Ares Capital has kept its regular quarterly dividend flat at $0.48 per share for twelve consecutive quarters, with the payout unchanged on every ex-date from March 14, 2023 through the September 15, 2026 record date, and the next check due September 30 to stockholders of record as of September 15. Core EPS came in at $0.47 in both the first and second quarters of 2026, a hair below the $0.48 dividend, after $0.50 prints in the third and fourth quarters of 2025. Non-accruals at cost climbed to 2.4% from 1.8% at year-end 2025, and management points to $988 million, or $1.38 per share, in spillover income as a buffer while touting 68 consecutive quarters of stable or increasing payouts. The bull case rests on Core EPS re-clearing $0.48, non-accruals stabilizing, and new commitment yields firming from the 9.1% post-Q3 2025 level, while non-accruals pushing past the 3% historical average would put spillover on the hook to fund the base payout. A flat dividend held across a full credit cycle amounts to a policy statement: the income has been reliable, but it has not kept pace with rising costs.
Ares Capital CorporationCore EPS slipped to $0.47, below the $0.48 dividend, and non-accruals rose to 2.4%, pressuring the payout's coverage.
