Independent research   /   Evidence before inferenceAnalysis by Jeong-Mo Goo
Learn

Understand the business.
Then read the numbers.

Field guides to how businesses earn cash, fund assets and meet financial claims. The current library covers REITs, BDCs, industrial companies and telecommunications.

Field guides

The income asset map

Companies are shown as structural examples, not ratings or recommendations. Each guide links the business model to the evidence DFB reads in filings.

01
REITs

Property types, lease structures, FFO and AFFO. From net lease to data centers.

O · NNN · ADC · MAA · EQIX
→ 02
BDCs

Lending, NII coverage, leverage, PIK income and nonaccruals.

ARCC · MAIN · BXSL
→ 03
Industrials

Cash conversion, capital intensity and cyclical payout pressure.

UPS · FDX
→ 04
Telecom

Network investment, free cash flow and the funding burden behind the payout.

T · VZ
→ 05
Methodology

Three Clocks™, Buffer Half-Life™ and BBB− Cliff™ explained.

DFB framework record
→
Series 01

REIT Basics

This page is the series index. Chapters are published here first and distributed elsewhere afterwards.

Start here New to the sector? Begin with the REIT Field Guide for the property-type map, then use these chapters for the accounting and payout mechanics.
What Is a REIT—and What Actually Pays the Dividend? A REIT owns income-producing real estate. Its dividend is paid out of the cash those properties generate, and the yield only tells you what the market pays for that cash. Chapter One · 3 min Why REITs Don't Use EPS Depreciation pushes reported earnings below the cash the buildings produce. What FFO adds back, what AFFO subtracts, and why AFFO has no standard definition. Chapter Two · 3 min
What the 90% Distribution Rule Really Means The rule is written in taxable income, not cash. Why satisfying it says less about dividend safety than most readers assume. Chapter Three · In preparation
Equity REITs vs. Mortgage REITs One owns buildings and collects rent. The other lends against them and earns a spread. Same tax structure, very different business. Chapter Four · In preparation
Why Property Type Changes the Risk A hotel reprices nightly. A net-lease property may be under contract for fifteen years. The lease decides how fast cash flow can move. Chapter Five · In preparation
Foundations

Read the structure in the right order

REITs

Property, leases, payout

What a REIT owns, how rent becomes distributable cash, and how property type changes the risk.

Open field guide → BDCs

Lending, not leasing

Net investment income, portfolio seniority, PIK income, leverage and nonaccruals.

Open field guide → Industrials

Cash conversion, not just earnings

How maintenance needs, working capital and cycles change the cash left for a dividend.

Open field guide → Telecom

Networks are capital structures

Free cash flow after network investment, spectrum obligations and debt refinancing.

Open field guide →
Dividend basics

The payment itself

Yield, payout ratio, coverage, dividend growth, cuts, and the dates that decide who gets paid.

Applied

Inside real companies

The same measures read through actual filings, so the definitions stop being abstract.

The Order

Start with the filing.
Understand the business.
Check the cash and capital structure.
Read each measure on its stated basis.

Get Report No. 001 — FreeSee it applied →