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The central doctrine
A dividend can be declared for many reasons. Over time, it must be earned. Discover why Fly High treats earning power as the primary signal behind sustainable income, and why yield or price alone can never answer the dividend question.
Explore the Earnings Fixes Everything doctrineFly High Academy Planned
Guided courses will combine short video lessons, worked examples, transcripts, and interactive Flight Checks. The course paths below are previews of the planned curriculum. They are not yet available as completed courses.
Understand yield, coverage, payment frequency, and the difference between income and total return.
▸ Short videos · Examples · Calculator practice
Connect company earnings, cash generation, leverage, and asset quality to the durability of distributions.
▸ Screen lessons · Case studies · Source notes
Combine income sleeves, change market assumptions, and compare dividend funding with an inflation-adjusted 4% withdrawal rule.
▸ Guided video · Scenario lab · Downloadable notes
Investing dictionary
Search plain-English definitions written for income investors. Filter by topic or first letter, including dividends, BDCs and REITs.
29 definitions
AFFO
Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) is a supplemental performance measure used in REIT analysis. It adjusts funds from operations for selected costs and accounting items to help explain recurring operating performance. There…
BDC leverage is the use of borrowing or other financing that increases investment exposure relative to shareholder capital. It can increase the income earned on equity when investments perform well, but it…
BDC
A business development company (BDC) is a type of closed-end investment fund that provides debt or equity capital to businesses, including small and medium-sized private companies. A publicly traded BDC gives stock-market…
Diversification spreads investment exposure across different sources of risk. It reduces reliance on one holding or one outcome, but it cannot eliminate investment losses. A portfolio with many names may still be…
DCR
The Dividend Coverage Ratio measures estimated earnings support for included dividends. In the approved Fly High method, it equals the Four-Quarter Annualized Earnings Estimate divided by annualized included dividends. Earnings are the…
Dividend growth is an increase in the dividend paid per share over comparable periods. It differs from a higher dividend yield, which can result from a falling share price, and from receiving…
DPS
Dividend per share is the dividend amount attributable to each eligible share over a stated period. It may describe a declared payment, historical payments or an indicated annual rate. Always identify which…
DRIP
A dividend reinvestment plan uses eligible dividend payments to purchase additional shares instead of leaving the distribution as cash. It is commonly called a DRIP. The provider's terms determine eligible securities, execution,…
An equity REIT owns or operates income-producing real estate. Its business is tied to the economics of properties, such as rent, occupancy and operating costs. It differs from a mortgage REIT, whose…
The ex-dividend date is the trading date from which a share normally trades without entitlement to the specified upcoming dividend. For an ordinary cash dividend, buying on that date is generally too…
First-lien debt is debt secured by a first-priority claim on specified collateral, subject to the loan documents and applicable legal arrangements. Its priority concerns that collateral. It does not mean the lender…
FFO
Funds from operations (FFO) is a supplemental measure used to explain REIT operating performance alongside financial statements prepared under generally accepted accounting principles. Nareit's definition adjusts net income for specified real-estate-related items.…
Interest-rate risk is the possibility that changes in interest rates affect an investment's value, income or financing costs. The direction and size of the effect depend on the assets, liabilities and contracts…
Leverage is the use of debt or other arrangements that increase economic exposure relative to the capital supplied by owners. It can amplify gains and losses. When discussing leverage, identify the level…
Liquidity describes how readily an asset can be converted to cash or how readily an organization can meet cash obligations. These are related but different uses of the term. An investment can…
mREIT
A mortgage REIT finances real estate by originating or purchasing mortgages and mortgage-backed securities. It generally earns interest on those investments. Its earnings depend on the assets, the financing used to hold…
NAV
Net asset value (NAV) is the value of assets minus liabilities. For a BDC, NAV per share expresses the net assets attributable to common shareholders on a per-share basis. It is a…
NII
Net investment income (NII) is investment income remaining after the expenses reported against it. In BDC analysis, it helps describe the earnings generated by the investment portfolio after financing and operating costs.…
NOI
Net operating income (NOI) measures property revenue after property operating expenses. It helps describe the operating performance of real estate before financing and certain other costs. NOI is not automatically the amount…
A non-accrual loan is a loan on which the lender has stopped recognizing interest income under its accounting policy, generally because collecting the amounts owed is uncertain. The loan can remain an…
The payment date is the date a declared dividend is scheduled to be paid to eligible shareholders. It tells an income investor when the distribution is due, not when to buy shares…
PIK
Payment-in-kind (PIK) income is interest or another return received in a non-cash form, often by adding the amount to a loan balance. It can contribute to recognized income without producing a matching…
The payout ratio is dividends divided by a stated earnings measure for the same period, usually expressed as a percentage. It shows how much of that measured earnings amount is represented by…
REIT
A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, operates or finances income-producing real estate and meets the applicable qualification rules. REITs can give investors exposure to real estate through…
The record date is the date a company uses to identify shareholders on its records for a specified dividend or other corporate action. It is not the cash payment date and should…
RIC
A regulated investment company (RIC) is a U.S. federal tax classification available to qualifying investment companies. It is distinct from being a BDC. A BDC's investment-company structure and its chosen tax treatment…
A supplemental dividend is an additional dividend paid alongside a company's regular distribution. The label identifies a payment category, not a promise of recurrence. A company can pay supplements repeatedly, change their…
Total return combines the change in an investment's value with the income it produces over a stated period. For a dividend-paying share, it includes both price movement and dividends. Dividend yield alone…
YOC
Yield on cost is an annual dividend amount divided by the investor's stated acquisition cost, expressed as a percentage. It describes income relative to a historical cost basis. It is not the…
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Explore by subject
Choose a guide for the type of income investment you want to understand.
Understand dividend coverage, growth, reinvestment, valuation and risk.
Dividend investingLearn how private-credit businesses earn income and what can weaken it.
BDC investingExplore mortgage REITs, equity REITs, book value, funding and property income.
REIT investingA practical starting path
Follow five connected definitions from the company structure to earnings, dividend support and loan quality.
Academy material explains investing concepts and research methods. It does not identify the Fly High 50 holdings or provide individualized investment, tax or legal advice.