Does Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) Pay a Dividend? (2026)
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
Yes. Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) pays a dividend yielding about 10.08% as of July 2026, paid quarterly, four times a year. The latest payment on record was $0.48 per share, ex-dividend June 15, 2026. The forward annual rate is roughly $1.92 per share, about $1008 a year on a $10,000 position before tax. Figures are approximate and dated; verify the current number with your broker.
Does Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) pay a dividend?
Yes. Ares Capital Corporation distributes a dividend yielding roughly 10.08% as of July 2026, paid quarterly, four times a year. The most recent payment on record was $0.48 per share, with an ex-dividend date of June 15, 2026. Annualized, that is about $1.92 per share.
Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Unlike an operating company, a BDC is best judged on net asset value per share, whether the dividend is covered by net investment income, and the level of non-accruals, rather than on a traditional earnings multiple. A yield in the double digits reflects both the income design of the structure and the credit risk of lending to leveraged private companies, so a high headline yield is not automatically a bargain.
ARCC dividend at a glance
| 2026-06-15 | $0.48 |
| 2026-03-13 | $0.48 |
| 2025-12-15 | $0.48 |
| 2025-09-15 | $0.48 |
| 2025-06-13 | $0.48 |
| 2025-03-14 | $0.48 |
ARCC dividend data as of July 2026, sourced from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. Yield moves with price and payout; confirm the current dividend and ex-date with ARCC's investor relations page before relying on it.
Is the ARCC dividend covered?
Ares Capital Corporation paid out about 118% of reported net income as dividends, which means the dividend was larger than accounting earnings over the period. That sounds alarming and sometimes is, but it is normal and expected for REITs, BDCs, and companies carrying large non-cash charges such as amortization, because those businesses are judged on cash measures (FFO, AFFO, or distributable net investment income) rather than GAAP net income. The useful check for ARCC is whether the cash-flow measure covers the payout, not the earnings-based ratio.
Coverage is the question worth asking before yield. A dividend is only as good as the earnings behind it, and the highest yields on any screen are often the ones closest to being cut. Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser.
How the ARCC dividend has changed
The latest payment of $0.48 per share compares with $0.48 in the equivalent payment a year earlier (June 13, 2025). That is a change of 0.0% over the year.
A single year says little on its own. What dividend-growth investors track is the multi-year record: whether the payout has risen through a downturn, and whether the raises have kept pace with inflation. That record is on ARCC's investor relations page.
What ARCC's dividend means for you
- Income: about $1008 a year per $10,000 invested, before tax.
- Yield is a ratio, not a payment: it rises when the share price falls. A jump in yield without a raise in the dividend means the stock got cheaper, which may or may not be good news.
- Total return: for ARCC the dividend is one part of return and price change is usually the larger part. Compare total return, not yield, when weighing it against another holding.
- Reinvest or take the cash: a DRIP compounds the position automatically; taking the cash gives you income now. Either way it is taxable in a taxable account.
- If you want more yield: dedicated dividend names and funds target higher, steadier payouts. See the best dividend stocks and best dividend ETFs.
How ARCC dividends are taxed
Dividends from US common stock are usually qualified, which means they are taxed at long-term capital-gains rates rather than as ordinary income, as long as you held the shares for more than 60 days in the 121-day window around the ex-dividend date. Distributions from REITs and BDCs generally do not qualify and are taxed as ordinary income. Inside an IRA, Roth, or 401(k) none of this applies while the money stays in the account. Full detail is in how dividends are taxed. This is not tax advice.
The bottom line on the ARCC dividend
Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) pays about 10.08%, or roughly $1.92 per share a year. That is a genuine income yield, so the payout is a real part of the case for holding it, and the coverage question above is the one to answer first. For the full picture see the ARCC guide. Walnut can show how ARCC fits your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Investing in Ares Capital Corporation with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how ARCC fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
Does Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) pay a dividend?
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Yes. Ares Capital Corporation pays a dividend yielding roughly 10.08% as of July 2026, paid quarterly, four times a year. The most recent payment on record was $0.48 per share with an ex-dividend date of June 15, 2026. That works out to a forward annual rate of about $1.92 per share. Yields move with the share price, so verify the current figure with your broker or ARCC's investor relations page before relying on it.
What is ARCC's dividend yield?
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About 10.08% as of July 2026. On a $10,000 position that is roughly $1008 of dividend income a year before tax. For context, the S&P 500 yields around 1.2%, so ARCC yields meaningfully more than the broad market. A higher yield is not automatically better: it can reflect a falling share price as easily as a generous payout, so it is worth checking why the number is what it is.
How often does ARCC pay its dividend?
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Ares Capital Corporation pays quarterly, four times a year. The most recent payment on record had an ex-dividend date of June 15, 2026. To receive a given payment you have to own the shares before the ex-dividend date, not on the pay date. Confirm upcoming dates on ARCC's investor relations page, because boards can change both the amount and the timing.
When is ARCC's ex-dividend date?
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The ex-dividend date recorded in our July 2026 data pull is June 15, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the cutoff: buy on or after it and the seller keeps that payment, not you. Buying just before the ex-date to capture the dividend does not create free money, because the share price typically drops by roughly the dividend amount when the stock goes ex. Check ARCC's investor relations page for the next confirmed date.
Has Ares Capital Corporation raised its dividend recently?
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Not in the last year. The latest payment of $0.48 per share is unchanged from the $0.48 paid a year earlier. A flat dividend is not necessarily a warning sign, but it does mean the income is losing ground to inflation.
Is ARCC's dividend safe?
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Ares Capital Corporation paid out about 118% of reported net income as dividends, which means the dividend was larger than accounting earnings over the period. That sounds alarming and sometimes is, but it is normal and expected for REITs, BDCs, and companies carrying large non-cash charges such as amortization, because those businesses are judged on cash measures (FFO, AFFO, or distributable net investment income) rather than GAAP net income. The useful check for ARCC is whether the cash-flow measure covers the payout, not the earnings-based ratio. Nobody can guarantee a dividend: boards cut them, and a high yield is sometimes the market pricing in exactly that. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is not a recommendation.
How much would I earn in dividends from a $10,000 position in ARCC?
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At a yield of about 10.08%, roughly $1008 a year before tax, spread across 4 payments. That is a snapshot, not a promise: the amount changes when the company changes its payout, and your yield on cost is fixed at the price you paid, not at today's price.
Are ARCC dividends qualified for tax purposes?
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Dividends from US common stock are usually qualified, meaning they are taxed at the lower long-term capital-gains rates, provided you held the shares for more than 60 days in the 121-day window around the ex-dividend date. Distributions from REITs, BDCs, and some pass-through structures are generally taxed as ordinary income instead. In an IRA or Roth the question does not arise. See our guide to how dividends are taxed. This is not tax advice.
Should I reinvest ARCC dividends?
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Most brokers offer automatic reinvestment (a DRIP) that puts each ARCC payment straight back into more shares, often fractional ones. Reinvesting compounds the position and is the standard choice when you do not need the cash yet. Taking the cash makes sense when you are spending the income or want to direct it elsewhere. Either way the dividend is taxable in a taxable account in the year it is paid, even if you never see the money.
Why is ARCC's dividend yield so high?
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As a regulated investment company, a BDC must distribute the large majority of its taxable income to shareholders each year, which is why the payout is big relative to the share price. The high yield also reflects the credit risk of lending to leveraged private companies. A double-digit yield is a feature of the structure, not automatically a sign the stock is cheap.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Dividend figures on this page come from a July 2026 data pull and are approximate; verify the current yield, amount, schedule, and policy with ARCC's investor relations page or your broker before acting on them.