OFS Capital (9UD) Risk Analysis

Our base management fee is payable based upon our total assets, other than cash and cash equivalents but including assets purchased with borrowed amounts and including assets owned by any consolidated entity. This fee structure may encourage OFS Advisor to cause us to borrow money to finance additional investments. The utilization of higher (or additional) leverage may increase the likelihood of default, which would disfavor holders of our common stock. Given the subjective nature of the investment decisions made by OFS Advisor on our behalf, our Board may not be able to monitor this potential conflict of interest effectively.

Many of our portfolio investments are made in the form of securities that are not publicly traded. The fair value of securities and other investments that are not publicly traded may not be readily determinable. On September 7, 2022, pursuant to Rule 2a-5, our Board designated OFS Advisor as the valuation designee to perform fair value determinations relating to our investments. As valuation designee, OFS Advisor determines the fair value of our portfolio investments in good faith, and, as a result, there may be uncertainty as to the value of our portfolio investments. In addition, certain members of our Board who are not independent directors have a substantial indirect pecuniary interest in OFS Advisor. The participation of OFS Advisor in our valuation process, and the indirect pecuniary interest in OFS Advisor by those members of our Board, could result in a conflict of interest since OFS Advisor's base management fee is based on our total assets (other than cash and cash equivalents but including assets purchased with borrowed amounts and including assets owned by any consolidated entity).

OFSC senior professionals and members of the Advisor Investment Committees may serve as directors of, or in a similar capacity with, companies in which we invest, the securities of which are purchased or sold on our behalf. In the event that material non-public information is obtained with respect to such companies, or we become subject to trading restrictions under the internal trading policies of those companies or as a result of applicable law or regulations, we could be prohibited for a period of time from purchasing or selling the securities of such companies, and this prohibition may have an adverse effect on us and our stockholders.

All of the independent directors of our Board also serve as independent directors of the board of directors of HPCI or OCCI, each of which is an Affiliated Fund managed by OFS Advisor. In their capacities as directors for an Affiliated Fund board, the independent directors have a duty to make decisions on behalf of that Affiliated Fund that are in the best interests of that Affiliated Fund and its stockholders. Accordingly, our independent directors may face conflicts of interest when making a decision on behalf of one Affiliated Fund that may not be in the best interest of the other Affiliated Fund(s). For example, the SEC has granted exemptive relief to us, OFS Advisor, HPCI, OCCI, and certain other of our affiliates to co-invest in certain transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by the 1940 Act. In accordance with that relief, the independent directors must make certain findings on behalf of each Affiliated Fund with respect to initial co-investment transactions, including that the terms of the proposed transaction, including the consideration to be paid, are reasonable and fair to the Affiliated Fund and its stockholders and do not involve overreaching in respect of the Affiliated Fund or its stockholders on the part of any of the other participants in the proposed transaction. Under such circumstances, the independent directors may face conflicts of interest when making these determinations on behalf of us, HPCI and OCCI.

Conflicts may arise when we make an investment in conjunction with an investment being made by Affiliated Accounts, or in a transaction where another Affiliated Account has already made an investment. Investment opportunities are, from time to time, appropriate for more than one Affiliated Account in the same, different or overlapping securities of a portfolio company's capital structure. Conflicts arise in determining the terms of investments, particularly where these Affiliated Accounts may invest in different types of securities in a single portfolio company. Questions arise as to whether payment obligations and covenants should be enforced, modified or waived, or whether debt should be restructured, modified or refinanced. We may invest in debt and other securities of companies in which other Affiliated Accounts hold those same securities or different securities, including equity securities. In the event that we make such investments, our interests will at times conflict with the interests of such other Affiliated Accounts, particularly in circumstances where the underlying company is facing financial distress. Decisions about what action should be taken, particularly in troubled situations, raise conflicts of interest, including, among other things, whether or not to enforce claims, whether or not to advocate or initiate a restructuring or liquidation inside or outside of bankruptcy, and the terms of any work-out or restructuring. The involvement of multiple Affiliated Accounts at both the equity and debt levels could inhibit strategic information exchanges among fellow creditors, including among us and other Affiliated Accounts. In certain circumstances, we or other Affiliated Accounts may be prohibited from exercising voting or other rights and may be subject to claims by other creditors with respect to the subordination of their interests. For example, in the event that one Affiliated Account has a controlling or significantly influential position in a portfolio company, that Affiliated Account may have the ability to elect some or all of the board of directors of such a portfolio company, thereby controlling its policies and operations, including the appointment of management, future issuances of securities, payment of dividends, incurrence of debt and entering into extraordinary transactions. In addition, a controlling Affiliated Account is likely to have the ability to determine, or influence, the outcome of operational matters and to cause, or prevent, a change in control of such a portfolio company. Such management and operational decisions may, at times, be in direct conflict with us or other Affiliated Accounts that have invested in the same portfolio company that do not have the same level of control or influence over the portfolio company. If additional capital is necessary as a result of financial or other difficulties, or to finance growth or other opportunities, we or other Affiliated Accounts may or may not provide such additional capital, and if provided, each Affiliated Account will supply such additional capital in such amounts, if any, as determined by OFS Advisor and/or OFS Advisor's affiliates. Investments by more than one Affiliated Account in a portfolio company also raises the risk of using assets of an Affiliated Account of OFS Advisor to support positions taken by other Affiliated Accounts, or that a client may remain passive in a situation in which it is entitled to vote. In addition, there may be differences in timing of entry into, or exit from, a portfolio company for reasons such as differences in strategy, existing portfolio or liquidity needs, different Affiliated Account mandates or fund differences, or different securities being held. These variations in timing may be detrimental to us. The application of our investment mandate as compared to investment mandates of other Affiliated Accounts and the policies and procedures of OFS Advisor and OFS Advisor's affiliates are expected to vary based on the particular facts and circumstances surrounding each investment by two or more Affiliated Accounts, in particular when those Affiliated Accounts are in different classes of an issuer's capital structure (as well as across multiple issuers or borrowers within the same overall capital structure) and, as such, there may be a degree of variation and potential inconsistencies in the manner in which potential or actual conflicts are addressed.

