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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-CSR
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act file number 811-05346
Putnam
Variable Trust
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
100 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
Alexander V. Kymn, Vice President
100 Federal Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
Copy to:
Bryan Chegwidden, Esq.
Ropes & Gray LLP
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036
James E. Thomas, Esq.
Ropes & Gray LLP
800 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02199
(Name and address of agent for service)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area
code: (617) 292-1000
Date of fiscal year end: December 31
Date of reporting period: June
30, 2026
| ITEM 1. |
REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS. |
| |
(a) |
The
Report to Shareholders is filed herewith |
|
|
|
|
Putnam
VT High Yield Fund |
|
|
Class
IA
|
|
Semi-Annual
Shareholder Report | June
30, 2026 |
|
|
This
semi-annual
shareholder report
contains important information about Putnam
VT High Yield Fund for the period January
1, 2026, to June 30, 2026.
You
can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents.
You can also request this information
by contacting us at (800)
225-1581.
|
|
|
|
Class
Name |
Costs
of a $10,000 investment
|
Costs
paid as a percentage of a $10,000
investment†
|
|
Class
IA1 |
$
|
%
|
| 1 |
Does
not reflect expenses incurred from investing through variable annuity or variable life insurance products. |
KEY
FUND STATISTICS (as
of June 30, 2026)
|
|
|
Total
Net Assets |
$134,561,891
|
|
Total
Number of Portfolio Holdings (excludes derivatives, except purchased options, if any) |
378
|
|
Portfolio
Turnover Rate |
23%
|
Portfolio Composition*
(% of Total Investments)
| * |
Does
not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any. |
|
|
|
|
WHERE
CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND? |
|
Additional
information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents,
including its: |
|
•
prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |
| Putnam
VT High Yield Fund |
PAGE
1 |
38920-STSIA-0826 |
true18.015.111.411.111.08.86.54.94.73.53.02.0
|
|
|
|
Putnam
VT High Yield Fund |
|
|
Class
IB
|
|
Semi-Annual
Shareholder Report | June
30, 2026 |
|
|
This
semi-annual
shareholder report
contains important information about Putnam
VT High Yield Fund for the period January
1, 2026, to June 30, 2026.
You
can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents.
You can also request this information
by contacting us at (800)
225-1581.
|
|
|
|
Class
Name |
Costs
of a $10,000 investment
|
Costs
paid as a percentage of a $10,000
investment†
|
|
Class
IB1 |
$
|
%
|
| 1 |
Does
not reflect expenses incurred from investing through variable annuity or variable life insurance products. |
KEY
FUND STATISTICS (as
of June 30, 2026)
|
|
|
Total
Net Assets |
$134,561,891
|
|
Total
Number of Portfolio Holdings (excludes derivatives, except purchased options, if any) |
378
|
|
Portfolio
Turnover Rate |
23%
|
Portfolio Composition*
(% of Total Investments)
| * |
Does
not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any. |
|
|
|
|
WHERE
CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND? |
|
Additional
information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents,
including its: |
|
•
prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |
| Putnam
VT High Yield Fund |
PAGE
1 |
38920-STSIB-0826 |
true18.015.111.411.111.08.86.54.94.73.53.02.0
Not applicable.
| ITEM 3. |
AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT. |
Not applicable.
|
ITEM 4. |
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES. |
Not applicable.
| ITEM 5. |
AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS. |
Not applicable.
| ITEM 6. |
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS. |
|
(a) |
Please see schedule of investments contained in the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights included under Item 7 of this Form N-CSR. |
|
ITEM 7. |
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES. |
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Financial
Statements
and
Other
Important
Information
Semi-Annual
|
June
30,
2026
If
you
need
assistance
accessing
this
content,
please
reach
out
to
your
sales
representative
or
send
an
email
to
accessibility@franklintempleton.com
.
Financial
Statements
and
Other
Important
Information—Semiannual
Financial
Highlights
and
Schedule
of
Investments
2
Financial
Statements
19
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
23
Changes
In
and
Disagreements
with
Accountants
34
Results
of
Meeting(s)
of
Shareholders
34
Remuneration
Paid
to
Directors,
Officers
and
Others
34
Board
Approval
of
Management
and
Subadvisory
Agreements
34
Financial
Highlights
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
a
Six
Months
Ended
June
30,
2026
(unaudited)
Year
Ended
December
31,
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
Class
IA
Per
share
operating
performance
(for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period)
Net
asset
value,
beginning
of
period
.....
$5.81
$5.71
$5.61
$5.29
$6.30
$6.30
Income
from
investment
operations
a
:
Net
investment
income
b
.............
0.18
0.36
0.35
0.33
0.29
0.28
Net
realized
and
unrealized
gains
(losses)
(0.04)
0.12
0.09
0.29
(0.98)
0.03
Total
from
investment
operations
........
0.14
0.48
0.44
0.62
(0.69)
0.31
Less
distributions
from:
Net
investment
income
..............
(0.37)
(0.38)
(0.34)
(0.30)
(0.31)
(0.31)
Net
realized
gains
.................
—
—
—
—
(0.01)
—
Total
distributions
...................
(0.37)
(0.38)
(0.34)
(0.30)
(0.32)
(0.31)
Net
asset
value,
end
of
period
..........
$5.58
$5.81
$5.71
$5.61
$5.29
$6.30
Total
return
c
.......................
2.61%
8.86%
8.19%
12.29%
(11.37)%
5.20%
Ratios
to
average
net
assets
d
Expenses
.........................
0.70%
0.71%
e
0.73%
e
0.75%
e
0.75%
e,f
0.70%
e
Net
investment
income
...............
6.21%
6.30%
6.33%
6.18%
5.24%
4.56%
Supplemental
data
Net
assets
,
end
of
period
(000’s)
........
$93,158
$95,401
$102,273
$99,901
$94,436
$119,199
Portfolio
turnover
rate
................
23%
45%
50%
45%
28%
44%
a
The
amount
shown
for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period
may
not
correlate
with
the
Statement
of
Operations
for
the
period
due
to
the
timing
of
sales
and
repurchases
of
the
Fund’s
shares
in
relation
to
income
earned
and/or
fluctuating
fair
value
of
the
investments
of
the
Fund.
b
Based
on
average
daily
shares
outstanding.
c
Total
return
does
not
include
fees,
charges
or
expenses
imposed
by
the
variable
annuity
and
life
insurance
contracts
for
which
Putnam
Variable
Trust
serves
as
an
underlying
investment
vehicle.
Total
return
is
not
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
d
Ratios
are
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
e
Benefit
of
expense
reduction
rounds
to
less
than
0.01%.
f
Includes
one-time
proxy
cost
of
0.01%.
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Financial
Highlights
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
a
Six
Months
Ended
June
30,
2026
(unaudited)
Year
Ended
December
31,
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
Class
IB
Per
share
operating
performance
(for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period)
Net
asset
value,
beginning
of
period
.....
$5.74
$5.64
$5.55
$5.23
$6.23
$6.23
Income
from
investment
operations
a
:
Net
investment
income
b
.............
0.17
0.34
0.33
0.31
0.27
0.27
Net
realized
and
unrealized
gains
(losses)
(0.05)
0.12
0.09
0.30
(0.97)
0.03
Total
from
investment
operations
........
0.12
0.46
0.42
0.61
(0.70)
0.30
Less
distributions
from:
Net
investment
income
..............
(0.35)
(0.36)
(0.33)
(0.29)
(0.29)
(0.30)
Net
realized
gains
.................
—
—
—
—
(0.01)
—
Total
distributions
...................
(0.35)
(0.36)
(0.33)
(0.29)
(0.30)
(0.30)
Net
asset
value,
end
of
period
..........
$5.51
$5.74
$5.64
$5.55
$5.23
$6.23
Total
return
c
.......................
2.37%
8.67%
7.86%
12.13%
(11.60)%
4.97%
Ratios
to
average
net
assets
d
Expenses
.........................
0.95%
0.96%
e
0.98%
e
1.00%
e
1.00%
e,f
0.95%
e
Net
investment
income
...............
5.97%
6.05%
6.08%
5.93%
4.98%
4.32%
Supplemental
data
Net
assets
,
end
of
period
(000’s)
........
$41,403
$43,522
$43,804
$47,643
$37,446
$49,084
Portfolio
turnover
rate
................
23%
45%
50%
45%
28%
44%
a
The
amount
shown
for
a
share
outstanding
throughout
the
period
may
not
correlate
with
the
Statement
of
Operations
for
the
period
due
to
the
timing
of
sales
and
repurchases
of
the
Fund’s
shares
in
relation
to
income
earned
and/or
fluctuating
fair
value
of
the
investments
of
the
Fund.
b
Based
on
average
daily
shares
outstanding.
c
Total
return
does
not
include
fees,
charges
or
expenses
imposed
by
the
variable
annuity
and
life
insurance
contracts
for
which
Putnam
Variable
Trust
serves
as
an
underlying
investment
vehicle.
Total
return
is
not
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
d
Ratios
are
annualized
for
periods
less
than
one
year.
e
Benefit
of
expense
reduction
rounds
to
less
than
0.01%.
f
Includes
one-time
proxy
cost
of
0.01%.
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited),
June
30,
2026
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
a
a
Country
Shares
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
a
Common
Stocks
0.3%
Hotels,
Restaurants
&
Leisure
0.3%
a
Viking
Holdings
Ltd.
.................................
United
States
4,325
$
452,698
Total
Common
Stocks
(Cost
$
103,800
)
.......................................
452,698
Convertible
Preferred
Stocks
1.3%
Aerospace
&
Defense
0.2%
Boeing
Co.
(The)
,
6
%
................................
United
States
4,518
304,061
Electric
Utilities
0.3%
NextEra
Energy,
Inc.
,
7.299
%
..........................
United
States
7,375
391,907
Financial
Services
0.2%
Apollo
Global
Management,
Inc.
,
6.75
%
..................
United
States
3,581
218,155
Interactive
Media
&
Services
0.4%
Alphabet,
Inc.
,
A
,
6.25
%
..............................
United
States
4,798
244,170
Alphabet,
Inc.
,
B
,
6.25
%
..............................
United
States
4,798
241,340
485,510
Software
0.2%
Oracle
Corp.
,
D
,
6.5
%
................................
United
States
6,882
309,346
Total
Convertible
Preferred
Stocks
(Cost
$
1,597,357
)
..........................
1,708,979
Principal
Amount
*
Convertible
Bonds
2.1%
Consumer
Staples
Distribution
&
Retail
0.3%
Chefs'
Warehouse,
Inc.
(The)
,
Senior
Note
,
2.375
%
,
12/15/28
..
United
States
200,000
447,620
Energy
Equipment
&
Services
0.1%
Nabors
Industries,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
1.75
%
,
6/15/29
.........
United
States
155,000
147,328
Entertainment
0.3%
Live
Nation
Entertainment,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
3.125
%
,
1/15/29
..
United
States
195,000
347,880
Health
Care
REITs
0.3%
b
Welltower
OP
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
2.75
%
,
5/15/28
.......
United
States
153,000
362,227
Hotels,
Restaurants
&
Leisure
0.2%
c
DoorDash,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
0
.36
%
,
5/15/30
...............
United
States
275,000
271,219
Oil,
Gas
&
Consumable
Fuels
0.2%
b
Crescent
Energy
Co.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
2.75
%
,
3/15/31
.....
United
States
235,000
231,710
Semiconductors
&
Semiconductor
Equipment
0.2%
b
Onto
Innovation,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
Zero
Cpn.,
6/01/31
...
United
States
250,000
330,225
Software
0.3%
Guidewire
Software,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
1.25
%
,
11/01/29
.......
United
States
366,000
352,275
Technology
Hardware,
Storage
&
Peripherals
0.2%
Seagate
HDD
Cayman
,
Senior
Note
,
3.5
%
,
6/01/28
..........
United
States
23,000
268,444
Total
Convertible
Bonds
(Cost
$
1,922,766
)
...................................
2,758,928
Corporate
Bonds
88.8%
Aerospace
&
Defense
2.9%
ATI,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
4.875
%
,
10/01/29
.......................
United
States
90,000
89,067
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Aerospace
&
Defense
(continued)
ATI,
Inc.,
(continued)
Senior
Note
,
7.25
%
,
8/15/30
.........................
United
States
250,000
$
259,737
b
Axon
Enterprise,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.125
%
,
3/15/30
...................
United
States
270,000
276,064
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
3/15/33
....................
United
States
210,000
215,376
b
Bombardier,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.75
%
,
11/15/30
...................
Canada
260,000
275,159
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7
%
,
6/01/32
......................
Canada
20,000
20,743
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.875
%
,
1/15/35
...................
Canada
355,000
356,758
b
Efesto
Bidco
SpA
Efesto
US
LLC
,
XR
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
2/15/32
...............................
Italy
890,000
891,441
Spirit
AeroSystems,
Inc.
,
Senior
Bond
,
4.6
%
,
6/15/28
........
United
States
265,000
264,304
b
TransDigm,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
12/15/30
...........
United
States
290,000
298,229
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.125
%
,
12/01/31
...........
United
States
70,000
72,570
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6
%
,
1/15/33
................
United
States
440,000
444,587
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
1/31/34
.............
United
States
95,000
97,015
Senior
Sub.
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
1/31/34
................
United
States
340,000
348,984
3,910,034
Automobile
Components
1.8%
b
Adient
Global
Holdings
Ltd.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.25
%
,
4/15/31
United
States
560,000
585,756
b
Clarios
Global
LP
/
Clarios
US
Finance
Co.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
9/15/32
...................................
United
States
290,000
296,358
b
Dexko
Global,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
4/15/32
........
United
States
582,300
480,978
b
Forvia
SE
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
9/15/33
..............
France
330,000
330,067
b
,d
IHO
Verwaltungs
GmbH
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
PIK,
7.75
%
,
11/15/30
.........
Germany
255,000
264,134
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
PIK,
8
%
,
11/15/32
...........
Germany
230,000
239,757
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
PIK,
7.375
%
,
5/15/33
.........
Germany
200,000
208,071
2,405,121
Automobiles
0.3%
b
Nissan
Motor
Co.
Ltd.
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
8.125
%
,
7/17/35
...
Japan
385,000
407,892
Banks
0.2%
b
,e
Societe
Generale
SA
,
Junior
Sub.
Bond
,
144A,
5.375%
to
11/17/30,
FRN
thereafter
,
Perpetual
....................
France
260,000
249,138
Biotechnology
1.5%
b
Genmab
A/S
/
Genmab
Finance
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.25
%
,
12/15/33
...................
Denmark
450,000
469,466
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
12/15/32
............
Denmark
450,000
458,849
b
Grifols
SA
,
Senior
Note
,
Reg
S,
3.875
%
,
10/15/28
...........
Spain
965,000
EUR
1,096,351
2,024,666
Broadline
Retail
1.0%
b
Kohl's
Corp.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
10
%
,
6/01/30
......
United
States
190,000
205,629
b
Wayfair
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.25
%
,
10/31/29
............
United
States
375,000
387,287
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.75
%
,
9/15/30
.............
United
States
320,000
336,613
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
11/15/32
............
United
States
440,000
452,198
1,381,727
Building
Products
1.3%
b
EMRLD
Borrower
LP
/
Emerald
Co-Issuer,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
Reg
S,
6.375
%
,
12/15/30
.......................
United
States
110,000
EUR
129,910
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Building
Products
(continued)
b
JH
North
America
Holdings,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
5.875
%
,
1/31/31
............
United
States
40,000
$
40,218
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.125
%
,
7/31/32
............
United
States
170,000
171,529
b
Quikrete
Holdings,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
3/01/32
.........................................
United
States
265,000
270,739
b
Standard
Building
Solutions,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
8/15/32
.........................................
United
States
435,000
437,912
b
Standard
Industries,
Inc.
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
4.375
%
,
7/15/30
...................
United
States
630,000
598,809
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
3.375
%
,
1/15/31
...................
United
States
35,000
31,524
1,680,641
Capital
Markets
1.4%
b
Dresdner
Funding
Trust
I
,
Junior
Sub.
Bond
,
144A,
8.151
%
,
6/30/31
.........................................
United
States
150,000
161,212
b
Jane
Street
Group
/
JSG
Finance,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.125
%
,
11/01/32
...........
United
States
905,000
905,609
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
5/01/33
.............
United
States
330,000
339,541
b
Stonex
Escrow
Issuer
LLC
,
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
7/15/32
United
States
450,000
463,100
1,869,462
Chemicals
2.0%
b
ARC
Falcon
I,
Inc.
