# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0000822671
**File Stem:** 0001133228-25-008909
**Filing Date:** 2025-8
**Character Count:** 183559
**Document Hash:** 609102362ab946c99ca391fc792c23a0
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0001133228-25-008909.hdr.sgml**: 20250826

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0001133228-25-008909

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: N-CSRS

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 23

**CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT**: 20250630

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20250826

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20250826

**EFFECTIVENESS DATE**: 20250826

**FILER**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** PUTNAM VARIABLE TRUST
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0000822671

**ORGANIZATION NAME:**
- **EIN:** 046649095
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** MA
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 1231

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** N-CSRS
- **SEC ACT:** 1940 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 811-05346
- **FILM NUMBER:** 251256121

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 100 FEDERAL STREET
- **CITY:** BOSTON
- **STATE:** MA
- **ZIP:** 02110
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** 6172921000

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 100 FEDERAL STREET
- **CITY:** BOSTON
- **STATE:** MA
- **ZIP:** 02110

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** PUTNAM CAPITAL MANAGER TRUST /MA/
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19920703

## Series and Classes Contracts Data

### Putnam VT High Yield Fund (Series ID: S000003875)

| Class ID   | Class Name      | Ticker Symbol   |
|:---|:---|:---|
| C000010845 | Class IA Shares |  |
| C000010846 | Class IB Shares |  |

?xml version='1.0' encoding='ASCII'? 2025-07-1774200172200_PutnamVTHighYieldFund_ClassIA_TSRSemiAnnual

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**

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;**Putnam Variable Trust** 

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

**100 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110**

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Stephen Tate, 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, 2025** 

ITEM 1. REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) The Report to Shareholders is filed herewith

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Putnam VT High Yield Fund**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Class IA | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| June 30, 2025  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about Putnam VT High Yield Fund for the period January 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025.

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.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Class Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>†</sup>  |
| Class IA<sup>1</sup>  | $38 | 0.74% |

---

† Annualized.

1 Does not reflect expenses incurred from investing through variable annuity or variable life insurance products.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of June 30, 2025)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $137715848 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings**<sup>\*</sup>  | 399 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 23% |

---

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of June 30, 2025)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts4269img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

Putnam VT High Yield Fund PAGE 1 38920-STSIA-0825

17.015.911.911.39.39.29.14.62.42.32.24.8 ------

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Putnam VT High Yield Fund**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Class IB | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| June 30, 2025  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about Putnam VT High Yield Fund for the period January 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025.

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.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Class Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>†</sup>  |
| Class IB<sup>1</sup>  | $46 | 0.90% |

---

† Annualized.

1 Does not reflect expenses incurred from investing through variable annuity or variable life insurance products.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of June 30, 2025)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $137715848 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings**<sup>\*</sup>  | 399 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 23% |

---

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of June 30, 2025)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts4270img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

Putnam VT High Yield Fund PAGE 1 38920-STSIB-0825

17.015.911.911.39.39.29.14.62.42.32.24.8 ------

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Not applicable

ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS.

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.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) Please see schedule of investments contained in the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights included under Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Not applicable.

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,

2025

#### Table

#### of

#### Contents
franklintempleton.com

Financial

Statements

and

Other

Important

Information—Semiannual

Financial

Highlights

and

Schedule

of

Investments

#### 2
Financial

Statements

#### 21
Notes

to

Financial

Statements

#### 25
Changes

In

and

Disagreements

with

Accountants

#### 36
Results

of

Meeting(s)

of

Shareholders

Remuneration

Paid

to

Directors,

Officers

and

Others

Board

Approval

of

Management

and

Subadvisory

Agreements

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Financial

Highlights

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### June

#### 30,

#### 2025
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### December

#### 31,

#### 2024

#### 2023

#### 2022

#### 2021

#### 2020

#### Class

#### IA

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

.....

$5.71

$5.61

$5.29

$6.30

$6.30

$6.39

Income

from

investment

operations

a

:

Net

investment

income

b

.............

0.18 0.35 0.33 0.29 0.28 0.30 Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

0.07 0.09 0.29 (0.98)

0.03 (0.03)

Total

from

investment

operations

........

0.25 0.44 0.62 (0.69)

0.31 0.27 Less

distributions

from:

Net

investment

income

..............

(0.38)

(0.34)

(0.30)

(0.31)

(0.31)

(0.36)

Net

realized

gains

.................

—

—

—

(0.01)

—

—

Total

distributions

...................

(0.38)

(0.34)

(0.30)

(0.32)

(0.31)

(0.36)

Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

..........

$5.58

$5.71

$5.61

$5.29

$6.30

$6.30

Total

return

c

.......................

4.55%

8.19%

12.29%

(11.37)%

5.20%

5.50%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### d
Expenses

e

........................

0.74%

0.73%

0.75%

0.75%

f

0.70%

0.72%

Net

investment

income

...............

6.38%

6.33%

6.18%

5.24%

4.56%

4.98%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

........

$94,533

$102,273

$99,901

$94,436

$119,199

$125,959

Portfolio

turnover

rate

................

23%

50%

45%

28%

44%

48%

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)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### June

#### 30,

#### 2025
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### December

#### 31,

#### 2024

#### 2023

#### 2022

#### 2021

#### 2020

#### Class

#### IB

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

.....

$5.64

$5.55

$5.23

$6.23

$6.23

$6.32

Income

from

investment

operations

a

:

Net

investment

income

b

.............

0.17 0.33 0.31 0.27 0.27 0.28 Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

0.06 0.09 0.30 (0.97)

0.03 (0.03)

Total

from

investment

operations

........

0.23 0.42 0.61 (0.70)

0.30 0.25 Less

distributions

from:

Net

investment

income

..............

(0.36)

(0.33)

(0.29)

(0.29)

(0.30)

(0.34)

Net

realized

gains

.................

—

—

—

(0.01)

—

—

Total

distributions

...................

(0.36)

(0.33)

(0.29)

(0.30)

(0.30)

(0.34)

Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

..........

$5.51

$5.64

$5.55

$5.23

$6.23

$6.23

Total

return

c

.......................

4.32%

7.86%

12.13%

(11.60)%

4.97%

5.21%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### d
Expenses

e

........................

0.90%

0.98%

1.00%

1.00%

f

0.95%

0.97%

Net

investment

income

...............

6.22%

6.08%

5.93%

4.98%

4.32%

4.71%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

........

$43,183

$43,804

$47,643

$37,446

$49,084

$53,426

Portfolio

turnover

rate

................

23%

50%

45%

28%

44%

48%

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

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited),

June

30,

2025

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Shares
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Common

#### Stocks

#### 0.6%

#### Commercial

#### Services

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 0.2%
GFL

Environmental,

Inc.

..............................

United

States

4,430

$

223,537

#### Hotels,

#### Restaurants

#### &

#### Leisure

#### 0.4%
a

Viking

Holdings

Ltd.

.................................

United

States

11,800

628,822

#### Total

#### Common

#### Stocks

#### (Cost

#### $426,906)

#### .......................................

#### 852,359

#### Convertible

#### Preferred

#### Stocks

#### 1.0%

#### Aerospace

#### &

#### Defense

#### 0.4%
Boeing

Co.

(The),

6%

................................

United

States

8,265

562,020

#### Electric

#### Utilities

#### 0.4%
NextEra

Energy,

Inc.,

7.299%

..........................

United

States

7,375

347,289

PG&E

Corp.,

A,

6%

..................................

United

States

4,512

169,651

516,940

#### Financial

#### Services

#### 0.2%
Apollo

Global

Management,

Inc.,

6.75%

..................

United

States

3,581

268,038

#### Total

#### Convertible

#### Preferred

#### Stocks

#### (Cost

#### $1,188,283)

#### ..........................

#### 1,346,998

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*

#### Convertible

#### Bonds

#### 1.6%

#### Consumer

#### Staples

#### Distribution

#### &

#### Retail

#### 0.2%
Chefs'

Warehouse,

Inc.

(The)

,

Senior

Note

,

2.375 %

,

12/15/28

..

United

States

200,000

312,200

#### Energy

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Services

#### 0.1%
Nabors

Industries,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

1.75 %

,

6/15/29

.........

United

States

155,000

89,513

#### Entertainment

#### 0.2%
Live

Nation

Entertainment,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

3.125 %

,

1/15/29

..

United

States

195,000

300,008

#### Food

#### Products

#### 0.2%
Post

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

2.5 %

,

8/15/27

.............

United

States

243,000

277,992

#### Health

#### Care

#### REITs

#### 0.3%
b

Welltower

OP

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

2.75 %

,

5/15/28

.......

United

States

208,000

339,144

#### Software

#### 0.3%
b

Guidewire

Software,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

1.25 %

,

11/01/29

..

United

States

366,000

432,429

#### Technology

#### Hardware,

#### Storage

#### &

#### Peripherals

#### 0.3%
Seagate

HDD

Cayman

,

Senior

Note

,

3.5 %

,

6/01/28

..........

United

States

260,000

468,097

#### Total

#### Convertible

#### Bonds

#### (Cost

#### $1,761,679)
...................................

#### 2,219,383

#### Corporate

#### Bonds

#### 85.7%

#### Aerospace

#### &

#### Defense

#### 4.2%
ATI,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.125%,

10/01/31

.......................

United

States

240,000

234,772

Senior

Note,

5.875%,

12/01/27

.......................

United

States

435,000

437,391

Senior

Note,

4.875%,

10/01/29

.......................

United

States

90,000

88,225

Senior

Note,

7.25%,

8/15/30

.........................

United

States

335,000

351,329

b

Axon

Enterprise,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.125%,

3/15/30

...................

United

States

270,000

278,332

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.25%,

3/15/33

....................

United

States

210,000

216,754

Boeing

Co.

(The)

,

Senior

Bond,

3.2%,

3/01/29

..........................

United

States

160,000

152,349

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Aerospace

#### &

#### Defense
(continued)

Boeing

Co.

(The),

(continued)

Senior

Bond,

5.875%,

2/15/40

........................

United

States

210,000

$

209,649

Senior

Note,

6.388%,

5/01/31

........................

United

States

315,000

338,669

b

Bombardier,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.875%,

4/15/27

...................

Canada

17,000

17,109

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.5%,

2/01/29

.....................

Canada

175,000

183,876

Senior

Note,

144A,

8.75%,

11/15/30

...................

Canada

260,000

281,795

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.25%,

7/01/31

....................

Canada

130,000

136,623

Senior

Note,

144A,

7%,

6/01/32

......................

Canada

105,000

109,477

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.75%,

6/15/33

....................

Canada

220,000

228,239

b

Efesto

Bidco

SpA

Efesto

US

LLC

,

XR

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.5 %

,

2/15/32

...............................

Italy

540,000

547,229

Spirit

AeroSystems,

Inc.

,

b

Secured

Note,

144A,

9.75%,

11/15/30

..................

United

States

550,000

607,255

Senior

Bond,

4.6%,

6/15/28

..........................

United

States

545,000

536,128

b

TransDigm

,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6.875%,

12/15/30

...........

United

States

290,000

301,108

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

7.125%,

12/01/31

...........

United

States

70,000

73,428

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6%,

1/15/33

................

United

States

440,000

442,674

5,772,411

#### Automobile

#### Components

#### 1.1%
b

Adient

Global

Holdings

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

8.25%,

4/15/31

....................

United

States

560,000

588,948

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.5%,

2/15/33

.....................

United

States

125,000

127,936

b

Dornoch

Debt

Merger

Sub,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.625 %

,

10/15/29

........................................

