Stock · Financial Services
ARCC Ares Capital Corp.
Ares Capital Corp. shows several signals that historically correlate with elevated dividend risk.
Why we rate it 3.8
- Very high yield of 9.92% — often signals stress or a structural pay-out (covered call ETFs, mREITs, etc.)
- Payout ratio of 143% — dividend exceeds reported earnings, sustainability questionable without growth
- Current yield is in line with the 5-year average of 9.00%
Where ARCC ranks
We compute the same 0–10 safety score across 53 dividend-paying stocks and ETFs. Here's where ARCC lands inside that universe.
The universe is curated to the most-searched US dividend payers. We'll expand it as the data layer grows; sector percentiles only appear when we have at least 5 comparable peers.
The two questions a safety score doesn't answer
A safety score tells you how durable ARCC's payout looks. It does not tell you what you keep after tax, or whether something else does the same job better.
On tax: what you actually pocket depends on whether ARCC dividends are qualified — qualified distributions are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%, while ordinary ones are taxed at your full marginal rate, a gap that can reach 22 percentage points of the income on the same headline yield.
On substitutes: if ARCC's 3.8/10 score is lower than you want, see ARCC alternatives — same-sector stocks ranked by how closely they match ARCC on both yield and safety, so you can see what a swap actually costs you.
How ARCC's safety score has moved
35 daily snapshots over the trailing 63 days · range 3.8–3.8
Every Infnits dividend safety score is computed from the same factors (yield zone, payout ratio, trend vs 5-year average, instrument type, size). The history above is recomputed directly from each day's fundamentals snapshot, so the line reflects how the underlying signals actually moved — not retroactive smoothing.
About Ares Capital Corp.
Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in growth capital, acquisition, recapitalization, mezzanine debt, restructurings, rescue financing, and leveraged buyout transactions of middle market companies. It also makes growth capital and general refinancing. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in sports, media & entertainment, industrials & business services, infrastructure & power, financial institution groups, software & technology, specialty healthcare, consumer, retail & services, energy and the basic and growth manufacturing, consumer products, health care products, and information technology service sectors. The fund will also consider investments in industries such as restaurants, retail, oil and gas, and technology sectors. It invests in the United States based companies. It focuses on investments in Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Southwest regions from its New York office, the Midwest region, from the Chicago office, and the Western region from the Los Angeles office. The fund typically invests between $30 million and $500 million, in companies with an EBITDA between $10 million and $250 million. It makes debt investments between $10 million and $100 million The fund invests through revolvers, first lien loans, warrants, unitranche structures, second lien loans, mezzanine debt, private high yield, junior capital, subordinated debt, and non-control preferred and common equity. The fund also selectively considers third-party-led senior and subordinated debt financings and opportunistically considers the purchase of stressed and discounted debt positions. The fund prefers to be an agent and/or lead the transactions in which it invests. The fund also seeks board representation in its portfolio companies.
How we score dividend safety
The Infnits dividend safety score is a 0–10 rating derived from yield zone, payout ratio (when applicable), yield trend versus 5-year average, instrument type, and company size. Each factor is independently transparent — see the reasons above for exactly which factors contributed to ARCC's score.
For the full methodology including the in-app version that uses ETF look-through and historical cut data, see our methodology page.
This is educational, not investment advice. Dividend safety scores reflect a snapshot of public data on the "as of" date shown. Verify current data on the issuer's investor relations page or your brokerage before making decisions.
Frequently asked questions
Is ARCC safe?
On dividend safety specifically, Infnits scores ARCC 3.8/10 — weak. Ares Capital Corp. shows several signals that historically correlate with elevated dividend risk. That score measures how durable the payout looks based on yield zone, payout ratio, yield trend, and instrument type; it does not measure price risk, valuation, or whether ARCC suits your portfolio.
Is ARCC's dividend safe?
Based on snapshot data — yield 9.92%, payout ratio 143%, instrument type stock — Infnits rates ARCC's dividend safety profile as weak (3.8/10). This is one signal, not a recommendation.
What is ARCC's current dividend yield?
ARCC has a current dividend yield of 9.92% as of October 1, 2026. Its 5-year average yield is 9.00%.
How is ARCC's safety score calculated?
The score combines yield zone (yields above 7% historically carry elevated cut risk), payout ratio (lower is safer), trend vs. 5-year average yield, instrument type (ETFs are inherently more diversified), and size (larger companies have more stable cash flows). Each factor is scored 0-2.5 and summed to a 0-10 result.
Where does this data come from?
Fundamentals are sourced from public market data and refreshed regularly. The "as of" date on each page reflects the snapshot used for the score. For real-time data, check the issuer's investor relations page or your brokerage.
Should I buy ARCC based on this score?
No — this is an educational score based on a handful of public signals, not investment advice. Use it as one input among many. For a portfolio-aware analysis with ETF look-through and personalized insights, install the Infnits app.
Get emailed when ARCC score changes.
ARCC head-to-head comparisons
See ARCC compared side-by-side with the most-searched peer tickers — yield, safety, growth trend, expense ratio, and tax treatment.
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Or read how safety scoring works.