/
Arclin
USA
LLC
/
New
Arclin
US
Holding
Corp.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.75
%
,
3/01/33
.........
United
States
425,000
409,290
b
Element
Solutions,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
3.875
%
,
9/01/28
...
United
States
335,000
327,087
FMC
Corp.
,
Sub.
Bond
,
8.45%
to
10/31/30,
FRN
thereafter
,
11/01/55
........................................
United
States
325,000
236,931
b
Rain
Carbon,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
12.25
%
,
9/01/29
United
States
910,000
971,729
b
SCIH
Salt
Holdings,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.625
%
,
5/01/29
...................
United
States
305,000
302,594
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
4.875
%
,
5/01/28
............
United
States
395,000
389,868
2,637,499
Commercial
Services
&
Supplies
2.4%
b
Clean
Harbors,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
2/01/31
.....
United
States
275,000
279,074
b
GFL
Environmental,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
1/15/31
...
United
States
115,000
118,453
b
Neptune
Bidco
US,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.29
%
,
4/15/29
.............
United
States
260,000
265,359
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.5
%
,
2/15/33
..............
United
States
720,000
728,861
b
RR
Donnelley
&
Sons
Co.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.5
%
,
8/01/29
.........................................
United
States
1,100,000
1,141,576
b
Veritiv
Operating
Co.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
10.5
%
,
11/30/30
........................................
United
States
155,000
158,718
b
Waste
Pro
USA,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7
%
,
2/01/33
........
United
States
305,000
312,866
b
Wrangler
Holdco
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.625
%
,
4/01/32
...
Canada
155,000
159,002
3,163,909
Communications
Equipment
0.4%
b
Viasat,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
5/30/31
..............
United
States
475,000
480,278
Construction
&
Engineering
0.1%
b
Arcosa,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
8/15/32
...........
United
States
165,000
172,252
Consumer
Finance
3.7%
AerCap
Ireland
Capital
DAC
/
AerCap
Global
Aviation
Trust
,
Senior
Bond
,
6.95%
to
12/09/29,
FRN
thereafter
,
3/10/55
....
Ireland
175,000
181,213
Ally
Financial,
Inc.
,
Senior
Bond
,
8
%
,
11/01/31
.............
United
States
370,000
412,208
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Consumer
Finance
(continued)
b
Encore
Capital
Group,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.5
%
,
5/15/30
..............
United
States
610,000
$
648,234
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.625
%
,
6/01/32
............
United
States
285,000
285,602
b
FirstCash,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
3/01/32
...................
United
States
585,000
601,869
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.125
%
,
5/01/34
...................
United
States
460,000
458,125
b
Jefferson
Capital
Holdings
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
9.5
%
,
2/15/29
.....................
United
States
470,000
492,662
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.25
%
,
5/15/30
....................
United
States
500,000
526,030
OneMain
Finance
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
7.5
%
,
5/15/31
..........................
United
States
355,000
366,974
Senior
Note
,
7.125
%
,
11/15/31
.......................
United
States
355,000
362,480
Senior
Note
,
6.5
%
,
3/15/33
..........................
United
States
250,000
246,204
b
PRA
Group,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.875
%
,
1/31/30
........
United
States
375,000
387,273
4,968,874
Consumer
Staples
Distribution
&
Retail
0.3%
b
US
Foods,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.25
%
,
1/15/32
....................
United
States
120,000
124,676
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.75
%
,
4/15/33
....................
United
States
280,000
280,531
405,207
Containers
&
Packaging
1.6%
b
CANPACK
Group,
Inc.
/
CANPACK
SA
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6
%
,
5/15/31
.........................................
United
States
200,000
201,272
b
Clydesdale
Acquisition
Holdings,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
4/15/32
...............................
United
States
425,000
412,824
b
Mauser
Packaging
Solutions
Holding
Co.
,
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.25
%
,
4/15/30
...................
United
States
465,000
457,845
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.875
%
,
4/15/30
............
United
States
350,000
357,999
b
Toucan
FinCo
Ltd.
/
Toucan
FinCo
Can,
Inc.
/
Toucan
FinCo
US
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.5
%
,
5/15/30
...........
Canada
795,000
750,149
2,180,089
Diversified
Telecommunication
Services
7.0%
b
Altice
France
SA
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
10/15/30
...........
France
304,878
296,047
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
4/15/32
..............
France
213,415
206,428
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
7/15/32
............
France
156,250
151,694
b
APLD
ComputeCo
2
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
3/15/31
.........................................
United
States
595,000
597,560
b
APLD
ComputeCo
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.25
%
,
12/15/30
........................................
United
States
935,000
1,009,196
b
Black
Pearl
Compute
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.125
%
,
2/15/31
.........................................
United
States
430,000
436,048
b
CCO
Holdings
LLC
/
CCO
Holdings
Capital
Corp.
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
5.375
%
,
6/01/29
...................
United
States
675,000
660,684
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
4.75
%
,
3/01/30
....................
United
States
1,010,000
958,158
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
4.75
%
,
2/01/32
....................
United
States
875,000
781,066
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
4.25
%
,
1/15/34
....................
United
States
280,000
237,303
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7
%
,
2/01/33
......................
United
States
295,000
289,547
b
Cipher
Compute
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.125
%
,
11/15/30
........................................
United
States
370,000
385,086
b
Edged
Compute
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
4/30/31
United
States
1,020,000
994,890
b
PR
RNO
Property
Owner
1
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
5/01/31
....................................
United
States
700,000
699,473
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Diversified
Telecommunication
Services
(continued)
b
SV
RNO
Property
Owner
1
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
5.875
%
,
3/01/31
...................................
United
States
570,000
$
562,145
b
Virgin
Media
Secured
Finance
plc
,
Senior
Secured
Bond
,
144A,
4.5
%
,
8/15/30
....................................
United
Kingdom
245,000
208,242
b
WULF
Compute
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.75
%
,
10/15/30
........................................
United
States
495,000
520,227
b
Yondr
JK
1
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
6/30/31
.
United
States
455,000
456,481
9,450,275
Electric
Utilities
2.4%
b
California
Buyer
Ltd.
/
Atlantica
Sustainable
Infrastructure
plc
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
2/15/32
....................
United
Kingdom
660,000
661,984
b
NRG
Energy,
Inc.
,
e
Junior
Sub.
Bond
,
144A,
10.25%
to
3/14/28,
FRN
thereafter
,
Perpetual
.......................................
United
States
345,000
373,275
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
11/01/34
...................
United
States
390,000
395,056
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
6
%
,
1/15/36
......................
United
States
670,000
668,244
PG&E
Corp.
,
Junior
Sub.
Bond
,
7.375%
to
3/14/30,
FRN
thereafter
,
3/15/55
United
States
230,000
234,514
Senior
Secured
Bond
,
5.25
%
,
7/01/30
..................
United
States
95,000
93,595
b
Vistra
Operations
Co.
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
4/15/32
United
States
755,000
782,281
3,208,949
Electrical
Equipment
0.6%
b
Energizer
Gamma
Acquisition
BV
,
Senior
Note
,
Reg
S,
3.5
%
,
6/30/29
.........................................
United
States
280,000
EUR
313,858
b
Sensata
Technologies
BV
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.875
%
,
9/01/30
.
United
States
490,000
493,045
806,903
Electronic
Equipment,
Instruments
&
Components
0.4%
b
TTM
Technologies,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
4
%
,
3/01/29
......
United
States
565,000
546,123
Energy
Equipment
&
Services
3.0%
b
Archrock
Services
LP
/
Archrock
Partners
Finance
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6
%
,
2/01/34
............................
United
States
400,000
397,842
b
Borr
IHC
Ltd.
/
Borr
Finance
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.75
%
,
1/15/32
.............
Mexico
240,000
234,568
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9
%
,
1/15/34
................
Mexico
200,000
193,556
b
Kodiak
Gas
Services
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.875
%
,
4/01/31
...................
United
States
240,000
240,744
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
10/01/33
....................
United
States
195,000
197,774
b
Nabors
Industries,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.875
%
,
8/15/31
...
United
States
170,000
174,656
b
,f
Oceaneering
International,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
7/15/34
.........................................
United
States
255,000
259,162
b
Transocean
Aquila
Ltd.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8
%
,
9/30/28
United
States
58,462
60,004
Transocean
International
Ltd.
,
Senior
Bond
,
6.8
%
,
3/15/38
..........................
United
States
610,000
566,199
b
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.875
%
,
10/15/32
..................
United
States
190,000
198,448
b
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.75
%
,
2/15/30
.............
United
States
441,000
458,542
b
Weatherford
International
Ltd.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.625
%
,
4/30/30
...................
United
States
168,000
170,766
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
10/15/33
...................
United
States
800,000
816,681
3,968,942
Entertainment
1.5%
b
Banijay
Entertainment
SAS
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.125
%
,
5/01/29
.........................................
France
690,000
707,779
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Entertainment
(continued)
Discovery
Global
Holdings,
Inc.
,
Senior
Bond
,
5.05
%
,
3/15/42
..
United
States
270,000
$
198,131
b
OAK-Eagle
Acquireco,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.75
%
,
7/01/34
....................
United
States
515,000
546,890
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.25
%
,
7/01/33
.............
United
States
130,000
136,064
b
Pinewood
Finco
plc
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6
%
,
3/27/30
..
United
Kingdom
310,000
GBP
412,282
2,001,146
Financial
Services
3.5%
b
CrossCountry
Intermediate
HoldCo
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
10/01/30
....................
United
States
400,000
394,753
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
12/01/32
...................
United
States
325,000
314,078
b
Freedom
Mortgage
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
12.25
%
,
10/01/30
United
States
320,000
345,496
b
Freedom
Mortgage
Holdings
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.375
%
,
4/01/32
.........................................
United
States
595,000
605,667
b
Osaic
Holdings,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8
%
,
8/01/33
......................
United
States
595,000
597,641
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
8/01/32
.............
United
States
265,000
265,605
b
PHH
Escrow
Issuer
LLC
/
PHH
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
9.875
%
,
11/01/29
..................................
United
States
960,000
940,438
b
Rocket
Cos.,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.125
%
,
8/01/31
...................
United
States
115,000
117,535
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.125
%
,
2/01/32
...................
United
States
380,000
394,638
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
8/01/33
...................
United
States
415,000
422,559
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
6/15/34
.....................
United
States
255,000
261,867
b
Shift4
Payments
LLC
/
Shift4
Payments
Finance
Sub,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.5
%
,
5/15/33
...........................
United
States
100,000
EUR
112,081
4,772,358
Food
Products
1.2%
b
Chobani
LLC
/
Chobani
Finance
Corp.,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.625
%
,
7/01/29
...................
United
States
380,000
392,322
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
4/15/34
...................
United
States
240,000
243,733
b
Froneri
Lux
FinCo
SARL
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6
%
,
8/01/32
.........................................
United
Kingdom
455,000
446,486
b
Industrial
F&B
Investments
III,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.75
%
,
2/11/33
....................................
United
States
585,000
596,585
1,679,126
Ground
Transportation
0.6%
b
Beacon
Mobility
Corp.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.25
%
,
8/01/30
.........................................
United
States
235,000
244,786
b
Watco
Cos.
LLC
/
Watco
Finance
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.125
%
,
8/01/32
...................................
United
States
575,000
590,793
835,579
Health
Care
Equipment
&
Supplies
0.6%
b
Bausch
+
Lomb
Corp.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.375
%
,
10/01/28
........................................
United
States
125,000
128,594
b
,g
Bausch
+
Lomb
Netherlands
BV
and
Bausch
&
Lomb,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
FRN
,
6.079
%
,
(
2
x
3-month
EURIBOR
+
7.75
%
),
1/15/31
...................................
United
States
300,000
EUR
346,303
b
Insulet
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
4/01/33
............
United
States
60,000
60,904
b
Medline
Borrower
LP
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.25
%
,
10/01/29
...................
United
States
90,000
89,495
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
3.875
%
,
4/01/29
............
United
States
245,000
238,053
863,349
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Health
Care
Providers
&
Services
3.9%
b
CHS/Community
Health
Systems,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
5.25
%
,
5/15/30
.............
United
States
480,000
$
453,259
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
10.875
%
,
1/15/32
...........
United
States
292,000
314,832
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.75
%
,
1/15/34
.............
United
States
595,000
621,972
b
Concentra
Health
Services,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
7/15/32
.........................................
United
States
335,000
347,189
CVS
Health
Corp.
,
Junior
Sub.
Bond
,
7%
to
3/09/30,
FRN
thereafter
,
3/10/55
.................................
United
States
520,000
540,094
b
DaVita,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
9/01/32
...................
United
States
890,000
918,385
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
7/15/33
....................
United
States
65,000
67,109
b
Kedrion
SpA
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
9/01/29
......
Italy
1,000,000
987,602
Tenet
Healthcare
Corp.
,
b
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6
%
,
11/15/33
......................
United
States
270,000
272,555
Senior
Secured
Note
,
6.125
%
,
6/15/30
.................
United
States
775,000
781,648
5,304,645
Health
Care
REITs
0.7%
b
MPT
Operating
Partnership
LP
/
MPT
Finance
Corp.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.5
%
,
2/15/32
....................
United
States
965,000
988,633
Health
Care
Technology
1.0%
b
AthenaHealth
Group,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
2/15/30
...
United
States
440,000
422,158
b
IQVIA,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
6/01/32
.............
United
States
875,000
890,687
1,312,845
Hotel
&
Resort
REITs
0.8%
b
RHP
Hotel
Properties
LP
/
RHP
Finance
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.25
%
,
7/15/28
....................
United
States
110,000
112,458
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
4/01/32
.....................
United
States
415,000
424,868
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
6/15/33
.....................
United
States
195,000
200,194
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.75
%
,
3/15/34
....................
United
States
240,000
237,913
b
XHR
LP
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.625
%
,
5/15/30
..............
United
States
125,000
128,041
1,103,474
Hotels,
Restaurants
&
Leisure
7.4%
b
1011778
BC
ULC
/
New
Red
Finance,
Inc.
,
Secured
Bond
,
144A,
4
%
,
10/15/30
.....................................
Canada
690,000
651,791
b
A&K
Travel
Group
Holdings
Ltd.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
5/15/33
.........................................
United
Kingdom
300,000
303,038
b
Boyd
Gaming
Corp.
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
4.75
%
,
6/15/31
......
United
States
400,000
386,451
b
Caesars
Entertainment,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
4.625
%
,
10/15/29
..................
United
States
420,000
403,915
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6
%
,
10/15/32
.....................
United
States
180,000
163,248
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7
%
,
2/15/30
................
United
States
200,000
201,269
b
Carnival
Corp.
Ltd.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.125
%
,
5/01/29
...................
United
States
310,000
309,669
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.875
%
,
6/15/31
...................
United
States
380,000
387,043
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.75
%
,
8/01/32
....................
United
States
555,000
561,115
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.125
%
,
2/15/33
...................
United
States
200,000
202,519
b
Churchill
Downs,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.75
%
,
4/01/30
....................
United
States
315,000
314,875
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
5/01/31
....................
United
States
60,000
61,125
b
Fertitta
Entertainment
LLC
/
Fertitta
Entertainment
Finance
Co.,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
1/15/30
.................
United
States
515,000
505,419
b
Flutter
Treasury
DAC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
5.875
%
,
6/04/31
.........................................
United
Kingdom
200,000
199,396
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Hotels,
Restaurants
&
Leisure
(continued)
b
Great
Canadian
Gaming
Corp.
/
Raptor
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.75
%
,
11/15/29
.........................
Canada
310,000
$
310,393
b
Hilton
Domestic
Operating
Co.,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.75
%
,
9/15/33
.........................................
United
States
675,000
677,863
b
Light
&
Wonder
International,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.25
%
,
11/15/29
...................
United
States
330,000
336,142
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
9/01/31
.....................
United
States
70,000
72,591
b
Mohegan
Tribal
Gaming
Authority
/
MS
Digital
Entertainment
Holdings
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.25
%
,
4/15/30
..
United
States
645,000
672,307
b
NCL
Corp.
Ltd.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.75
%
,
2/15/29
....................
United
States
215,000
224,471
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
2/01/32
....................
United
States
150,000
149,769
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
9/15/33
....................
United
States
160,000
155,482
b
Rivers
Enterprise
Borrower
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
10/15/30
...................................
United
States
260,000
263,397
b
Royal
Caribbean
Cruises
Ltd.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.625
%
,
9/30/31
...................
United
States
270,000
272,347
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6
%
,
2/01/33
......................
United
States
620,000
628,917
b
Scientific
Games
Holdings
LP
/
Scientific
Games
US
FinCo,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.625
%
,
3/01/30
....................
