# Prospect Capital (PSEC.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/PSEC

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:31:21.445Z. Financial observations: FY2005–FY2026.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $1.63 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 4 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 4

- Years with a net loss: 3

- Operating margin variation: 1.79×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: 0.56×

- FY2018: 0.61×

- FY2019: 1.62×

- FY2020: -0.85×

- FY2021: 1.53×

- FY2022: 0.82×

- FY2023: -0.12×

- FY2024: 0.31×

- FY2025: -0.65×

- FY2026: 0.51×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- Recent gross margin fell 36.9pp below the typical margin (limit 4pp)

- ROIC, median of available years: 4.0%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: -1.3%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 36.9 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 74.1%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 37.2%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 0.0%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: -1.5%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: 3.8%

- FY2018: 4.7%

- FY2019: 4.8%

- FY2020: -0.2%

- FY2021: 15.8%

- FY2022: 8.5%

- FY2023: -1.3%

- FY2024: 2.8%

- FY2025: -7.4%

- FY2026: 4.1%

### economics: fail

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- Owner earnings / net income, 5-yr: -3.58×

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: -$1.5B

- Net income, five-year total: $428M

- Return on incremental invested capital: 8.1%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 28.7 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 109.8 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: -305.2%

Chart: Annual owner cash / profit; fiscal year observations.

- FY2022: -1.37×

- FY2023: 2.17×

- FY2024: 1.07×

- FY2025: 2.04×

- FY2026: 1.06×

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2017 to 2026 (9 years)

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks leaned toward cheaper years (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 4.7% vs 2.8%

- Per-share earnings: 0.70 to 0.32 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- five-year and ten-year diluted share growth both above threshold

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 3.0%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 4.5%

- Market cap gain: -$1.7B

- Cumulative retained earnings: -$1.3B

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 3.0%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 4.5%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2017

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2026

- Per-share value growth: -9.3%

- Per-share value change: -$0.38

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: $0.70

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: $0.32

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 0.90

- Average buyback yield: 1.1%

- Buyback history: 5 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Acquisition spending: $0

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: $2.1B

- ROIC, first three-year median: 4.7%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 2.8%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: $0.70

- FY2018: $0.82

- FY2019: $0.39

- FY2020: -$0.04

- FY2021: $2.50

- FY2022: $1.34

- FY2023: -$0.26

- FY2024: $0.42

- FY2025: -$1.07

- FY2026: $0.32

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -5.6%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 0.52×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 0.0%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 3.36×

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.00×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: -2.0%

- FY2018: -1.2%

- FY2019: -1.4%

- FY2020: -8.4%

- FY2021: 14.8%

- FY2022: 18.0%

- FY2023: 1.5%

- FY2024: -0.2%

- FY2025: -14.6%

- FY2026: -5.6%

## Holders

## Price story

Down 81% since Nov 2021 · sales -11.1%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:59:26.982Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

### Sales · FY2025–2026

sales -11.1%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1287032/000128703226000269/psec-20260630.htm; observed 2026-08-20.

- FY2017: $455M 

- FY2018: $489M 

- FY2019: $187M 

- FY2020: $19M 

- FY2021: $632M 

- FY2022: $711M 

- FY2023: $852M 

- FY2024: $862M 

- FY2025: $719M 

- FY2026: $639M 

### Gross margin · FY2026

gross margin 79.7%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1287032/000128703226000269/psec-20260630.htm; observed 2026-08-20.

- FY2017: 68.6% 

- FY2018: 68.3% 

- FY2022: 87.6% 

- FY2024: 37.2% 

- FY2026: 79.7% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in asset management; annual sales are USD 639.5 million.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1287032/000128703226000269/psec-20260630.htm#000128703226000269 (filed 2026-08-20); FY2026: revenue 639454000; grossProfit 509569000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

### Why customers stay

It earns 4% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-08-20); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 37.2%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-08-20); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = -56.6%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1287032/000128703226000269/psec-20260630.htm (filed 2026-08-20); FY2026: grossProfit / revenue = 79.7%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-08-20); 10-year return on capital observations [[2017,0.038222347830226676],[2018,0.046532439936804906],[2019,0.04772456611909803],[2020,-0.002489229393002519],[2021,0.15756002247633477],[2022,0.08535739151431043],[2023,-0.012894997720389514],[2024,0.028174349651189215],[2025,-0.07379669568719453],[2026,0.04079596726332449]]; median 0.039509157546775586. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 10 of 10 years; bought back USD 10.9 million of shares.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-08-20); FY2017: growth capex 0; upkeep 0; owner earnings 597729000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-08-20); FY2018: growth capex 0; upkeep 0; owner earnings 369106000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-08-20); FY2021: growth capex 0; upkeep 0; owner earnings 31019000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-08-20); FY2024: growth capex 0; upkeep 0; owner earnings 279983000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1287032/000128703226000269/psec-20260630.htm (filed 2026-08-20); FY2026: growth capex 0; upkeep 0; owner earnings 162398000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-08-20); Dividend observations: [[2017,333623000],[2018,255911000],[2019,245096000],[2020,239954000],[2021,195574000],[2022,270295000],[2023,299143000],[2024,360288000],[2025,332392000],[2026,335548000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1287032/000128703226000269/psec-20260630.htm (filed 2026-08-20); FY2026: cash repurchases 10867000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 25.9% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-15); PSEC.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 25.929000000000002 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-15.