United

States

410,000

318,011

b,c

IHO

Verwaltungs

GmbH

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

PIK,

7.75%,

11/15/30

.........

Germany

255,000

261,903

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

PIK,

8%,

11/15/32

...........

Germany

230,000

235,418

1,532,216

#### Banks

#### 0.3%
b,d

Societe

Generale

SA

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

144A,

4.75%

to

5/25/26,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

France

255,000

251,849

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

144A,

5.375%

to

11/17/30,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

France

260,000

238,493

490,342

#### Biotechnology

#### 0.8%
b

Grifols

SA

,

Senior

Note

,

Reg

S,

3.875 %

,

10/15/28

...........

Spain

965,000

EUR

1,090,198

#### Broadline

#### Retail

#### 0.9%
b

Kohl's

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

6/01/30

......

United

States

380,000

394,307

b

Wayfair

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

7.25%,

10/31/29

............

United

States

375,000

376,105

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

7.75%,

9/15/30

.............

United

States

505,000

509,397

1,279,809

#### Building

#### Products

#### 3.0%
b

Builders

FirstSource

,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

6.375%,

3/01/34

...................

United

States

195,000

198,963

Senior

Bond,

144A,

6.75%,

5/15/35

....................

United

States

165,000

170,093

b

Camelot

Return

Merger

Sub,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.75 %

,

8/01/28

...................................

United

States

350,000

323,043

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Building

#### Products
(continued)

b

EMRLD

Borrower

LP

/

Emerald

Co-Issuer,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

Reg

S,

6.375 %

,

12/15/30

.......................

United

States

110,000

EUR

$

136,453

b

JH

North

America

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.875%,

1/31/31

............

United

States

40,000

40,374

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6.125%,

7/31/32

............

United

States

170,000

172,929

b

Miter

Brands

Acquisition

Holdco,

Inc.

/

MIWD

Borrower

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.75 %

,

4/01/32

..............

United

States

385,000

395,119

b

MIWD

Holdco

II

LLC

/

MIWD

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.5 %

,

2/01/30

....................................

United

States

495,000

471,792

b

Quikrete

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.75%,

3/01/33

....................

United

States

135,000

139,381

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6.375%,

3/01/32

............

United

States

265,000

272,670

b

Smyrna

Ready

Mix

Concrete

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6%,

11/01/28

...............

United

States

225,000

224,592

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

8.875%,

11/15/31

...........

United

States

350,000

367,229

b

Standard

Building

Solutions,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

8/15/32

.........................................

United

States

435,000

445,999

b

Standard

Industries,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

4.375%,

7/15/30

...................

United

States

630,000

596,904

Senior

Bond,

144A,

3.375%,

1/15/31

...................

United

States

35,000

31,413

Senior

Note,

Reg

S,

2.25%,

11/21/26

..................

United

States

100,000

EUR

116,730

4,103,684

#### Capital

#### Markets

#### 1.1%
b

Dresdner

Funding

Trust

I

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

144A,

8.151 %

,

6/30/31

.........................................

United

States

150,000

165,850

b

Jane

Street

Group

/

JSG

Finance,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6.125%,

11/01/32

...........

United

States

905,000

914,205

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6.75%,

5/01/33

.............

United

States

205,000

210,911

b,e

Stonex

Escrow

Issuer

LLC

,

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

7/15/32

United

States

255,000

257,770

1,548,736

#### Chemicals

#### 2.6%
b

Avient

Corp.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.125%,

8/01/30

...................

United

States

275,000

283,842

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.25%,

11/01/31

...................

United

States

150,000

151,496

Celanese

US

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.629 %

,

7/15/32

....

United

States

250,000

262,268

b

Cerdia

Finanz

GmbH

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

9.375 %

,

10/03/31

........................................

Germany

335,000

348,055

FMC

Corp.

,

Sub.

Bond

,

8.45%

to

10/31/30,

FRN

thereafter

,

11/01/55

........................................

United

States

325,000

333,409

b

Herens

Holdco

SARL

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

4.75 %

,

5/15/28

.........................................

Luxembourg

200,000

179,656

b

Olympus

Water

US

Holding

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

Reg

S,

3.875%,

10/01/28

...........

United

States

155,000

EUR

179,250

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

9.75%,

11/15/28

............

United

States

220,000

231,942

b

Rain

Carbon,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

12.25 %

,

9/01/29

United

States

325,000

348,953

b

SCIH

Salt

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.625%,

5/01/29

...................

United

States

305,000

298,454

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

4.875%,

5/01/28

............

United

States

395,000

385,091

b

Vibrantz

Technologies,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

2/15/30

...

United

States

520,000

350,759

b

WR

Grace

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.625 %

,

8/15/29

.

United

States

235,000

212,940

3,566,115

#### Commercial

#### Services

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 2.9%
b

Allied

Universal

Holdco

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.875 %

,

2/15/31

...................................

United

States

480,000

501,879

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Commercial

#### Services

#### &

#### Supplies
(continued)

b

Allied

Universal

Holdco

LLC

/

Allied

Universal

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

6/01/29

.......................

United

States

340,000

$

330,983

b

Clean

Harbors,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.375 %

,

2/01/31

.....

United

States

275,000

281,946

b

GFL

Environmental,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.75 %

,

1/15/31

.........................................

United

States

115,000

120,482

b

Madison

IAQ

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.875 %

,

6/30/29

.......

United

States

540,000

531,576

b

Prime

Security

Services

Borrower

LLC

/

Prime

Finance,

Inc.

,

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.25 %

,

1/15/28

...................

United

States

450,000

451,110

b

RR

Donnelley

&

Sons

Co.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

9.5 %

,

8/01/29

.........................................

United

States

1,100,000

1,100,831

b

Veritiv

Operating

Co.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

10.5 %

,

11/30/30

........................................

United

States

155,000

167,980

b

Waste

Pro

USA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

2/01/33

........

United

States

305,000

317,389

b

Wrangler

Holdco

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.625 %

,

4/01/32

...

Canada

155,000

161,487

3,965,663

#### Communications

#### Equipment

#### 0.2%
b

CommScope

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.125 %

,

7/01/28

.......

United

States

275,000

270,475

#### Construction

#### &

#### Engineering

#### 0.1%
b

Arcosa,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

8/15/32

...........

United

States

165,000

171,343

#### Construction

#### Materials

#### 0.1%
b,d

Cemex

SAB

de

CV

,

Sub.

Bond

,

144A,

7.2%

to

9/09/30,

FRN

thereafter

,

Perpetual

...............................

Mexico

200,000

202,300

#### Consumer

#### Finance

#### 2.5%
AerCap

Ireland

Capital

DAC

/

AerCap

Global

Aviation

Trust

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.95%

to

12/09/29,

FRN

thereafter

,

3/10/55

....

Ireland

175,000

181,961

Ally

Financial,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

11/01/31

.............

United

States

370,000

421,487

b

Encore

Capital

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

9.25%,

4/01/29

.............

United

States

205,000

218,260

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

8.5%,

5/15/30

..............

United

States

610,000

654,786

b

FirstCash

,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

3/01/32

.........

United

States

995,000

1,030,863

OneMain

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.375%,

11/15/29

.......................

United

States

185,000

182,104

Senior

Note,

7.5%,

5/15/31

..........................

United

States

355,000

371,176

Senior

Note,

7.125%,

11/15/31

.......................

United

States

355,000

369,603

3,430,240

#### Consumer

#### Staples

#### Distribution

#### &

#### Retail

#### 0.3%
b

US

Foods,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.25%,

1/15/32

....................

United

States

120,000

126,515

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.75%,

4/15/33

....................

United

States

280,000

280,406

406,921

#### Containers

#### &

#### Packaging

#### 2.8%
b

Ardagh

Metal

Packaging

Finance

USA

LLC

/

Ardagh

Metal

Packaging

Finance

plc

,

Senior

Note,

Reg

S,

3%,

9/01/29

......................

United

States

100,000

EUR

105,907

Senior

Note,

144A,

4%,

9/01/29

......................

United

States

280,000

255,869

b

Ardagh

Packaging

Finance

plc

/

Ardagh

Holdings

USA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.25 %

,

8/15/27

.....................

United

States

295,000

131,787

b

Clydesdale

Acquisition

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.75 %

,

4/15/32

...............................

United

States

425,000

436,430

b

Graham

Packaging

Co.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.125 %

,

8/15/28

United

States

385,000

384,545

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Containers

#### &

#### Packaging
(continued)

b

Graphic

Packaging

International

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

Reg

S,

2.625 %

,

2/01/29

...................................

United

States

215,000

EUR

$

243,087

b

Intelligent

Packaging

Ltd.

Finco

,

Inc.

/

Intelligent

Packaging

Ltd.

Co-Issuer

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

9/15/28

....

Canada

820,000

820,000

b

Mauser

Packaging

Solutions

Holding

Co.

,

Secured

Note,

144A,

9.25%,

4/15/27

...................

United

States

465,000

462,081

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

7.875%,

4/15/27

............

United

States

350,000

356,175

b

Toucan

FinCo

Ltd.

/

Toucan

FinCo

Can,

Inc.

/

Toucan

FinCo

US

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

9.5 %

,

5/15/30

...........

Canada

645,000

659,885

3,855,766

#### Distributors

#### 0.3%
b

RB

Global

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.75 %

,

3/15/31

..

Canada

395,000

415,741

#### Diversified

#### Telecommunication

#### Services

#### 3.6%
b

Altice

Financing

SA

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

1/15/28

..

Luxembourg

205,000

154,413

b

Altice

France

SA

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.5%,

1/15/28

..............

France

400,000

337,000

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.125%,

7/15/29

............

France

280,000

231,700

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.5%,

10/15/29

.............

France

205,000

170,150

b

CCO

Holdings

LLC

/

CCO

Holdings

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.375%,

6/01/29

...................

United

States

675,000

673,001

Senior

Bond,

144A,

4.75%,

3/01/30

....................

United

States

1,010,000

979,243

Senior

Bond,

144A,

4.75%,

2/01/32

....................

United

States

875,000

830,508

b

Frontier

Communications

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.875%,

10/15/27

...........

United

States

260,000

260,261

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

8.75%,

5/15/30

.............

United

States

295,000

308,783

b

Iliad

Holding

SASU

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

4/15/32

..

France

295,000

302,620

b

Virgin

Media

Finance

plc

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

%

,

7/15/30

....

United

Kingdom

475,000

434,478

b

Virgin

Media

Secured

Finance

plc

,

Senior

Secured

Bond

,

144A,

4.5 %

,

8/15/30

....................................

United

Kingdom

245,000

227,853

4,910,010

#### Electric

#### Utilities

#### 1.3%
b

California

Buyer

Ltd.

/

Atlantica

Sustainable

Infrastructure

plc

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.375 %

,

2/15/32

....................

United

Kingdom

405,000

406,021

b

NRG

Energy,

Inc.

,

d

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

144A,

10.25%

to

3/14/28,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

United

States

345,000

383,320

Senior

Bond,

144A,

6.25%,

11/01/34

...................

United

States

390,000

397,594

PG&E

Corp.

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

7.375%

to

3/14/30,

FRN

thereafter,

3/15/55

United

States

230,000

218,390

Senior

Secured

Bond,

5.25%,

7/01/30

..................

United

States

95,000

90,560

b

Vistra

Operations

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

4/15/32

United

States

240,000

251,072

1,746,957

#### Electrical

#### Equipment

#### 0.6%
b

Energizer

Gamma

Acquisition

BV

,

Senior

Note

,

Reg

S,

3.5 %

,

6/30/29

.........................................

