UPDATE: Ares Capital Posts Upbeat Q4 Profit

Ares Capital Corp ARCC posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit. Ares Capital's October-December net income dropped to $118.4 million, or $0.58 per share, versus $156.9 million, or $0.79 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, Ares Capital earned $0.48 per share. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.39 per share. Ares Capital's net investment income surged around 45% to $92.4 million. Ares Capital shares gained 0.92% to $16.45 in pre-market trading.