Commencing with the Company’s financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 and for subsequent reporting periods, the Company has relabeled “Core Earnings (excluding PAA)” as “Earnings Available for Distribution” (“EAD”). Earnings Available for Distribution, which is a non-GAAP financial measure intended to supplement the Company’s financial results computed in accordance with GAAP, has replaced the Company’s prior presentation of Core Earnings (excluding PAA). In addition, Core Earnings (excluding PAA) results from prior reporting periods have been relabeled Earnings Available for Distribution. In line with evolving industry practices, the Company believes the term Earnings Available for Distribution more accurately reflects the principal purpose of the measure than the term Core Earnings (excluding PAA) and will serve as a useful indicator for investors in evaluating the Company’s performance and its ability to pay dividends.
The definition of Earnings Available for Distribution is identical to the definition of Core Earnings (excluding PAA) from prior reporting periods. As such, Earnings Available for Distribution is defined as the sum of (a) economic net interest income, (b) TBA dollar roll income and CMBX coupon income, (c) realized amortization of MSR, (d) other income (loss) (excluding depreciation expense related to commercial real estate and amortization of intangibles, non-EAD income allocated to equity method investments and other non-EAD components of other income (loss)), (e) general and administrative expenses (excluding transaction expenses and non-recurring items) and (f) income taxes (excluding the income tax effect of non-EAD income (loss) items) and excludes (g) the premium amortization adjustment ("PAA") representing the cumulative impact on prior periods, but not the current period, of quarter-over-quarter changes in estimated long-term prepayment speeds related to the Company’s Agency mortgage-backed securities.
Although the change only represents a relabeling of the Company’s headline non-GAAP metric, it is important to note differences between the calculation of GAAP Net Income, Earnings Available for Distribution and REIT Taxable Income (upon which the minimum dividend required to distribute to shareholders is determined). A detailed overview of how the components of Earnings Available for Distribution compare to the components of both GAAP Net Income and REIT Taxable Income can be found here.