Our Board has the authority to modify or waive certain of our operating policies and strategies without prior notice and without stockholder approval, except as provided otherwise in the 1940 Act. However, absent stockholder approval, we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or withdraw our election as, a BDC. Under Delaware law, we also cannot be dissolved without prior stockholder approval except by judicial action. We cannot predict the effect any changes to our current operating policies and strategies would have on our business, operating results and the price value of our common stock. Nevertheless, any such changes could adversely affect our business and impair our ability to make distributions.

Preferred stock is another form of leverage and presents the same risks to our common stockholders as borrowings because the dividends on any preferred stock we issue must be cumulative. Payment of such dividends and repayment of the liquidation preference of such preferred stock must take preference over any dividends or other payments to our common stockholders. Additionally, preferred stockholders are not subject to any of our expenses or losses and are not entitled to participate in any of our income or appreciation in excess of their stated preference.

We distribute taxable distributions that are payable in cash or shares of our common stock at the election of each stockholder. In accordance with guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service, a publicly traded RIC should generally be eligible to treat a distribution of its own stock as fulfilling its RIC distribution requirements if each stockholder is permitted to elect to receive his or her distribution either in cash or in stock of the RIC (even where there is a limitation on the percentage of the distribution payable in cash, provided that the limitation is at least 20%), subject to the satisfaction of certain guidelines. If too many stockholders elect to receive their distributions in cash, each such stockholder would receive a pro rata share of the total cash to be distributed and would receive the remainder of their distribution in shares of stock. If this and certain other requirements are met, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the amount of the distribution paid in stock generally will be a taxable distribution in an amount equal to the amount of cash that could have been received instead of stock. If we decide to make any distributions consistent with this guidance that are payable in part in our stock, stockholders receiving such distribution would be required to include the full amount of the distribution (whether received in cash, our stock, or a combination thereof) as ordinary income (or as long-term capital gain to the extent such distribution is properly designated as a capital gain dividend) to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, a U.S. stockholder may be required to pay tax with respect to such dividends in excess of any cash received. If a U.S. stockholder sells the stock received as a dividend in order to pay this tax, it may be subject to transaction fees (e.g., broker fees or transfer agent fees) and, depending on the market price of our stock at the time of the sale, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend. Furthermore, with respect to non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in stock. In addition, if a significant number of our stockholders determine to sell shares of our stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price of our stock.

The 1940 Act requires that holders of shares of preferred stock be entitled as a class to elect two directors at all times and to elect a majority of the directors if dividends on such preferred stock are in arrears by two years or more, until such arrearage is eliminated. In addition, certain matters under the 1940 Act require the separate vote of the holders of any issued and outstanding preferred stock, including changes in fundamental investment restrictions and conversion to open-end status and, accordingly, preferred stockholders could veto any such changes. Restrictions imposed on the declarations and payment of dividends or other distributions to the holders of our common stock and preferred stock, both by the 1940 Act and by requirements imposed by rating agencies, might impair our ability to maintain our tax treatment as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