United
States
360,000
307,956
b
Viking
Cruises
Ltd.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7
%
,
2/15/29
......................
United
States
160,000
160,621
Senior
Note
,
144A,
9.125
%
,
7/15/31
...................
United
States
395,000
414,096
b
Wynn
Resorts
Finance
LLC
/
Wynn
Resorts
Capital
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.125
%
,
2/15/31
.........................
United
States
565,000
597,406
9,894,631
Household
Durables
1.6%
b
Ashton
Woods
USA
LLC
/
Ashton
Woods
Finance
Co.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
8/01/33
.........................
United
States
255,000
253,063
b
K.
Hovnanian
Enterprises,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8
%
,
4/01/31
......................
United
States
140,000
144,554
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.375
%
,
10/01/33
..................
United
States
210,000
215,961
b
Weekley
Homes
LLC
/
Weekley
Finance
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
4.875
%
,
9/15/28
...................
United
States
305,000
301,022
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
1/15/34
....................
United
States
655,000
657,561
Whirlpool
Corp.
,
Senior
Bond
,
5.75
%
,
3/01/34
.........................
United
States
240,000
185,994
Senior
Bond
,
4.5
%
,
6/01/46
..........................
United
States
55,000
32,801
b
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
7/01/31
..............
United
States
140,000
142,023
b
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.875
%
,
7/01/34
............
United
States
235,000
236,551
2,169,530
Household
Products
0.1%
b
Energizer
Holdings,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
4.375
%
,
3/31/29
..
United
States
160,000
154,996
Independent
Power
and
Renewable
Electricity
Producers
2.2%
b
Clearway
Energy
Operating
LLC
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
3.75
%
,
1/15/32
....................
United
States
300,000
273,168
Senior
Note
,
144A,
3.75
%
,
2/15/31
....................
United
States
290,000
269,083
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.75
%
,
1/15/34
....................
United
States
300,000
294,344
b
Constellation
Energy
Generation
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5
%
,
2/01/31
.........................................
United
States
310,000
309,994
b
Talen
Energy
Supply
LLC
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
2/01/36
.....................
United
States
560,000
564,795
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.125
%
,
5/01/31
...................
United
States
100,000
100,043
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
5/01/33
...................
United
States
115,000
114,903
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Independent
Power
and
Renewable
Electricity
Producers
(continued)
b
Talen
Energy
Supply
LLC,
(continued)
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
2/01/34
....................
United
States
560,000
$
556,832
b
,e
Vistra
Corp.
,
Junior
Sub.
Bond
,
144A,
8%
to
10/14/26,
FRN
thereafter
,
Perpetual
.......................................
United
States
150,000
151,600
Junior
Sub.
Bond
,
144A,
7%
to
12/14/26,
FRN
thereafter
,
Perpetual
.......................................
United
States
290,000
292,995
2,927,757
Insurance
1.8%
b
Acrisure
LLC
/
Acrisure
Finance,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.5
%
,
6/15/29
.....................
United
States
135,000
127,036
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
11/06/30
.............
United
States
295,000
279,992
b
Alliant
Holdings
Intermediate
LLC
/
Alliant
Holdings
Co-Issuer
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.875
%
,
11/01/29
..................
United
States
165,000
161,635
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.375
%
,
10/01/32
..................
United
States
130,000
129,195
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7
%
,
1/15/31
................
United
States
560,000
569,393
b
Asurion
LLC
/
Asurion
Co-Issuer,
Inc.
,
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.375
%
,
2/01/34
..................
United
States
635,000
588,273
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8
%
,
12/31/32
...............
United
States
400,000
403,349
b
Jones
Deslauriers
Insurance
Management,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.5
%
,
3/15/30
...........................
Canada
170,000
173,517
2,432,390
IT
Services
0.9%
b
Cogent
Communications
Group
LLC
/
Cogent
Finance,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
7/01/32
...............
United
States
860,000
774,859
b
Fortress
Intermediate
3,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
6/01/31
.........................................
United
States
445,000
452,956
1,227,815
Machinery
0.7%
b
Chart
Industries,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
9.5
%
,
1/01/31
......
United
States
130,000
136,207
b
ESAB
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.625
%
,
4/01/31
...........
United
States
425,000
426,524
b
Terex
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5
%
,
5/15/29
......................
United
States
235,000
233,117
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
10/15/32
...................
United
States
165,000
167,232
963,080
Media
6.6%
b
Block
Communications,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
10.25
%
,
3/01/31
...................................
United
States
405,000
370,761
b
Clear
Channel
Outdoor
Holdings,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.75
%
,
4/15/28
....................
United
States
145,000
145,625
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.875
%
,
4/01/30
............
United
States
125,000
130,297
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
3/15/33
..............
United
States
555,000
584,762
b
CSC
Holdings
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
11.75
%
,
1/31/29
......
United
States
340,000
209,354
b
Directv
Financing
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.875
%
,
2/01/30
.........................................
United
States
295,000
300,603
b
Directv
Financing
LLC
/
Directv
Financing
Co-Obligor,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
5.875
%
,
8/15/27
............
United
States
10,000
9,991
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
10
%
,
2/15/31
...............
United
States
170,000
176,520
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.25
%
,
6/01/32
.............
United
States
140,000
142,349
Discovery
Communications
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
4.125
%
,
5/15/29
.
United
States
370,000
366,581
EchoStar
Corp.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
10.75
%
,
11/30/29
......
United
States
505,000
546,006
b
EW
Scripps
Co.
(The)
,
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.875
%
,
8/15/30
..
United
States
750,000
657,078
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Media
(continued)
b
Gray
Media,
Inc.
,
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.625
%
,
7/15/32
..................
United
States
290,000
$
280,149
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
5.375
%
,
11/15/31
..................
United
States
400,000
268,680
b
McGraw-Hill
Education,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8
%
,
8/01/29
......................
United
States
335,000
335,890
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.375
%
,
9/01/31
............
United
States
330,000
335,638
b
Nexstar
Media,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.25
%
,
4/15/34
....................
United
States
405,000
404,370
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
9/15/33
..............
United
States
265,000
265,160
b
Outfront
Media
Capital
LLC
/
Outfront
Media
Capital
Corp.
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
4.625
%
,
3/15/30
.........................
United
States
400,000
388,194
Paramount
Global
,
Senior
Bond
,
5.85
%
,
9/01/43
............
United
States
275,000
206,042
b
Sinclair
Television
Group,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.125
%
,
2/15/33
...................................
United
States
580,000
596,481
b
Sirius
XM
Radio
LLC
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
3.875
%
,
9/01/31
...................
United
States
350,000
318,072
Senior
Note
,
144A,
4
%
,
7/15/28
......................
United
States
140,000
136,406
b
Telenet
Finance
Luxembourg
Notes
SARL
,
Senior
Secured
Bond
,
144A,
5.5
%
,
3/01/28
...............................
Belgium
400,000
391,075
b
Univision
Communications,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.375
%
,
8/01/32
............
United
States
185,000
188,118
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.875
%
,
4/15/33
............
United
States
385,000
379,265
b
VZ
Secured
Financing
BV
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
5
%
,
1/15/32
................
Netherlands
385,000
337,331
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
1/15/33
..............
Netherlands
410,000
392,787
8,863,585
Metals
&
Mining
2.4%
b
Big
River
Steel
LLC
/
BRS
Finance
Corp.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.625
%
,
1/31/29
..............................
United
States
256,000
256,493
b
Cleveland-Cliffs,
Inc.
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
4.875
%
,
3/01/31
...................
United
States
140,000
128,089
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7
%
,
3/15/32
......................
United
States
525,000
521,506
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.625
%
,
1/15/34
...................
United
States
170,000
169,899
Commercial
Metals
Co.
,
Senior
Bond
,
4.375
%
,
3/15/32
.......
United
States
165,000
156,396
b
Hudbay
Minerals,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.125
%
,
4/01/29
....
Canada
330,000
331,962
b
Mineral
Resources
Ltd.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7
%
,
4/01/31
......................
Australia
185,000
191,629
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6
%
,
5/01/32
......................
Australia
125,000
123,736
b
Novelis
Corp.
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
4.75
%
,
1/30/30
....................
United
States
340,000
329,072
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
3.875
%
,
8/15/31
...................
United
States
240,000
218,745
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
1/30/30
...................
United
States
300,000
307,765
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
8/15/33
...................
United
States
430,000
433,405
3,168,697
Oil,
Gas
&
Consumable
Fuels
7.6%
b
Calumet
Specialty
Products
Partners
LP
/
Calumet
Finance
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
9.75
%
,
2/15/31
....................
United
States
385,000
407,323
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.25
%
,
7/15/29
.............
United
States
95,000
96,425
b
Coronado
Finance
Pty.
Ltd.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.25
%
,
10/01/29
........................................
Australia
165,000
150,519
b
Crescent
Energy
Finance
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.875
%
,
4/15/32
...................
United
States
350,000
354,610
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.375
%
,
1/15/34
...................
United
States
565,000
582,297
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Oil,
Gas
&
Consumable
Fuels
(continued)
e
Energy
Transfer
LP
,
B
,
Junior
Sub.
Bond
,
6.625%
to
2/14/28,
FRN
thereafter
,
Perpetual
...............................
United
States
630,000
$
635,411
b
Hess
Midstream
Operations
LP
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
6/01/29
.....................
United
States
140,000
142,939
Senior
Note
,
144A,
4.25
%
,
2/15/30
....................
United
States
80,000
77,211
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.5
%
,
10/15/30
....................
United
States
135,000
134,782
b
Hilcorp
Energy
I
LP
/
Hilcorp
Finance
Co.
,
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
6
%
,
2/01/31
......................
United
States
55,000
53,307
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
4/15/32
....................
United
States
245,000
237,306
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
5/15/34
...................
United
States
345,000
335,910
Senior
Bond
,
144A,
7.25
%
,
2/15/35
....................
United
States
130,000
128,078
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6
%
,
4/15/30
......................
United
States
140,000
137,843
Senior
Note
,
144A,
8.375
%
,
11/01/33
..................
United
States
345,000
359,433
b
Kinetik
Holdings
LP
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.875
%
,
6/15/30
......
United
States
740,000
744,637
b
Martin
Midstream
Partners
LP
/
Martin
Midstream
Finance
Corp.
,
Secured
Note
,
144A,
11.5
%
,
2/15/28
...................
United
States
770,000
776,300
Murphy
Oil
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
6
%
,
10/01/32
..........................
United
States
235,000
234,179
Senior
Note
,
6.5
%
,
2/15/34
..........................
United
States
430,000
426,231
b
Neo
Next+
Energy
Consolidated
Holdings
Ltd.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
Reg
S,
6.625
%
,
6/11/31
........................
United
Kingdom
600,000
591,095
b
Sunoco
LP
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.375
%
,
7/15/31
...................
United
States
225,000
222,053
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
7/01/33
....................
United
States
560,000
565,290
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.625
%
,
7/15/34
...................
United
States
25,000
24,415
b
TGNR
Intermediate
Holdings
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.5
%
,
10/15/29
........................................
United
States
510,000
502,157
b
Venture
Global
Calcasieu
Pass
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Bond
,
144A,
6
%
,
5/01/36
......................................
United
States
75,000
75,853
b
Venture
Global
LNG,
Inc.
,
e
Junior
Sub.
Bond
,
144A,
9%
to
9/29/29,
FRN
thereafter
,
Perpetual
.......................................
United
States
400,000
390,734
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.5
%
,
2/01/29
..............
United
States
340,000
366,116
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.375
%
,
6/01/31
............
United
States
480,000
499,825
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9.875
%
,
2/01/32
............
United
States
315,000
336,408
b
Venture
Global
Plaquemines
LNG
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Bond
,
144A,
7.75
%
,
5/01/35
.............
United
States
85,000
95,366
Senior
Secured
Bond
,
144A,
6.75
%
,
1/15/36
.............
United
States
250,000
265,195
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
5/01/33
..............
United
States
85,000
93,326
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
1/15/34
..............
United
States
145,000
151,154
Viper
Energy
Partners
LLC
,
Senior
Bond
,
5.7
%
,
8/01/35
......
United
States
94,000
95,544
10,289,272
Paper
&
Forest
Products
0.4%
b
Magnera
Corp.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
4.75
%
,
11/15/29
............
United
States
150,000
140,133
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.25
%
,
11/15/31
............
United
States
345,000
337,087
477,220
Passenger
Airlines
0.3%
b
American
Airlines,
Inc.
/
AAdvantage
Loyalty
IP
Ltd.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
5.75
%
,
4/20/29
...................
United
States
325,000
325,823
b
United
Airlines,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
4.625
%
,
4/15/29
United
States
130,000
128,281
454,104
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Personal
Care
Products
1.0%
b
Coty,
Inc.
/
HFC
Prestige
Products,
Inc.
/
HFC
Prestige
International
US
LLC
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.625
%
,
7/15/30
...
United
States
245,000
$
245,237
b
Opal
Bidco
SAS
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
3/31/32
...
France
1,085,000
1,107,461
1,352,698
Pharmaceuticals
0.8%
b
1261229
BC
Ltd.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
10
%
,
4/15/32
...
United
States
205,000
207,769
Teva
Pharmaceutical
Finance
Netherlands
II
BV
,
Senior
Note
,
4.375
%
,
5/09/30
...................................
Israel
225,000
EUR
262,171
Teva
Pharmaceutical
Finance
Netherlands
III
BV
,
Senior
Note
,
6.75
%
,
3/01/28
.........................
Israel
200,000
204,775
Senior
Note
,
8.125
%
,
9/15/31
........................
Israel
400,000
451,223
1,125,938
Professional
Services
0.3%
b
CACI
International,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
6/15/33
..
United
States
345,000
350,113
Semiconductors
&
Semiconductor
Equipment
0.3%
b
Qnity
Electronics,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
8/15/33
....................
United
States
130,000
132,429
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
5.75
%
,
8/15/32
.............
United
States
220,000
221,447
353,876
Software
1.0%
b
Cloud
Software
Group
LLC
,
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9
%
,
9/30/29
.....................
United
States
350,000
339,987
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.5
%
,
3/31/29
..............
United
States
400,000
388,409
b
McAfee
Corp.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
7.375
%
,
2/15/30
..........
United
States
440,000
374,249
b
UKG,
Inc.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
6.875
%
,
2/01/31
......
United
States
295,000
286,778
1,389,423
Specialized
REITs
1.1%
b
Iron
Mountain,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.25
%
,
1/15/33
.......
United
States
745,000
753,164
b
Millrose
Properties,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
8/01/30
..
United
States
780,000
791,076
1,544,240
Specialty
Retail
0.3%
b
PetSmart
LLC
/
PetSmart
Finance
Corp.
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.5
%
,
9/15/32
...............................
United
States
465,000
465,436
Technology
Hardware,
Storage
&
Peripherals
0.3%
Seagate
Data
Storage
Technology
Pte.
Ltd.
,
Senior
Note
,
5.875
%
,
7/15/30
........................
United
States
235,000
239,317
b
Senior
Note
,
144A,
3.125
%
,
7/15/29
...................
United
States
140,000
129,749
369,066
Textiles,
Apparel
&
Luxury
Goods
0.8%
b
Beach
Acquisition
Bidco
LLC
,
d
Senior
Note
,
144A,
PIK,
10
%
,
7/15/33
..................
United
States
563,916
612,479
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
5.25
%
,
7/15/32
.............
United
States
275,000
EUR
320,439
b
Crocs,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
4.25
%
,
3/15/29
.............
United
States
130,000
126,213
1,059,131
Trading
Companies
&
Distributors
1.3%
b
EquipmentShare.com,
Inc.
,
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9
%
,
5/15/28
.....................
United
States
280,000
285,982
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
Corporate
Bonds
(continued)
Trading
Companies
&
Distributors
(continued)
b
EquipmentShare.com,
Inc.,
(continued)
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.625
%
,
5/15/32
..................
United
States
305,000
$
317,653
f
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7.125
%
,
7/01/34
..................
United
States
215,000
211,514
b
Herc
Holdings,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.625
%
,
6/15/29
......
United
States
105,000
107,278
b
WESCO
Distribution,
Inc.
,
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
3/15/29
...................
United
States
90,000
91,718
Senior
Note
,
144A,
5.25
%
,
4/15/31
....................
United
States
125,000
124,030
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.625
%
,
3/15/32
...................
United
States
410,000
423,001
Senior
Note
,
144A,
6.375
%
,
3/15/33
...................
United
States
165,000
169,411
1,730,587
Wireless
Telecommunication
Services
1.5%
b
Connect
Finco
SARL
/
Connect
US
Finco
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
9
%
,
9/15/29
............................
