Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) to Issue $0.48 Quarterly Dividend

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of 0.48 per share by the investment management company on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 9.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th.

Ares Capital has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Ares Capital has a payout ratio of 96.0% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Research analysts expect Ares Capital to earn $2.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 88.5%.

Ares Capital Stock Up 2.2%

ARCC traded up $0.43 on Wednesday, reaching $19.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,937,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,755,928. The company has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.59. Ares Capital has a fifty-two week low of $18.26 and a fifty-two week high of $23.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.93.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Ares Capital had a net margin of 45.16% and a return on equity of 10.08%. The business had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Ares Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS matched Street estimates at $0.50 and the company reaffirmed its dividend, signaling cash‑flow stability for income investors. MarketBeat: Q4 results, press release and slide deck
• Positive Sentiment: Core profitability metrics remain solid — reported net margin (~45%) and return on equity (~10%) indicate healthy profitability relative to peers in the business development company (BDC) space. TipRanks: Strong 2025 results, dividend maintained
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted increased investment and exit activity in the quarter, which can support realized gains and portfolio rotation opportunities going forward. Seeking Alpha: Investment, exit activity swell
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue rose about 4.5% year‑over‑year to $793M but missed the consensus (~$795M) by a small margin — a modest mixed signal on growth versus estimates. MSN: Revenue slightly below consensus
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly headlines and analyst writeups provide context (metrics vs. estimates) but no major guidance change; investors should watch the conference call/slides for detail on NII trends and capital deployment. Zacks: Key metrics and analysis
• Negative Sentiment: EPS declined from $0.55 a year ago to $0.50, and pre‑earnings commentary had flagged pressure on net interest income (NII) and the dividend—risks investors should monitor if rates or portfolio yields shift unfavorably. Seeking Alpha: NII and dividend pressure preview

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.