Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund
MSDL · Price history
Price at last available close
$13.96
−$0.31 (-2.17%) 1M
2026-10-29
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Company & revenue
About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund
Primary reporting period: 2025-12-31 · Research updated Oct 12, 2026. A research update is not a new financial filing.
Who they are
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund functions as a business development company (BDC) specializing in finance, primarily providing capital to mid-sized enterprises. Its investment strategy focuses on directly originating and funding senior secured term loans, encompassing both first-lien and second-lien security interests. This entity commenced operations on May 30, 2019, and maintains its principal headquarters in New York City.
How they make money
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company that generates income primarily by originating and investing in senior secured loans, including first-lien, unitranche, and second-lien debt, to middle-market companies. The company earns interest income on these debt investments and capital gains from equity-related investments, while being externally managed by MS Capital Partners Adviser Inc.
Products & services
The company provides direct lending solutions, primarily focusing on senior secured debt investments to middle-market companies to support their financing needs, acquisitions, and growth.
Brands & revenue mix
No separate brand or brand-level revenue disclosure was confirmed in the reviewed sources. This does not mean the company has no brands.
Product / operating segments
No reconciled product or operating-segment revenue breakdown is available for the current research period. Company-wide revenue remains separate from segment disclosure.
Geographic revenue
No reconciled geographic revenue breakdown was confirmed for the current research period.
Customer types
- Middle-market companiesSource
Customer concentration
No quantified customer-concentration disclosure is available in the current saved research.
Suppliers, materials & equipment
- Morgan Stanley — Provides administrative and operational support services to the fund.Source
Business relationships & partnerships
- MS Capital Partners Adviser Inc. — The company is externally managed by this entity, which serves as the investment adviser.Source
Strengths
- Affiliation with Morgan Stanley's private credit platformSource
Sources
Financial risk observations and what to check
These are saved observations about business performance, not predictions. Review the company filings alongside the interpretation below. Latest stored financial period end: 2026-06-30.
Quarterly EPS fell 78.0% versus the same quarter last year.
Review net income and weighted-average shares together. Per-share earnings can change because of operating performance, nonrecurring items or the share denominator.
Wall Street Score
Overall investment score · Quality, value, risk and opportunity
49
Weak
View category scores →
Company Quality
How good is the actual business—regardless of today’s stock price?
43
Weak
Financial Strength
43
Business Quality / Moat
71
Management
28
Growth Quality
8
Risk / Durability
58
Uses financial strength, moat, management, growth quality and durability. It excludes share price, P/E, market cap, intrinsic value and margin of safety.
Opportunity
Opportunity Score · How does the current price compare with estimated value?
73
Fair
Based on current valuation, company quality, recent trends, and available market signals.
View score details →
Model Outlook
12-month model · What does the model think happens next?
65/100
Building Historical Record
Model Score 65/100 — estimates relative performance potential, distinct from the overall Wall Street Score and the separate Company Quality score.
Probability unavailable — the model has not produced a calibrated probability yet.
Click for full breakdown →
WSS View
The quick read
The overall Wall Street Score is low across its combined quality, valuation and risk inputs. This can reflect an expensive share price, business weaknesses, or both; check Company Quality and the category breakdown before drawing a conclusion.
At today’s price, the WSS valuation framework currently reads as relatively attractive.
The model outlook is currently moderate.
- •Valuation scores attractively
- •Insider activity signal is favorable
- •Recent buyback activity is present
- •Elevated debt risk
- •Dividend-change headline · Aug 16, 2026
- •Revenue fundamentals are weak
- •Debt / balance-sheet profile needs attention
Company-specific research
Questions worth answering for MSDL
These questions are generated from this company's current financial and score data so the page adds context instead of treating the headline score as a stand-alone conclusion.
- •What is driving MSDL's revenue decline, and does the latest company filing suggest the weakness is temporary or structural?
- •Is MSDL's positive free cash flow repeatable, or is the current level being helped by temporary working-capital or spending changes?
