Blue Owl Capital Q4 Earnings Beat on Rising Net Investment Income

Blue Owl Capital Corporation OBDC reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 36 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.9%. However, the bottom line decreased 23.4% year over year.

Total investment income advanced 13.5% year over year to $447.8 million. The top line beat the consensus mark by 0.4%.

The better-than-expected quarterly results benefited from higher net investment income. However, the positives were partly offset by elevated expenses.

Blue Owl Capital Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Blue Owl Capital Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Blue Owl Capital Corporation Quote

Key Insights From Q4 Results

Adjusted net investment income of $184 million fell 0.1% year over year. New investment commitments were $684 million across 12 new portfolio companies and 17 existing ones.

Blue Owl Capital ended the fourth quarter with investments in 234 portfolio companies, backed with an aggregate fair value of $16.5 billion. Based on the fair value, the average investment size in each portfolio company was $70.4 million as of Dec. 31, 2025.

Total expenses increased 20.5% year over year to $252.6 million in the fourth quarter due to higher interest expenses and management fees.

OBDC recorded an adjusted net increase in net assets resulting from operations of $119.1 million, which decreased 23.1% year over year.

Financial Update (as of Dec. 31, 2025)

Blue Owl Capital exited the fourth quarter with a cash balance of $558.7 million, which rose from the 2024-end level of $505.7 million. Total assets of $17.2 billion increased from the $13.9 billion figure at 2024-end.

Debt was $9.3 billion, up from the $7.5 billion figure as of Dec. 31, 2024. OBDC had $3.6 billion of undrawn capacity under its credit facilities. At the fourth-quarter end, net debt to equity was 1.19X.

Net operating cash flow in 2025 was $1.7 billion, up from the prior-year figure of $160.2 million.

Dividend & Repurchase Update

The board of directors at Blue Owl Capital declared a first-quarter 2026 regular dividend of 37 cents per share, to be paid on or before April 15, 2026, to its shareholders of record as of March 31.

Blue Owl Capital announced a new repurchase program (expiring in 18 months from the approval date of Feb. 18, 2025), under which it may purchase shares up to $300 million. The company repurchased shares worth $148 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.

OBDC’s Full-Year 2025 Update

The company’s 2025 total investment income of $1.9 billion rose 15.9% year over year. However, full-year EPS of $1.24 fell 19% from a year ago. Total operating expenses of $1 billion grew 23.1% year over year. New investment commitments for 2025 totaled $4.3 billion across 43 new portfolio companies and 81 existing ones.

OBDC’s Zacks Rank

OBDC currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

How Did Peers Perform?

Several companies in the Finance space, including Synchrony Financial SYF, Virtu Financial, Inc. VIRT and American Express Company AXP, have already reported their financial results for the December quarter of 2025. Here’s how they had performed:

Synchrony reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of $2.18, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.1%. The bottom line increased from $1.91 per share a year ago. The quarterly earnings benefited from improved purchase volume, net interest margin, increased interest and fees on loans in sales platforms like Digital and Health & Wellness, and an improved efficiency ratio. Reduced provision for credit losses also contributed to the upside. However, the upside was partly offset by SYF’s declining overall loan receivables and average active accounts.

Virtu Financial reported fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.85, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 44.8%. The bottom line increased 62.3% year over year. The outperformance can be attributed to the improved commissions and technology services revenues. Strong performance in both the Market Making and Execution Services segments, driven by increased trading activity, also contributed to the upside. VIRT’s bottom line also gained from a lower expense level.

American Express reported fourth-quarter 2025 EPS of $3.53, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.3%. However, the bottom line climbed 16% year over year. The quarterly earnings suffered a blow due to elevated customer engagement and operating cost levels. Nevertheless, AXP’s downside was partly offset by rising Card Member spending. Rising revolving loan balances and continued strong card fee growth aided its performance.

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