Massive dividend yields are a huge draw for investors – both because everyone likes income…and because a company that can pay a dividend surely has the cash to pay out that dividend, right?
Most of the time, that’s true. But things can get rough when a company doesn’t have the cash to continue funding the dividend. One of your early signs is an especially high yield – in general, anything over 5% or 6% is worth digging into further. A yield that high may be a signal that the market is losing confidence in the business (and in its ability to continue funding the dividend). There are, of course, exceptions, but it’s a good initial rule of thumb.
It’s also worth understanding how much of a company’s earnings or cashflow are eaten up by the dividend.
For BDCs, the right coverage test is net investment income (NII) per share versus the dividend (GAAP EPS whipsaws on mark-to-market losses and distorts the picture). When NII stops covering the payout, when NAV per share slides, and when supplemental distributions quietly disappear, the payout is stretched. Here are five 10%+ yielders where those warning signs are lit.
Saratoga Investment Corp. (SAR)
Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) advertises a 14.0% annualized yield on its $0.25 monthly base dividend. Shares have since slid to $17.98, inflating the yield further.
The coverage math is the red flag. Q1 FY27 adjusted NII came in at $0.47 per share against a $0.75 quarterly dividend, a coverage ratio of just 0.63x, and NII has stepped down from $0.53 the prior quarter. Saratoga’s own filing flagged a FY26 payout ratio of 122.95%. NAV per share fell 4.9% sequentially to $23.23 on $15.2 million in net markdowns, and financing costs jumped after a $175 million bond at 4.375% was replaced with debt at 7.25% and 7.50%.
The bull case: $196.8 million of undrawn borrowing capacity and low non-accruals at 0.2% of fair value. But with NII covering less than two-thirds of the payout, the monthly $0.25 base looks stretched.
FS KKR Capital Corp. (FSK)
FS KKR Capital (NYSE:FSK | FSK Price Prediction) is already mid-cut, and the numbers suggest the second reduction may not be the last. Shares are down 41.24% over the past year to $10.56.
The Q2 2026 distribution was stepped down to $0.42 from $0.48, following an earlier reduction from $0.70. Yet Q1 2026 adjusted EPS of $0.41 missed the $0.4433 consensus by 7.51% and barely covers even the new payout. NAV per share dropped to $18.83 from $20.89, non-accruals climbed to 4.2% at fair value (8.1% at cost), and net leverage spiked to 131%.
The KKR rescue package ($150 million preferred equity injection, $150 million tender at $11, a $300 million buyback, and a 50% incentive fee waiver for four quarters) is a lifeline that buys time without curing the underlying earnings gap. Securities class action lawsuits alleging overstated dividend durability tell you what the market thinks.
BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (TCPC)
BlackRock TCP Capital (NASDAQ:TCPC) has already cut once and still looks fragile. The quarterly dividend was reduced to $0.17 from $0.25 for Q1 2026, and shares have fallen 50.44% over the past year to $3.18, keeping the yield above 20%.
NII of $0.22 covers the new $0.17 dividend, but the cushion is thin and the trend is ugly. NAV per share collapsed 19% in Q4 2025 to $7.07 and slipped another 4.9% to $6.72 in Q1 2026. Thirteen portfolio companies sit on non-accrual, representing 7.6% at cost, and portfolio yield compression is severe: new investments are being originated at 8.1% while exits ran off at 11.2%. With management prioritizing exits over new deployments, forward NII faces further pressure.
Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp. (OTF)
Blue Owl Technology Finance (NYSE:OTF) is the softer warning on this list, but the setup is classic price-driven yield inflation. Shares have dropped 24.32% year-to-date to $10.15, pushing the trailing yield well into double digits.
Q1 2026 adjusted NII of $0.29 beat the $0.25 estimate, but NII has slid for four straight quarters from $0.36 in Q2 2025 to $0.29 today, while the $0.40 payout ($0.35 base plus $0.05 special) has held. Crucially, that $0.05 special is part of a five-quarter series tied to the June 2025 listing. When it rolls off, the run-rate payout drops to $1.40. Add $494.28 million in unrealized losses, NAV down to $16.49 from $17.33, and new commitment spreads compressed to 4.6% from 5.2%, and the picture is a fading tailwind.
Blue Owl Capital Corp. (OBDC)
Blue Owl Capital (NYSE:OBDC) already trimmed its base dividend and left itself no cushion. The Q2 2026 payout was cut to $0.31 from $0.37, described by management as an alignment with “go-forward earnings power amid declining base rates and spread compression.”
Q1 2026 adjusted EPS of $0.31 missed the $0.35 consensus by 10.74% and now exactly matches the new dividend, meaning zero coverage cushion. Total investment income of $396.77 million fell 11.4% sequentially, and the portfolio shrank to $15.34 billion from $16.47 billion as repayments outpaced deployments. On the other side of the ledger, Moody’s upgraded OBDC to Baa2 in January 2026, leverage improved to 1.13x, and management points to roughly $4 billion of liquidity. But 1.0x NII coverage leaves no margin for another bad quarter.
The Bottom Line
Across all five names, the pattern is the same: NII squeezed by falling short-term rates, spreads compressing on new deals, and NAV grinding lower. A yield only counts if the payout survives. When a cut lands, the share price usually goes with it, and the “income” disappears in both directions at once. Yield alone has never been a buy thesis; in today’s BDC market, it may be the fastest way to walk into a trap.
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