Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE:CIM) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call May 9, 2024 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Victor Falvo - Head of Capital Markets and Investor Relations
Phil Kardis - President and Chief Executive Officer
Subra Viswanathan - Chief Financial Officer
Dan Thakkar - Chief Investment Officer

Conference Call Participants

Doug Harter - UBS
Bose George - KBW
Trevor Cranston - Citizens JMP

Operator

Greetings and welcome to the Chimera Investments’ 2024 Earnings Conference.

I have here with me today are Victor Falvo and all participants are in a listen-only mode. At this time, a brief question-and-answer will follow the formal presentation. [Operator Instructions] And as a reminder this conference is being recorded.

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host Victor Falvo, you may begin.

Victor Falvo

Thank you, operator. And thank you, everyone, for participating in Chimera’s first quarter 2024 earnings conference call.

Before we begin, I'd like to review the Safe Harbor statements. During this call, we will be making forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which are outlined in the risk factors section in our most recent annual and quarterly SEC filings. Actual events and results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. We encourage you to read the forward-looking statement disclaimers in our earnings release and our quarterly and annual filings.

During the call today, we may also discuss non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our SEC filings and earnings supplement for reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measures. Additionally, the content of this conference call may contain time sensitive information that is accurate only as of the date of this earnings call. We do not undertake and specifically disclaim any obligation to update or revise this information.

I will now turn the conference over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Phil Kardis.

Phil Kardis

Good morning, and welcome to Chimera Investment Corporation's first quarter 2024 earnings call. Joining me on the call are Subra Viswanathan, our Chief Financial Officer; Dan Thakkar, our Chief Investment Officer; and Vic Falvo, our Head of Capital Markets and Investor Relations. After my remarks, Subra will review the financial results, and then we'll open the call for questions.

The capital markets closed 2023 on a strong note, driven by investor expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates 7 times or 175 basis points during 2024, which was more than twice the number of the Federal Reserve had indicated through their quarterly dot plot. Throughout the quarter and during April, economic data reflecting strong employment and an increasing inflation rate caused the market on several occasions to reduce its expectations of interest rate cuts, triggering increased rate volatility and a backup in long-term interest rates. Today, market expectations are for 1 cuts to 2 cuts before year-end.