cranyinnyc

iStar Financial - On the Shelf

nyka - yea that just blew away my agruement. bad punctuation.

iStar Financial - On the Shelf

Patrick C
Sorry but depreciation depletion and amortization eventually have to be earned and are not reversable. they are not 'Impairments' the dividends they paid have only been supported by equity raises that permit growth. Provisions for loan losses or other credit related charges that are not cash are reversable if the actual loss realized is lower. that in this enviroment is not a slam dunk. I stand by my critique of your assertion that investors should pay no heed to dividends in excess of gaap earnings. they should

iStar Financial - On the Shelf

Patrick C
you are correct to say taxable income and not gaap income is the relevant measure for REITS because that is the measure that they are required to pay at least 90% in the form of dividends to keep their REIT status but and this is an important but over time those 'non-cash' items that GAAP expenses faster than taxable income or analyst or mgmt waive away in their FFO calculations are important. If dividends are greater than GAAP earnings for a meaningful period either the company is 'self-liquidating' or it has to raise fresh equity. So in the end it is importanat for a REIT's dividend to be 'earned' even in GAAP terms