- •Is MSDL's debt load manageable relative to cash generation, interest costs and upcoming maturities?
- •Is MSDL's valuation discount tied to a temporary concern or to a longer-term business risk?
- •What does the current fundamental change risk warning mean for the reliability or interpretation of MSDL's score?
Essential Investment Snapshot
Wall Street Score
49
Opportunity Score
73
Market Cap
$1.17B
P/E Ratio
19.8
EPS
$0.69
52-Week High
$17.91
52-Week Low
$13.43
Beta
0.64
Intrinsic Value
$26.46
Analyst Target
$15.00
Shares Outstanding
87.3M
Total Revenue
$309.3M
Total Debt
$1.98B
Dividend Yield (TTM)
13.25%
Liquidation Value / Share
$18.88
Dividend / Share (TTM)
$1.85
Momentum & Volatility Signals
Two different market-behavior signals. Momentum measures direction and trend strength. Volatility measures how large and unstable the price moves are, regardless of direction.
Neutral / mixed momentum
Low movement
A high momentum score means price has been trending upward with confirming short- and medium-term strength. A low score means downward or weakening momentum.
A high volatility score means larger, less stable price swings. It can happen while a stock is rising or falling, so high volatility is not automatically bullish or bearish.
Important: the volatility score above is based on realized price volatility. Implied volatility (IV) comes from options prices and represents the market's expected future movement. Wall Street Score will keep IV separate and will only display it when a verified options-chain feed is available.
Notices for MSDL
Detected from reported data — verify before acting.Dividend history reported
Dividend payments are recorded. Review the dates and regular/special classification below; past payments do not guarantee future dividends.
Historical repurchase activity
Reported cash flows or share-count measures indicate past repurchase activity. This does not verify an active buyback authorization or future purchases.
Elevated debt risk
Total debt is at least one year of revenue • Interest coverage is below 2x • Cash covers less than 20% of total debt
Dividend-change headline · Aug 16, 2026
2 BDCs To Sell Before The Dividend Cuts Land — This is a provider-linked headline, not an independently confirmed event. Check the article and company filings for the subject, proposed/completed status, and subsequent updates.
Seeking AlphaCommunity Sentiment
0 active · 0 total callsNo personal call yet on MSDL.
Potential upside factors
- +Growth opportunities may come from revenue expansion, margin improvement, new products, market-share gains, and stronger cash flow.
- +Affiliation with Morgan Stanley's private credit platform.
- +Positive free cash flow may provide capacity to invest in growth.
Potential downside factors
- −Debt risk (elevated): Total debt is at least one year of revenue.
- −Interest coverage is below 2x.
- −Cash covers less than 20% of total debt.
- −Market and credit risk associated with middle-market debt investments.
These research factors come from saved company research and financial data, not community votes. They are starting points to verify against filings, not buy or sell recommendations.
Create a free account to make a call.
Scores
Click any score for full breakdownWas this stock page easy to understand?
One click helps us improve the research experience. This is not tied to an investment decision.
Score Changes
3 historical score records availablePrevious Score
49
Oct 1, 2026
Change
Unchanged
Current Score
49
Oct 5, 2026
Category Changes
MSDL score was unchanged.
Projected Score
Projected Score
46
Projected Change
-3.0 points
Preliminary comparable-period financial changes suggest decline of approximately 3.0 points. This is a projected estimate, not the official WallStreetScore.
Price vs. Value
UndervaluedCurrent Price
$13.96
Model Intrinsic Value
$26.46
Difference
−$12.50
-47.3% vs IV
Margin of Safety
47.3%
Financial Charts
Revenue
Additional Metrics
Operating Cash Flow
Total Debt
Total Assets
Net Margin %
Free includes 3 annual periods plus available TTM; Premium includes up to 10 annual periods. History depends on available company filings. Swipe the table horizontally to see older periods. A dash means unavailable, not zero.
