HomeCompareMAIN vs NSC

MAIN vs NSC: Dividend Comparison 2026

MAIN yields 7.09% · NSC yields 1.91%● Live data

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After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 MAIN wins by $47.88M in total portfolio value
10 years
MAIN
Main Street Capital Corporation
● Live price
7.09%
Share price
$51.65
Annual div
$3.66
5Y div CAGR
72.7%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$47.95M
Annual income
$40,208,699.11
Full MAIN calculator →
NSC
NSC
● Live price
1.91%
Share price
$282.50
Annual div
$5.40
5Y div CAGR
43.6%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$66.7K
Annual income
$17,746.55
Full NSC calculator →

Portfolio growth — MAIN vs NSC

📍 MAIN 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 PeriodMAINNSC
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, MAIN + NSC cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

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

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

MAIN
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$602.32/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$34,177,394.24/yr
NSC
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$162.48/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$15,084.57/yr
At 15% tax rate, MAIN beats the other by $34,162,309.68/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of MAIN + NSC for your $10,000?

MAIN: 50%NSC: 50%
100% NSC50/50100% MAIN
Portfolio after 10yr
$24.01M
Annual income
$20,113,222.84/yr
Blended yield
83.78%
📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on NSC right now

MAIN
Analyst Ratings
2
Buy
11
Hold
Consensus: Hold
Price Target
$65.25
+26.3% upside vs current
Range: $60.00 — $70.00
Altman Z
1.7
Piotroski
5/9
NSC
Analyst Ratings
21
Buy
24
Hold
3
Sell
Consensus: Hold
Price Target
$315.33
+11.6% upside vs current
Range: $288.00 — $342.00
Altman Z
2.3
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)

MAIN buys
1
NSC buys
0
PoliticianChamberTickerTypeAmountDate
David Cheston Rouzer🏢 House$MAIN▼ Sell$15,001 - $50,0002021-11-15
David Cheston Rouzer🏢 House$MAIN▲ Buy$1,001 - $15,0002019-02-28
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricMAINNSC
Forward yield7.09%1.91%
Annual dividend / share$3.66$5.40
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR72.7%43.6%
Portfolio after 10y$47.95M$66.7K
Annual income after 10y$40,208,699.11$17,746.55
Total dividends collected$46.82M$42.2K
Payment frequencymonthlyquarterly
SectorBDCStock
Analyst consensusHoldHold
Analyst price target$65.25$315.33

Year-by-year: MAIN vs NSC ($10,000, DRIP)

YearMAIN PortfolioMAIN Income/yrNSC PortfolioNSC Income/yrGap
1← crossover$12,464$1,223.78$10,974$274.49+$1.5KMAIN
2$16,353$2,343.58$12,147$404.28+$4.2KMAIN
3$23,105$4,724.42$13,598$600.54+$9.5KMAIN
4$36,226$10,256.23$15,452$902.22+$20.8KMAIN
5$65,426$24,707.64$17,909$1,375.92+$47.5KMAIN
6$142,101$68,562.02$21,303$2,140.25+$120.8KMAIN
7$388,521$228,799.95$26,211$3,416.66+$362.3KMAIN
8$1,397,868$961,169.80$33,688$5,641.72+$1.36MMAIN
9$6,884,663$5,313,459.69$45,777$9,731.21+$6.84MMAIN
10$47,947,060$40,208,699.11$66,728$17,746.55+$47.88MMAIN

MAIN vs NSC: Complete Analysis 2026

MAINBDC

Main Street Capital Corporation is a business development company specializes in equity capital to lower middle market companies. The firm specializing in recapitalizations, management buyouts, refinancing, family estate planning, management buyouts, refinancing, industry consolidation, mature, later stage emerging growth. The firm also provides debt capital to middle market companies for acquisitions, management buyouts, growth financings, recapitalizations and refinancing. The firm seeks to partner with entrepreneurs, business owners and management teams and generally provides one stop financing alternatives within its lower middle market portfolio. It prefers to invest in air freight and logistics, auto components, building products, chemicals, commercial services, computers, construction and engineering, consumer finance, consumer services, electronic equipment, energy equipment and services, financial services, health care equipment, health care providers, hotels, restaurants, and leisure, internet software and services, IT Services, machinery, oil, gas and consumable fuels, paper and forest products, professional and industrial services, road and rail, software, specialty retail, telecommunication, consumer discretionary, energy, materials, technology, and transportation. The firm typically invests in lower middle market companies generally with annual revenues between $5 million and $300 million. It prefers to invest in ranging between $2 million and $75 million in equity investment and enterprise value in ranging between $3 million and $20 million. The firm typically prefers to invest in the range of $5 million and $50 million per transaction in debt investment value and in the range of $1 million and $20 million in annual EBITDA. The firm's middle market debt investments are made in businesses that are generally larger in size than its lower middle market portfolio companies. It takes 5 percent minority and up to 50 percent majority equity investments. Main Street Capital Corporation was founded in 2007 and is based in Houston, Texas with an additional office in Chojnów, Poland.

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NSCStock

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, scrap paper, beverages, canned goods, and consumer products; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, and sand; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal. It also transports overseas freight through various Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports; and provides commuter rail passenger transportation services and operates an intermodal network. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated approximately 19,300 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Norfolk Southern Corporation was incorporated in 1980 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

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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.