debt and Leverage - Net GAAP Leverage of 83.9% and Net Regulatory Leverage of 69.9% as of year-end[2] - Hercules' GAAP leverage ratio was 89.6%, with a regulatory leverage ratio of 75.6% excluding SBA debentures[34] Loan Performance - The number of loans on non-accrual decreased to one, with an investment cost of approximately 61.3millionandfairvalueof18.2 million, representing 1.7% and 0.5% of the total investment portfolio at cost and value, respectively[27] Recent Transactions - Hercules closed 619.5millioninnewdebtandequitycommitmentsinQ42024,withpendingcommitmentsof578.5 million in signed non-binding term sheets as of February 10, 2025[37] - Hercules' portfolio company Voyager Technologies, Inc. confidentially filed for an IPO in January 2025, with Hercules committing 58.0millioninventuredebtstartingJune2024[49]−SandataTechnologies,LLCwasacquiredbyHHAeXchangeinOctober2024,withHerculesproviding22.5 million in venture debt financing beginning May 2024[49] - Snagajob.com, Inc. was acquired by JobGet in November 2024, with Hercules having committed 93.2millioninventuredebtfinancingsinceJune2016andholdingwarrantsfor600,000sharesofcommonstock[49]−Kineta,Inc.announceditsacquisitionbyTuHURABiosciences,Inc.for30.0 million in November 2024, with Hercules committing 20.0millioninventuredebtfinancingsinceDecember2019[49]−IkonSciencewasacquiredbyVelaSoftwareinDecember2024,withHerculescommitting24.0 million in venture debt financing since October 2019[50] Debt Repayment - Hercules fully repaid 50.0millionprincipaland1.1 million of accrued interest on February 5, 2025[53]