HomeCompareGBDC vs ARES

GBDC vs ARES: Dividend Comparison 2026

GBDC yields 11.86% · ARES yields 4.37%● Live data

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After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 ARES wins by $2908.79M in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 5
10 years
GBDC
GBDC
● Live price
11.86%
Share price
$12.65
Annual div
$1.50
5Y div CAGR
51.1%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$20.85M
Annual income
$16,450,733.83
Full GBDC calculator →
ARES
ARES
● Live price
4.37%
Share price
$107.66
Annual div
$4.71
5Y div CAGR
100%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$2929.64M
Annual income
$2,806,406,662.94
Full ARES calculator →

Portfolio growth — GBDC vs ARES

📍 ARES pulled ahead of the other in Year 5

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 PeriodGBDCARES
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, GBDC + ARES cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
GBDC pays
ARES pays
Both pay
Neither
💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

GBDC
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$1,007.91/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$13,983,123.76/yr
ARES
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$371.87/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$2,385,445,663.50/yr
At 15% tax rate, ARES beats the other by $2,371,462,539.74/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of GBDC + ARES for your $10,000?

GBDC: 50%ARES: 50%
100% ARES50/50100% GBDC
Portfolio after 10yr
$1475.24M
Annual income
$1,411,428,698.39/yr
Blended yield
95.67%
📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on ARES right now

GBDC
Analyst Ratings
6
Buy
5
Hold
Consensus: Buy
Price Target
$14.00
+10.7% upside vs current
Range: $13.00 — $15.00
Altman Z
0.6
Piotroski
6/9
ARES
Analyst Ratings
1
Strong
15
Buy
5
Hold
Consensus: Buy
Price Target
$179.25
+66.5% upside vs current
Range: $148.00 — $215.00
Altman Z
1.5
Piotroski
7/9
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)

GBDC buys
2
ARES buys
0
PoliticianChamberTickerTypeAmountDate
David P. Joyce🏢 House$GBDC▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002023-06-30
David P. Joyce🏢 House$GBDC▼ Sell$15,001 - $50,0002023-06-19
David P. Joyce🏢 House$GBDC▼ Sell$15,001 - $50,0002022-07-14
David P. Joyce🏢 House$GBDC▼ Sell$15,001 - $50,0002022-07-12
Teresa Leger Fernandez🏢 House$GBDC▼ Sell$15,001 - $50,0002021-01-20
David P. Joyce🏢 House$GBDC▲ Buy$1,001 - $15,0002020-02-25
David P. Joyce🏢 House$GBDC▲ Buy$15,001 - $50,0002019-05-30
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricGBDCARES
Forward yield11.86%4.37%
Annual dividend / share$1.50$4.71
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR51.1%100%
Portfolio after 10y$20.85M$2929.64M
Annual income after 10y$16,450,733.83$2,806,406,662.94
Total dividends collected$20.43M$2920.90M
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorBDCStock
Analyst consensusBuyBuy
Analyst price target$14.00$179.25

Year-by-year: GBDC vs ARES ($10,000, DRIP)

YearGBDC PortfolioGBDC Income/yrARES PortfolioARES Income/yrGap
1$12,492$1,791.70$11,575$874.98+$917.00GBDC
2$16,527$3,160.58$14,278$1,893.05+$2.2KGBDC
3$23,588$5,904.90$19,643$4,364.80+$3.9KGBDC
4$37,141$11,901.65$32,241$11,223.63+$4.9KGBDC
5← crossover$66,205$26,463.38$68,932$34,434.38$2.7KARES
6$137,452$66,612.65$211,368$137,610.38$73.9KARES
7$342,372$195,298.53$1,014,866$788,702.55$672.5KARES
8$1,053,292$686,954.33$8,164,206$7,078,299.39$7.11MARES
9$4,111,439$2,984,416.95$115,169,668$106,433,966.79$111.06MARES
10$20,849,974$16,450,733.83$2,929,638,207$2,806,406,662.94$2908.79MARES

GBDC vs ARES: Complete Analysis 2026

GBDCBDC

Golub Capital BDC, Inc. (GBDC) is a business development company and operates as an externally managed closed-end non-diversified management investment company. It invests in debt and minority equity investments in middle-market companies that are, in most cases, sponsored by private equity investors. It typically invests in diversified consumer services, automobiles, healthcare technology, insurance, health care equipment and supplies, hotels, restaurants and leisure, healthcare providers and services, IT services and specialty retails. It seeks to invest in the United States. It primarily invests in first lien traditional senior debt, first lien one stop, junior debt and equity, senior secured, one stop, unitranche, second lien, subordinated and mezzanine loans of middle-market companies, and warrants.

Full GBDC Calculator →

ARESStock

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets. Its Direct Lending Group segment provides financing solutions to small-to-medium sized companies. The company's Private Equity Group segment focuses on majority or shared-control investments primarily in under-capitalized companies. Its Real Estate Group segment invests in new developments and the repositioning of assets, with a focus on control or majority-control investments; and originates and invests in a range of self-originated financing opportunities for middle-market owners and operators of commercial real estate. The firm was previously known as Ares Management, L.P. Ares Management Corporation was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Ares Management GP LLC is the general partner of the company.

Full ARES 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.