Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance

REFI

REIT - Mortgage · Real Estate

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is curious

Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Mar 31, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Strong

Growth

Weak

Cash Flow

Strong

Stability

Good

Valuation

Good

Track this stock — start free trial

Winston Score History

The full picture

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is a specialty mortgage lender that focuses almost entirely on the cannabis industry. It provides loans to licensed cannabis operators — like growers, dispensaries, and processors — across the United States. Because most banks won't lend to cannabis businesses due to federal legal restrictions, Chicago Atlantic fills a gap that few traditional lenders will touch.

The company makes money by charging interest on its loans, which tend to carry higher rates because of the risk and complexity involved in cannabis lending. It operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT), meaning it must pay out most of its income as dividends to shareholders. With a market cap around $200 million, it is a small, niche lender with a meaningful competitive advantage simply because so few rivals exist in this space. The biggest risk the company faces is federal cannabis policy — any shift that brings mainstream banks into the market could increase competition and pressure the high interest rates Chicago Atlantic currently charges.

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+16.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-52.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

Insider Activity

15.7%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$428M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

→ Burn rate stable

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 16%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

88.7%

Premium pricing power — 88.7% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

45.4%

Excellent — 45.4% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

3.6%

Weak — 3.6% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+9.0%

Steady sales growth (+9.0% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

-24.0%

Earnings shrinking (-24.0% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

1/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

79%

Modest — 79% of profit becomes cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

40.9%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (40.9%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.38

Conservative — low debt load (0.38)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

2.00x

Dangerous — barely covers interest (2.0x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

7.8x

no trend

Attractive valuation — P/E 7.8

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.

Start free trial