United

States

280,000

EUR

315,880

b

Sensata

Technologies

BV

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.875 %

,

9/01/30

.

United

States

490,000

491,064

806,944

#### Electronic

#### Equipment,

#### Instruments

#### &

#### Components

#### 0.4%
b

TTM

Technologies,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

3/01/29

......

United

States

565,000

540,339

#### Energy

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Services

#### 1.8%
b

Aris

Water

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.25 %

,

4/01/30

..

United

States

415,000

428,512

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Energy

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Services
(continued)

b

Nabors

Industries,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.875 %

,

8/15/31

...

United

States

580,000

$

431,287

b

Precision

Drilling

Corp.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.125%,

1/15/26

...................

Canada

91,000

91,328

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.875%,

1/15/29

...................

Canada

230,000

227,396

b

Transocean

Aquila

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

9/30/28

United

States

77,462

78,280

b

Transocean

Poseidon

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

2/01/27

.........................................

United

States

123,375

123,658

b

Transocean

Titan

Financing

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.375 %

,

2/01/28

...................................

United

States

316,667

321,894

Transocean,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

6.8%,

3/15/38

..........................

United

States

485,000

341,463

b

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

8.75%,

2/15/30

.............

United

States

100,000

102,916

b

Weatherford

International

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.625 %

,

4/30/30

.........................................

United

States

320,000

330,044

2,476,778

#### Entertainment

#### 1.1%
b

Banijay

Entertainment

SAS

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.125 %

,

5/01/29

.........................................

France

690,000

716,431

b

Cinemark

USA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.25 %

,

7/15/28

......

United

States

330,000

328,674

b

Pinewood

Finco

plc

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

3/27/30

..

United

Kingdom

310,000

GBP

421,719

1,466,824

#### Financial

#### Services

#### 4.6%
b

Benteler

International

AG

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

10.5 %

,

5/15/28

.........................................

Austria

540,000

568,816

b

Boost

Newco

Borrower

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.5 %

,

1/15/31

.........................................

United

States

365,000

387,712

b

Freedom

Mortgage

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

12.25 %

,

10/01/30

United

States

320,000

355,101

b

Freedom

Mortgage

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.375 %

,

4/01/32

.........................................

United

States

595,000

601,885

b

Jefferson

Capital

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

9.5%,

2/15/29

.....................

United

States

470,000

497,417

Senior

Note,

144A,

8.25%,

5/15/30

....................

United

States

400,000

414,776

b

Nationstar

Mortgage

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.75%,

11/15/31

...................

United

States

665,000

675,901

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.125%,

2/01/32

...................

United

States

380,000

394,966

b

PHH

Escrow

Issuer

LLC

/

PHH

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

9.875 %

,

11/01/29

..................................

United

States

960,000

958,454

b

PRA

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.875 %

,

1/31/30

........

United

States

875,000

902,869

b

Rocket

Cos.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.375 %

,

8/01/33

.......

United

States

415,000

425,147

b

Shift4

Payments

LLC

/

Shift4

Payments

Finance

Sub,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.5 %

,

5/15/33

...........................

United

States

100,000

EUR

122,148

6,305,192

#### Food

#### Products

#### 0.4%
b,c

Chobani

Holdco

II

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

PIK,

8.75 %

,

10/01/29

United

States

140,664

147,607

b

Chobani

LLC

/

Chobani

Finance

Corp.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.625 %

,

7/01/29

...................................

United

States

380,000

396,458

544,065

#### Ground

#### Transportation

#### 0.6%
b,e

Beacon

Mobility

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.25 %

,

8/01/30

.........................................

United

States

235,000

240,128

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Ground

#### Transportation
(continued)

b

Watco

Cos.

LLC

/

Watco

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.125 %

,

8/01/32

...................................

United

States

505,000

$

528,258

768,386

#### Health

#### Care

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 0.8%
b

Bausch

+

Lomb

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

8.375%,

10/01/28

...........

United

States

235,000

245,575

f

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

FRN,

5.872%,

(3-month

EURIBOR

+

7.75%),

1/15/31

.................................

United

States

300,000

EUR

356,265

b

Insulet

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

4/01/33

............

United

States

120,000

125,195

b

Medline

Borrower

LP

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.25%,

10/01/29

...................

United

States

90,000

89,364

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

3.875%,

4/01/29

............

United

States

245,000

235,184

1,051,583

#### Health

#### Care

#### Providers

#### &

#### Services

#### 4.4%
b

CHS/Community

Health

Systems,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.625%,

3/15/27

............

United

States

380,000

374,530

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.25%,

5/15/30

.............

United

States

855,000

758,981

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

10.875%,

1/15/32

...........

United

States

510,000

541,170

b

Concentra

Health

Services,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

7/15/32

.........................................

United

States

335,000

347,266

CVS

Health

Corp.

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

7%

to

3/09/30,

FRN

thereafter

,

3/10/55

.................................

United

States

520,000

537,633

b

DaVita,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.875%,

9/01/32

...................

United

States

890,000

922,757

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.75%,

7/15/33

....................

United

States

65,000

67,159

b

Kedrion

SpA

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

9/01/29

......

Italy

1,000,000

960,389

Tenet

Healthcare

Corp.

,

Senior

Note,

6.125%,

10/01/28

.......................

United

States

45,000

45,091

Senior

Secured

Note,

5.125%,

11/01/27

................

United

States

370,000

369,649

Senior

Secured

Note,

4.25%,

6/01/29

..................

United

States

150,000

145,586

Senior

Secured

Note,

6.125%,

6/15/30

.................

United

States

935,000

952,423

6,022,634

#### Health

#### Care

#### REITs

#### 0.6%
b

MPT

Operating

Partnership

LP

/

MPT

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.5 %

,

2/15/32

....................

United

States

845,000

885,020

#### Health

#### Care

#### Technology

#### 1.0%
b

AthenaHealth

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

2/15/30

...

United

States

440,000

433,495

b

IQVIA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.25 %

,

6/01/32

.............

United

States

875,000

899,034

1,332,529

#### Hotel

#### &

#### Resort

#### REITs

#### 0.6%
b

RHP

Hotel

Properties

LP

/

RHP

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.25%,

7/15/28

....................

United

States

110,000

113,937

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.5%,

4/01/32

.....................

United

States

415,000

427,086

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.5%,

6/15/33

.....................

United

States

195,000

200,727

b

XHR

LP

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.625 %

,

5/15/30

..............

United

States

125,000

127,515

869,265

#### Hotels,

#### Restaurants

#### &

#### Leisure

#### 6.3%
b

1011778

BC

ULC

/

New

Red

Finance,

Inc.

,

Secured

Bond

,

144A,

%

,

10/15/30

.....................................

Canada

400,000

373,167

b

Boyd

Gaming

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

4.75 %

,

6/15/31

......

United

States

545,000

522,694

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Hotels,

#### Restaurants

#### &

#### Leisure
(continued)

b

Caesars

Entertainment,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

4.625%,

10/15/29

..................

United

States

635,000

$

606,539

Senior

Note,

144A,

6%,

10/15/32

.....................

United

States

180,000

176,641

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

7%,

2/15/30

................

United

States

520,000

538,828

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6.5%,

2/15/32

..............

United

States

65,000

66,738

b

Carnival

Corp.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

6%,

5/01/29

......................

United

States

150,000

151,660

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.875%,

6/15/31

...................

United

States

380,000

387,363

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.125%,

2/15/33

...................

United

States

200,000

204,755

b

Churchill

Downs,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.75%,

4/01/30

....................

United

States

315,000

316,231

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.75%,

5/01/31

....................

United

States

60,000

61,745

b

Fertitta

Entertainment

LLC

/

Fertitta

Entertainment

Finance

Co.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.75 %

,

1/15/30

.................

United

States

515,000

475,657

b

Great

Canadian

Gaming

Corp.

/

Raptor

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.75 %

,

11/15/29

.........................

Canada

240,000

235,086

b

Light

&

Wonder

International,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.25%,

11/15/29

...................

United

States

540,000

556,675

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.5%,

9/01/31

.....................

United

States

70,000

73,293

b

NCL

Corp.

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.75%,

2/15/29

....................

United

States

215,000

228,740

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.75%,

2/01/32

....................

United

States

150,000

153,338

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

8.125%,

1/15/29

............

United

States

150,000

158,221

b

Penn

Entertainment,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.625%,

1/15/27

...................

United

States

290,000

289,322

Senior

Note,

144A,

4.125%,

7/01/29

...................

United

States

100,000

92,723

b

Royal

Caribbean

Cruises

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.625%,

9/30/31

...................

United

States

270,000

271,818

Senior

Note,

144A,

6%,

2/01/33

......................

United

States

620,000

632,339

b

Scientific

Games

Holdings

LP

/

Scientific

Games

US

FinCo

,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.625 %

,

3/01/30

....................

United

States

360,000

347,212

b

Six

Flags

Entertainment

Corp.

/

Six

Flags

Theme

Parks,

Inc.

/

Canada's

Wonderland

Co.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.625 %

,

5/01/32

...................................

United

States

165,000

170,290

b

Viking

Cruises

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

7%,

2/15/29

......................

United

States

160,000

161,503

Senior

Note,

144A,

9.125%,

7/15/31

...................

United

States

395,000

425,663

b

Wynn

Resorts

Finance

LLC

/

Wynn

Resorts

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.125%,

10/01/29

..................

United

States

435,000

432,154

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.125%,

2/15/31

...................

United

States

565,000

602,904

8,713,299

#### Household

#### Durables

#### 1.4%
b

LGI

Homes,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.75 %

,

12/15/28

........

United

States

460,000

478,476

Newell

Brands,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

6.375%,

5/15/30

........................

United

States

135,000

131,669

Senior

Note,

6.625%,

5/15/32

........................

United

States

190,000

181,727

b

Senior

Note,

144A,

8.5%,

6/01/28

.....................

United

States

205,000

215,806

b

Taylor

Morrison

Communities,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.125%,

8/01/30

...................

United

States

290,000

289,172

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.875%,

6/15/27

...................

United

States

140,000

142,454

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.75%,

1/15/28

....................

United

States

155,000

157,434

b

Weekley

Homes

LLC

/

Weekley

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.875 %

,

9/15/28

..............................

United

States

305,000

295,615

1,892,353

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Household

#### Products

#### 0.1%
b

Energizer

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.375 %

,

3/31/29

..

United

States

160,000

$

151,474

#### Independent

#### Power

#### and

#### Renewable

#### Electricity

#### Producers

#### 0.5%
b

Calpine

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

%

,

2/01/31

.............

United

States

310,000

306,881

b,d

Vistra

Corp.

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

144A,

8%

to

10/14/26,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

United

States

150,000

153,731

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

144A,

7%

to

12/14/26,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

United

States

290,000

293,677

754,289

#### Insurance

#### 2.2%
b

Acrisure

LLC

/

Acrisure

Finance,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

8.5%,

6/15/29

.....................

United

States

435,000

453,949

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

7.5%,

11/06/30

.............

United

States

435,000

449,652

b

Alliant

Holdings

Intermediate

LLC

/

Alliant

Holdings

Co-Issuer

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.875%,

11/01/29

..................

United

States

530,000

522,839

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.375%,

10/01/32

..................

United

States

130,000

134,168

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

7%,

1/15/31

................

United

States

560,000

579,693

b

HUB

International

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.25 %

,

6/15/30

.........................................

