Does Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC) Pay a Dividend? (2026)

Yes. Prospect Capital Corporation pays a dividend yielding roughly 22.42% as of July 2026, paid monthly, twelve times a year. The most recent payment on record was $0.0350 per share with an ex-dividend date of June 26, 2026. That works out to a forward annual rate of about $0.50 per share. Yields move with the share price, so verify the current figure with your broker or PSEC's investor relations page before relying on it.

About 22.42% as of July 2026. On a $10,000 position that is roughly $2242 of dividend income a year before tax. For context, the S&P 500 yields around 1.2%, so PSEC 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.

Prospect Capital Corporation pays monthly, twelve times a year. The most recent payment on record had an ex-dividend date of June 26, 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 PSEC's investor relations page, because boards can change both the amount and the timing.

The ex-dividend date recorded in our July 2026 data pull is July 29, 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 PSEC's investor relations page for the next confirmed date.

$0.0350 per share in the most recent payment (ex-date June 26, 2026), which annualizes to about $0.50 per share. The equivalent payment a year earlier was $0.0450. That is a change of -22.2% year over year.

Not in the last year. The latest payment of $0.0350 per share is below the $0.0450 paid a year earlier. A flat dividend is not necessarily a warning sign, but it does mean the income is losing ground to inflation.

Prospect Capital Corporation paid out about 212% 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 PSEC 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.

At a yield of about 22.42%, roughly $2242 a year before tax, spread across 12 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.

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.

Most brokers offer automatic reinvestment (a DRIP) that puts each PSEC 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.

Yes. In 2026 Prospect cut its monthly dividend to $0.035 per share after missing revenue expectations and reporting a decline in net asset value, and the shares fell on the news. Management said the reduced payout was still covered by net investment income. A dividend cut shows that a BDC's payout is not fixed and can change with results.

No dividend is guaranteed, and Prospect's was cut in 2026, so safety is a matter of degree. The key gauge is coverage, whether net investment income exceeds the payout, which management said it did after the cut. Credit losses and NAV declines can pressure future distributions, so watch coverage and portfolio quality rather than assuming the current rate is permanent.