Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2026

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash on deposit and highly liquid short-term investments with financial institutions with original maturities of three months or less. We may maintain deposits in federally insured financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. However, management believes we are not exposed to significant credit risk due to the financial position and creditworthiness of the depository institutions in which those deposits are held.

Cash Collateral Posted To/By Counterparties

Cash collateral posted to/by counterparties represents cash posted by us to counterparties or posted by counterparties to us as collateral. Cash collateral posted to/by counterparties may include collateral for interest rate swap contracts, interest rate swaptions, basis swap contracts, futures contracts, repurchase agreements on our MBS and our Agency Securities purchased or sold on a to-be-announced basis ("TBA Agency Securities").

The interest earned or paid on cash collateral posted to/by counterparties is recorded in gain on derivatives, net in the consolidated statements of operations.

Investments in Securities, at Fair Value

Our investments in securities are generally classified as trading securities. Management determines the appropriate classifications of the securities at the time they are acquired and evaluates the appropriateness of such classifications at each balance sheet date.

Trading Securities are reported at their estimated fair values with gains and losses included in Other Income (Loss) as a component of the consolidated statements of operations.

Receivables and Payables for Unsettled Sales and Purchases

We account for purchases and sales of securities on the trade date based on the specific identification method, including purchases and sales for forward settlement. Receivables and payables for unsettled trades represent the agreed trade price multiplied by the outstanding balance of the securities at the balance sheet date.

Accrued Interest Receivable and Payable

Accrued interest receivable includes interest accrued between payment dates on securities and interest on unsettled sales of securities. Accrued interest payable includes interest on unsettled purchases of securities and interest on repurchase agreements, net. At certain times, we may have interest payable on U.S. Treasury Securities sold short.

Repurchase Agreements, net

We finance the acquisition of the majority of our MBS through the use of repurchase agreements. Our repurchase agreements are secured by our MBS and bear interest rates that have moved in close relationship to the Federal Funds Effective Rate ("Federal Funds Rate") and the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"). Under these repurchase agreements, we sell MBS to a lender and agree to repurchase the same MBS in the future for a price that is higher than the original sales price. The difference between the sales price that we receive and the repurchase price that we pay represents interest paid to the lender, which accrues over the life of the repurchase agreement. A repurchase agreement operates as a financing arrangement under which we pledge our MBS as collateral to secure a loan which is equal in value to a specified percentage of the estimated fair value of the pledged collateral. We retain beneficial ownership of the pledged collateral. At the maturity of a repurchase agreement, we are required to repay the loan and concurrently receive back our pledged collateral from the lender or, with the consent of the lender, we may renew such agreement at the prevailing interest

rate. The repurchase agreements may require us to pledge additional assets to the lender in the event the estimated fair value of the existing pledged collateral declines or allow us to take back certain pledged collateral if values increase.

In addition to the repurchase agreement financing discussed above, at certain times, we have entered into reverse repurchase agreements with certain of our repurchase agreement counterparties. Under a typical reverse repurchase agreement, we purchase U.S. Treasury Securities from a borrower in exchange for cash and agree to sell the same securities in the future in exchange for a price that is higher than the original purchase price. The difference between the purchase price originally paid and the sale price represents interest received from the borrower. Reverse repurchase agreement receivables and repurchase agreement liabilities are presented net when they meet certain criteria, including being with the same counterparty, being governed by the same master repurchase agreement ("MRA"), settlement through the same brokerage or clearing account and maturing on the same day. At March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025 we did not have reverse repurchase agreements.

Obligations to Return Securities Received as Collateral, at Fair Value

We also sell to third parties the U.S. Treasury Securities received as collateral for reverse repurchase agreements and recognize the resulting obligation to return said U.S. Treasury Securities as a liability on our consolidated balance sheet. Interest is recorded on the repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements and U.S. Treasury Securities on an accrual basis and presented as net interest expense. Both parties to the transaction have the right to make daily margin calls based on changes in the fair value of the collateral received and/or pledged. At March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, we did not have obligations to return securities received as collateral associated with our reverse repurchase agreements.

Derivatives, at Fair Value

We recognize all derivatives individually as either assets or liabilities at fair value on our consolidated balance sheets. All changes in the fair values of our derivatives are reflected in our consolidated statements of operations. We designate derivatives as hedges for tax purposes and any unrealized derivative gains or losses would not affect our distributable net taxable income. These transactions may include interest rate swap contracts, interest rate swaptions, basis swap contracts and futures contracts.

We also may utilize forward contracts for the purchase or sale of TBA Agency Securities. We account for TBA Agency Securities as derivative instruments if it is reasonably possible that we will not take or make physical delivery of the Agency Security upon settlement of the contract. We account for TBA dollar roll transactions as a series of derivative transactions. We may also purchase and sell TBA Agency Securities as a means of investing in and financing Agency Securities (thereby increasing our “at risk” leverage) or as a means of disposing of or reducing our exposure to Agency Securities (thereby reducing our “at risk” leverage). We agree to purchase or sell, for future delivery, Agency Securities with certain principal and interest terms and certain types of collateral, but the particular Agency Securities to be delivered are not identified until shortly before the TBA settlement date. We may also choose, prior to settlement, to move the settlement of these securities out to a later date by entering into an offsetting short or long position (referred to as a “pair off”), net settling the paired off positions for cash, and simultaneously purchasing or selling a similar TBA Agency Security for a later settlement date. This transaction is commonly referred to as a “dollar roll.” When it is reasonably possible that we will pair off a TBA Agency Security, we account for that contract as a derivative.

Revenue Recognition

Armour Residential REIT, Inc. 10-Q