United

States

235,000

245,756

b

Jones

Deslauriers

Insurance

Management,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

10.5%,

12/15/30

...................

Canada

380,000

405,319

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

8.5%,

3/15/30

..............

Canada

170,000

180,312

2,971,688

#### Interactive

#### Media

#### &

#### Services

#### 0.7%
b

Snap,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

3/01/33

............

United

States

925,000

949,745

#### IT

#### Services

#### 0.8%
b

Cogent

Communications

Group

LLC

/

Cogent

Finance,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

7/01/32

...............

United

States

750,000

739,470

b

Fortress

Intermediate

3,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.5 %

,

6/01/31

.........................................

United

States

315,000

330,393

1,069,863

#### Machinery

#### 0.5%
b

Chart

Industries,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

9.5 %

,

1/01/31

......

United

States

130,000

138,869

b

Terex

Corp.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5%,

5/15/29

......................

United

States

235,000

229,540

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.25%,

10/15/32

...................

United

States

280,000

280,755

649,164

#### Media

#### 4.9%
b

Clear

Channel

Outdoor

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.75%,

4/15/28

....................

United

States

145,000

137,137

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

7.875%,

4/01/30

............

United

States

285,000

294,449

b

CSC

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.375%,

2/01/28

...................

United

States

680,000

623,160

Senior

Note,

144A,

11.75%,

1/31/29

...................

United

States

340,000

323,605

b

Directv

Financing

LLC

/

Directv

Financing

Co-Obligor,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.875%,

8/15/27

............

United

States

155,000

154,591

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

10%,

2/15/31

...............

United

States

170,000

165,158

EchoStar

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

10.75 %

,

11/30/29

......

United

States

505,000

520,579

b

Gray

Media,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

5.375 %

,

11/15/31

......

United

States

400,000

300,279

b

McGraw-Hill

Education,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

8%,

8/01/29

......................

United

States

485,000

494,153

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Media
(continued)

b

McGraw-Hill

Education,

Inc.,

(continued)

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

7.375%,

9/01/31

............

United

States

465,000

$

485,414

b

News

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

3.875 %

,

5/15/29

...........

United

States

175,000

167,566

b

Nexstar

Media,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.75 %

,

11/01/28

......

United

States

240,000

233,939

b

Outfront

Media

Capital

LLC

/

Outfront

Media

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

4.625%,

3/15/30

...................

United

States

525,000

501,807

Senior

Note,

144A,

5%,

8/15/27

......................

United

States

115,000

114,497

b

Sinclair

Television

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.125 %

,

2/15/33

...................................

United

States

895,000

904,922

b

Sirius

XM

Radio

LLC

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

3.875%,

9/01/31

...................

United

States

350,000

311,339

Senior

Note,

144A,

4%,

7/15/28

......................

United

States

290,000

278,730

VZ

Secured

Financing

BV

,

b

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5%,

1/15/32

................

Netherlands

385,000

342,823

b

Ziggo

Bond

Co.

BV

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

5.125 %

,

2/28/30

.....

Netherlands

400,000

349,639

6,703,787

#### Metals

#### &

#### Mining

#### 2.5%
ArcelorMittal

SA

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

10/15/39

...............

Luxembourg

525,000

582,067

b

Big

River

Steel

LLC

/

BRS

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.625 %

,

1/31/29

..............................

United

States

256,000

258,233

b

Cleveland-Cliffs,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

3/15/32

........

United

States

295,000

278,454

Commercial

Metals

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.375 %

,

3/15/32

.......

United

States

165,000

152,113

b

Constellium

SE

,

Senior

Note,

Reg

S,

3.125%,

7/15/29

..................

United

States

150,000

EUR

170,411

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.375%,

8/15/32

...................

United

States

415,000

422,184

b

Hudbay

Minerals,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.125 %

,

4/01/29

....

Canada

330,000

335,386

b

Novelis

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

4.75%,

1/30/30

....................

United

States

140,000

134,235

Senior

Bond,

144A,

3.875%,

8/15/31

...................

United

States

240,000

215,844

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.875%,

1/30/30

...................

United

States

300,000

310,367

b

TMS

International

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.25 %

,

4/15/29

...

United

States

370,000

352,104

United

States

Steel

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.65 %

,

6/01/37

......

United

States

175,000

186,377

3,397,775

#### Mortgage

#### Real

#### Estate

#### Investment

#### Trusts
(REITs)

#### 0.3%
b

Apollo

Commercial

Real

Estate

Finance,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

4.625 %

,

6/15/29

.........................

United

States

405,000

385,290

#### Oil,

#### Gas

#### &

#### Consumable

#### Fuels

#### 7.4%
b

Coronado

Finance

Pty.

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

9.25 %

,

10/01/29

........................................

Australia

125,000

93,310

b,e

Crescent

Energy

Finance

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.375 %

,

1/15/34

.........................................

United

States

565,000

565,740

b

Encino

Acquisition

Partners

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.5 %

,

5/01/28

....................................

United

States

635,000

652,880

d

Energy

Transfer

LP

,

B

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

6.625%

to

2/14/28,

FRN

thereafter

,

Perpetual

...............................

United

States

630,000

629,429

Expand

Energy

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.75 %

,

2/01/32

.........

United

States

85,000

82,710

b

Global

Partners

LP

/

GLP

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.125 %

,

7/01/33

...................................

United

States

625,000

634,215

b

Hess

Midstream

Operations

LP

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.875%,

3/01/28

...................

United

States

225,000

228,494

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.125%,

6/15/28

...................

United

States

345,000

342,823

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.5%,

6/01/29

.....................

United

States

180,000

185,234

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.5%,

10/15/30

....................

United

States

335,000

336,714

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Oil,

#### Gas

#### &

#### Consumable

#### Fuels
(continued)

b

Hilcorp

Energy

I

LP

/

Hilcorp

Finance

Co.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.375 %

,

11/01/33

..................................

United

States

185,000

$

192,097

b

Kinetik

Holdings

LP

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.875 %

,

6/15/30

......

United

States

740,000

746,742

b

Matador

Resources

Co.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

4/15/32

....

United

States

455,000

455,537

Occidental

Petroleum

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.2 %

,

3/15/40

......

United

States

890,000

871,746

b

Sitio

Royalties

Operating

Partnership

LP

/

Sitio

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.875 %

,

11/01/28

...................

United

States

435,000

455,747

b

Sunoco

LP

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.25 %

,

7/01/33

.............

United

States

420,000

427,276

b

TGNR

Intermediate

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.5 %

,

10/15/29

........................................

United

States

510,000

494,585

b

Venture

Global

LNG,

Inc.

,

d

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

144A,

9%

to

9/29/29,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.......................................

United

States

400,000

389,260

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

9.5%,

2/01/29

..............

United

States

340,000

370,601

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

8.375%,

6/01/31

............

United

States

480,000

498,888

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

9.875%,

2/01/32

............

United

States

315,000

340,385

b

Venture

Global

Plaquemines

LNG

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Bond,

144A,

7.75%,

5/01/35

.............

United

States

85,000

92,080

Senior

Secured

Bond,

144A,

6.75%,

1/15/36

.............

United

States

250,000

250,000

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

7.5%,

5/01/33

..............

United

States

85,000

91,079

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6.5%,

1/15/34

..............

United

States

145,000

145,000

b

Viper

Energy,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.375 %

,

11/01/31

......

United

States

585,000

621,182

10,193,754

#### Paper

#### &

#### Forest

#### Products

#### 0.4%
b

Magnera

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.75 %

,

11/15/29

.........

United

States

150,000

132,696

Mercer

International,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

5.125%,

2/01/29

........................

Germany

275,000

224,556

b

Senior

Note,

144A,

12.875%,

10/01/28

.................

Germany

220,000

223,413

580,665

#### Passenger

#### Airlines

#### 0.6%
b

American

Airlines,

Inc.

/

AAdvantage

Loyalty

IP

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.5%,

4/20/26

..............

United

States

108,333

108,153

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.75%,

4/20/29

.............

United

States

325,000

324,918

b

OneSky

Flight

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.875 %

,

12/15/29

.....

United

States

330,000

343,895

b

United

Airlines,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

4.625 %

,

4/15/29

United

States

130,000

126,276

903,242

#### Personal

#### Care

#### Products

#### 1.2%
b

Coty,

Inc.

/

HFC

Prestige

Products,

Inc.

/

HFC

Prestige

International

US

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

4.75%,

1/15/29

.............

United

States

310,000

303,229

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6.625%,

7/15/30

............

United

States

245,000

250,819

b

Opal

Bidco

SAS

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

3/31/32

...

France

1,085,000

1,108,071

1,662,119

#### Pharmaceuticals

#### 1.4%
b

1261229

BC

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

4/15/32

...

United

States

205,000

206,945

b

Endo

Finance

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.5 %

,

4/15/31

.........................................

United

States

185,000

196,065

Teva

Pharmaceutical

Finance

Netherlands

II

BV

,

Senior

Note

,

4.375 %

,

5/09/30

...................................

Israel

225,000

EUR

270,677

Teva

Pharmaceutical

Finance

Netherlands

III

BV

,

Senior

Note,

6.75%,

3/01/28

.........................

Israel

525,000

545,558

Senior

Note,

5.125%,

5/09/29

........................

Israel

295,000

296,921

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Pharmaceuticals
(continued)

Teva

Pharmaceutical

Finance

Netherlands

III

BV,

(continued)

Senior

Note,

7.875%,

9/15/29

........................

Israel

200,000

$

218,424

Senior

Note,

8.125%,

9/15/31

........................

Israel

200,000

226,722

1,961,312

#### Professional

#### Services

#### 0.3%
b

CACI

International,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.375 %

,

6/15/33

..

United

States

475,000

490,769

#### Real

#### Estate

#### Management

#### &

#### Development

#### 0.2%
b

Anywhere

Real

Estate

Group

LLC

/

Anywhere

Co-Issuer

Corp.

,

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

4/15/30

.....................

United

States

253,800

237,347

#### Semiconductors

#### &

#### Semiconductor

#### Equipment

#### 0.0%

#### †
b

ON

Semiconductor

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

3.875 %

,

9/01/28

.

United

States

80,000

77,458

#### Software

#### 1.2%
b

Cloud

Software

Group,

Inc.

,

Secured

Note,

144A,

9%,

9/30/29

.....................

United

States

350,000

363,110

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

6.5%,

3/31/29

..............

United

States

375,000

378,734

b

McAfee

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.375 %

,

2/15/30

..........

United

States

440,000

415,960

b

Rocket

Software,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

2/15/29

......

United

States

245,000

237,961

b

UKG,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

2/01/31

......

United

States

295,000

306,269

1,702,034

#### Specialized

#### REITs

#### 0.6%
b

Iron

Mountain,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.25 %

,

1/15/33

.......

United

States

745,000

766,535

#### Specialty

#### Retail

#### 1.8%
Bath

&

Body

Works,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.875 %

,

11/01/35

.....

United

States

675,000

701,002

b,c

BCPE

Ulysses

Intermediate,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

PIK,

7.75 %

,

4/01/27

.........................................

United

States

220,000

212,794

b,c

Carvana

Co.

,

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

PIK,

9%,

12/01/28

...........

United

States

300,796

308,834

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

PIK,

9%,

6/01/31

............

United

States

280,000

317,171

b

PetSmart,

Inc.

/

PetSmart

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.75 %

,

2/15/29

...................................

United

States

250,000

243,180

b

Specialty

Building

Products

Holdings

LLC

/

SBP

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.75 %

,

10/15/29

.............

