Main Street Capital (MAIN) Risk Analysis

The 1940 Act and the Code impose numerous constraints on the operations of BDCs and RICs that do not apply to certain of the other investment vehicles that we may compete with. BDCs are required, for example, to invest at least 70% of their total assets in certain qualifying assets, including U.S. private or thinly traded public companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high-quality debt instruments that mature in one year or less from the date of investment. Moreover, qualification for taxation as a RIC requires satisfaction of source-of-income, asset diversification and distribution requirements. Operating under these constraints may hinder our ability to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities and to achieve our investment objective. Any failure to do so could subject us to enforcement action by the SEC, cause us to fail to satisfy the requirements associated with RIC status and subject us to entity-level corporate income taxation, cause us to fail the 70% test described above or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We may be precluded from investing in what we believe are attractive investments if such investments are not qualifying assets for purposes of the 1940 Act. If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we will be prohibited from making any additional investment that is not a qualifying asset and could be forced to forgo attractive investment opportunities. Similarly, these rules could prevent us from making follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies (which could result in the dilution of our position). If we fail to maintain our status as a BDC, we might be regulated as a closed-end investment company that is required to register under the 1940 Act, which would subject us to additional regulatory restrictions and significantly decrease our operating flexibility. In addition, any such failure could cause an event of default under any outstanding indebtedness we might have, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our business will require capital to operate and grow. We may acquire such additional capital from the following sources: Senior Securities We may issue debt securities or preferred stock and/or borrow money from banks or other financial institutions, which we refer to collectively as senior securities. As a result of issuing senior securities, we will be exposed to additional risks, including the following: •Prior to the approval of our stockholders, under the provisions of the 1940 Act we were permitted, as a BDC, to issue senior securities only in amounts such that our BDC asset coverage ratio, as defined in the 1940 Act, equaled at least 200% immediately after each issuance of senior securities. Following the approval of our stockholders of the reduced asset coverage requirements in Section 61(a)(2) of the 1940 Act and subject to our compliance with certain disclosure requirements, effective as of May 3, 2022, under the provisions of the 1940 Act, we are permitted to issue senior securities in amounts such that our BDC asset coverage ratio, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 150% after each issuance of senior securities. If the value of our assets declines, we may be unable to satisfy this test. If that happens, we will be prohibited from issuing debt securities or preferred stock and/or borrowing money from banks or other financial institutions and may not be permitted to declare a cash dividend or make any cash distribution to stockholders or repurchase shares until such time as we satisfy this test. •Any amounts that we use to service our debt or make payments on preferred stock will not be available for dividends to our common stockholders. •It is likely that any senior securities or other indebtedness we issue will be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. Additionally, some of these securities or other indebtedness may be rated by rating agencies, and in obtaining a rating for such securities and other indebtedness, we may be required to abide by operating and investment guidelines that further restrict operating and financial flexibility. •We and, indirectly, our stockholders will bear the cost of issuing and servicing such securities and other indebtedness. •Preferred stock or any convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common stock, including separate voting rights and could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control to the detriment of the holders of our common stock. •Any unsecured debt issued by us would generally rank (i) pari passu with our current and future unsecured indebtedness and effectively subordinated to all of our existing and future secured indebtedness, to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness, and (ii) structurally subordinated to all existing and future indebtedness and other obligations of any of our subsidiaries. Additional Common Stock We are not generally able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below NAV per share. We may, however, sell our common stock, warrants, options or rights to acquire our common stock, at a price below the current NAV per share of the common stock if our Board of Directors determines that such sale is in the best interests of our stockholders, and our stockholders approve such sale. See Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Securities — Stockholders may incur dilution if we sell shares of our common stock in one or more offerings at prices below the then current NAV per share of our common stock or issue securities to subscribe to, convert to or purchase shares of our common stock. for a discussion related to us issuing shares of our common stock below NAV. Our stockholders have authorized us to issue warrants, options or rights to subscribe for, convert to, or purchase shares of our common stock at a price per share below the NAV per share, subject to the applicable requirements of the 1940 Act. There is no expiration date on our ability to issue such warrants, options, rights or convertible securities based on this stockholder approval. If we raise additional funds by issuing more common stock or senior securities convertible into, or exchangeable for, our common stock, the percentage ownership of our stockholders at that time would decrease, and they may experience dilution. Moreover, we can offer no assurance that we will be able to issue and sell additional equity securities in the future, on favorable terms or at all.