United
Kingdom
795,000
837,528
b
Digicel
International
Finance
Ltd.
/
DIFL
US
LLC
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.625
%
,
8/01/32
.........................
Bermuda
300,000
309,120
b
Iliad
Holding
SAS
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
7
%
,
4/15/32
...
France
295,000
301,020
b
Zegona
Finance
plc
,
Senior
Secured
Note
,
144A,
8.625
%
,
7/15/29
.........................................
United
Kingdom
515,000
537,948
1,985,616
Total
Corporate
Bonds
(Cost
$
118,175,484
)
...................................
119,528,337
h
Senior
Floating
Rate
Interests
3.8%
Automobile
Components
0.3%
i
DexKo
Global,
Inc.,
First
Lien,
Refinancing
Dollar
CME
Term
Loan
,
8.163
%
,
(
3-month
SOFR
+
4.5
%
),
10/06/31
.........
United
States
377,316
366,536
Chemicals
0.1%
i
Hexion
Holdings
Corp.,
Second
Lien,
Initial
CME
Term
Loan
,
11.181
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
7.438
%
),
3/15/30
............
United
States
95,812
89,465
Commercial
Services
&
Supplies
0.2%
i
Filtration
Group
Corp.,
First
Lien,
2025
Incremental
Dollar
CME
Term
Loan,
B
,
6.144
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
2.5
%
),
10/23/28
...
United
States
239,649
240,055
Distributors
0.2%
i
Verde
Purchaser
LLC,
First
Lien,
Second
Refinancing
CME
Term
Loan
,
7.732
%
,
(
3-month
SOFR
+
4
%
),
11/30/30
...........
United
States
277,756
263,219
i
Food
Products
0.4%
Froneri
US,
Inc.,
First
Lien,
CME
Term
Loan,
B6
,
6.127
%
,
(
6-month
SOFR
+
2.5
%
),
9/30/32
......................
United
States
401,810
399,516
TreeHouse
Foods,
Inc.,
First
Lien,
Initial
CME
Term
Loan
,
7.894
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
4.25
%
),
2/11/33
..............
United
States
142,500
143,099
542,615
a
a
a
a
a
a
Health
Care
Equipment
&
Supplies
0.2%
i
Bausch
+
Lomb
Corp.,
First
Lien,
2025-2
Refinancing
CME
Term
Loan
,
7.394
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
3.75
%
),
1/15/31
.........
United
States
329,103
330,296
i
Hotels,
Restaurants
&
Leisure
0.5%
Fertitta
Entertainment
LLC,
First
Lien,
Initial
CME
Term
Loan,
B
,
6.894
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
3.25
%
),
1/29/29
..............
United
States
405,842
405,886
Great
Canadian
Gaming
Corp.,
First
Lien,
CME
Term
Loan,
B
,
8.427
%
,
(
3-month
SOFR
+
4.75
%
),
11/01/29
.............
Canada
45,004
44,498
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
a
a
Country
Principal
Amount
*
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
h
Senior
Floating
Rate
Interests
(continued)
i
Hotels,
Restaurants
&
Leisure
(continued)
Scientific
Games
Holdings
LP,
First
Lien,
2024
Refinancing
Dollar
CME
Term
Loan
,
6.674
%
,
(
3-month
SOFR
+
3
%
),
4/04/29
...
United
States
181,302
$
179,045
629,429
a
a
a
a
a
a
IT
Services
0.2%
i
Fortress
Intermediate
3,
Inc.,
First
Lien,
CME
Term
Loan,
B
,
6.624
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
3
%
),
6/27/31
................
United
States
251,189
250,404
i
Media
0.5%
Clear
Channel
Outdoor
Holdings,
Inc.,
First
Lien,
2024
Refinancing
CME
Term
Loan
,
7.735
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
4
%
),
8/23/28
.........................................
United
States
268,433
269,128
DIRECTV
Financing
LLC,
First
Lien,
2024
Refinancing
CME
Term
Loan,
B
,
9.175
%
,
(
3-month
SOFR
+
5.25
%
),
8/02/29
.......
United
States
373,536
376,106
645,234
a
a
a
a
a
a
Oil,
Gas
&
Consumable
Fuels
0.3%
i
Venture
Global
Calcasieu
Pass
LLC,
First
Lien,
Initial
CME
Term
Loan
,
6.954
%
,
(
6-month
SOFR
+
3.25
%
),
4/11/33
.........
United
States
384,885
386,463
i
Pharmaceuticals
0.4%
1261229
BC
Ltd.,
First
Lien,
Initial
CME
Term
Loan
,
9.894
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
6.25
%
),
10/08/30
....................
United
States
217,800
211,708
Endo
Finance
Holdings
LP,
First
Lien,
2024
Refinancing
CME
Term
Loan
,
7.37
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
3.75
%
),
4/23/31
......
United
States
403,807
404,565
616,273
a
a
a
a
a
a
i
Software
0.3%
Cloud
Software
Group,
Inc.,
First
Lien,
Initial
Dollar
CME
Term
Loan,
B
,
6.95
%
,
(
3-month
SOFR
+
3.25
%
),
8/16/32
........
United
States
112,865
98,011
f,j
CoreWeave
Financing
DDTL
V
LLC,
First
Lien,
Delayed
Draw
CME
Term
Loan
,
8.1
%
,
(
1-day
SOFR
+
4.5
%
),
11/17/31
.....
United
States
3,687
3,767
Rocket
Software,
Inc.,
First
Lien,
CME
Term
Loan
,
7.508
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
3.75
%
),
11/28/28
....................
United
States
278,627
265,418
367,196
a
a
a
a
a
a
Textiles,
Apparel
&
Luxury
Goods
0.1%
i
Flash
Charm,
Inc.,
First
Lien,
CME
Term
Loan,
B2
,
7.163
%
,
(
3-month
SOFR
+
3.5
%
),
3/02/28
......................
United
States
284,177
221,849
Wireless
Telecommunication
Services
0.1%
i
Connect
Finco
SARL,
First
Lien,
Amendment
No.
4
CME
Term
Loan
,
8.144
%
,
(
1-month
SOFR
+
4.5
%
),
9/13/29
..........
United
Kingdom
210,039
210,915
Total
Senior
Floating
Rate
Interests
(Cost
$
5,251,712
)
.........................
5,159,949
Total
Long
Term
Investments
(Cost
$
127,051,119
)
.............................
129,608,891
a
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Schedule
of
Investments
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
At
June
30,
2026,
the
Fund
had
the
following
forward
exchange
contracts
outstanding.
See
Note
1(d).
Short
Term
Investments
1.9%
a
a
Country
Shares
a
Value
a
a
a
a
a
a
Management
Investment
Companies
1.9%
k,l
Putnam
Short
Term
Investment
Fund
,
Class
P
,
3.837
%
.......
United
States
2,583,769
$
2,583,769
Total
Management
Investment
Companies
(Cost
$
2,583,769
)
...................
2,583,769
Total
Short
Term
Investments
(Cost
$
2,583,769
)
...............................
2,583,769
a
Total
Investments
(Cost
$
129,634,888
)
98.2
%
.................................
$132,192,660
Other
Assets,
less
Liabilities
1.8
%
...........................................
2,369,231
Net
Assets
100.0%
.........................................................
$134,561,891
a
a
a
*
The
principal
amount
is
stated
in
U.S.
dollars
unless
otherwise
indicated.
a
Non-income
producing.
b
Security
was
purchased
pursuant
to
Rule
144A
or
Regulation
S
under
the
Securities
Act
of
1933.
144A
securities
may
be
sold
in
transactions
exempt
from
registration
only
to
qualified
institutional
buyers
or
in
a
public
offering
registered
under
the
Securities
Act
of
1933.
Regulation
S
securities
cannot
be
sold
in
the
United
States
without
either
an
effective
registration
statement
filed
pursuant
to
the
Securities
Act
of
1933,
or
pursuant
to
an
exemption
from
registration.
At
June
30,
2026,
the
aggregate
value
of
these
securities
was
$111,576,529,
representing
82.9%
of
net
assets.
c
The
rate
shown
represents
the
yield
at
period
end.
d
Income
may
be
received
in
additional
securities
and/or
cash.
e
Perpetual
security
with
no
stated
maturity
date.
f
A
portion
or
all
of
the
security
purchased
on
a
delayed
delivery
basis.
See
Note
1(c).
g
The
coupon
rate
shown
represents
the
rate
at
period
end.
h
See
Note
1(e)
regarding
senior
floating
rate
interests.
i
The
coupon
rate
shown
represents
the
rate
inclusive
of
any
caps
or
floors,
if
applicable,
in
effect
at
period
end.
j
See
Note
8
regarding
unfunded
loan
commitments.
k
See
Note
3(f)
regarding
investments
in
affiliated
management
investment
companies.
l
The
rate
shown
is
the
annualized
seven-day
effective
yield
at
period
end.
Forward
Exchange
Contracts
Currency
Counter-
party
a
Type
Quantity
Contract
Amount
*
Settlement
Date
Unrealized
Appreciation
Unrealized
Depreciation
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
OTC
Forward
Exchange
Contracts
Australian
Dollar
....
MSCO
Buy
1,800
1,274
7/15/26
$
—
$
(
28
)
British
Pound
......
HSBK
Sell
310,200
414,291
9/16/26
2,827
—
Euro
.............
CITI
Sell
148,500
171,746
9/16/26
1,519
—
Euro
.............
HSBK
Sell
2,775,500
3,210,074
9/16/26
28,487
—
Euro
.............
MSCO
Buy
533,600
617,067
9/16/26
—
(
5,395
)
Total
Forward
Exchange
Contracts
...................................................
$32,833
$(5,423)
Net
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
............................................
$27,410
*
In
U.S.
dollars
unless
otherwise
indicated.
a
May
be
comprised
of
multiple
contracts
with
the
same
counterparty,
currency
and
settlement
date.
See
Note
9
regarding
other
derivative
information.
See
A
bbreviations
on
page
33
.
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Financial
Statements
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities
June
30,
2026
(unaudited)
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Assets:
Investments
in
securities:
Cost
-
Unaffiliated
issuers
...................................................................
$127,051,119
Cost
-
Non-controlled
affiliates
(Note
3
f
)
........................................................
2,583,769
Value
-
Unaffiliated
issuers
..................................................................
$129,608,891
Value
-
Non-controlled
affiliates
(Note
3
f
)
........................................................
2,583,769
Cash
....................................................................................
82,394
Receivables:
Investment
securities
sold
...................................................................
539,650
Capital
shares
sold
........................................................................
208,178
Dividends
and
interest
.....................................................................
2,423,603
Unrealized
appreciation
on
OTC
forward
exchange
contracts
..........................................
32,833
Unrealized
appreciation
on
unfunded
loan
commitments
(Note
8
)
.......................................
210
Prepaid
expenses
..........................................................................
62,592
Total
assets
..........................................................................
135,542,120
Liabilities:
Payables:
Investment
securities
purchased
..............................................................
711,350
Capital
shares
redeemed
...................................................................
41,774
Management
fees
.........................................................................
58,925
Administrative
fees
........................................................................
747
Distribution
fees
..........................................................................
8,519
Transfer
agent
fees
........................................................................
15,841
Trustees'
fees
and
expenses
.................................................................
86,723
Unrealized
depreciation
on
OTC
forward
exchange
contracts
..........................................
5,423
Accrued
expenses
and
other
liabilities
...........................................................
50,927
Total
liabilities
.........................................................................
980,229
Net
assets,
at
value
.................................................................
$134,561,891
Net
assets
consist
of:
Paid-in
capital
.............................................................................
$153,688,144
Total
distributable
earnings
(losses)
.............................................................
(19,126,253)
Net
assets,
at
value
.................................................................
$134,561,891
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Financial
Statements
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities
(continued)
June
30,
2026
(unaudited)
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Class
IA:
Net
assets,
at
value
.......................................................................
$93,158,476
Shares
outstanding
........................................................................
16,694,978
Net
asset
value
and
maximum
offering
price
per
share
a
.............................................
$5.58
Class
IB:
Net
assets,
at
value
.......................................................................
$41,403,415
Shares
outstanding
........................................................................
7,511,678
Net
asset
value
and
maximum
offering
price
per
share
a
.............................................
$5.51
a
Net
asset
value
per
share
may
not
recalculate
due
to
rounding.
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Financial
Statements
Statement
of
Operations
for
the
six
months
ended
June
30,
2026
(unaudited)
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Semiannual
Report
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Investment
income:
Dividends:
(net
of
foreign
taxes
of
$17)
Unaffiliated
issuers
........................................................................
$27,289
Non-controlled
affiliates
(Note
3
f
)
.............................................................
80,915
Interest:
Unaffiliated
issuers
........................................................................
4,566,715
Total
investment
income
...................................................................
4,674,919
Expenses:
Management
fees
(Note
3
a
)
...................................................................
362,738
Administrative
fees
(Note
3
b
)
..................................................................
977
Distribution
fees:
(Note
3c
)
Class
IB
................................................................................
51,675
Transfer
agent
fees:
(Note
3d
)
Class
IA
................................................................................
32,948
Class
IB
................................................................................
14,536
Custodian
fees
.............................................................................
351
Reports
to
shareholders
fees
..................................................................
14,207
Professional
fees
...........................................................................
44,410
Trustees'
fees
and
expenses
(Note
3
e
)
...........................................................
2,722
Other
....................................................................................
2,796
Total
expenses
.........................................................................
527,360
Net
investment
income
................................................................
4,147,559
Realized
and
unrealized
gains
(losses):
Net
realized
gain
(loss)
from:
Investments:
Unaffiliated
issuers
......................................................................
736,217
Foreign
currency
transactions
................................................................
4,401
Forward
exchange
contracts
.................................................................
79,748
Net
realized
gain
(loss)
..................................................................
820,366
Net
change
in
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
on:
Investments:
Unaffiliated
issuers
......................................................................
(1,602,945)
Translation
of
other
assets
and
liabilities
denominated
in
foreign
currencies
..............................
(1,469)
Unfunded
loan
commitments
(Note
8
)
..........................................................
210
Forward
exchange
contracts
.................................................................
33,605
Net
change
in
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
............................................
(1,570,599)
Net
realized
and
unrealized
gain
(loss)
............................................................
(750,233)
Net
increase
(decrease)
in
net
assets
resulting
from
operations
..........................................
$3,397,326
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Financial
Statements
Statements
of
Changes
in
Net
Assets
Semiannual
Report
The
accompanying
notes
are
an
integral
part
of
these
financial
statements.
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Six
Months
Ended
June
30,
2026
(unaudited)
Year
Ended
December
31,
2025
Increase
(decrease)
in
net
assets:
Operations:
Net
investment
income
.................................................
$4,147,559
$8,680,542
Net
realized
gain
(loss)
.................................................
820,366
(230,012)
Net
change
in
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
...........................
(1,570,599)
3,057,549
Net
increase
(decrease)
in
net
assets
resulting
from
operations
................
3,397,326
11,508,079
Distributions
to
shareholders:
Class
IA
............................................................
(6,002,775)
(6,439,428)
Class
IB
............................................................
(2,448,222)
(2,716,756)
Total
distributions
to
shareholders
..........................................
(8,450,997)
(9,156,184)
Capital
share
transactions:
(Note
2
)
Class
IA
............................................................
1,360,508
(8,655,219)
Class
IB
............................................................
(667,790)
(851,154)
Total
capital
share
transactions
............................................
692,718
(9,506,373)
Net
increase
(decrease)
in
net
assets
...................................
(4,360,953)
(7,154,478)
Net
assets:
Beginning
of
period
.....................................................
138,922,844
146,077,322
End
of
period
..........................................................
$134,561,891
$138,922,844
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
1.
Organization
and
Significant
Accounting
Policies
Putnam
Variable
Trust
(Trust)
is
registered
under
the
Investment
Company
Act
of
1940
(1940
Act)
as
an
open-end
management
investment
company,
consisting
of twenty separate
funds.
The Trust
follows the
accounting
and
reporting
guidance
in
Financial
Accounting
Standards
Board
(FASB)
Accounting
Standards
Codification
Topic
946,
Financial
Services
–
Investment
Companies
(ASC
946)
and
applies
the
specialized
accounting
and
reporting
guidance
in
U.S.
Generally
Accepted
Accounting
Principles
(U.S.
GAAP),
including,
but
not
limited
to,
ASC
946.
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(Fund)
is
included
in
this
report.
