If You Invest $2,000 in Ares Capital Today, Here's the Dividend Income You Could See by 2030

Source The Motley Fool

Key Points

  • Ares Capital has delivered a stable-to-growing dividend for more than 16 years.

  • It has maintained its current rate since 2022.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Ares Capital ›

Ares Capital (NASDAQ: ARCC) currently yields nearly 10.2%. That's almost 10 times higher than the S&P 500 (over 1%). As a result, you can collect a lot of income from the business development company.

Here's a look at how much dividend income you could see by 2030 if you invested $2,000 into the BDC stock today.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks »

A hand holding $100 bills.

Image source: Getty Images.

A big-time income stream

Ares Capital currently trades at around $19 a share. At that price, you could purchase about 105 shares for $2,000. The BDC paid its most recent quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share on June 30th. If it maintains its current rate and historic dividend payment schedule, investors who buy today will receive two dividend payments this year (Sept. 30 and Dec. 30), collecting a total of $100.80 in dividend income.

The BDC has paid a stable-to-growing dividend for more than 16 years. It has maintained its current quarterly rate of $0.48 per share since the end of 2022. To be conservative, we'll assume that Ares Capital continues to pay its current dividend rate. While the company's core earnings of $0.47 per share fell short of its dividend during the first quarter, it also recorded $0.15 per share of net realized gains, which, when combined with its core earnings, was well in excess of the dividend. Further, the company entered this year with ample spillover income from last year ($1.38 per share). These numbers suggest the current dividend level remains sustainable, though near-term growth seems unlikely.

Here's how much dividend income you could collect if we assume a stable payment through the end of the decade (and no dividend reinvestment):

Annual

Cumulative

2026

$100.80

$100.80

2027

$201.60

$302.40

2028

$201.60

$504.00

2029

$201.60

$705.60

Author's calculations.

That's a nice stream of dividend income. It's a lot more than you'd collect from a lower-yielding investment. While there's a higher risk that Ares Capital could cut its dividend, the company has an excellent dividend record and plenty of near-term cushion.

Should you buy stock in Ares Capital right now?

Before you buy stock in Ares Capital, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Ares Capital wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $397,351!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,304,257!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of July 17, 2026.

Matt DiLallo has positions in Ares Capital. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ares Capital. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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