Oxford Square Capital
NASDAQ: OXSQ
$1.45 ▲ +0.00  (+0.35%)
At close: Jul 24, 2026 · 3:59 PM UTC
Financial Ratios
Market Cap127.12 Mn
P/E4.02
P/S3.25
Div. Yield0.26
Total Debt (Qtr)79.60 Mn
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About

Oxford Square Capital Corp. is a closed end non diversified management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The company was founded in July 2003 and completed its initial public offering in November 2003. It has also elected to be treated for U. S. federal income tax purposes as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code beginning with its 2003…

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Sector: Financial Services Industry: Asset Management CIK: 0001259429

Investment Thesis

▲ Bull case
  • Oxford Square Capital's (OXSQ) current net asset value per share of $1.69 represents a significant discount to its underlying portfolio value, particularly given the company's focus on senior secured first lien loans which historically exhibit strong recovery rates in distressed environments. The Q4 2025 earnings call revealed that despite market-wide pricing pressure, the company actively deployed $18 million in new investments during the quarter, with Portfolio Manager Kevin Yonon explicitly noting attractive opportunities in both primary and secondary markets due to current trading dislocations. This contrarian capital deployment, combined with the permanent capital structure of a BDC, allows OXSQ to acquire assets at prices reflecting temporary panic rather than fundamental deterioration, positioning the portfolio for meaningful upside as market sentiment normalizes and loan prices rebound toward par. The company's disciplined approach to underwriting in a slowing primary market (down 27% YoY per LCD data) suggests it is selectively targeting high-quality borrowers with strong covenant protection, which should mitigate downside risk while enhancing long-term yield potential as spreads widen in its favor.
  • The market is substantially underestimating the catalytic impact of OXSQ's recent at-the-market equity offering, which generated $7.9 million in net proceeds from issuing 4.3 million shares during Q4 2025. This capital raise occurred at a price materially below net asset value ($1.84 per share vs. $1.69 NAV), signaling strong institutional demand for the company's equity despite near-term headwinds and providing dry powder for opportunistic investments without diluting existing shareholders beyond what is justified by asset accretion. More importantly, the board's subsequent declaration of monthly distributions of $0.035 per share for April–June 2026 demonstrates management's confidence in sustainable cash flow generation, as these distributions represent an annualized yield of approximately 12.4% based on the current share price—a level that is highly attractive relative to peers and suggests the market is mispricing the stability of OXSQ's income stream. The ability to maintain and even grow distributions while deploying capital at discounted prices creates a powerful compounding effect that could drive significant total return as NAV accretes and yield compression occurs in a recovering market.
  • Oxford Square's portfolio resilience is being overlooked due to an overemphasis on short-term CLO equity markdowns, which management explicitly identified as the primary driver of Q4 2025's $18.3 million in combined unrealized and realized losses. While CLO equity experienced volatility, the core first lien loan portfolio—which constitutes the majority of OXSQ's holdings—benefits from senior positioning in the capital structure, regular amortization, and floating-rate coupons that provide natural hedging against rising interest rates. The Portfolio Manager's commentary highlighted that B-rated loan prices actually increased 18 basis points during the quarter, indicating selective strength in higher-quality segments of the leveraged loan market that OXSQ is likely favoring in its new investments. Furthermore, the 12-month trailing default rate for the loan index decreased to 1.23% by principal amount, and while the distress ratio rose to 4.34%, this remains well below historical crisis levels and reflects transient sector-specific stress (particularly in software) rather than broad-based credit deterioration, implying that the current markdowns are excessive and poised for reversal as market liquidity returns.
▼ Bear case
  • Oxford Square Capital (OXSQ) faces material headwinds from the persistent deterioration in the software and private credit sectors, which CEO Jonathan Cohen explicitly acknowledged as a key driver of widening spreads and lower pricing in the syndicated loan market during the Q4 2025 earnings call. His admission that there is "a more general pushback against the growth in the private credit asset class" suggests a structural shift in investor sentiment that could persist beyond typical market cycles, potentially leading to sustained discount to NAV and reduced access to cheap financing for leveraged borrowers—directly undermining the yield generation model that BDCs like OXSQ depend on. This is not merely a temporary setback but a fundamental reassessment of risk in private credit, which could result in prolonged underperformance as allocators reduce exposure to the entire asset class, making it difficult for OXSQ to deploy capital at attractive rates without increasing credit risk.

Peer Comparison

Companies in the Asset Management
S.No. Ticker Company Market CapP/EP/STotal Debt (Qtr)
1 BN BROOKFIELD Corp /ON/ 1,236.60 Bn1,022.8316.3315.06 Bn
2 BLK BlackRock, Inc. 161.01 Bn25.756.2820.18 Bn
3 BX Blackstone Inc. 97.77 Bn16.046.6213.28 Bn
4 APO Apollo Global Management, Inc. 70.80 Bn67.622.6514.22 Bn
5 STT State Street Corp 51.30 Bn18.163.55-
6 AMP Ameriprise Financial Inc 48.54 Bn12.461.740.20 Bn
7 NTRS Northern Trust Corp 32.93 Bn18.056.407.84 Bn
8 RJF Raymond James Financial Inc 32.59 Bn15.212.374.66 Bn