Shares
of
the
Fund
are
generally
sold
only
to
insurance
company
separate
accounts
to
fund
the
benefits
of
variable
life
insurance
policies
or
variable
annuity
contracts. The
Fund
offers two classes
of
shares:
Class
IA
and
Class
IB.
Each
class
of
shares
may
differ
by
its
distribution
fees,
voting
rights
on
matters
affecting
a
single
class
and
its
exchange
privilege.
The
following
summarizes
the Fund's
significant
accounting
policies.
a.
Financial
Instrument
Valuation
The
Fund's
investments
in
financial
instruments
are
carried
at
fair
value
daily.
Fair
value
is
the
price
that
would
be
received
to
sell
an
asset
or
paid
to
transfer
a
liability
in
an
orderly
transaction
between
market
participants
on
the
measurement
date.
The
Fund
calculates
the
net
asset
value
(NAV)
per
share
each business
day as
of
4
p.m.
Eastern
time
or
the
regularly
scheduled
close
of
the
New
York
Stock
Exchange
(NYSE),
whichever
is
earlier.
Under
compliance
policies
and
procedures
approved
by
the Trust's
Board
of
Trustees
(the
Board),
the
Board
has
designated
the
Fund’s
investment
manager
as
the
valuation
designee
and
has
responsibility
for
oversight
of
valuation.
The
investment
manager
is
assisted
by
the
Fund’s
administrator
in
performing
this
responsibility,
including
leading
the
cross-
functional
Valuation
Committee
(VC).
The
Fund
may
utilize
independent
pricing
services,
quotations
from
securities
and
financial
instrument
dealers,
and
other
market
sources
to
determine
fair
value.
Equity
securities
listed
on
an
exchange
or
on
the
NASDAQ
National
Market
System
are
valued
at
the
last
quoted
sale
price
or
the
official
closing
price of
the
day,
respectively.
Foreign
equity
securities
are
valued
as
of
the
close
of
trading
on
the
foreign
stock
exchange
on
which
the
security
is
primarily
traded,
or
as
of
4
p.m.
Eastern
time.
The
value
is
then
converted
into
its
U.S.
dollar
equivalent
at
the
foreign
exchange
rate
in
effect
at
4
p.m.
Eastern
time
on
the
day
that
the
value
of
the
security
is
determined.
Over-the-counter
(OTC)
securities
are
valued
within
the
range
of
the
most
recent
quoted
bid
and
ask
prices.
Securities
that
trade
in
multiple
markets
or
on
multiple
exchanges
are
valued
according
to
the
broadest
and
most
representative
market.
Certain
equity
securities
are
valued
based
upon
fundamental
characteristics
or
relationships
to
similar
securities.
Debt
securities
generally
trade
in
the OTC
market
rather
than
on
a
securities
exchange.
The
Fund's
pricing
services
use
multiple
valuation
techniques
to
determine
fair
value.
In
instances
where
sufficient
market
activity
exists,
the
pricing
services
may
utilize
a
market-based
approach
through
which
quotes
from
market
makers
are
used
to
determine
fair
value.
In
instances
where
sufficient
market
activity
may
not
exist
or
is
limited,
the
pricing
services
also
utilize
proprietary
valuation
models
which
may
consider
market
characteristics
such
as
benchmark
yield
curves,
credit
spreads,
estimated
default
rates,
anticipated
market
interest
rate
volatility,
coupon
rates,
anticipated
timing
of
principal
repayments,
underlying
collateral,
and
other
unique
security
features
in
order
to
estimate
the
relevant
cash
flows,
which
are
then
discounted
to
calculate
the
fair
value.
Securities
denominated
in
a
foreign
currency
are
converted
into
their
U.S.
dollar
equivalent
at
the
foreign
exchange
rate
in
effect
at
4
p.m.
Eastern
time
on
the
date
that
the
values
of
the
foreign
debt
securities
are
determined.
Investments
in open-end mutual
funds
are
valued
at
the
closing
NAV.
Certain
derivative
financial
instruments
trade
in
the
OTC
market.
The
Fund's
pricing
services
use
various
techniques
including
industry
standard
option
pricing
models
and
proprietary
discounted
cash
flow
models
to
determine
the
fair
value
of
those
instruments.
The
Fund's
net
benefit
or
obligation
under
the
derivative
contract,
as
measured
by
the
fair
value
of
the
contract,
is
included
in
net
assets.
The
Fund
has
procedures
to
determine
the
fair
value
of
financial
instruments
for
which
market
prices
are
not
reliable
or
readily
available.
Under
these
procedures,
the Fund
primarily
employs
a
market-based
approach
which
may
use
related
or
comparable
assets
or
liabilities,
recent
transactions,
market
multiples,
and
other
relevant
information
for
the
investment
to
determine
the
fair
value
of
the
investment.
An
income-based
valuation
approach
may
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
also
be
used
in
which
the
anticipated
future
cash
flows
of
the
investment
are
discounted
to
calculate
fair
value.
Discounts
may
also
be
applied
due
to
the
nature
or
duration
of
any
restrictions
on
the
disposition
of
the
investments.
Due
to
the
inherent
uncertainty
of
valuations
of
such
investments,
the
fair
values
may
differ
significantly
from
the
values
that
would
have
been
used
had
an
active
market
existed.
Trading
in
securities
on
foreign
securities
stock
exchanges
and
OTC
markets
may
be
completed
before
4
p.m.
Eastern
time.
In
addition,
trading
in
certain
foreign
markets
may
not
take
place
on
every
Fund's
business
day.
Events
can
occur
between
the
time
at
which
trading
in
a
foreign
security
is
completed
and
4
p.m.
Eastern
time
that
might
call
into
question
the
reliability
of
the
value
of
a
portfolio
security
held
by
the
Fund.
As
a
result,
differences
may
arise
between
the
value
of
the
Fund's
portfolio
securities
as
determined
at
the
foreign
market
close
and
the
latest
indications
of
value
at
4
p.m.
Eastern
time.
If
such
an
event
occurs,
the
securities
may
be
valued
using
fair
value
procedures,
which
may
include
the
use
of
independent
pricing
services.
When
the
last
day
of
the
reporting
period
is
a
non-business
day,
certain
foreign
markets
may
be
open
on
those
days
that
the
Fund's
NAV
is
not
calculated,
which
could
result
in
differences
between
the
value
of
the
Fund's
portfolio
securities
on
the
last
business
day
and
the
last
calendar
day
of
the
reporting
period.
Any
security
valuation
changes
due
to
an
open
foreign
market
are
adjusted
and
reflected
by
the
Fund
for
financial
reporting
purposes.
b.
Foreign
Currency
Translation
Portfolio
securities
and
other
assets
and
liabilities
denominated
in
foreign
currencies
are
translated
into
U.S.
dollars
based
on
the
exchange
rate
of
such
currencies
against
U.S.
dollars
on
the
date
of
valuation.
The
Fund
may
enter
into
foreign
currency
exchange
contracts
to
facilitate
transactions
denominated
in
a
foreign
currency.
Purchases
and
sales
of
securities,
income
and
expense
items
denominated
in
foreign
currencies
are
translated
into
U.S.
dollars
at
the
exchange
rate
in
effect
on
the
transaction
date.
Portfolio
securities
and
assets
and
liabilities
denominated
in
foreign
currencies
contain
risks
that
those
currencies
will
decline
in
value
relative
to
the
U.S.
dollar.
Occasionally,
events
may
impact
the
availability
or
reliability
of
foreign
exchange
rates
used
to
convert
the
U.S.
dollar
equivalent
value.
If
such
an
event
occurs,
the
foreign
exchange
rate
will
be
valued
at
fair
value
using
procedures
established
and
approved
by
the
Board.
The
Fund
does
not
separately
report
the
effect
of
changes
in
foreign
exchange
rates
from
changes
in
market
prices
on
securities
held.
Such
changes
are
included
in
net
realized
and
unrealized
gain
or
loss
from
investments
in
the
Statement of
Operations.
Realized
foreign
exchange
gains
or
losses
arise
from
sales
of
foreign
currencies,
currency
gains
or
losses
realized
between
the
trade
and
settlement
dates
on
securities
transactions
and
the
difference
between
the
recorded
amounts
of
dividends,
interest,
and
foreign
withholding
taxes
and
the
U.S.
dollar
equivalent
of
the
amounts
actually
received
or
paid.
Net
unrealized
foreign
exchange
gains
and
losses
arise
from
changes
in
foreign
exchange
rates
on
foreign
denominated
assets
and
liabilities
other
than
investments
in
securities
held
at
the
end
of
the
reporting
period.
c.
Securities
Purchased
on
a
When-Issued,
Forward
Commitment or
Delayed
Delivery
Basis
The
Fund
may
purchase
securities
on
a when-issued,
forward
commitment
or
delayed
delivery basis,
with
payment
and
delivery
scheduled
for
a
future
date.
These
transactions
are
subject
to
market
fluctuations
and
are
subject
to
the
risk
that
the
value
at
delivery
may
be
more
or
less
than
the
trade
date
purchase
price.
Although
the
Fund
will
generally
purchase
these
securities
with
the
intention
of
holding
the
securities, it
may
sell
the
securities
before
the
settlement
date.
d.
Derivative
Financial
Instruments
The
Fund invested
in
derivative
financial
instruments
in
order
to
manage
risk
or
gain
exposure
to
various
other
investments
or
markets.
Derivatives
are
financial
contracts
based
on
an
underlying
or
notional
amount,
require
no
initial
investment
or
an
initial
net
investment
that
is
smaller
than
would
normally
be
required
to
have
a
similar
response
to
changes
in
market
factors,
and
require
or
permit
net
settlement.
Derivatives
contain
various
risks
including
the
potential
inability
of
the
counterparty
to
fulfill
their
obligations
under
the
terms
of
the
contract,
the
potential
for
an
illiquid
secondary
market,
and/or
the
potential
for
market
movements
which
expose
the
Fund
to
gains
or
losses
in
1.
Organization
and
Significant
Accounting
Policies
(continued)
a.
Financial
Instrument
Valuation
(continued)
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
excess
of
the
amounts
shown
in
the
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities.
Realized
gain
and
loss
and
unrealized
appreciation
and
depreciation
on
these
contracts
for
the
period
are
included
in
the
Statement
of
Operations.
Derivative
counterparty
credit
risk
is
managed
through
a
formal
evaluation
of
the
creditworthiness
of
all
potential
counterparties.
The
Fund
attempts
to
reduce
its
exposure
to
counterparty
credit
risk
on
OTC
derivatives,
whenever
possible,
by
entering
into
International
Swaps
and
Derivatives
Association
(ISDA)
master
agreements
with
certain
counterparties.
These
agreements
contain
various
provisions,
including
but
not
limited
to
collateral
requirements,
events
of
default,
or
early
termination.
Termination
events
applicable
to
the
counterparty
include
certain
deteriorations
in
the
credit
quality
of
the
counterparty.
Termination
events
applicable
to
the
Fund
include
failure
of
the
Fund
to
maintain
certain
net
asset
levels
and/
or
limit
the
decline
in
net
assets
over
various
periods
of
time.
In
the
event
of
default
or
early
termination,
the
ISDA
master
agreement
gives
the
non-defaulting
party
the
right
to
net
and
close-out
all
transactions
traded,
whether
or
not
arising
under
the
ISDA
agreement,
to
one
net
amount
payable
by
one
counterparty
to
the
other.
However,
absent
an
event
of
default
or
early
termination,
OTC
derivative
assets
and
liabilities
are
presented
gross
and
not
offset
in
the
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities.
Early
termination
by
the
counterparty
may
result
in
an
immediate
payment
by
the
Fund
of
any
net
liability
owed
to
that
counterparty
under
the
ISDA
agreement.
At
June
30,
2026,
the
Fund
had
OTC
derivatives
in
a
net
liability
position
by
counterparty
of
$5,423.
Collateral
requirements
differ
by
type
of
derivative.
Collateral
or
initial
margin
requirements
are
set
by
the
broker
or
exchange
clearing
house
for
exchange
traded
and
centrally
cleared
derivatives.
Initial
margin
deposited
is
held
at
the
exchange
or
at
the
broker and
can
be
in
the
form
of
cash
and/or
securities.
For
OTC
derivatives
traded
under
an
ISDA
master
agreement,
posting
of
collateral
is
required
by
either
the
Fund
or
the
applicable
counterparty
if
the
total
net
exposure
of
all
OTC
derivatives
with
the
applicable
counterparty
exceeds
the
minimum
transfer
amount,
which
typically
ranges
from
$100,000
to
$250,000,
and
can
vary
depending
on
the
counterparty
and
the
type
of agreement.
Generally,
collateral
is
determined
at
the
close
of
Fund
business
each
day
and
any
additional
collateral
required
due
to
changes
in
derivative
values
may
be
delivered
by
the
Fund
or
the
counterparty
the
next
business
day,
or
within
a
few
business
days.
Collateral
pledged
and/or
received
by
the
Fund
for
OTC
derivatives,
if
any,
is
held
in
segregated
accounts
with
the
Fund's
custodian/counterparty
broker
and
can
be
in
the
form
of
cash
and/or
securities.
Unrestricted
cash
may
be
invested
according
to
the
Fund's
investment
objectives.
To
the
extent
that
the
amounts
due
to
the
Fund
from
its
counterparties
are
not
subject
to
collateralization
or
are
not
fully
collateralized,
the
Fund
bears
the
risk
of
loss
from
counterparty
non-performance.
The
Fund entered
into
OTC
forward
exchange
contracts
primarily
to
manage
and/or
gain exposure
to
certain
foreign
currencies.
A
forward
exchange
contract
is
an
agreement
between
the
Fund
and
a
counterparty
to
buy
or
sell
a
foreign
currency at
a
specific
exchange
rate
on
a
future
date.
Forward
exchange
contracts
outstanding
at
period
end,
if
any,
are
listed
in
the
Fund's
Schedule
of
Investments.
See
Note
9
regarding
other
derivative
information.
e.
Senior
Floating
Rate
Interests
The
Fund
invests
in
senior
secured
corporate
loans
that
pay
interest
at
rates
which
are
periodically
reset
by
reference
to
a
base
lending
rate
plus
a
spread.
These
base
lending
rates
are
generally
the
prime
rate
offered
by
a
designated
U.S.
bank
or
the
Secured
Overnight
Financing
Rate
(SOFR).
Senior
secured
corporate
loans
often
require
prepayment
of
principal
from
excess
cash
flows
or
at
the
discretion
of
the
borrower.
As
a
result,
actual
maturity
may
be
substantially
less
than
the
stated
maturity.
Senior
secured
corporate
loans
in
which
the Fund
invests
are
generally
readily
marketable,
but
may
be
subject
to
certain
restrictions
on
resale.
f.
Income
and
Deferred
Taxes
It
is the Fund's
policy
to
qualify
as
a
regulated
investment
company
under
the
Internal
Revenue
Code. The Fund
intends
to
distribute
to
shareholders
substantially
all
of
its
taxable
income
and
net
realized
gains
to
relieve
it
from
federal
income
and if
applicable,
excise
taxes.
As
a
result,
no
provision
for
U.S.
federal
income
taxes
is
required.
The Fund
may
be
subject
to
foreign
taxation
related
to
income
received,
capital
gains
on
the
sale
of
securities
and
certain
foreign
currency
transactions
in
the
foreign
jurisdictions
in
which
it
invests.
Foreign
taxes,
if
any,
are
1.
Organization
and
Significant
Accounting
Policies
(continued)
d.
Derivative
Financial
Instruments
(continued)
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
recorded
based
on
the
tax
regulations
and
rates
that
exist
in
the
foreign
markets
in
which
the
Fund
invests.
When
a
capital
gain
tax
is
determined
to
apply,
the
Fund
records
an
estimated
deferred
tax
liability
in
an
amount
that
would
be
payable
if
the
securities
were
disposed
of
on
the
valuation
date.
The Fund
may
recognize
an
income
tax
liability
related
to
its
uncertain
tax
positions
under
U.S.
GAAP
when
the
uncertain
tax
position
has
a
less
than
50%
probability
that
it
will
be
sustained
upon
examination
by
the
tax
authorities
based
on
its
technical
merits.
As
of
June
30,
2026, the Fund
has
determined
that
no
tax
liability
is
required
in
its
financial
statements
related
to
uncertain
tax
positions
for
any
open
tax
years
(or
expected
to
be
taken
in
future
tax
years).
The
Fund’s
federal
and
state
income
and
federal
excise
tax
returns
for
the
prior
three
fiscal
years
are
subject
to
examination
by
the
Internal
Revenue
Service
and
state
departments
of
revenue.
g.
Security
Transactions,
Investment
Income,
Expenses
and
Distributions
Security
transactions
are
accounted
for
on
trade
date.