United

States

180,000

177,054

b

White

Cap

Buyer

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

10/15/28

...

United

States

595,000

594,550

2,554,585

#### Technology

#### Hardware,

#### Storage

#### &

#### Peripherals

#### 0.4%
b

Seagate

Data

Storage

Technology

Pte.

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.875 %

,

7/15/30

...................................

United

States

370,000

376,449

Seagate

HDD

Cayman

,

Senior

Note

,

3.125 %

,

7/15/29

........

United

States

140,000

126,890

503,339

#### Textiles,

#### Apparel

#### &

#### Luxury

#### Goods

#### 1.6%
b,e

Beach

Acquisition

Bidco

LLC

,

c

Senior

Note,

144A,

PIK,

10%,

7/15/33

..................

United

States

410,000

425,996

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

5.25%,

7/15/32

.............

United

States

275,000

EUR

326,658

b

Crocs,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.25 %

,

3/15/29

.............

United

States

240,000

229,171

b

Hanesbrands,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

2/15/31

..........

United

States

545,000

577,550

b

Levi

Strauss

&

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

3.5 %

,

3/01/31

.......

United

States

320,000

293,134

b

Under

Armour

,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.25 %

,

7/15/30

.......

United

States

330,000

335,018

2,187,527

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Trading

#### Companies

#### &

#### Distributors

#### 2.5%
b

Boise

Cascade

Co.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.875 %

,

7/01/30

.....

United

States

575,000

$

559,833

b

EquipmentShare.com,

Inc.

,

Secured

Note,

144A,

9%,

5/15/28

.....................

United

States

340,000

359,611

Secured

Note,

144A,

8.625%,

5/15/32

..................

United

States

245,000

260,665

b

Foundation

Building

Materials,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

3/01/29

.........................................

United

States

425,000

390,182

b

Herc

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.625%,

6/15/29

...................

United

States

205,000

210,506

Senior

Note,

144A,

7%,

6/15/30

......................

United

States

100,000

104,498

Senior

Note,

144A,

7.25%,

6/15/33

....................

United

States

65,000

68,150

b

Imola

Merger

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

4.75 %

,

5/15/29

United

States

225,000

217,379

b

QXO

Building

Products,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.75 %

,

4/30/32

.........................................

United

States

610,000

629,948

b

WESCO

Distribution,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.375%,

3/15/29

...................

United

States

90,000

92,708

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.625%,

3/15/32

...................

United

States

410,000

426,572

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.375%,

3/15/33

...................

United

States

165,000

170,658

3,490,710

#### Wireless

#### Telecommunication

#### Services

#### 0.9%
b

Connect

Finco

SARL

/

Connect

US

Finco

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

9/15/29

............................

United

Kingdom

710,000

714,528

b

Zegona

Finance

plc

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.625 %

,

7/15/29

.........................................

United

Kingdom

515,000

550,790

1,265,318

#### Total

#### Corporate

#### Bonds

#### (Cost

#### $115,768,171)
...................................

#### 118,043,927
g

#### Senior

#### Floating

#### Rate

#### Interests

#### 6.7%
h

#### Automobile

#### Components

#### 0.4%
Clarios

Global

LP,

First

Lien,

Amendment

No.

Dollar

CME

Term

Loan,

7.077%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

2.75%),

1/28/32

.........

United

States

209,713

210,172

DexKo

Global,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

Closing

Date

Dollar

CME

Term

Loan,

8.191%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

3.75%),

10/04/28

........

United

States

367,405

352,485

562,657

a

a

a

a

a

a

h

#### Building

#### Products

#### 0.3%
CP

Atlas

Buyer,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

CME

Term

Loan,

B,

8.177%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

3.75%),

11/23/27

....................

United

States

301,417

301,072

EMRLD

Borrower

LP,

First

Lien,

Second

Amendment

Incremental

CME

Term

Loan,

6.827%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

2.5%),

8/04/31

..

United

States

64,513

64,490

365,562

a

a

a

a

a

a

h

#### Chemicals

#### 0.6%
Hexion

Holdings

Corp.,

Second

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

11.864%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

7.438%),

3/15/30

............

United

States

285,882

280,522

Nouryon

Finance

BV,

First

Lien,

November

2024

Dollar

CME

Term

Loan,

B1,

7.51%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

3.25%),

4/03/28

...

Netherlands

276,539

278,182

Nouryon

Finance

BV,

First

Lien,

November

2024

Dollar

CME

Term

Loan,

B2,

7.55%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

3.25%),

4/03/28

...

Netherlands

132,984

133,774

Vibrantz

Technologies,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

8.642%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

4.25%),

4/23/29

..............

United

States

211,058

184,866

877,344

a

a

a

a

a

a

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

g

#### Senior

#### Floating

#### Rate

#### Interests
(continued)

#### Commercial

#### Services

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 0.1%
h

Madison

IAQ

LLC,

First

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

6.762%,

(6-month

SOFR

+

2.5%),

6/21/28

......................

United

States

102,311

$

102,503

#### Communications

#### Equipment

#### 0.3%
e,h

CommScope,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

9.577%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

5.25%),

12/18/29

....................

United

States

405,000

410,526

#### Consumer

#### Finance

#### 0.0%

#### †
e,h

Shift4

Payments

LLC,

First

Lien,

CME

Term

Loan,

6.803%,

(12-month

SOFR

+

2.75%),

5/07/32

....................

United

States

65,000

65,599

#### Containers

#### &

#### Packaging

#### 0.2%
h

Klockner

Pentaplast

of

America,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

USD

CME

Term

Loan,

B,

9.227%,

(6-month

SOFR

+

4.725%),

2/09/26

......

Luxembourg

227,948

211,503

#### Distributors

#### 0.1%
h

Verde

Purchaser

LLC,

First

Lien,

Second

Refinancing

CME

Term

Loan,

8.296%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

4%),

11/30/30

...........

United

States

115,583

116,132

#### Diversified

#### Consumer

#### Services

#### 0.1%
h

Ascend

Learning

LLC,

Second

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

10.177%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

5.75%),

12/10/29

............

United

States

108,146

108,551

h

#### Health

#### Care

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 0.4%
Bausch

+

Lomb

Corp.,

First

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

7.679%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

3.25%),

5/10/27

.....................

United

States

345,872

345,696

Medline

Borrower

LP,

First

Lien,

Dollar

Incremental

CME

Term

Loan,

6.577%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

2.25%),

10/23/28

........

United

States

197,393

197,842

543,538

a

a

a

a

a

a

h

#### Hotels,

#### Restaurants

#### &

#### Leisure

#### 0.7%
e

Fertitta

Entertainment

LLC,

First

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

B,

7.827%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

3.5%),

1/29/29

...............

United

States

410,985

411,002

Great

Canadian

Gaming

Corp.,

First

Lien,

CME

Term

Loan,

B,

9.074%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

4.75%),

11/01/29

.............

Canada

155,067

151,811

IRB

Holding

Corp.,

First

Lien,

2024

Second

Replacement

CME

Term

Loan,

B,

6.827%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

2.5%),

12/15/27

...

United

States

231,118

231,360

Scientific

Games

Holdings

LP,

First

Lien,

2024

Refinancing

Dollar

CME

Term

Loan,

7.285%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

3%),

4/04/29

...

United

States

183,148

183,201

977,374

a

a

a

a

a

a

#### IT

#### Services

#### 0.2%
h

Fortress

Intermediate

3,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

7.827%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

3.5%),

6/27/31

...............

United

States

253,088

254,037

#### Machinery

#### 0.3%
h

Filtration

Group

Corp.,

First

Lien,

2025

Incremental

Dollar

CME

Term

Loan,

7.327%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

3%),

10/23/28

......

United

States

418,941

421,032

h

#### Media

#### 0.5%
Clear

Channel

Outdoor

Holdings,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

2024

Refinancing

CME

Term

Loan,

8.441%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

4%),

8/23/28

.........................................

United

States

268,433

266,851

DIRECTV

Financing

LLC,

First

Lien,

2024

Refinancing

CME

Term

Loan,

B,

9.791%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

5.25%),

8/02/29

.......

United

States

416,914

414,450

681,301

a

a

a

a

a

a

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

g

#### Senior

#### Floating

#### Rate

#### Interests
(continued)

#### Mortgage

#### Real

#### Estate

#### Investment

#### Trusts
(REITs)

#### 0.1%
h

Apollo

Commercial

Real

Estate

Finance,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

7.563%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

3.25%),

6/13/30

.

United

States

117,000

$

117,439

#### Paper

#### &

#### Forest

#### Products

#### 0.1%
h

Glatfelter

Corp.,

First

Lien,

CME

Term

Loan,

8.583%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

4.25%),

11/04/31

...........................

United

States

178,626

175,724

h

#### Passenger

#### Airlines

#### 0.3%
AAdvantage

Loyalty

IP

Ltd.,

First

Lien,

CME

Term

Loan,

6.522%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

2.25%),

4/20/28

.....................

United

States

198,611

197,602

e

American

Airlines,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

2025

Incremental

CME

Term

Loan,

7.58%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

3.25%),

5/28/32

..........

United

States

15,000

15,116

American

Airlines,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

6.507%,

(6-month

SOFR

+

2.25%),

6/04/29

.....................

United

States

183,150

181,731

394,449

a

a

a

a

a

a

h

#### Pharmaceuticals

#### 0.4%
1261229

BC

Ltd.,

First

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

10.561%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

6.25%),

10/08/30

....................

United

States

220,000

212,661

Endo

Finance

Holdings,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

2024

Refinancing

CME

Term

Loan,

8.327%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

4%),

4/23/31

.......

United

States

407,918

408,172

620,833

a

a

a

a

a

a

h

#### Software

#### 0.4%
Cloud

Software

Group,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

Initial

Dollar

CME

Term

Loan,

B,

7.796%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

3.5%),

3/30/29

........

United

States

273,716

274,322

Rocket

Software,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

CME

Term

Loan,

8.577%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

4.25%),

11/28/28

....................

United

States

281,441

282,412

556,734

a

a

a

a

a

a

h

#### Specialty

#### Retail

#### 0.5%
LBM

Acquisition

LLC,

First

Lien,

Amendment

No.

Incremental

CME

Term

Loan,

8.162%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

3.75%),

6/06/31

.

United

States

172,805

162,005

PetSmart

LLC,

First

Lien,

Initial

CME

Term

Loan,

8.177%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

3.75%),

2/11/28

.....................

United

States

211,178

209,462

White

Cap

Supply

Holdings

LLC,

First

Lien,

CME

Term

Loan,

C,

7.577%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

3.25%),

10/19/29

.............

United

States

376,658

375,176

746,643

a

a

a

a

a

a

h

#### Textiles,

#### Apparel

#### &

#### Luxury

#### Goods

#### 0.2%
e

Beach

Acquisition

Bidco

LLC,

First

Lien,

CME

Term

Loan,

B,

7.316%,

(12-month

SOFR

+

3.25%),

6/25/32

.............

United

States

17,692

17,802

Flash

Charm,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

CME

Term

Loan,

B2,

7.776%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

3.5%),

3/02/28

......................

United

States

287,095

270,019

287,821

a

a

a

a

a

a

h

#### Trading

#### Companies

#### &

#### Distributors

#### 0.3%
Foundation

Building

Materials,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

2025

Incremental

CME

Term

Loan,

9.546%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

5.25%),

1/29/31

.

United

States

35,000

34,617

Foundation

Building

Materials,

Inc.,

First

Lien,

CME

Term

Loan,

8.28%,

(3-month

SOFR

+

4%),

1/29/31

.................

