Banking
Deployment record
In the tracker →- Organisation
- Main Street Capital
- System
- customized AI tools
- Function
- back-office, administrative and sales functions
- Scale
- 187 companies overall
- 01Main Street Capital's Q3 2026 earnings call highlighted the use of artificial intelligence in lower middle market businesses, with a focus on best practices.
- 02Two portfolio company CEOs presented case studies on their experiences with developing customized AI tools during the company's 10th annual President's Meeting.
- 03Main Street Capital is encouraged by the potential benefits of AI for its portfolio companies, although the overall impact is described as limited.
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- 04AI adoption is expected to increase, particularly in back-office, administrative, and sales functions, as well as in manufacturing safety.
- 05Main Street's lower middle market portfolio consists of 92 companies, with a total of 187 companies overall, and reported a record net asset value of $34.22 per share for Q3 2026.
Main Street Capital
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During Main Street Capital’s Q3 2026 earnings call on November 6, 2026, President and Chief Investment Officer David Magdol said one important topic at its 10th annual President's Meeting was "best practices for using artificial intelligence" in lower middle market businesses.
The session was led by two portfolio company CEOs, who presented case studies on how their companies started with AI, what they learned and what they would do differently.
Magdol said Main Street is "highly encouraged by the potential benefits our lower middle market portfolio companies can achieve."
Magdol said the discussion has moved on since last year, when the focus was on AI tools developed by others.
This year, "we had a couple of specific examples of how portfolio companies and their teams had developed customized AI tools," he said. Main Street plans to follow up with those companies after the meeting.
The week's banking, insurance and brokerage deployments. Tuesdays.
Asked by UBS about AI adoption across the portfolio, Hyzak described a more limited impact. "We do not think it's going to be a massive change to these companies," he said, noting that "most of our companies are more basic, mature businesses or industries."
He said AI could make the companies more efficient in back-office, administrative and sales functions, and safer in manufacturing. Adoption is rising, he said. "We think it will continue to increase just like it is likely across the entire U.S. economy."
Main Street did not give figures on how many portfolio companies use AI or the results they have seen.
Main Street's lower middle market portfolio includes 92 companies, out of investments in 187 companies overall.
The company reported Q3 2026 distributable net investment income before taxes of $0.98 per share, a record net asset value of $34.22 per share, and an annualized return on equity of 14.7%.
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