Realized
gains
and
losses
on
security
transactions
are
determined
on
a
specific
identification
basis.
Interest
income
(including
interest
income
from
payment-in-kind
securities,
if
any)
and
estimated
expenses
are
accrued
daily.
Amortization
of
premium
and
accretion
of
discount
on
debt
securities
are
included
in
interest
income.
Paydown
gains
and
losses
are
recorded
as
an
adjustment
to
interest
income.
The
Fund
may
receive
other
income
from
investments
in
senior
secured
corporate
loans
or
unfunded
commitments,
including
amendment
fees,
consent
fees
or
commitment
fees.
These
fees
are
recorded
as
income
when
received
by
the
Fund.
Facility
fees
are
recognized
as
income
over
the
expected
term
of
the
loan.
Dividend
income
is
recorded
on
the
ex-
dividend
date
except
for
certain
dividends
from
securities
where
the
dividend
rate
is
not
available.
In
such
cases,
the
dividend
is
recorded
as
soon
as
the
information
is
received
by
the
Fund.
Distributions
to
shareholders
are
recorded
on
the
ex-dividend
date. Distributable
earnings
are
determined
according
to
income
tax
regulations
(tax
basis)
and
may
differ
from
earnings
recorded
in
accordance
with
U.S.
GAAP.
These
differences
may
be
permanent
or
temporary.
Permanent
differences
are
reclassified
among
capital
accounts
to
reflect
their
tax
character.
These
reclassifications
have
no
impact
on
net
assets
or
the
results
of
operations.
Temporary
differences
are
not
reclassified,
as
they
may
reverse
in
subsequent
periods.
Common
expenses
incurred
by
the
Trust
are
allocated
among
the
Funds
based
on
the
ratio
of
net
assets
of
each
Fund
to
the
combined
net
assets
of
the
Trust
or
based
on
the
ratio
of
number
of
shareholders
of
each
Fund
to
the
combined
number
of
shareholders
of
the
Trust.
Fund
specific
expenses
are
charged
directly
to
the
Fund
that
incurred
the
expense.
Realized
and
unrealized
gains
and
losses
and
net
investment
income,
excluding
class
specific
expenses,
are
allocated
daily
to
each
class
of
shares
based
upon
the
relative
proportion
of
net
assets
of
each
class.
Differences
in
per
share
distributions
by
class
are
generally
due
to
differences
in
class
specific
expenses.
h.
Accounting
Estimates
The
preparation
of
financial
statements
in
accordance
with
U.S.
GAAP
requires
management
to
make
estimates
and
assumptions
that
affect
the
reported
amounts
of
assets
and
liabilities
at
the
date
of
the
financial
statements
and
the
amounts
of
income
and
expenses
during
the
reporting
period.
Actual
results
could
differ
from
those
estimates.
i.
Guarantees
and
Indemnifications
Under
the Trust's
organizational
documents,
its
officers
and trustees
are
indemnified
by
the Trust against
certain
liabilities
arising
out
of
the
performance
of
their
duties
to
the
Trust.
Additionally,
in
the
normal
course
of
business,
the Trust,
on
behalf
of
the
Fund, enters
into
contracts
with
service
providers
that
contain
general
indemnification
clauses.
The Trust's
maximum
exposure
under
these
arrangements
is
unknown
as
this
would
involve
future
claims
that
may
be
made
against
the Trust
that
have
not
yet
occurred.
Currently,
the Trust
expects
the
risk
of
loss
to
be
remote.
1.
Organization
and
Significant
Accounting
Policies
(continued)
f.
Income
and
Deferred
Taxes
(continued)
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
2.
Shares
of
Beneficial
Interest
At
June
30,
2026,
there
were
an
unlimited
number
of
shares
authorized
(without
par
value).
Transactions
in
the
Fund's
shares
were
as
follows:
3.
Transactions
with
Affiliates
Effective
August
17,
2026,
Franklin
Resources,
Inc.
was
renamed
Franklin
Templeton,
Inc.
Franklin
Templeton,
Inc.
is
the
holding
company
for
various
subsidiaries.
Certain
officers
and trustees
of
the Fund are
also
officers
and/or directors
of
the
following
subsidiaries:
a.
Management
Fees
The
Fund
pays Advisers
a
management
fee
(based
on
the
Fund’s
average
net
assets
and
computed
and
paid
monthly)
at
annual
rates
that
may
vary
based
on
the
average
of
the
aggregate
net
assets
of
all
open-end
mutual
funds
sponsored
by
Putnam
Management
(including
open-end
funds
managed
by
affiliates
of
Putnam
Management
that
have
been
deemed
to
Six
Months
Ended
June
30,
2026
Year
Ended
December
31,
2025
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Class
IA
Shares:
1214466
–
Shares
sold
...................................
791,054
$4,566,949
969,956
$5,499,150
Shares
issued
in
reinvestment
of
distributions
..........
1,111,625
6,002,775
1,199,149
6,439,428
Shares
redeemed
...............................
(1,621,663)
(9,209,216)
(3,664,586)
(20,593,797)
Net
increase
(decrease)
..........................
281,016
$1,360,508
(1,495,481)
$(8,655,219)
Class
IB
Shares:
255719
–
Shares
sold
...................................
1,741,626
$9,776,947
3,509,858
$19,391,537
Shares
issued
in
reinvestment
of
distributions
..........
459,329
2,448,222
511,630
2,716,756
Shares
redeemed
...............................
(2,275,540)
(12,892,959)
(4,202,622)
(22,959,447)
Net
increase
(decrease)
..........................
(74,585)
$(667,790)
(181,134)
$(851,154)
Subsidiary
Affiliation
Franklin
Advisers,
Inc.
(Advisers)
Investment
manager
Putnam
Investment
Management,
LLC
(Putnam
Management)
Subadvisor
Franklin
Templeton
Investment
Management
Limited
(FTIML)
Subadvisor
Franklin
Templeton
Services,
LLC
(FT
Services)
Administrative
manager
Franklin
Distributors,
LLC
(Distributors)
Principal
underwriter
Putnam
Investor
Services,
Inc.
(PSERV)
Transfer
agent
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
be
sponsored
by
Putnam
Management
for
this
purpose)
(excluding
net
assets
of
such
funds
that
are
invested
in,
or
that
are
invested
in
by,
other
such
funds
to
the
extent
necessary
to
avoid
“double
counting”
of
those
assets).
Such
annual
rates
may
vary
as
follows:
For
the
period
ended
June
30,
2026,
the
annualized
gross
effective
investment
management
fee
rate
was 0.537%
of
the
Fund’s
average daily
net
assets.
Advisers
retained
Putnam
Management
as
subadvisor
for
the
Fund.
Pursuant
to
the
agreement,
Putnam
Management
provides
certain
advisory
and
related
services
to
the
Fund.
Advisers
pays
a
monthly
fee
to
Putnam
Management
based
on
the
costs
of
Putnam
Management
in
providing
these
services
to
the
Fund,
which
may
include
a
mark-up
not
to
exceed
15%
over
such
costs.
Under
a
subadvisory
agreement,
FTIML
provides
subadvisory
services
to
the
Fund.
The
subadvisory
fee
is
paid by Advisers
based
on
the
average
net
assets
managed
by
FTIML,
and
is
not
an
additional
expense
of
the
Fund.
b.
Administrative
Fees
Under
an
agreement
with
Advisers,
FT
Services
provides
administrative
services
to
the
Fund.
The
fee
is
paid
by Advisers
based
on
the Fund's
average
daily
net
assets,
and
is
not
an
additional
expense
of
the
Fund.
The
Fund
reimburses
Advisers
an
allocated
amount
for
the
compensation
and
related
expenses
of
certain
officers
of
the
Fund
and
their
staff
who
provide
administrative
services
to
the
Fund.
The
aggregate
amount
of
all
such
reimbursements
is
determined
annually
by
the
Trustees.
c.
Distribution
Fees
The
Fund
has
adopted
distribution
plans
(the
Plans)
with
respect
to
the
following
share
classes
pursuant
to
Rule
12b–1
under
the
1940
Act.
The
purpose
of
the
Plans
is
to
compensate
Distributors
for
services
provided
and
expenses
incurred
in
distributing
shares
of
the
Fund.
The
Plans
provide
payments
by
the
Fund
to
Distributors
at
an
annual
rate
of
up
to
the
following
amounts
(Maximum
%)
of
the
average
net
assets
attributable
to
each
class.
The
Trustees
have
approved
payment
by
the
Fund
at
the
following
annual
rate
(Approved
%)
of
the
average
net
assets
attributable
to
each
class.
Annualized
Fee
Rate
Net
Assets
0.720%
of
the
first
$5
billion,
0.670%
of
the
next
$5
billion,
0.620%
of
the
next
$10
billion,
0.570%
of
the
next
$10
billion,
0.520%
of
the
next
$50
billion,
0.500%
of
the
next
$50
billion,
0.490%
of
the
next
$100
billion
and
0.485%
of
any
excess
thereafter.
Maximum
%
Approved
%
Class
IB
..................................................................
0.35%
0.25%
3.
Transactions
with
Affiliates
(continued)
a.
Management
Fees
(continued)
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
d.
Transfer
Agent
Fees
PSERV,
an
affiliate
of
Advisers,
provides
investor
servicing
agent
functions
to
the
Fund.
PSERV
was
paid
a
monthly
fee
for
investor
servicing
at
an
annual
rate
of
0.07%
of
the
Fund’s
average
daily
net
assets.
e.
Trustee
Fees
The
Fund
has
adopted
a
Trustee
Fee
Deferral
Plan
(the
Deferral
Plan)
which
allows
the
Trustees to
defer
the
receipt
of
all
or
a
portion
of
Trustees'
fees
payable
from
July
1,
1995
through
December
31,
2023.
The
deferred
fees
remain
invested
in
certain
Putnam
funds
until
distribution
in
accordance
with
the
Deferral
Plan.
The
Fund
has
adopted
an
unfunded
noncontributory
defined
benefit
pension
plan
(the
Pension
Plan)
covering
all
Trustees
of
the
Fund
who
have
served
as
a
Trustee
for
at
least
five
years
and
were
first
elected
prior
to
2004.
Benefits
under
the
Pension
Plan
are
equal
to
50%
of
the
Trustee's
average
annual
attendance
and
retainer
fees
for
the
three
years
ended
December
31,
2005.
The
retirement
benefit
is
payable
during
a
Trustee's
lifetime,
beginning
the
year
following
retirement,
for
the
number
of
years
of
service
through
December
31,
2006.
Pension
expense
for
the
Fund
is
included
in
the
Trustees' fees
and
expenses
in
the
Statement
of
Operations.
Accrued
pension
liability
is
included
in
Payable
for
Trustees' fees
and
expenses
in
the
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities.
The
Trustees
have
terminated
the
Pension
Plan
with
respect
to
any
Trustee
first
elected
after
2003.
f.
Investments
in
Affiliated
Management
Investment
Companies
The
Fund
invests
in
one
or
more
affiliated
management
investment
companies.
As
defined
in
the
1940
Act,
an
investment
is
deemed
to
be
a
“Controlled
Affiliate”
of
a
fund
when
a
fund
owns,
either
directly
or
indirectly,
25%
or
more
of
the
affiliated
fund’s
outstanding
shares
or
has
the
power
to
exercise
control
over
management
or
policies
of
such
fund.
The
Fund
does
not
invest
for
purposes
of
exercising
a
controlling
influence
over
the
management
or
policies.
Management
fees
paid
by
the
Fund
are
waived
on
assets
invested
in
the
affiliated
management
investment
companies,
as
noted
in
the
Statement
of
Operations,
in
an
amount
not
to
exceed
the
management
and
administrative
fees,
if
applicable, paid
directly
or
indirectly
by
each
affiliate.
During
the
period
ended
June
30,
2026,
the
Fund
held
investments
in
affiliated
management
investment
companies
as
follows:
g.
Waiver
and
Expense
Reimbursements
Advisers has
contractually
agreed,
through
April
30,
2028,
to
waive
fees
and/or
reimburse
the
Fund’s
expenses
to
the
extent
necessary
to
limit
the
cumulative
expenses
of
the
Fund,
exclusive
of
brokerage,
interest,
taxes,
investment-related
expenses,
extraordinary
expenses,
acquired
fund
fees
and
expenses
and
payments
under
the
Fund’s
investor
servicing
contract,
investment
management
contract
and
distribution
plans,
on
a
fiscal
year-to-date
basis
to
an
annual
rate
of
0.20%
of
the
Fund’s
average
net
assets
over
such
fiscal
year-to-date
period.
Total
expenses
waived
or
paid
are
not
subject
to
recapture
subsequent
to
the
Fund's
fiscal
year
end.
aa
Value
at
Beginning
of
Period
Purchases
Sales
Realized
Gain
(Loss)
Net
Change
in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
Value
at
End
of
Period
Number
of
Shares
Held
at
End
of
Period
Investment
Income
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Non-Controlled
Affiliates
Dividends
Putnam
Short
Term
Investment
Fund,
Class
P,
3.837%
......
$4,469,071
$24,341,175
$(26,226,477)
$—
$—
$2,583,769
2,583,769
$80,915
Total
Affiliated
Securities
...
$4,469,071
$24,341,175
$(26,226,477)
$—
$—
$2,583,769
$80,915
3.
Transactions
with
Affiliates
(continued)
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
4.
Expense
Offset
Arrangement
The Fund has entered
into an
arrangement
with PSERV
whereby
credits
realized
as
a
result
of
uninvested
cash
balances
are
used
to
reduce
a
portion
of
the
Fund's
transfer
agent
fees.
During
the
period
ended
June
30,
2026,
there
were
no
credits
earned.
5.
Income
Taxes
For
tax
purposes,
capital
losses
may
be
carried
over
to
offset
future
capital
gains.
At
December
31,
2025,
the
capital
loss
carryforwards
were
as
follows:
At
June
30,
2026,
the
cost
of
investments
and
net
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation) for
income
tax
purposes
were
as
follows:
Differences
between
income
and/or
capital
gains
as
determined
on
a
book
basis
and
a
tax
basis
are
primarily
due
to
differing
treatment
of
foreign
currency
transactions.
6.
Investment
Transactions
Purchases
and
sales
of
investments (excluding
short
term
securities) for
the
period
ended
June
30,
2026,
aggregated
$29,671,198 and
$31,642,365,
respectively.
7.
Credit
Risk
At
June
30,
2026,
the
Fund
had 87.3% of
its
portfolio
invested
in
high
yield
securities,
senior
secured
floating
rate
loans,
or
other
securities rated
below
investment
grade
and
unrated
securities.
These
securities
may
be
more
sensitive
to
economic
conditions
causing
greater
price
volatility
and
are
potentially
subject
to
a
greater
risk
of
loss
due
to
default
than
higher
rated
securities.
8.
Unfunded
Loan
Commitments
The
Fund
enters
into
certain
credit
agreements,
all
or
a
portion
of
which
may
be
unfunded.
The Fund
is
obligated
to
fund
these
loan
commitments
at
the
borrowers’
discretion.
Unfunded
loan
commitments
and
funded
portions
of
credit
agreements
are
marked
to
market
daily
and
any
unrealized
appreciation
or
depreciation
is
included
in
the
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities
and
the
Statement
of
Operations.
Funded
portions
of
credit
agreements
are
presented
in
the
Schedule
of
Investments.
Capital
loss
carryforwards
not
subject
to
expiration:
Short
term
................................................................................
$
894,816
Long
term
................................................................................
25,713,916
Total
capital
loss
carryforwards
...............................................................
$26,608,732
Cost
of
investments
..........................................................................
$129,611,564
Unrealized
appreciation
........................................................................
$3,942,548
Unrealized
depreciation
........................................................................
(1,334,042)
Net
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
..........................................................
$2,608,506
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
At
June
30,
2026,
unfunded
commitments
were
as
follows:
9.
Other
Derivative
Information
At
June
30,
2026,
investments
in
derivative
contracts
are
reflected
in
the Statement of
Assets
and
Liabilities
as
follows:
For
the
period
ended
June
30,
2026,
the
effect
of
derivative
contracts
in
the Statement
of
Operations
was
as
follows:
For
the
period
ended
June
30,
2026,
the
average
month
end contract
value
of
forward
exchange
contracts
was
$4,133,921.
See
Note
1(d) regarding
derivative
financial
instruments.
10.
Credit
Facility
The
Fund,
together
with
other
U.S.
registered
and
foreign
investment
funds
(collectively,
Borrowers),
managed
by
Franklin
Templeton,
are
borrowers
in
a
joint
syndicated
senior
unsecured
credit
facility
totaling
$2.995
billion
(Global
Credit
Facility)
which
matures
on
January
29,
2027.