United

States

377,143

370,273

404,890

a

a

a

a

a

a

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

#### a
a

g

#### Senior

#### Floating

#### Rate

#### Interests
(continued)

#### Wireless

#### Telecommunication

#### Services

#### 0.2%
h

Connect

Finco

SARL,

First

Lien,

Amendment

No.

CME

Term

Loan,

8.827%,

(1-month

SOFR

+

4.5%),

9/13/29

..........

United

Kingdom

222,188

$

211,788

#### Total

#### Senior

#### Floating

#### Rate

#### Interests

#### (Cost

#### $9,251,138)
.........................

#### 9,213,980

#### Foreign

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### 0.2%
b,d

Electricite

de

France

SA

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

144A,

9.125%

to

6/14/33,

FRN

thereafter

,

Perpetual

.....................

France

200,000

226,085

#### Total

#### Foreign

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $200,000)
..............

#### 226,085

#### Total

#### Long

#### Term

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $128,596,177)

#### .............................

#### 131,902,732

#### a

#### Short

#### Term

#### Investments

#### 4.9%
a

a

#### Country

#### Principal

#### Amount

#### \*
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### U.S.

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### 0.2%
i,j

U.S.

Treasury

Bills,

4.22%,

10/02/25

.....................

United

States

200,000

197,819

#### Total

#### U.S.

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $197,902)

#### ..................

#### 197,819

#### Shares

#### Money

#### Market

#### Funds

#### 4.7%
k,l

Putnam

Short

Term

Investment

Fund,

Class

P,

4.581%

.......

United

States

6,488,764

6,488,764

#### Total

#### Money

#### Market

#### Funds

#### (Cost

#### $6,488,764)

#### .................................

#### 6,488,764

#### Total

#### Short

#### Term

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $6,686,666

####)
...............................

#### 6,686,583

#### a

#### Total

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $135,282,843)

#### 100.7%

#### ................................

#### $138,589,315

#### Other

#### Assets,

#### less

#### Liabilities

#### (0.7)%

#### .........................................

#### (873,467)

#### Net

#### Assets

#### 100.0%

#### .........................................................

#### $137,715,848

#### a
\*

The

principal

amount

is

stated

in

U.S.

dollars

unless

otherwise

indicated.

†

Rounds

to

less

than

0.1%

of

net

assets.

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,

2025,

the

aggregate

value

of

these

securities

was

$105,921,103,

representing

76.9%

of

net

assets.

c

Income

may

be

received

in

additional

securities

and/or

cash.

d

Perpetual

security

with

no

stated

maturity

date.

e

A

portion

or

all

of

the

security

purchased

on

a

delayed

delivery

basis.

See

Note

1(c).

f

The

coupon

rate

shown

represents

the

rate

at

period

end.

g

See

Note

1(e)

regarding

senior

floating

rate

interests.

h

The

coupon

rate

shown

represents

the

rate

inclusive

of

any

caps

or

floors,

if

applicable,

in

effect

at

period

end.

i

The

rate

shown

represents

the

yield

at

period

end.

j

A

portion

or

all

of

the

security

has

been

segregated

as

collateral

for

certain

derivative

contracts.

At

June

30,

2025,

the

value

of

this

security

pledged

amounted

to

$20,771,

representing

less

than

0.1%

net

assets.

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.

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

At

June

30,

2025,

the

Fund

had

the

following

forward

exchange

contracts

outstanding.

See

Note

1(d).

At

June

30,

2025,

the

Fund

had

the

following credit

default

swap

contracts outstanding.

See

Note

(d).

#### Forward

#### Exchange

#### Contracts

#### Currency

#### Counter-

#### party

#### a

#### Type

#### Quantity

#### Contract

#### Amount

#### \*

#### Settlement

#### Date

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation

#### Unrealized

#### Depreciation

#### a

#### OTC

#### Forward

#### Exchange

#### Contracts
British

Pound

......

MSCO

Sell

100,200

135,327

9/17/25

$

—

$

(2,282)

British

Pound

......

SSBT

Sell

210,000

283,537

9/17/25

—

(4,865)

Euro

.............

BOFA

Sell

267,000

306,237

9/17/25

—

(9,916)

Euro

.............

BZWS

Sell

181,200

207,804

9/17/25

—

(6,754)

Euro

.............

GSCO

Sell

87,600

100,464

9/17/25

—

(3,263)

Euro

.............

JPHQ

Sell

129,300

148,273

9/17/25

—

(4,831)

Euro

.............

MSCO

Sell

940,800

1,091,754

9/17/25

—

(22,244)

Euro

.............

SSBT

Sell

1,265,200

1,451,021

9/17/25

—

(47,097)

Total

Forward

Exchange

Contracts

...................................................

—

$(101,252)

Net

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

............................................

$(101,252)

\*

In

U.S.

dollars

unless

otherwise

indicated.

a

May

be

comprised

of

multiple

contracts

with

the

same

counterparty,

currency

and

settlement

date.

#### Credit

#### Default

#### Swap

#### Contracts

#### Description

#### Periodic

#### Payment

#### Rate

#### Received
(Paid)

#### Payment

#### Frequency

#### Maturity

#### Date

#### Notional

#### Amount
(a) #### Value

#### Upfront

#### Payments
(Receipts)

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### Rating
(b) #### Centrally

#### Cleared

#### Swap

#### Contracts

#### to

#### Sell

#### Protection

#### (c)(d)

#### Traded

#### Index
CDX.NA.HY.44

.

5.00%

Quarterly

6/20/30

3,000,000

$

230,248

$

234,191

$

(3,943)

Non-

Investment

Grade

Total

Centrally

Cleared

Swap

Contracts

.....................................

$230,248

$234,191

$(3,943)

Total

Credit

Default

Swap

Contracts

....................................

$230,248

$

234,191

$(3,943)

(a) In

U.S.

dollars

unless

otherwise

indicated.

For

contracts

to

sell

protection,

the

notional

amount

is

equal

to

the

maximum

potential

amount

of

the

future

payments

and

no

recourse

provisions

have

been

entered

into

in

association

with

the

contracts.

(b) Based

on

Standard

and

Poor's

(S&P)

Rating

for

single

name

swaps

and

internal

ratings

for

index

swaps.

Internal

ratings

based

on

mapping

into

equivalent

ratings

from

external

vendors.

(c) Performance

triggers

for

settlement

of

contract

include

default,

bankruptcy

or

restructuring

for

single

name

swaps,

and

failure

to

pay

or

bankruptcy

of

the

underlying

securities

for

traded

index

swaps.

(d) The

fund

enters

contracts

to

sell

protection

to

create

a

long

credit

position.

See

Note

regarding

other

derivative

information.

See

A

bbreviations

on

.

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Financial

Statements

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

June

30,

2025

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

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

...................................................................

$128,794,079

Cost

-

Non-controlled

affiliates

(Note

f)

........................................................

6,488,764

Value

-

Unaffiliated

issuers

..................................................................

$132,100,551

Value

-

Non-controlled

affiliates

(Note

f)

........................................................

6,488,764

Cash

....................................................................................

162,905

Receivables:

Investment

securities

sold

...................................................................

561,361

Capital

shares

sold

........................................................................

90,233

Dividends

and

interest

.....................................................................

2,167,621

Deposits

with

brokers

for:

Centrally

cleared

swap

contracts

............................................................

238,019

Variation

margin

on

centrally

cleared

swap

contracts

...............................................

11,058

Prepaid

expenses

..........................................................................

68,332

Total

assets

..........................................................................

141,888,844

Liabilities:

Payables:

Investment

securities

purchased

..............................................................

3,749,135

Capital

shares

redeemed

...................................................................

63,935

Management

fees

.........................................................................

61,986

Administrative

fees

........................................................................

549

Distribution

fees

..........................................................................

8,619

Transfer

agent

fees

........................................................................

23,704

Trustees'

fees

and

expenses

.................................................................

95,285

Unrealized

depreciation

on

OTC

forward

exchange

contracts

..........................................

101,252

Accrued

expenses

and

other

liabilities

...........................................................

68,531

Total

liabilities

.........................................................................

4,172,996

Net

assets,

at

value

.................................................................

$137,715,848

Net

assets

consist

of:

Paid-in

capital

.............................................................................

$157,434,184

Total

distributable

earnings

(losses)

.............................................................

(19,718,336)

Net

assets,

at

value

.................................................................

$137,715,848

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Financial

Statements

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

(continued)

June

30,

2025

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund

#### Class

#### IA:
Net

assets,

at

value

.......................................................................

$94,532,821

Shares

outstanding

........................................................................

16,951,327

Net

asset

value

and

maximum

offering

price

per

share

a

.............................................

$5.58

#### Class

#### IB:
Net

assets,

at

value

.......................................................................

$43,183,027

Shares

outstanding

........................................................................

7,835,070

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,

2025

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

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

$26)

Unaffiliated

issuers

........................................................................

$40,632

Non-controlled

affiliates

(Note

f)

.............................................................

115,995

Interest:

Unaffiliated

issuers

........................................................................

4,820,036

Total

investment

income

...................................................................

4,976,663

Expenses:

Management

fees

(Note

a)

...................................................................

381,083

Administrative

fees

(Note

b)

..................................................................

826

Distribution

fees:

(Note

3c)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

IB

................................................................................

52,128

Transfer

agent

fees:

(Note

3d)

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

IA

................................................................................

48,021

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Class

IB

................................................................................

1,325

Custodian

fees

(Note

4)

......................................................................

6,871

Reports

to

shareholders

fees

..................................................................

10,811

Professional

fees

...........................................................................

46,024

Trustees'

fees

and

expenses

(Note

3e)

...........................................................

2,406

Other

....................................................................................

Total

expenses

.........................................................................

549,778

Expense

reductions

(Note

4)

...............................................................

(625) Net

expenses

.........................................................................

549,153

Net

investment

income

................................................................

4,427,510

Realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses):

Net

realized

gain

(loss)

from:

Investments:

Unaffiliated

issuers

......................................................................

(451,866)

Foreign

currency

transactions

................................................................

Forward

exchange

contracts

.................................................................

(184,146)

Swap

contracts

...........................................................................

(32,637)

Net

realized

gain

(loss)

..................................................................

(668,522)

Net

change

in

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

on:

Investments:

Unaffiliated

issuers

......................................................................

2,286,838

Translation

of

other

assets

and

liabilities

denominated

in

foreign

currencies

..............................

1,255

Forward

exchange

contracts

.................................................................

(165,043)

Swap

contracts

...........................................................................

(19,713)

Net

change

in

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

............................................

2,103,337

Net

realized

and

unrealized

gain

(loss)

............................................................

1,434,815

Net

increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets

resulting

from

operations

..........................................

$5,862,325

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Financial

Statements

Statements

of

Changes

in

Net

Assets

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### June

#### 30,

#### 2025
(unaudited)

#### Year

#### Ended

#### December

#### 31,

#### 2024
Increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets:

Operations:

Net

investment

income

.................................................

$4,427,510

$9,113,256

Net

realized

gain

(loss)

.................................................

(668,522)

(1,899,414)

Net

change

in

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

...........................

2,103,337

3,936,981

Net

increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets

resulting

from

operations

................

5,862,325

11,150,823

Distributions

to

shareholders:

Class

IA

............................................................

(6,439,428)

(5,880,235)

Class

IB

............................................................

(2,716,756)

(2,839,660)

Total

distributions

to

shareholders

..........................................

