BXSL

BXSL is a business development company managed by Blackstone, investing primarily in first-lien senior secured loans to private companies. As a BDC the right lens is net investment income, NAV and the dividend rather than growth. On those, the setup is reasonable: net income was $563M in FY2025 with diluted EPS of $2.46, and net asset value works out to roughly $26.9 per share ($6.25B equity / 232M shares). At $23.61 the stock trades at about 0.88x NAV — a meaningful discount for a high-quality, senior-secured Blackstone portfolio, and the implied ~9.6x earnings yield underpins a large dividend (dividends paid rose 16.2% to $678M).

The headwind is rate-driven NII compression. Net income fell 18.8% and EPS dropped 28.7% as base rates declined on BXSL's predominantly floating-rate loan book — a structural sensitivity that will continue if the Fed eases. Notably, dividends paid (~$2.92/share equivalent) ran ahead of GAAP EPS of $2.46 in FY2025, so the payout is not comfortably over-covered by earnings and bears watching; some of the distribution likely reflects spillover income, but a sustained NII decline would pressure coverage. Leverage of 1.35x liabilities/equity is moderate and typical for the sector, with $8.08B of debt against the loan portfolio.