Hercules Capital, Inc.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025

OR

o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ___ to___

Commission File No.814-00702

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

1 North B Street, Suite 2000

San Mateo, California 94401

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (650)289-3060

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x Noo

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yeso No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days: Yes x Noo

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes x Noo

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filero Non-accelerated filero Smaller reporting companyo Emerging growth companyo

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with a new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. x

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. o

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yeso Nox

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was approximately $3.26 billion based upon a closing price of $18.28 reported for such date on the New York Stock Exchange. Common shares held by each executive officer and director and by each person who owns 10% or more of the outstanding common shares have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not intended and shall not be deemed to be an admission that, such persons are affiliates of the Registrant.

On February 5, 2026, there were 183,695,437 shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock, $0.001 par value.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A in connection with the registrant's 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed subsequent to the date hereof, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Such proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days following the end of the registrant's fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT

Hercules Capital, Inc., our logo and other trademarks of Hercules Capital, Inc. are the property of Hercules Capital, Inc. All other trademarks or trade names referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are the property of their respective owners.

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, or Annual Report, the “Company,” “Hercules,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Hercules Capital, Inc., its wholly owned subsidiaries, and its affiliated securitization trust unless the context otherwise requires.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements using forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negatives of, or other variations on, these terms or comparable terminology. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects, and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition, and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this report regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a business development company (“BDC”) and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report, as well as any cautionary language in this Annual Report, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. The occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this Annual Report could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this Annual Report speaks only as of the date of this Annual Report. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.