(9,156,184)

(8,719,895)

Capital

share

transactions:

(Note

2)

Class

IA

............................................................

(5,587,993)

498,969

Class

IB

............................................................

520,378

(4,396,241)

Total

capital

share

transactions

............................................

(5,067,615)

(3,897,272)

Net

increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets

...................................

(8,361,474)

(1,466,344)

Net

assets:

Beginning

of

period

.....................................................

146,077,322

147,543,666

End

of

period

..........................................................

$137,715,848

$146,077,322

Putnam

Variable

Trust

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

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

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 Fund'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

and

derivative

financial instruments 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

p.m.

Eastern

time.

The

value

is

then

converted

into

its

U.S.

dollar

equivalent

at

the

foreign

exchange

rate

in

effect

at

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 over-the-counter

(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

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

are

centrally

cleared

or

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,

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

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

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.

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

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

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

a. #### Financial

#### Instrument

#### Valuation
(continued)

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

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,

2025,

the

Fund

had

OTC

derivatives

in

a

net

liability

position

of

$101,252

and

the

aggregate

value

of

collateral

pledged

for

such

contracts

was

$20,771.

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

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.

The

Fund

entered

into

credit

default

swap

contracts

primarily

to

manage

and/or

gain

exposure

to

credit

risk.

A

credit

default

swap

is

an

agreement

between

the

Fund

and

a

counterparty

whereby

the

buyer

of

the

contract

receives

credit

protection

and

the

seller

of

the

contract

guarantees

the

credit

worthiness

of

a

referenced

debt

obligation.

These

agreements

may

be

privately

negotiated

in

the

over-the-

counter

market

(OTC

credit

default

swaps)

or

may

be

executed

in

a

multilateral

trade

facility

platform,

such

as

a

registered

exchange

(centrally

cleared

credit

default

swaps).

The

underlying

referenced

debt

obligation

may

be

a

single

issuer

of

corporate

or

sovereign

debt,

a

credit

index,

a

basket

of

issuers

or

indices,

or

a

tranche

of

a

credit

index

or

basket

of

issuers

or

indices.

In

the

event

of

a

default

of

the

underlying

referenced

debt

obligation,

the

buyer

is

entitled

to

receive

the

notional

amount

of

the

credit

default

swap

contract

from

the

seller

in

exchange

for

the

referenced

debt

obligation,

a

net

settlement

amount

equal

to

the

notional

amount

of

the

credit

default

swap

less

the

recovery

value

of

the

referenced

debt

obligation,

or

other

agreed

upon

amount.

For

centrally

cleared

credit

default

swaps,

required

initial

margins

are

pledged

by

the

Fund,

and

the

daily

change

in

fair

value

is

accounted

for

as

a

variation

margin

payable

or

receivable

in

the

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Over

the

term

of

the

contract,

the

buyer

pays

the

seller

a

periodic

stream

of

payments,

provided

that

no

event

of

default

has

occurred.

Such

periodic

payments

are

accrued

daily

as

an

unrealized

appreciation or

depreciation

until

the

payments

are

made,

at

which

time

they

are

realized.

Upfront

payments

and

receipts

are

reflected

in

the Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

and

represent

compensating

factors

between

stated

terms

of

the

credit

default

swap

agreement

and

prevailing

market

conditions

(credit

spreads

and

other

relevant

factors).

These

upfront

payments

and

receipts

are

amortized

over

the

term

of

the

contract

as

a

realized

gain

or

loss

in

the Statement

of

Operations.

Credit

default

swap

contracts

outstanding

at

period

end,

if

any,

are

listed

in

the

Fund's

Schedule

of

Investments.

See

Note

8 regarding

other

derivative

information.

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

d. #### Derivative

#### Financial

#### Instruments
(continued)

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

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

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

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,

2025, 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).

Open

tax

years

are

those

that

remain

subject

to

examination

and

are

based

on

the

statute

of

limitations

in

each

jurisdiction

in

which

the Fund

invests.

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.

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

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.

2. #### Shares

#### of

#### Beneficial

#### Interest
At

June

30,

2025,

there

were

an

unlimited

number

of

shares

authorized

(without

par

value).

Transactions

in

the

Fund's

shares

were

as

follows:

#### 3

#### .

#### Transactions

#### with

#### Affiliates
Franklin

Resources,

Inc.

is

the

holding

company

for

various

subsidiaries

that

together

are

referred

to

as

Franklin

Templeton.

Certain

officers

and trustees

of

the Fund are

also

officers

and/or

directors

of

the

following

subsidiaries:

#### Six

#### Months

#### Ended

#### June

#### 30,

#### 2025

#### Year

#### Ended

#### December

#### 31,

#### 2024

#### Shares

#### Amount

#### Shares

#### Amount

#### Class

#### IA

#### Shares:
Shares

sold

...................................

438,369

$2,470,649

1,522,201

$8,498,320

Shares

issued

in

reinvestment

of

distributions

..........

1,199,149

6,439,428

1,095,016

5,880,235

Shares

redeemed

...............................

(2,595,634)

(14,498,070)

(2,501,626)

(13,879,586)

Net

increase

(decrease)

..........................

(958,116)

$(5,587,993)

115,591

$498,969

#### Class

#### IB

#### Shares:
Shares

sold

...................................

2,267,154

$12,406,602

1,618,772

$8,942,309

Shares

issued

in

reinvestment

of

distributions

..........

511,630

2,716,756

534,776

2,839,660

Shares

redeemed

...............................

(2,711,111)

(14,602,980)

(2,969,637)

(16,178,210)

Net

increase

(decrease)

..........................

67,673

$520,378

(816,089)

$(4,396,241)

#### 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

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

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

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,

2025,

the

annualized

gross

effective

investment

management

fee

rate

was 0.545%

of

the

Fund's

average daily

net

assets.

Advisers

retained

Putnam

Management

as

subadvisor

for

the

Fund

pursuant

to

a

new

subadvisory

agreement.

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)

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### 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,

2025,

the

Fund

held

investments

in

affiliated

management

investment

companies

as

follows:

g. #### Waiver

#### and

#### Expense

#### Reimbursements
Advisers has

contractually

agreed,

through

April

30,

2027,

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.

#### &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

#### a

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund

#### Non-Controlled

#### Affiliates
Dividends

Putnam

Short

Term

Investment

Fund,

Class

P,

4.581%

......

$4,598,400

$33,609,626

$(31,719,262)

$—

$—

$6,488,764

6,488,764

$115,995

#### Total

#### Affiliated

#### Securities

#### ...
$4,598,400

$33,609,626

$(31,719,262)

$—

$—

$6,488,764

$115,995

#### 3

#### .

#### Transactions

#### with

#### Affiliates
(continued)

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

4. #### Expense

#### Offset

#### Arrangement
The Fund has entered

into arrangements

with

PSERV

and

its

custodian

whereby

credits

realized

as

a

result

of

uninvested

cash

balances

are

used

to

reduce

a

portion

of

the

Fund's

transfer

agent

and

custodian

fees,

respectively.

During

the

period

ended

June

30,

2025,

the

fees

were

reduced

as

noted

in

the

Statement

of

Operations.

Effective

April

14,

2025,

earned

credits

on

custodian

fees,

if

any,

are

recognized

as

income.

5. #### Income

#### Taxes
For

tax

purposes,

capital

losses

may

be

carried

over

to

offset

future

capital

gains.

At

December

31,

2024,

the

capital

loss

carryforwards

were

as

follows:

At

June

30,

2025,

the

cost

of

investments

and

net

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation) for

income

tax

purposes

were

as

follows:

6. #### Investment

#### Transactions
Purchases

and

sales

of

investments (excluding

short

term

securities) for

the

period

ended

June

30,

2025,

aggregated

$30,561,606 and

$39,378,273,

respectively.

7. #### Credit

#### Risk
At

June

30,

2025,

the

Fund

had 86.7% 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. #### Other

#### Derivative

#### Information
At

June

30,

2025,

investments

in

derivative

contracts

are

reflected

in

the Statement of

Assets

and

Liabilities

as

follows:

Capital

loss

carryforwards

not

subject

to

expiration:

Short

term

................................................................................

$

629,245

Long

term

................................................................................

25,863,437

Total

capital

loss

carryforwards

...............................................................

$26,492,682

Cost

of

investments

..........................................................................

$135,552,220

Unrealized

appreciation

........................................................................

$4,858,103

Unrealized

depreciation

........................................................................

(1,782,148)

Net

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

..........................................................

$3,075,955

#### 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

$

—

Unrealized

depreciation

on

OTC

forward

exchange

contracts

$

101,252

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

For

the

period

ended

June

30,

2025,

the

effect

of

derivative

contracts

in

the Statement

of

Operations

was

as

follows:

For

the

period

ended

June

30,

2025,

the

average

month

end

notional

amount

of

swap

contracts

represented

$2,006,857.

The average

month

end

contract

value

of

forward

exchange

contracts

was

$3,443,190.

See

Note

1(d) regarding

derivative

financial

instruments.

See

Abbreviations

on

.

9. #### Credit

#### Facility
Effective

January

31,

2025,

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

30,

2026. 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

shall,

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,

#### 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
(continued)

Credit

contracts

............

Variation

margin

on

centrally

cleared

swap

contracts

$

—

Variation

margin

on

centrally

cleared

swap

contracts

$

3,943

a

Total

....................

$—

$105,195

a

This

amount

reflects

the

cumulative

appreciation

(depreciation)

of

centrally

cleared

swap

contracts

as

reported

in

the

Schedule

of

Investments.

Only

the

variation

margin

receivable/payable

at

period

end

is

separately

reported

within

the

Statement

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Prior

variation

margin

movements

were

recorded

to

cash

upon

receipt

or

payment.

#### 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

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;appreciation

(depreciation)

on:

Foreign

exchange

contracts

.....

Forward

exchange

contracts

$(184,146)

Forward

exchange

contracts

$(165,043)

Credit

contracts

...............

Swap

contracts

(32,637)

Swap

contracts

(19,713)

Total

.......................

$(216,783)

$(184,756)

8. #### Other

#### Derivative

#### Information
(continued)

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### 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

reporting

period,

the

Fund

did

not

use

the

Global

Credit

Facility.

Prior

to

January

31,

2025,

the

Fund

participated,

along

with

other

Putnam

funds,

in

a

$320

million

syndicated

unsecured

committed

line

of

credit,

provided

by

State

Street

($160

million)

and

JPMorgan

($160

million),

and

a

$235.5

million

unsecured

uncommitted

line

of

credit,

provided

by

State

Street.

Borrowings

may

have

been

made

for

temporary

or

emergency

purposes,

including

the

funding

of

shareholder

redemption

requests

and

trade

settlements.

Interest

was

charged

to

the

Fund

based

on

the

Fund's

borrowings.

A

closing

fee

equal

to

0.04%

of

the

committed

line

of

credit

and

0.04%

of

the

uncommitted

line

of

credit

was

paid

by

the

participating

funds

and

a

$75,000

fee

was

paid

by

the

participating

funds

to

State

Street

as

agent

of

the

syndicated

committed

line

of

credit.

In

addition,

a

commitment

fee

of

0.21%

per

annum

on

any

unutilized

portion

of

the

committed

line

of

credit

was

allocated

to

the

participating

funds

based

on

their

relative

net

assets

and

paid

quarterly.

During

the

reporting

period,

the

Fund

had

no

borrowings

against

these

arrangements.

10. #### 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

–

quoted

prices

in

active

markets

for

identical

financial

instruments

Level

–

other

significant

observable

inputs

(including

quoted

prices

for

similar

financial

instruments,

interest

rates,

prepayment

speed,

credit

risk,

etc.)