This
Global
Credit
Facility
provides
a
source
of
funds
to
the
Borrowers
for
temporary
and
emergency
purposes,
including
the
ability
to
meet
future
unanticipated
or
unusually
large
redemption
requests.
Under
the
terms
of
the
Global
Credit
Facility,
the
Fund
may,
in
addition
to
interest
charged
on
any
borrowings
made
by
the
Fund
and
other
costs
incurred
by
the
Fund,
pay
its
share
of
fees
and
expenses
incurred
in
connection
with
the
implementation
and
maintenance
of
the
Global
Credit
Facility,
based
upon
its
relative
share
of
the
aggregate
net
assets
of
all
of
the
Borrowers,
Borrower
Unfunded
Commitment
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
CoreWeave,
Inc.
$
6,695
Asset
Derivatives
Liability
Derivatives
Derivative
Contracts
Not
Accounted
for
as
Hedging
Instruments
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities
Location
Fair
Value
Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities
Location
Fair
Value
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Foreign
exchange
contracts
..
Unrealized
appreciation
on
OTC
forward
exchange
contracts
$
32,833
Unrealized
depreciation
on
OTC
forward
exchange
contracts
$
5,423
Total
....................
$32,833
$5,423
Derivative
Contracts
Not
Accounted
for
as
Hedging
Instruments
Statement
of
Operations
Location
Net
Realized
Gain
(Loss)
for
the
Period
Statement
of
Operations
Location
Net
Change
in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
for
the
Period
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Net
realized
gain
(loss)
from:
Net
change
in
unrealized
appreciation
(depreciation)
on:
Foreign
exchange
contracts
.....
Forward
exchange
contracts
$79,748
Forward
exchange
contracts
$33,605
Total
.......................
$79,748
$33,605
8.
Unfunded
Loan
Commitments
(continued)
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
including
an
annual
commitment
fee
of
0.15%
based
upon
the
unused
portion
of
the
Global
Credit
Facility.
These
fees
are
reflected
in
other
expenses
in
the
Statement
of
Operations.
During
the
period
ended
June
30,
2026,
the Fund
did
not
use
the
Global
Credit
Facility.
11.
Fair
Value
Measurements
The
Fund
follows
a
fair
value
hierarchy
that
distinguishes
between
market
data
obtained
from
independent
sources
(observable
inputs)
and
the Fund's
own
market
assumptions
(unobservable
inputs).
These
inputs
are
used
in
determining
the
value
of
the
Fund's financial
instruments
and
are
summarized
in
the
following
fair
value
hierarchy:
Level
1
–
quoted
prices
in
active
markets
for
identical
financial
instruments
Level
2
–
other
significant
observable
inputs
(including
quoted
prices
for
similar
financial
instruments,
interest
rates,
prepayment
speed,
credit
risk,
etc.)
Level
3
–
significant
unobservable
inputs
(including
the
Fund's
own
assumptions
in
determining
the
fair
value
of
financial
instruments)
The
input
levels
are
not
necessarily
an
indication
of
the
risk
or
liquidity
associated
with
financial
instruments
at
that
level.
A
summary
of
inputs
used
as
of
June
30,
2026,
in
valuing
the
Fund's assets
and
liabilities carried
at
fair
value,
is
as
follows:
12.
Operating
Segments
The Fund operates
as
a
single
operating
segment,
which
is
an
investment
portfolio.
The
portfolio
managers
assigned
to
the
Fund
within
the
Fund’s
investment
manager serve
as
the
Chief
Operating
Decision
Maker
(“CODM”)
and
are
responsible
for
evaluating
the
Fund's
operating
results
and
allocating
resources
in
accordance
with
the
Fund’s
investment
strategy.
Internal
reporting
provided
to
the
CODM
aligns
with
the
accounting
policies
and
measurement
principles
used
in
the financial
statements.
Level
1
Level
2
Level
3
Total
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Assets:
Investments
in
Securities:
a
Common
Stocks
.........................
$
452,698
$
—
$
—
$
452,698
Convertible
Preferred
Stocks
................
1,708,979
—
—
1,708,979
Convertible
Bonds
.......................
—
2,758,928
—
2,758,928
Corporate
Bonds
........................
—
119,528,337
—
119,528,337
Senior
Floating
Rate
Interests
...............
—
5,159,949
—
5,159,949
Short
Term
Investments
...................
2,583,769
—
—
2,583,769
Total
Investments
in
Securities
...........
$4,745,446
$127,447,214
$—
$132,192,660
Other
Financial
Instruments:
Forward
Exchange
Contracts
...............
$—
$32,833
$—
$32,833
Unfunded
Loan
Commitments
..............
—
210
—
210
Total
Other
Financial
Instruments
.........
$—
$33,043
$—
$33,043
–
–
–
–
Liabilities:
Other
Financial
Instruments:
Forward
Exchange
Contracts
...............
$
—
$
5,423
$
—
$
5,423
Total
Other
Financial
Instruments
.........
$—
$5,423
$—
$5,423
a
For
detailed
categories,
see
the
accompanying
Schedule
of
Investments.
10.
Credit
Facility
(continued)
Putnam
Variable
Trust
Notes
to
Financial
Statements
(unaudited)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
(continued)
For
information
regarding
segment
assets,
segment
profit
or
loss,
and
significant
expenses,
refer
to
the Statement
of
Assets
and
Liabilities
and
the Statement
of
Operations,
along
with
the
related
notes
to
the financial
statements.
The Schedule
of
Investments
provides
details
of
the Fund's investments
that
generate
returns
such
as
interest,
dividends,
and
realized
and
unrealized
gains
or
losses.
Performance
metrics,
including
portfolio
turnover
and
expense
ratios,
are
disclosed
in
the Financial
Highlights.
13.
Subsequent
Events
The Fund
has
evaluated
subsequent
events
through
the
issuance
of
the
financial
statements
and
determined
that
no
events
have
occurred
that
require
disclosure
other
than
those
already
disclosed
in
the
financial
statements.
Abbreviations
Counterparty
CITI
Citibank
NA
HSBK
HSBC
Bank
plc
MSCO
Morgan
Stanley
Cu
r
rency
EUR
Euro
GBP
British
Pound
Selected
Portfolio
CME
Chicago
Mercantile
Exchange
EURIBOR
Euro
Inter-Bank
Offer
Rate
FRN
Floating
Rate
Note
PIK
Payment-In-Kind
REIT
Real
Estate
Investment
Trust
SOFR
Secured
Overnight
Financing
Rate
12.
Operating
Segments
(continued)
Putnam
VT
High
Yield
Fund
Trustee
approval
of
management
contracts
(unaudited)
Consideration
of
your
fund’s
management
and
sub-advisory
contracts
At
their
meeting
on
June
26,
2026,
the
Board
of
Trustees
(“Board”
or
the
“Trustees”)
of
your
fund,
including
all
of
the
Trustees
who
are
not
“interested
persons”
(as
this
term
is
defined
in
the
Investment
Company
Act
of
1940,
as
amended
(the
“1940
Act”))
of
the
Putnam
mutual
funds
and
exchange-traded
funds
(collectively,
the
“funds”)
(the
“Independent
Trustees”),
approved
the
continuance
of
a
management
contract
with
Franklin
Advisers,
Inc.
(the
“Advisor”),
a
subadvisory
agreement
between
the
Advisor
and
Franklin
Templeton
Investment
Management
Limited
(“FTIML”),
and
a
subadvisory
agreement
between
the
Advisor
and
Putnam
Investment
Management,
LLC
(“Putnam
Management”
and
together
with
FTIML,
the
“Subadvisors”)
(collectively,
the
“Management
Contracts”).
The
Advisor,
FTIML,
and
Putnam
Management
are
each
direct
or
indirect,
wholly-
owned
subsidiaries
of
Franklin
Templeton,
Inc.
(together
with
its
subsidiaries,
“Franklin
Templeton”).
General
conclusions
The
Board
oversees
the
management
of
each
fund
and,
as
required
by
law,
determines
annually
whether
to
approve
the
continuance
of
your
fund’s
management
contract
with
the
Advisor
and
the
sub-advisory
contract
with
respect
to
your
fund
between
the
Advisor
and
each
Subadvisor.
Because
the
Subadvisors
are
affiliates
of
the
Advisor
and
the
Advisor
remains
fully
responsible
for
all
services
provided
by
the
Subadvisors,
the
Trustees
did
not
attempt
to
evaluate
the
Subadvisors
as
separate
Changes
In
and
Disagreements
with
Accountants
For
the
period
covered
by
this
report
Not
applicable.
Results
of
Meeting(s)
of
Shareholders
For
the
period
covered
by
this
report
Not
applicable.
Remuneration
Paid
to
Directors,
Officers
and
Others
For
the
period
covered
by
this
report
Refer
to
the
financial
statements
included
herein.
Remuneration
to
officers
is
paid
by
the
Fund’s
investment
manager
according
to
the
terms
of
the
agreement.
Board
Approval
of
Management
and
Subadvisory
Agreements
For
the
period
covered
by
this
report
entities.
All
references
to
the
Advisor
in
the
descriptions
of
the
Board’s
considerations
should
be
deemed
to
include
references
to
the
applicable
Subadvisor
as
necessary
or
appropriate
in
the
context.
The
Board,
with
the
assistance
of
its
Contract
Committee,
requests
and
evaluates
all
information
it
deems
reasonably
necessary
under
the
circumstances
in
connection
with
its
annual
contract
review.
The
Contract
Committee
consists
solely
of
Independent
Trustees.
At
the
outset
of
the
review
process,
the
Board’s
independent
staff
and
independent
legal
counsel,
as
defined
in
Rule
0-1(a)(6)
under
the
1940
Act
(their
“independent
legal
counsel”),
considered
any
possible
changes
to
the
annual
contract
review
materials
furnished
to
the
Contract
Committee
in
prior
years
and,
as
applicable,
identified
those
changes
to
the
Advisor.
Following
these
discussions
and
in
consultation
with
the
Contract
Committee,
the
Independent
Trustees’
independent
legal
counsel
submitted
an
initial
request
that
the
Advisor
and
its
affiliates
furnish
specified
information,
together
with
any
additional
information
the
Advisor
considered
relevant,
to
the
Contract
Committee.
Over
the
course
of
several
months
ending
in
June
2026,
the
Contract
Committee
met
on
a
number
of
occasions
with
representatives
of
the
Advisor,
and
separately
in
executive
session,
to
consider
the
information
that
the
Advisor
provided,
including
information
provided
in
response
to
supplemental
requests
submitted
by
independent
legal
counsel.
Throughout
this
process,
the
Contract
Committee
was
assisted
by
the
Board’s
independent
staff
and
by
independent
legal
counsel.
At
the
Board’s
June
2026
meeting,
the
Contract
Committee
met
in
executive
session
to
discuss
and
consider
its
recommendations
with
respect
to
the
continuance
of
the
Management
Contracts.
At
that
meeting,
the
Contract
Committee
also
met
in
executive
session
with
the
other
Independent
Trustees
to
review
a
summary
of
the
process
undertaken
by
the
Contract
Committee
and
key
information
that
the
Contract
Committee
considered
in
the
course
of
its
review.
The
Contract
Committee
then
presented
its
written
report,
which
summarized
the
key
factors
that
the
Committee
had
considered
and
set
forth
its
recommendations.
The
Contract
Committee
recommended,
and
the
Independent
Trustees
approved,
the
continuance
of
your
fund’s
Management
Contracts,
effective
July
1,
2026.
In
considering
the
continuance
of
the
Management
Contracts,
the
Board
took
into
account
a
number
of
factors,
including:
1.
That
the
fee
schedule
in
effect
for
your
fund
represented
reasonable
compensation
in
light
of
the
nature
and
quality
of
the
services
being
provided
to
the
fund,
the
fees
paid
by
competitive
funds,
the
costs
incurred
by
the
Advisor
in
providing
services
to
the
fund
and
the
application
of
certain
reductions
and
waivers
noted
below;
2.
That
the
fee
schedule
in
effect
for
your
fund
represented
an
appropriate
sharing
between
fund
shareholders
and
the
Advisor
of
any
economies
of
scale
that
may
exist
in
the
management
of
the
fund
at
current
asset
levels;
3.
That
the
funds
benefited,
and
were
expected
to
continue
to
benefit,
from
Franklin
Templeton’s
large
retail
and
institutional
global
distribution
capabilities
and
significant
network
of
intermediary
relationships,
which
may
provide
additional
opportunities
for
the
funds
to
increase
assets
and
reduce
the
impact
of
expenses
by
spreading
them
over
a
larger
asset
base;
and
4.
The
financial
strength,
reputation,
experience
and
resources
of
Franklin
Templeton
and
its
investment
advisory
subsidiaries.
These
conclusions
were
based
on
a
comprehensive
consideration
of
all
information
provided
to
the
Trustees
and
were
not
the
result
of
any
single
factor.
Some
of
the
factors
that
figured
particularly
in
the
Trustees’
deliberations
and
how
the
Trustees
considered
these
factors
are
described
below,
although
individual
Trustees
may
have
evaluated
the
information
presented
differently,
giving
different
weights
to
various
factors.
It
is
also
important
to
recognize
that
the
management
arrangements
for
your
fund
and
most
of
the
other
funds
are
the
result
of
many
years
of
review
and
discussion
between
the
Independent
Trustees
and
management,
occurring
both
in
connection
with
formal
contract
reviews
as
well
as
throughout
the
year
and
that
the
Trustees’
conclusions
may
be
based,
in
part,
on
their
consideration
of
fee
arrangements
in
previous
years.
For
example,
with
certain
exceptions
primarily
involving
newer
funds
or
repositioned
funds,
the
current
fee
arrangements
under
the
majority
of
the
funds’
management
contracts
were
first
implemented
at
the
beginning
of
2010
following
extensive
review
by
the
Contract
Committee
and
discussions
with
management,
as
well
as
approval
by
shareholders.
Management
fee
schedules
and
total
expenses
The
Trustees
reviewed
the
management
fee
schedules
in
effect
for
all
funds,
including
fee
levels
and
any
breakpoints.
Under
its
management
contract,
your
fund
has
the
benefit
of
breakpoints
in
its
management
fee
schedule
that
provide
shareholders
with
reduced
fee
levels
as
aggregate
assets
under
management
of
the
fund
and
other
mutual
funds
sponsored
by
the
Advisor
(or
that
have
been
deemed
to
be
sponsored
by
the
Advisor
for
the
purpose
of
the
management
fee
calculation)
increase.
The
Trustees
also
reviewed
the
total
expenses
of
each
fund,
recognizing
that
in
most
cases
management
fees
represented
the
major,
but
not
the
sole,
determinant
of
total
costs
to
fund
shareholders.
(Two
mutual
funds
and
each
of
the
exchange-traded
funds
have
implemented
so-called
“all-in”
or
unitary
management
fees
covering
substantially
all
routine
fund
operating
costs.)
In
reviewing
fees
and
expenses,
the
Trustees
generally
focus
their
attention
on
material
changes
in
circumstances
—
for
example,
changes
in
assets
under
management,
changes
in
a
fund’s
investment
strategy,
changes
in
the
Advisor’s
operating
costs
or
profitability,
or
changes
in
competitive
practices
in
the
fund
industry
—
that
suggest
that
consideration
of
fee
changes
might
be
warranted.
The
Trustees
concluded
that
the
circumstances
did
not
indicate
that
changes
to
the
management
fee
schedule
for
your
fund
would
be
appropriate
at
this
time.
As
in
the
past,
the
Trustees
also
focused
on
the
competitiveness
of
each
fund’s
total
expense
ratio.
The
Trustees,
the
Advisor
and
the
funds’
investor
servicing
agent,
Putnam
Investor
Services,
Inc.
(“PSERV”),
have
implemented
expense
limitations
that
were
in
effect
during
your
fund’s
fiscal
year
ending
in
2025.
These
expense
limitations
were:
(i)
a
contractual
expense
limitation
applicable
to
specified
mutual
funds
(including
your
fund)
of
25
basis
points
on
investor
servicing
fees
and
expenses
and
(ii)
a
contractual
expense
limitation
applicable
to
specified
mutual
funds
(including
your
fund)
of
20
basis
points
on
so-called
“other
expenses”
(i.e.,
all
expenses
exclusive
of
management
fees,
distribution
fees,
investor
servicing
fees,
investment-related
expenses,
interest,
taxes,
brokerage
commissions,
acquired
fund
fees
and
expenses
and
extraordinary
expenses).
