Ares Capital Corporation · ARCC · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026
ARCC maintains dividend as deal flow improves and funding broadens
ARCC's quarter supports a constructive but conditional view: stable earnings and dividend, improving deal activity, and broader funding capacity are positives, while credit normalization, rate volatility, and liquidity conditions remain key tests.
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensusMarket reaction
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Transcript intelligence
What changed
Compared with the prior-quarter analysis, ARCC emphasized a rebound in upper-middle-market activity, a new commercial-paper program, expanded SDLP co-investment relief, and a nearly $2 billion committed credit facility. Core earnings and the dividend remained stable, while non-accruals were around 2.4%.
Guidance delta
Maintained; management plans to keep the quarterly dividend stable through the remainder of 2026 and continue disciplined capital deployment.
Key takeaways
- Core earnings held at $0.47 per share and the dividend remained $0.48 per share.
- Management reported a 50% month-over-month increase in transactions reviewed, especially in the upper-middle market.
- The new commercial-paper program and lower-cost revolving facilities are intended to improve funding efficiency.
- Portfolio quality was described as strong, with non-accruals around 2.4% and equity cushions above 50%.
Management priorities
- Deploy capital into additional upper-middle-market transactions while maintaining underwriting discipline.
- Scale and test the commercial-paper program alongside revolving and committed credit facilities.
- Maintain the dividend and use borrower relationships to support repeat originations.
- Monitor AI exposure in software assets and remain open to strategic acquisition opportunities.
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Analyst 52W Price Targets
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Oct 28, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Sep 1, 2026 |
| Truist Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 30, 2026 |
| Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 30, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 2, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Equal Weight | Overweight | Downgrade | Jun 12, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 29, 2026 |
| Citizens | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintain | Apr 22, 2026 |
| JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintain | Jul 31, 2025 |
| B. Riley Securities | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jul 30, 2025 |
| Raymond James | Market Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Feb 6, 2025 |
| Oppenheimer | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | May 2, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 26, 2023 |
| Janney Montgomery Scott | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Dec 3, 2021 |
| Wedbush | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 29, 2021 |
| Barclays | Equal Weight | Overweight | Downgrade | Dec 10, 2020 |
| Janney Capital | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Oct 27, 2020 |
| B of A Securities | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Apr 13, 2020 |
| Compass Point | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Apr 2, 2020 |
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Aug 19, 2019 |
| Keefe Bruyette & Woods | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Aug 4, 2016 |
| National Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jun 28, 2016 |
| Jefferies | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 25, 2016 |
| Macquarie | Outperform | Neutral | Upgrade | Oct 1, 2015 |
| DA Davidson | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 29, 2015 |
| Cantor Fitzgerald | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Sep 3, 2015 |
| Keefe, Bruyette& Woods | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Jun 17, 2015 |
| BB&T Capital | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | May 4, 2015 |
| Sterne Agee | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Aug 20, 2013 |
| Bank of America | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Mar 4, 2013 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Nov 6, 2012 |
| Stifel | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Nov 6, 2012 |
| Ladenburg Thalmann | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 8, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted previous close $18.51. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo | Finian O'Shea | $19 | $19.07 | +2.6% | Jun 12, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $23 | $20.8 | +24.3% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Finian O'Shea | $21 | $20.57 | +13.5% | Oct 29, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $21 | $19.44 | +13.5% | Oct 14, 2025 |
| Capital One Financial | Analyst unavailable | $22.5 | $19.1 | +21.6% | Oct 10, 2025 |
| JMP Securities | Analyst unavailable | $23 | $22.66 | +24.3% | Jul 31, 2025 |
| B.Riley Financial | Sean-Paul Adams | $23.5 | $22.54 | +27.0% | Jul 30, 2025 |
| JMP Securities | Devin Ryan | $22 | $20.89 | +18.9% | Jul 30, 2024 |
| UBS | Doug Harter | $22 | $21.07 | +18.9% | Jul 18, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Kanneth Lee | $22 | $21.3 | +18.9% | May 23, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Analyst unavailable | $22 | $20.02 | +18.9% | Feb 8, 2023 |
| J.P. Morgan | Analyst unavailable | $20.5 | $20.04 | +10.8% | Feb 8, 2023 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $21.5 | $19.8 | +16.2% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Hovde Group | Bryce Rowe | $21 | $19.8 | +13.5% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $23 | $21.81 | +24.3% | Apr 25, 2022 |
| Jefferies | John Hecht | $24 | $20.5 | +29.7% | Oct 26, 2021 |
| Barclays | Mark Devries | $20 | $18.64 | +8.0% | Jul 29, 2021 |
| Wedbush | Henry Coffey | $21 | $18.04 | +13.5% | Apr 29, 2021 |
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Start freeCompany context
Snapshot as of publicationAres Capital Corporation (ARCC) operates as a Business Development Company (BDC), delivering diverse financing solutions predominantly to middle-market enterprises. The firm's expertise lies in facilitating various corporate actions, including funding acquisitions, recapitalizations, and leveraged buyouts. It also extends mezzanine debt, assists with corporate restructurings, and provides crucial rescue financing, in addition to offering growth capital and general refinancing options. ARCC primarily targets investments in companies within the basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, healthcare (both products and services), and information technology service sectors. Opportunistically, it also explores prospects in industries such as restaurants, retail, oil and gas, and the broader technology space. Geographically, ARCC maintains a broad reach across the United States. Its New York office oversees investments in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Southwest regions.…
Historical context
All ARCC earningsFinancial Services peers this season
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| V Visa Inc. | FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q4 2026 | +1.2% | -0.6% | Visa reports strong FY2026 growth as tokenization expands |
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| SHG Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. | FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q4 2026 | -4.5% | -1.4% | Shinhan Q3 Profit Falls as Fees Drop; Buyback Expands |
| LPLA LPL Financial Holdings Inc. | FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q4 2026 | +5.5% | +0.1% | LPL posts record EPS as Commonwealth and Cyan remain key priorities |
| HSBC HSBC Holdings plc | FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q4 2026 | -4.5% | -5.7% | HSBC posts solid Q3 growth as guidance stays unchanged |
Latest beats and misses
Who reports nextBeat on EPS
- CMSFY2026 Q3 · October 27, 2026+6.7% EPS-0.8% move
- PNRFY2026 Q3 · October 27, 2026+9.3% EPS+12.8% move
- CNPFY2026 Q3 · October 27, 2026+6.3% EPS+1.9% move
- ECLFY2026 Q3 · October 27, 20260.0% EPS+0.8% move
- FFIVFY2026 Q4 · October 27, 2026+3.8% EPS-0.5% move
- HOODFY2026 Q3 · October 27, 2026+7.5% EPS+1.9% move
Missed on EPS
- ARCCFY2026 Q3 · October 27, 2026-3.4% EPS-0.5% move
- WSOFY2026 Q3 · October 27, 2026-8.0% EPS-1.4% move
- IVZFY2026 Q3 · October 27, 2026-2.7% EPS-0.4% move
- SHWFY2026 Q3 · October 27, 2026-1.6% EPS-2.7% move
- BAFY2026 Q3 · October 27, 2026-33.4% EPS-10.7% move
- AREFY2026 Q3 · October 26, 2026-13401.8% EPS-5.9% move
Get the ARCC recap when the next report posts
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Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-07-29T20:05:19.829521+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-09-03T01:23:14.877038+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-10-28T09:00:42.796291+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-10-28T09:00:42.793486+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-10-28. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.