### What the price says

The price is 1.2 times annual sales.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-08-20); Closing price 1.63 USD; reporting-to-trading FX 1; FY2026 annual sales per share 1.3325671059623247; price multiple 1.2232029386789354. FY2026 cash earnings/share 0.33842345637695537. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2016-10: $7.89 per share

- 2016-11: $8.05 per share

- 2016-12: $8.35 per share

- 2017-01: $8.42 per share

- 2017-02: $9.37 per share

- 2017-03: $9.04 per share

- 2017-04: $9.30 per share

- 2017-05: $7.98 per share

- 2017-06: $8.12 per share

- 2017-07: $8.17 per share

- 2017-08: $6.55 per share

- 2017-09: $6.72 per share

- 2017-10: $5.99 per share

- 2017-11: $6.85 per share

- 2017-12: $6.74 per share

- 2018-01: $6.45 per share

- 2018-02: $6.64 per share

- 2018-03: $6.55 per share

- 2018-04: $6.34 per share

- 2018-05: $6.76 per share

- 2018-06: $6.71 per share

- 2018-07: $7.00 per share

- 2018-08: $7.50 per share

- 2018-09: $7.33 per share

- 2018-10: $6.79 per share

- 2018-11: $6.86 per share

- 2018-12: $6.31 per share

- 2019-01: $6.80 per share

- 2019-02: $6.85 per share

- 2019-03: $6.52 per share

- 2019-04: $6.75 per share

- 2019-05: $6.25 per share

- 2019-06: $6.53 per share

- 2019-07: $6.62 per share

- 2019-08: $6.37 per share

- 2019-09: $6.59 per share

- 2019-10: $6.44 per share

- 2019-11: $6.52 per share

- 2019-12: $6.44 per share

- 2020-01: $6.51 per share

- 2020-02: $5.51 per share

- 2020-03: $4.25 per share

- 2020-04: $4.34 per share

- 2020-05: $5.07 per share

- 2020-06: $5.11 per share

- 2020-07: $5.01 per share

- 2020-08: $5.10 per share

- 2020-09: $5.03 per share

- 2020-10: $4.95 per share

- 2020-11: $5.34 per share

- 2020-12: $5.41 per share

- 2021-01: $6.30 per share

- 2021-02: $7.29 per share

- 2021-03: $7.67 per share

- 2021-04: $8.05 per share

- 2021-05: $8.49 per share

- 2021-06: $8.39 per share

- 2021-07: $8.10 per share

- 2021-08: $7.94 per share

- 2021-09: $7.70 per share

- 2021-10: $8.19 per share

- 2021-11: $8.54 per share

- 2021-12: $8.41 per share

- 2022-01: $8.40 per share

- 2022-02: $8.06 per share

- 2022-03: $8.28 per share

- 2022-04: $7.70 per share

- 2022-05: $7.69 per share

- 2022-06: $6.99 per share

- 2022-07: $7.70 per share

- 2022-08: $7.48 per share

- 2022-09: $6.20 per share

- 2022-10: $7.26 per share

- 2022-11: $7.74 per share

- 2022-12: $6.99 per share

- 2023-01: $7.50 per share

- 2023-02: $7.41 per share

- 2023-03: $6.96 per share

- 2023-04: $6.81 per share

- 2023-05: $6.16 per share

- 2023-06: $6.20 per share

- 2023-07: $6.36 per share

- 2023-08: $6.10 per share

- 2023-09: $6.05 per share

- 2023-10: $5.14 per share

- 2023-11: $5.59 per share

- 2023-12: $5.99 per share

- 2024-01: $5.86 per share

- 2024-02: $5.52 per share

- 2024-03: $5.52 per share

- 2024-04: $5.21 per share

- 2024-05: $5.62 per share

- 2024-06: $5.53 per share

- 2024-07: $5.44 per share

- 2024-08: $5.23 per share

- 2024-09: $5.35 per share

- 2024-10: $5.19 per share

- 2024-11: $4.78 per share

- 2024-12: $4.31 per share

- 2025-01: $4.30 per share

- 2025-02: $4.40 per share

- 2025-03: $4.10 per share

- 2025-04: $3.57 per share

- 2025-05: $3.29 per share

- 2025-06: $3.18 per share

- 2025-07: $3.10 per share

- 2025-08: $2.98 per share

- 2025-09: $2.75 per share

- 2025-10: $2.66 per share

- 2025-11: $2.64 per share

- 2025-12: $2.59 per share

- 2026-01: $2.77 per share

- 2026-02: $2.72 per share

- 2026-03: $2.61 per share

- 2026-04: $2.71 per share

- 2026-05: $2.41 per share

- 2026-06: $2.31 per share

- 2026-07: $2.13 per share

- 2026-08: $2.28 per share

- 2026-09: $2.08 per share

- 2026-10: $1.63 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

- FY2017: low $21.50 per share, central $24.47 per share, high $28.42 per share

- FY2018: low $11.04 per share, central $12.56 per share, high $14.58 per share

- FY2019: low $4.47 per share, central $5.05 per share, high $5.82 per share

- FY2020: low $0.55 per share, central $0.60 per share, high $0.68 per share

- FY2021: low $1.01 per share, central $1.13 per share, high $1.29 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1287032/000128703226000269/psec-20260630.htm); period 2026-06-30, filed 2026-08-20.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.