HomeCompareCPST vs ARCC

CPST vs ARCC: Dividend Comparison 2026

CPST yields 7.46% · ARCC yields 10.82%● Live data

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After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 CPST wins by $8.2K in total portfolio value
10 years
CPST
CPST
● Live price
7.46%
Share price
$26.83
Annual div
$2.00
5Y div CAGR
0%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$32.8K
Annual income
$1,196.19
Full CPST calculator →
ARCC
Ares Capital Corporation
● Live price
10.82%
Share price
$17.74
Annual div
$1.92
5Y div CAGR
-50%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$24.5K
Annual income
$1.16
Full ARCC calculator →

Portfolio growth — CPST vs ARCC

📍 CPST pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis PeriodCPSTARCC
2008–2009
GFC
— No data— No data
2020 Q1–Q2
COVID
— No data— No data
2022 Q4
Rate Hike
— No data— No data
Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.
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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, CPST + ARCC cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
CPST pays
ARCC pays
Both pay
Neither
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Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

CPST
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$633.74/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$1,016.76/yr
ARCC
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$919.95/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$0.99/yr
At 15% tax rate, CPST beats the other by $1,015.78/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of CPST + ARCC for your $10,000?

CPST: 50%ARCC: 50%
100% ARCC50/50100% CPST
Portfolio after 10yr
$28.6K
Annual income
$598.68/yr
Blended yield
2.09%
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Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on ARCC right now

CPST
No analyst data
Altman Z
-16.0
Piotroski
1/9
ARCC
Analyst Ratings
24
Buy
7
Hold
Consensus: Buy
Price Target
$21.88
+23.3% upside vs current
Range: $21.00 — $23.00
Altman Z
0.8
Piotroski
4/9
Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.
🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

CPST buys
0
ARCC buys
0
No recent congressional trades found for CPST or ARCC in the last 90 days.
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricCPSTARCC
Forward yield7.46%10.82%
Annual dividend / share$2.00$1.92
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR0%-50%
Portfolio after 10y$32.8K$24.5K
Annual income after 10y$1,196.19$1.16
Total dividends collected$9.8K$1.1K
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorStockBDC

Year-by-year: CPST vs ARCC ($10,000, DRIP)

YearCPST PortfolioCPST Income/yrARCC PortfolioARCC Income/yrGap
1← crossover$11,446$745.57$11,381$541.15+$65.00CPST
2$13,044$797.52$12,621$284.08+$423.00CPST
3$14,807$849.46$13,827$145.31+$980.00CPST
4$16,744$901.16$15,062$73.43+$1.7KCPST
5$18,869$952.42$16,364$36.89+$2.5KCPST
6$21,193$1,003.05$17,757$18.49+$3.4KCPST
7$23,729$1,052.88$19,258$9.25+$4.5KCPST
8$26,492$1,101.76$20,880$4.63+$5.6KCPST
9$29,496$1,149.57$22,636$2.32+$6.9KCPST
10$32,757$1,196.19$24,539$1.16+$8.2KCPST

CPST vs ARCC: Complete Analysis 2026

CPSTStock

Calamos Structured Protected ETFs are designed to match the positive price return of the S&P 500 up to a defined cap while protecting against 100% of losses over a one-year period (before fees and expenses).

Full CPST Calculator →

ARCCBDC

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in 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 the basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, health care products and services, and information technology service sectors. The fund will also consider investments in industries such as restaurants, retail, oil and gas, and technology sectors. 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 $20 million and $200 million and a maximum of $400 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.

Full ARCC Calculator →
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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.