Level

–

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,

2025,

in

valuing

the

Fund's assets

and

liabilities carried

at

fair

value,

is

as

follows:

#### Level

#### 1

#### Level

#### 2

#### Level

#### 3

#### Total

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund

#### Assets:
Investments

in

Securities:

Common

Stocks

.........................

$

852,359

$

—

$

—

$

852,359

Convertible

Preferred

Stocks

................

1,346,998

—

—

1,346,998

Convertible

Bonds

.......................

—

2,219,383

—

2,219,383

Corporate

Bonds

........................

—

118,043,927

—

118,043,927

Senior

Floating

Rate

Interests

...............

—

9,213,980

—

9,213,980

Foreign

Government

and

Agency

Securities

....

—

226,085

—

226,085

Short

Term

Investments

...................

6,488,764

197,819

—

6,686,583

Total

Investments

in

Securities

...........

$8,688,121

$129,901,194

$—

$138,589,315

#### Liabilities:
Other

Financial

Instruments:

Forward

Exchange

Contracts

...............

$—

$101,252

$—

$101,252

Swap

Contracts

.........................

—

3,943

—

3,943

Total

Other

Financial

Instruments

.........

$—

$105,195

$—

$105,195

9. #### Credit

#### Facility
(continued)

Putnam

Variable

Trust

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund
(continued)

11. #### Operating

#### Segments
The

Fund has adopted

the

FASB

Accounting

Standards

Update

(ASU)

2023-07,

*Segment* 

*Reporting* 

*(Topic* 

*280)* 

*-* 

*Improvements* 

*to* 

*Reportable* 

*Segment* 

*Disclosures.*

The

update

is

limited

to

disclosure

requirements

and

does

not

impact

the Fund's

financial

position

or

results

of

operations.

The Fund operates

as

a

single

operating

segment,

which

is

an

investment

portfolio.

The

Fund's Investment

manager

serves

as

the

Chief

Operating

Decision

Maker

(CODM),

evaluating

fund-wide

results

and

performance

under

a

unified

investment

strategy.

The

CODM

uses

these

measures

to

assess

fund

performance

and

allocate

resources

effectively.

Internal

reporting

provided

to

the

CODM

aligns

with

the

accounting

policies

and

measurement

principles

used

in

the financial

statements.

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.

12. #### New

#### Accounting

#### Pronouncements
In

December

2023,

the

FASB

issued

ASU

No.

2023-09,

Income

Taxes

(Topic

740)

–

Improvements

to

Income

Tax

Disclosures.

The

amendments

enhance

income

tax

disclosures

by

requiring

greater

disaggregation

in

the

rate

reconciliation

and

income

taxes

paid

by

jurisdiction,

while

removing

certain

disclosure

requirements.

The

ASU

is

effective

for

annual

periods

beginning

after

December

15,

2024,

with

early

adoption

permitted.

Management

is

currently

evaluating

the

impact

and

believes

that

the

adoption

of

the

ASU

will

not

have

a

material

impact

on

the

financial

statements.

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.

#### Abbreviations

#### Counterparty

#### BOFA
Bank

of

America

NA

#### BZWS
Barclays

Bank

plc

#### GSCO
Goldman

Sachs

Group,

Inc.

#### JPHQ
JPMorgan

Chase

Bank

NA

#### MSCO
Morgan

Stanley

#### SSBT
State

Street

Bank

and

Trust

Co.

#### Cu

#### r

#### rency

#### EUR
Euro

#### GBP
British

Pound

#### USD
United

States

Dollar

#### Index

#### CDX.NA.HY.

#### Series

#### number
CDX

North

America

High

Yield

Index

#### 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

Putnam

Variable

Trust

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Putnam

#### VT

#### High

#### Yield

#### Fund

#### Trustee

#### approval

#### of

#### management

#### contracts
*Consideration* 

*of* 

*your* 

*fund's* 

*management* 

*and* 

*sub-advisory* 

*contracts*

At

their

meeting

on

June

27,

2025,

the

Board

of

Trustees

("Board")

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

its

affiliate,

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

Resources,

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

entities.

All

references

to

the

Advisor

describing

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.

#### 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

Putnam

Variable

Trust

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

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

2025,

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

2025

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,

2025. 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;

4. Potential

benefits

to

shareholders

of

the

funds

that

could

result

from

the

alignment

of

certain

fund

features

and

shareholder

benefits

with

those

of

other

funds

sponsored

by

the

Advisor

and

its

affiliates

and

access

to

a

broader

array

of

investment

opportunities;

and

5. 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

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

(including

the

exchange-traded

funds)

or

repositioned

funds,

the

current

fee

arrangements

under

the

vast

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.

Putnam

Variable

Trust

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

*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

assets

under

management

of

other

mutual

funds

sponsored

by

the

applicable

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

(or,

in

the

case

of

ten

municipal

income

funds

that

are

converting

into

exchange-traded

funds,

will

implement)

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

2024. These

expense

limitations

were:

(i) a

contractual

expense

limitation

applicable

to

specified

mutual

funds

(including

your

fund)

of

basis

points

on

investor

servicing

fees

and

expenses

and

(ii) a

contractual

expense

limitation

applicable

to

specified

mutual

funds

(including

your

fund)

of

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

2024. The

Advisor

and

PSERV

have

agreed

to

maintain

these

expense

limitations

until

at

least

April

30,

2027. 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,

2024. 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,

2024

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

2024

for

each

of

the

applicable

Putnam

Variable

Trust

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

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

clients

in

similar

asset

categories,

including

other

1940

Act

funds

advised

by

the

Adviser

but

overseen

by

a

board

of

trustees

other

than

the

Board,

sub-advised

U.S.

mutual

funds,

exchange-traded

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,

for

products

that

are

managed

by

the

same

portfolio

team

in

a

similar

asset

category

to

those

of

the

funds,

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

contract.

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

senior

investment

management

of

the

Advisor

throughout

the

year.

The

Trustees

concluded

that

the

Advisor

generally

provides

a

high-quality

investment

process

—

based

on

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

2024

against

a

constructive

yet

complex

investing

environment.

The

S&P

500

was

up

25%

in

2024,

but

significant

concentration

of

returns

among

large

cap

and

technology

stocks

and

periods

of

volatility

posed

challenges

in

the

market.

The

Bloomberg

Aggregate

fixed

income

index

was

up

slightly

over

1%

amidst

many

moving

pieces,

with

the

Federal

Reserve

cutting

the

Effective

Federal

Funds

rate

from

5.25%

at

year-end

2023

to

4.25%

at

year-end

2024,

with

three

cuts

in

the

latter

part

of

the

year,

while

also

trying

to

manage

inflation

concerns.

Ten-year

Treasury

yields

ended

2024

at

4.6%

up

from

3.9%

at

year-end

2023. Corporate

earnings

and

employment

figures

continued

to

generally

show

strength

during

the

year,

while

geopolitical

tensions

were

closely

watched.

For

the

one-year

period

ended

December

31,

2024,

the

Trustees

noted

that

the

funds,

on

an

asset-weighted

basis,

ranked

in

the

27th

percentile

of

their

peers

as

determined

by

Lipper

Inc.

("Lipper")

and,

on

an

asset-weighted

basis,

outperformed

their

benchmarks

by

3.0%

gross

of

fees

over

the

one-year

period.

The

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

20th,

22nd

and

20th

percentiles

of

their

Lipper

peers

over

the

three-year,

five-year

and

ten-year

periods

ended

December

31,

2024,

respectively.

The

Trustees

further

noted

that

the

funds,

in

the

aggregate,

outperformed

their

benchmarks

on

a

gross

basis

for

Putnam

Variable

Trust

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

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

funds

were

rated

four

or

five

stars

at

the

end

of

2024,

which

represented

an

increase

of

seven

funds

year-over-year.

The

Trustees

also

considered

that

funds

were

five-star

rated

at

the

end

of

2024,

which

was

also

a

year-

over-year

increase

of

seven

funds.

The

Board

noted,

however,

the

disappointing

investment

performance

of

some

funds

for

periods

ended

December

31,

2024

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,

2024

(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,

2024,

there

were

95,

and

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.)

The

Trustees

noted

that

the

Advisor

had

made

internal

promotions

and

other

portfolio

management

assignment

changes

in

2024

to

strengthen

its

investment

teams

providing

services

to

the

funds.

*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.

The

Advisor

may

also

receive

benefits

from

payments

that

funds

make

to

the

Advisor

for

distribution

services

and

investor

services.

In

conjunction

with

the

annual

review

of

your

fund's

management

and

sub-advisory

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

One-year

period

Three-year

period

Five-year

period

2nd

2nd

3rd

Putnam

Variable

Trust

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

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.

38920-SFSOI

08/25©

2025

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.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) The Registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the Registrant's disclosure
 controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"))
 are effective as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based
 on their evaluation of the disclosure controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act and 15d-15(b) under the Securities
 Exchange Act of 1934.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(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.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Not applicable.

ITEM 19. EXHIBITS.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) (1) Not applicable.

Exhibit 99.CODE ETH

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[(a) (3) Certifications pursuant to section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 attached hereto.](pvhyf-efp17149_ex99cert.htm)

Exhibit 99.CERT

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[(b) Certifications pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 attached hereto.](pvhyf-efp17149_ex99906cert.htm)

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 26, 2025

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 26, 2025

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| By: | /s/ Jeffrey White |
|  | Jeffrey White |
|  | Principal Financial Officer |

---

Date: August 26, 2025

## Ex-99.Cert

CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 302

EX-99.CERT

**<u>CERTIFICATIONS</u>**

I, Jonathan S. Horwitz, certify that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of **Putnam Variable Trust**;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period
covered by this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required
to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures
(as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule
30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to
be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries,
is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial
reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented
in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to
the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting
that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors
and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over
financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and
report financial information; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant
role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 26, 2025 <br>

---

| |
|:---|
| /s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz |
| Jonathan S. Horwitz |
| Principal Executive Officer |

---

**<u>CERTIFICATIONS</u>**

I, Jeffrey White, certify that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of **Putnam Variable Trust**;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3. Based on my knowledge, the financial information included in this report, and the financial statements
on which the financial information is based, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes
in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of,
and for, the periods presented in this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining
disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial
reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision,
to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under
our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements
for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures
and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90
days prior to the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period
covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control
over financial reporting; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors
and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal
control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize,
and report financial information; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have
a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 26, 2025 <br>

---

| |
|:---|
| /s/ Jeffrey White |
| Jeffrey White |
| Principal Financial Officer |

---

## Exhibit 99.906

CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 906

EX-99.906CERT

**CERTIFICATION**

**Jonathan S. Horwitz,** Principal Executive Officer, and **Jeffrey White,** Principal Financial Officer of **Putnam Variable Trust** (the "Registrant"), each certify to the best of their knowledge that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. The Registrant's periodic report on Form N-CSR for the period ended **June 30, 2025** (the "Form N-CSR") fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d), as applicable, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. The information contained in the Form N-CSR fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Registrant.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Principal Executive Officer** | **Principal Financial Officer** |
| Putnam Variable Trust | Putnam Variable Trust |
| /s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz | /s/ Jeffrey White |
| Jonathan S. Horwitz | Jeffrey White |

---

Date: August 26, 2025 Date: August 26, 2025

This certification is being furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission solely pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350 and is not being filed as part of the Form N-CSR with the Commission.