| Line Item | TTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $309.3M | $387.0M | $332.5M | $328.1M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Cost of Revenue | $98.1M | $73.4M | $122.9M | $112.9M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Gross Profit | $211.1M | $313.6M | $209.6M | $215.2M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Research & Development | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| SG&A Expenses | $7.1M | $8.3M | $7.6M | $5.6M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Operating Expenses | $46.4M | $55.5M | -$8.4M | -$17.3M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| EBITDA | $157.0M | $258.2M | $218.0M | $232.5M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Operating Income | $164.7M | $258.1M | $218.0M | $232.5M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Interest Expense | $129.9M | $136.1M | $122.9M | $112.9M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Income Before Tax | $60.9M | $122.1M | $218.0M | $232.5M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Income Tax Expense | $1.2M | $0.00 | $2.4M | $1.5M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Net Income | $59.7M | $122.1M | $215.6M | $231.0M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Basic EPS | $0.69 | $1.40 | $2.43 | $2.62 | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Basic Shares | 84.75M | 87.27M | 89.26M | 88.28M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
| Diluted Shares | 84.75M | 87.27M | 89.26M | 88.28M | ···· | ···· | ···· | ···· |
Earnings Summary
Revenue
$82.6M
Estimate unavailable.
Revenue Beat/Miss
Not available (no estimate stored)
EPS
$0.09
Estimate unavailable.
EPS Beat/Miss
Not available (no estimate stored)
Debt Change
-3.3%
Cash Change
-13.2%
Margin Change
-39.8 pp
Debt and cash show percentage changes versus the comparison period; margin shows the change in percentage points (pp). These are company-wide changes, not per-share amounts.
Financial Changes Since Prior Period
What Improved
- Debt reduced
What Weakened
- Margins contracted
- Cash position declined
Potential Score Impact
Positive indicators included revenue growth, debt levels. Pressure indicators included EPS growth, cash levels, net income margin. These factors may support or pressure the Revenue, Management, Financial, and Debt categories; this summary does not claim that the stored scores changed.
Stored Earnings Analysis
Revenue increased 13.1%. EPS declined 78.0%. Cash declined 13.2%. Total debt declined 3.3%. Net income margin declined by 39.8 percentage points.
Earnings-Call Transcript
Earnings-call transcript analysis is not currently available.
These results may influence future scores when the next evaluation is completed.
Insider Activity
Guru / Smart Money
Guru Score
Smart Money
Number of Gurus
Total Guru Value
Avg Portfolio Weight
Largest Holder
Largest Holder %
New Positions
Increased Positions
Reduced Positions
Exited Positions
Net Guru Sentiment
Short Interest
Dividend History
Log in to view dividend history.
Conservative Projected Values
3 Years
$———.——
5 Years
$———.——
10 Years
$———.——
Conservative Projection Rate
——%
Conservative Projected Values — price projections derived from actual 10-year adjusted historical returns, conservatively adjusted and capped at 8% annually. These are distinct from the Outperformance Model Score and WallStreetScore.
Conservative Projected Values
Premium unlocks the 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year conservative projected values with full calculation breakdowns based on actual historical returns.
Start 7-Day Free TrialHistorical Outperformance Record
Premium includes stored forecasts and any available evaluated results. Completed results, win rates and calibrated probabilities are shown only when supported records exist; access does not create historical outcomes.
Start 7-Day Free TrialHistorical Trends
3 historical recordsHistorical Score Chart
3 of 3 records shownWall Street Score
Debt Score
Revenue Score
Asset Score
Capital Score
Management Score
Moat Score
Valuation Score
Buffett Score
Intrinsic Value
Value Reference
Margin of Safety %
Related Companies
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Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) and Wealthfront (NASDAQ:WLTH) Head to Head Analysis
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) vs. Main Street Capital (NYSE:MAIN) Head-To-Head Analysis
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Shares to Pay Quarterly Dividend of $0.45
Rumor Mill · MSDL
Corporate developments & opportunities
No reviewed developments match this filter.
Evidence credibility is not a forecast of stock performance. Rumor Mill is separate from the WSS score.
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