These
expense
limitations
attempt
to
maintain
competitive
expense
levels
for
the
funds.
Most
funds
(including
your
fund)
had
sufficiently
low
expenses
that
these
expense
limitations
were
not
operative
during
their
fiscal
years
ending
in
2025.
The
Advisor
and
PSERV
have
agreed
to
maintain
these
expense
limitations
until
at
least
April
30,
2028.
The
Advisor
and
PSERV’s
commitment
to
these
expense
limitation
arrangements,
which
were
intended
to
support
an
effort
to
have
the
mutual
fund
expenses
meet
competitive
standards,
was
an
important
factor
in
the
Trustees’
decision
to
approve
the
continuance
of
your
fund’s
Management
Contracts.
The
Trustees
reviewed
comparative
fee
and
expense
information
for
a
custom
group
of
competitive
funds
selected
by
Broadridge
Financial
Solutions,
Inc.
(“Broadridge”).
This
comparative
information
included
your
fund’s
percentile
ranking
for
effective
management
fees
and
total
expenses
(excluding
any
applicable
12b-1
fees),
which
provides
a
general
indication
of
your
fund’s
relative
standing.
In
the
custom
peer
group,
your
fund
ranked
in
the
first
quintile
in
effective
management
fees
(determined
for
your
fund
and
the
other
funds
in
the
custom
peer
group
assuming
the
same
fund
asset
size
for
your
fund
and
the
other
funds
in
the
custom
peer
group
and
the
applicable
contractual
management
fee
schedule)
and
in
the
third
quintile
in
total
expenses
(excluding
any
applicable
12b-1
fees)
as
of
December
31,
2025.
(Total
expenses
reflect
the
fees
and
expenses
borne
directly
by
the
fund
and
the
competitive
funds
included
in
the
custom
Lipper
peer
groups,
as
well
as
any
underlying
funds’
net
fees
and
expenses.)
The
first
quintile
represents
the
least
expensive
funds
and
the
fifth
quintile
the
most
expensive
funds.
The
fee
and
expense
data
reported
by
Broadridge
as
of
December
31,
2025
reflected
the
most
recent
fiscal
year-end
data
available
in
Broadridge’s
database
at
that
time.
In
connection
with
their
review
of
fund
management
fees
and
total
expenses,
the
Trustees
also
reviewed
the
costs
of
the
services
provided
and
the
profits
realized
by
the
Advisor
and
its
affiliates
from
their
contractual
relationships
with
the
funds.
This
information
included
trends
in
revenues,
expenses
and
profitability
of
the
Advisor
and
its
affiliates
relating
to
the
investment
management,
investor
servicing
and
distribution
services
provided
to
the
funds,
as
applicable.
In
this
regard,
the
Trustees
also
reviewed
an
analysis
of
the
revenues,
expenses
and
profitability
of
the
Advisor
and
its
affiliates,
allocated
on
a
fund-by-fund
basis,
with
respect
to
(as
applicable)
the
funds’
management,
distribution
and
investor
servicing
contracts.
For
each
fund,
the
analysis
presented
information
about
revenues,
expenses
and
profitability
in
2025
for
each
of
the
applicable
agreements
separately
and
for
the
agreements
taken
together
on
a
combined
basis.
The
Trustees
concluded
that,
at
current
asset
levels,
the
fee
schedules
in
place
for
each
of
the
funds,
including
the
fee
schedule
for
your
fund,
represented
reasonable
compensation
for
the
services
being
provided
and
represented
an
appropriate
sharing
between
fund
shareholders
and
the
Advisor
of
any
economies
of
scale
as
may
exist
in
the
management
of
the
funds
at
that
time.
The
information
examined
by
the
Trustees
in
connection
with
their
annual
contract
review
for
the
funds
included
information
regarding
services
provided
and
fees
charged
by
the
Advisor
and
certain
affiliates
to
other
products
that
are
managed
by
a
portfolio
team
that
also
manages
one
or
more
U.S.
registered
mutual
funds
in
a
category
of
similar
strategies
offered
by
the
funds
(including
exchange
traded
funds,
sub-advised
U.S.
mutual
funds,
other
U.S.
products
(such
as
collective
investment
trusts,
private
funds,
and
separately
managed
and
institutional
accounts),
non-U.S.
funds,
and
other
non-U.S.
products).
This
information
included
comparisons
of
the
fees
charged
to
other
clients,
by
category,
with
fees
charged
to
the
funds,
as
well
as
a
detailed
assessment
of
the
differences
in
the
services
provided
to
these
clients
as
compared
to
the
services
provided
to
the
funds.
The
Trustees
observed
that
the
differences
in
fee
rates
between
these
clients
and
the
funds
are
by
no
means
uniform
when
examined
by
individual
asset
classes,
suggesting
that
differences
in
the
pricing
of
investment
management
services
to
these
types
of
clients
may
reflect,
among
other
things,
historical
competitive
forces
operating
in
separate
marketplaces,
the
characteristics
of
different
clients,
the
particulars
of
different
fee
structures,
factors
unique
to
specific
market
segments,
and
the
distinct
risks
and
costs
associated
with
providing
services
to
different
clients.
The
Trustees
considered
the
fact
that
in
many
cases
fee
rates
across
different
asset
classes
are
higher
on
average
for
1940
Act-registered
funds
than
for
other
clients,
and
the
Trustees
also
considered
the
differences
between
the
services
that
the
Advisor
provides
to
the
funds
and
those
that
it
provides
to
its
other
clients.
The
Trustees
did
not
rely
on
these
fee
comparisons
to
any
significant
extent
in
concluding
that
the
management
fees
paid
by
your
fund
are
reasonable.
Investment
performance
The
quality
of
the
investment
process
provided
by
the
Advisor
represented
a
major
factor
in
the
Trustees’
evaluation
of
the
quality
of
services
provided
by
the
Advisor
under
your
fund’s
Management
Contracts.
The
Trustees
were
assisted
in
their
review
of
the
Advisor’s
investment
process
and
performance
by
the
work
of
the
investment
oversight
committees
of
the
Trustees
and
the
full
Board,
which
meet
on
a
regular
basis
with
individual
portfolio
managers
and
with
investment
leadership
of
the
Advisor
throughout
the
year.
The
Trustees
noted
that
the
Advisor
had
made
portfolio
management
assignment
changes
in
2025
to
strengthen
its
investment
teams
providing
services
to
the
funds.
The
Trustees
concluded
that
the
Advisor
generally
provides
a
high-quality
investment
process
—
as
measured
by
the
experience
and
skills
of
the
individuals
assigned
to
the
management
of
fund
portfolios,
the
resources
made
available
to
them
and
in
general
the
Advisor’s
ability
to
attract
and
retain
high-quality
personnel
—
but
also
recognized
that
this
does
not
guarantee
favorable
investment
results
for
every
fund
in
every
time
period.
The
Trustees
considered
that,
in
the
aggregate,
peer-relative
and
benchmark-relative
fund
performance
was
strong
in
2025
against
what
the
Advisor
characterized
as
a
complex
investing
environment.
The
Trustees
considered
the
Advisor’s
discussion
of
the
markets,
the
economy,
and
geopolitical
conditions
in
2025.
The
S&P
500
was
up
18%
in
2025
but
with
significant
periods
of
volatility,
and
the
Bloomberg
Aggregate
fixed
income
index
was
up
7%
during
the
year,
with
the
Federal
Reserve
cutting
the
Effective
Federal
Funds
rate
from
4.25%
at
year-end
2024
to
3.5%
at
year-end
2025.
Ten-year
Treasury
yields
ended
2025
at
4.2%,
down
from
4.6%
at
year-end
2024.
In
2025,
geopolitical
and
economic
conditions,
as
well
as
financial
markets,
provided
a
complex
investing
environment:
a
new
U.S.
presidential
administration
with
significant
policy
actions,
including
tariffs;
complex
inflation;
rates
and
Federal
Reserve
developments;
artificial
intelligence-related
impacts;
and
political
and
military
actions
across
the
globe.
Even
with
this
backdrop,
generally
strong
economic,
corporate
and
labor
market
conditions
continued
in
2025,
although
with
some
signs
of
concern.
For
the
one-year
period
ended
December
31,
2025,
the
Trustees
noted
that
the
funds,
on
an
asset-weighted
basis,
ranked
in
the
37
th
percentile
of
their
peers
as
determined
by
LSEG
Lipper
(“Lipper”)
and,
on
an
asset-weighted
basis,
outperformed
their
benchmarks
by
1.6%
gross
of
fees
over
the
one-year
period.
The
Contract
Committee
also
noted
that
the
funds’
aggregate
performance
over
longer-term
periods
continued
to
be
strong,
with
the
funds,
on
an
asset-weighted
basis,
ranking
in
the
26
th
,
22
nd
and
16
th
percentiles
of
their
Lipper
peers
over
the
three-year,
five-year
and
ten-year
periods
ended
December
31,
2025,
respectively.
The
Trustees
further
noted
that
the
funds,
in
the
aggregate,
solidly
outperformed
their
benchmarks
on
a
gross
basis
for
each
of
the
three-year,
five-year
and
ten-year
periods.
The
Trustees
also
considered
the
Morningstar
Inc.
ratings
assigned
to
the
funds
and
that
41
funds
were
rated
four
or
five
stars
at
the
end
of
2025,
which
was
a
year-over-year
decrease
of
11
funds.
The
Trustees
also
considered
that
18
funds
were
five-star
rated
at
the
end
of
2025,
which
was
a
year-over-year
decrease
of
seven
funds.
The
Board
noted,
however,
the
disappointing
investment
performance
of
some
funds
for
periods
ended
December
31,
2025
and
considered
information
provided
by
the
Advisor
regarding
the
factors
contributing
to
the
underperformance
and,
where
relevant,
actions
being
taken
to
improve
the
performance
of
these
particular
funds.
The
Trustees
indicated
their
intention
to
continue
to
monitor
the
performance
of
those
funds.
For
purposes
of
the
Trustees’
evaluation
of
the
funds’
investment
performance,
the
Trustees
generally
focus
on
a
competitive
industry
ranking
of
each
fund’s
total
net
return
over
a
one-year,
three-year
and
five-year
period.
For
a
number
of
funds
with
relatively
unique
investment
mandates
for
which
the
Advisor
informed
the
Trustees
that
meaningful
competitive
performance
rankings
are
not
considered
to
be
available,
the
Trustees
evaluated
performance
based
on
their
total
gross
and
net
returns
and
comparisons
of
those
returns
to
the
returns
of
selected
investment
benchmarks.
In
the
case
of
your
fund,
the
Trustees
considered
that
its
class
IA
share
cumulative
total
return
performance
at
net
asset
value
was
in
the
following
quartiles
of
its
Lipper
peer
group
(Lipper
Variable
Insurance
Products
(Underlying
Funds)
–
High
Yield
Funds)
for
the
one-year,
three-year
and
five-year
periods
ended
December
31,
2025
(the
first
quartile
representing
the
best-performing
funds
and
the
fourth
quartile
the
worst-performing
funds):
Over
the
one-year,
three-year
and
five-year
periods
ended
December
31,
2025,
there
were
92,
92
and
90
funds,
respectively,
in
your
fund’s
Lipper
peer
group.
(When
considering
performance
information,
shareholders
should
be
mindful
that
past
performance
is
not
a
guarantee
of
future
results.)
Brokerage
and
soft-dollar
allocations;
distribution
and
investor
servicing
The
Trustees
considered
various
potential
benefits
that
the
Advisor
may
receive
in
connection
with
the
services
it
provides
under
the
management
contract
with
your
fund.
These
include
benefits
related
to
brokerage
allocation
and
the
use
of
soft
dollars,
whereby
a
portion
of
the
commissions
paid
by
a
fund
for
brokerage
may
be
used
to
acquire
research
services
that
are
expected
to
be
useful
to
the
Advisor
in
managing
the
assets
of
the
fund
and
of
other
clients.
Subject
to
policies
approved
by
the
Trustees,
soft
dollars
generated
by
these
means
may
be
used
to
acquire
brokerage
and
research
services
(including
proprietary
executing
broker
research,
third-party
research
and
market
data)
that
enhance
the
Advisor’s
investment
capabilities
and
supplement
the
Advisor’s
internal
research
efforts.
The
Trustees
indicated
their
continued
intent
to
monitor
regulatory
and
industry
developments
in
this
area
with
the
assistance
of
their
Contract
Committee.
In
addition,
with
the
assistance
of
their
Contract
Committee,
the
Trustees
indicated
their
continued
intent
to
monitor
the
allocation
of
the
funds’
brokerage
in
order
to
ensure
that
the
principle
of
seeking
best
price
and
execution
remains
paramount
in
the
portfolio
trading
process.
Your
fund
is
not
expected
to
generate
a
significant
amount
of
soft-dollar
credits.
The
Advisor
may
also
receive
benefits
from
payments
that
funds
make
to
the
Advisor
for
distribution
services
and
investor
services.
In
conjunction
with
the
review
of
your
fund’s
Management
Contracts,
the
Trustees
reviewed
your
fund’s
investor
servicing
agreement
with
PSERV
and
its
distributor’s
contract
and
distribution
plans
with
Franklin
Distributors,
LLC
(“Franklin
Distributors”),
both
of
which
are
affiliates
of
the
Advisor.
The
Trustees
concluded
that
the
fees
payable
by
the
mutual
funds
to
PSERV
and
Franklin
Distributors
for
such
services
were
fair
and
reasonable
in
relation
to
the
nature
and
quality
of
such
services,
the
fees
paid
by
competitive
funds
and
the
costs
incurred
by
PSERV
and
Franklin
Distributors
in
providing
such
services.
Furthermore,
the
Trustees
were
of
the
view
that
the
investor
services
provided
by
PSERV
were
required
for
the
operation
of
the
mutual
funds,
and
that
they
were
of
a
quality
at
least
equal
to
those
provided
by
other
providers.
One-year
period
Three-year
period
Five-year
period
1st
1st
2nd
©
2026
Franklin
Templeton.
All
rights
reserved.
|
ITEM 8. |
CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES. |
The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements
included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.
|
ITEM 9. |
PROXY DISCLOSURES FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES. |
The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements
included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.
|
ITEM 10. |
REMUNERATION PAID TO DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AND OTHERS OF OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES. |
The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements
included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.
|
ITEM 11. |
STATEMENT REGARDING BASIS FOR APPROVAL OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY CONTRACT. |
The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements
included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR, as applicable.
|
ITEM 12. |
DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES. |
Not applicable.
|
ITEM 13. |
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES. |
Not applicable.
|
ITEM 14. |
PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS. |
Not applicable.
|
ITEM 15. |
SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS. |
There have been no changes to the procedures by which shareholders
may recommend nominees to the Registrant’s Board of Trustees that would require disclosure herein.
|
ITEM 16. |
CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES. |
|
(a) |
The Registrants acknowledge the Staff’s comment. In future filings on Form N-CSR, the certifications required by Rule 30a-2 and
Item 19(a)(3) will include the designations “Principal Executive Officer” and “Principal Financial Officer” in
the signature blocks, reflecting the capacity in which each signatory executes the certification, in conformity with the language of the
Rule and Form N-CSR. The Registrants may also include each signatory’s actual title with respect to the Funds alongside the required
designation. |
|
(b) |
During the period covered by this report, the Registrant transitioned to a new third-party service provider who performs certain accounting
and administrative services for the Registrant that are subject to Franklin Templeton’s oversight. |
|
ITEM 17. |
DISCLOSURE OF SECURITIES LENDING ACTIVITIES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES. |
Not applicable.
|
ITEM 18. |
RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUSLY AWARDED COMPENSATION. |
(a) (1) Not applicable.
Exhibit 99.CODE ETH
(a) (3) Certifications pursuant
to section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 attached hereto.
Exhibit 99.CERT
(b) Certifications pursuant
to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 attached hereto.
Exhibit 99.906CERT
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
there unto duly authorized.
Putnam Variable Trust
| By: |
/s/
Jonathan S. Horwitz |
|
| |
Jonathan S. Horwitz |
|
| |
Principal Executive Officer |
|
| |
|
|
| Date: |
August 27, 2026 |
|
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant
and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| By: |
/s/
Jonathan S. Horwitz |
|
| |
Jonathan S. Horwitz |
|
| |
Principal Executive Officer |
|
| |
|
|
| Date: |
August 27, 2026 |
|
| |
|
|
| By: |
/s/ Jeffrey White |
|
| |
Jeffrey White |
|
| |
Principal Financial Officer |
|
| |
|
|
| Date: |
August 27, 2026 |
|