We cannot assure the holders of our common stock that the issuance of preferred stock and/or debt securities would result in a higher yield or return to the holders of our common stock. The issuance of preferred stock, debt securities or convertible debt would likely cause the NAV of our common stock to become more volatile. If the dividend rate on the preferred stock, or the interest rate on the debt securities, were to approach the net rate of return on our investment portfolio, the benefit of leverage to the holders of our common stock would be reduced. If the dividend rate on the preferred stock, or the interest rate on the debt securities, were to exceed the net rate of return on our portfolio, the use of leverage would result in a lower rate of return to the holders of common stock than if we had not issued the preferred stock or debt securities. Any decline in the NAV of our investments would be borne entirely by the holders of our common stock. Therefore, if the market value of our portfolio were to decline, leverage would result in a greater decrease in NAV to the holders of our common stock than if we were not leveraged through the issuance of preferred stock. There is also a risk that, in the event of a sharp decline in the value of our net assets, we would be in danger of: (i) failing to maintain the required asset coverage ratios which may be required by the preferred stock, debt securities, convertible debt or units; (ii) a downgrade in the ratings of the preferred stock, debt securities, convertible debt or units; or (iii) our current investment income not being sufficient to meet the dividend requirements on the preferred stock or the interest payments on the debt securities. If we do not maintain our required asset coverage ratios, we may not be permitted to declare dividends. In order to counteract such an event, we might need to liquidate investments in order to fund redemption of some or all of the preferred stock, debt securities or convertible debt. In addition, we would pay (and the holders of our common stock would bear) all costs and expenses relating to the issuance and ongoing maintenance of the preferred stock, debt securities, convertible debt or any combination of these securities. Holders of preferred stock, debt securities or convertible debt may have different interests than holders of common stock and may, at times, have disproportionate influence over our affairs.

If our common stock is trading below its NAV per share, we will generally not be able to issue additional shares of our common stock at its market price without first obtaining the approval for such issuance from our stockholders and our independent directors. Shares of BDCs, including shares of our common stock, have historically traded at discounts to their NAVs. As of December 31, 2025, our NAV per share was $9.19 and the closing price of our common shares on The Nasdaq Global Select Market was $4.76. If our common stock trades below NAV, the higher the cost of equity capital may result in it being unattractive to raise new equity, which may limit our ability to grow. The risk of trading below NAV is separate and distinct from the risk that our NAV per share may decline. We cannot predict whether shares of our common stock will trade above, at or below our NAV.

The Delaware General Corporation Law, our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws contain provisions that may have the effect of discouraging a third-party from making an acquisition proposal for us. We have also adopted measures that may make it difficult for a third-party to obtain control of us, including provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation dividing our Board into three classes with the term of one class expiring at each annual meeting of stockholders. These anti-takeover provisions may inhibit a change in control in circumstances that could provide the holders of our common stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the market price of our common stock.

The shares of our common stock beneficially owned by our principal stockholders, including OFSAM Holdings, are generally available for resale, subject to the provisions of Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act unless they are registered for sale under the Securities Act. OFSAM Holdings is entitled to the benefits of a registration rights agreement granting OFSAM Holdings the right to require us to register its shares for resale. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, or the availability of such common stock for sale, could adversely affect the prevailing market prices for our common stock. If this occurs and continues, it could impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of securities should we desire to do so.

As with any stock, the market price of our common stock will fluctuate with market conditions and other factors. Our common stock is intended for long-term investors and should not be treated as a trading vehicle. Shares of BDCs frequently trade at a discount from their NAV. The market price and liquidity in the market for shares of our common stock may be significantly affected by numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be directly related to our operating performance. These factors include: - significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of securities of BDCs or other companies in our sector, which is not necessarily related to the operating performance of these companies;- exclusion of our common stock from certain market indices, such as the Russell 2000 Financial Services Index, which could reduce the ability of certain investment funds to own our common stock and create short-term selling pressure on our common stock;- changes in regulatory policies or tax guidelines, particularly with respect to RICs or BDCs;- loss of RIC or BDC status;- our origination activity, including the pace of, and competition for, new investment opportunities;- our ability to incur additional leverage pursuant to Section 61(a)(2) of the 1940 Act and the impact of such leverage on our net investment income and results of operations;- changes, or perceived changes, in earnings or variations in operating results;- changes, or perceived changes, in the value of our portfolio of investments, including upon the sale or disposition of any such investments;- changes in accounting guidelines governing the valuation of our investments;- any shortfall in revenue or net income or any increase in losses from levels expected by investors or securities analysts;- the inability to secure additional debt or equity capital or to exit portfolio company investments;- potential future sales of common stock or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for our common stock or the conversion of such securities;- departure of OFS Advisor's, OFSC's or any of their affiliates' key personnel;- operating performance of companies comparable to us;- general economic trends and other external factors; and/or - loss of a major funding source.

We have made distributions on a quarterly basis to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. We cannot assure stockholders that we will achieve investment results that will allow us to make a specified level of cash distributions or year-to-year increases in cash distributions. Our ability to pay distributions might be adversely affected by the impact of one or more of the risk factors described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, due to the asset coverage test applicable to us under the 1940 Act as a BDC, we may be limited in our ability to make distributions. When we make distributions, we will be required to determine the extent to which such distributions are paid out of current or accumulated taxable (or tax-basis) earnings and profits. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of an investor's basis in our stock and, assuming that an investor holds our stock as a capital asset, thereafter as a capital gain. A return of capital represents a return to stockholders of a portion of their original investment in us rather than income or capital gains.