We, the Funds, and our portfolio companies are subject to applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations. Failure to comply with any applicable local, state or federal law or regulation could negatively impact our reputation and our business results. New legislation may also be enacted or new interpretations, rulings or regulations could be adopted, including those governing the types of investments we are permitted to make, any of which could harm us and our stockholders, potentially with retroactive effect. Additionally, any changes to the laws and regulations governing our operations relating to permitted investments may cause us to alter our investment strategy in order to avail ourselves of new or different opportunities. Such changes could result in material differences to the strategies and plans set forth herein and may result in our investment focus shifting from the areas of expertise of our investment team to other types of investments in which our investment team may have less expertise or little or no experience. Thus, any such changes, if they occur, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.

We are classified as a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, which means that we are not limited by the 1940 Act with respect to the proportion of our assets that we may invest in securities of a single issuer. Under the 1940 Act, a “diversified” investment company is required to invest at least 75% of the value of its total assets in cash and cash items, government securities, securities of other investment companies and other securities limited in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the total assets of such company and no more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer. As a non-diversified investment company, we are not subject to this requirement. To the extent that we assume large positions in the securities of a small number of issuers, our NAV may fluctuate to a greater extent than that of a diversified investment company as a result of changes in the financial condition or the market’s assessment of the issuer. We may also be more susceptible to any single economic or regulatory occurrence than a diversified investment company. Beyond our RIC asset diversification requirements and any requirements under our financing arrangements, we do not have fixed guidelines for diversification, and our investments could be concentrated in relatively few portfolio companies. See Risk Factors — Federal Income Tax Risks — We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax if we are unable to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. Although we have historically operated as a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, our investment portfolio may, from time to time, be comprised of assets that could permit us to qualify as a “diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. To the extent that we operate as a non-diversified investment company, we may be subject to greater risk.

We will include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as: (i) amortization of original issue discount, which may arise if we receive warrants in connection with the origination of a loan such that ascribing a value to the warrants creates original issue discount in the debt instrument, if we invest in a debt investment at a discount to the par value of the debt security or possibly in other circumstances; (ii) contractual payment-in-kind, or PIK, interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance and due at the end of the loan term; (iii) contractual preferred dividends, which represents contractual dividends added to the preferred stock and due at the end of the preferred stock term, subject to adequate profitability at the portfolio company; or (iv) amortization of market discount, which is associated with loans purchased in the secondary market at a discount to par value. Such amortization of original issue discounts, increases in loan balances as a result of contractual PIK arrangements, cumulative preferred dividends, or amortization of market discount will be included in income before we receive the corresponding cash payments. We also may be required to include in income certain other amounts before we receive such amounts in cash. Investments structured with these features may represent a higher level of credit risk compared to investments generating income which must be paid in cash on a current basis. Since, in certain cases, we may recognize taxable income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty meeting the Annual Distribution Requirement necessary to maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code. Accordingly, we may have to sell some of our investments at times and/or at prices we would not consider advantageous, raise additional debt or equity capital or forgo new investment opportunities for this purpose. If we are not able to obtain cash from other sources, we may fail to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax. For additional discussion regarding the tax implications of a RIC, please see Item 1. Business — Regulation — Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company.

There is significant uncertainty with respect to legislation, regulation and government policy at the federal level, as well as the state and local levels. Recent events, including the 2024 U.S. presidential election, have created a climate of heightened uncertainty and introduced new and difficult-to-quantify macroeconomic and political risks with potentially far-reaching implications. The presidential administration’s changes to U.S. policy may impact, among other things, the U.S. and global economy, international trade and relations, unemployment, immigration, taxes, healthcare, the U.S. regulatory environment, inflation and other areas. Although we cannot predict the impact, if any, of these changes to our business, they could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows. Until we know what policy changes are made and how those changes impact our business and the business of our competitors over the long term, we will not know if, overall, we will benefit from them or be negatively affected by them.

Technological innovations have disrupted traditional approaches in multiple industries and can permit younger companies to achieve success and in the process disrupt markets and market practices. We can provide no assurance that new businesses and approaches will not be created that would compete with us and/or our portfolio companies or alter the market practices in which we have been designed to function within and on which we depend on for our investment return. New approaches could damage our investments, disrupt the market in which we operate and subject us to increased competition, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of investments.

Our growth will require that we retain new investment and administrative personnel in a competitive market. Our ability to attract and retain personnel with the requisite credentials, experience and skills depends on several factors including, but not limited to, our ability to offer competitive wages, benefits and professional growth opportunities. Many of the entities, including investment funds (such as private equity funds, debt funds and mezzanine funds) and traditional financial services companies, with which we compete for experienced personnel have greater resources than we have. The competitive environment for qualified personnel may require us to take certain measures to ensure that we are able to attract and retain experienced personnel. Such measures may include increasing the attractiveness of our overall compensation packages, altering the structure of our compensation packages through the use of additional forms of compensation, or other steps. The inability to attract and retain experienced personnel would have a material adverse effect on our business.