UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

_____________________________________________________________________

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) February 19, 2026

ARES STRATEGIC INCOME FUND

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Delaware

814-01512

88-6432468

(State or Other Jurisdiction
of Incorporation)

(Commission
File Number)

(IRS Employer
Identification No.)


245 Park Avenue, 44th Floor, New York, NY						10167
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)						(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (212) 750-7300

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:


Title of each class	Trading symbol	Name of each exchange on which registered

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).


Emerging growth company o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

Item 3.02 Unregistered Sale of Equity Securities.

During February 2026, Ares Strategic Income Fund (the “Fund”) sold Class I common shares of beneficial interest. The number of shares to be issued was finalized on February 19, 2026. The purchase price per Class I common share equaled the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per Class I common share as of January 31, 2026. The offer and sale of these Class I common shares was exempt from the registration provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) thereof and/or Regulation S promulgated thereunder. The following table details the Class I common shares sold:


Date of Unregistered Sales (dollar amount in millions)	Amount of Class I Common Shares	Total Consideration
During February 2026 (number of shares finalized on February 19, 2026)	3,648,980	$	99.5

Item 8.01 Other Events.

Net Asset Value

The NAV per share of each class of the Fund as of January 31, 2026, as determined in accordance with the valuation policies and procedures of Ares Capital Management LLC, the Fund’s investment adviser, was as follows:


	NAV as of January 31, 2026
Class I	$	27.26
Class S	$	27.26
Class D	$	27.26

As of January 31, 2026, the Fund’s aggregate NAV was approximately $10.6 billion, the fair value of its portfolio investments was approximately $21.4 billion, and it had approximately $10.6 billion of debt outstanding. The Fund’s debt-to-equity ratio as of January 31, 2026 was 1.03x.

February 2026 Distributions

As previously disclosed, on November 14, 2025, the Fund announced the declaration of regular monthly distributions for each class of the Fund’s common shares of beneficial interest, including Class I shares, Class S shares and Class D shares (the “Common Shares”) in the amounts per share set forth below:


	Gross Distribution		Shareholder Servicing and/or Distribution Fee		Net Distribution
Class I	$	0.21430	$	0.00000	$	0.21430
Class S	$	0.21430	$	0.01778	$	0.19652
Class D	$	0.21430	$	0.00523	$	0.20907

The distributions for each class of Common Shares are payable to shareholders of record as of the open of business on February 27, 2026 and will be paid on or about March 25, 2026.

The February 2026 distributions will be paid in cash or reinvested in the Common Shares for shareholders participating in the Fund’s distribution reinvestment plan.

March, April, May and June 2026 Distributions

As previously disclosed, on January 7, 2026, the Fund announced the declaration of regular monthly gross distributions for April, May and June 2026, in each case for each class of its Common Shares. Also, as previously disclosed, on November 14, 2025, the Fund announced the declaration of regular monthly gross distributions for March 2026, for each class of its Common Shares in the amounts per share set forth below:


		Gross Distribution Per Share
Record Date	Payment Date(1)	Class I		Class S		Class D


March 31, 2026	April 23, 2026	$	0.21430	$	0.21430	$	0.21430
April 30, 2026	May 21, 2026	$	0.21430	$	0.21430	$	0.21430
May 29, 2026	June 24, 2026	$	0.21430	$	0.21430	$	0.21430
June 30, 2026	July 23, 2026	$	0.21430	$	0.21430	$	0.21430

________________________________________

(1)The distributions for each class of the Fund’s Common Shares will be paid on or about the payment dates above.

These distributions will be paid in cash or reinvested in the Common Shares for shareholders participating in the Fund’s distribution reinvestment plan. The net distributions received by shareholders of each of the Class S shares and Class D shares will be equal to the gross distribution in the table above, less specific shareholder servicing and/or distribution fees applicable to such class of the Fund’s Common Shares as of their respective record dates. Class I shares have no shareholder servicing and/or distribution fees.

Portfolio and Business Commentary

As of January 31, 2026, the Fund had investments in 854 portfolio companies with total fair value of approximately $21.4 billion. As of January 31, 2026, 93% of the debt investments at fair value in the Fund’s portfolio were floating rate. As of January 31, 2026, based on fair value, the Fund’s portfolio investments consisted of the following:


	As of January 31, 2026
Portfolio Investments
First lien senior secured loans	80.0	%
Second lien senior secured loans	1.9
Senior subordinated loans	5.1
Corporate bonds	0.5
Collateralized loan obligations	4.5
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	0.4
Private asset-backed investments	1.2
Investments in joint ventures	2.0
Preferred equity	1.6
Other equity	2.8
Total	100.0	%

As of January 31, 2026, the ten largest industries in which the Fund was invested, represented as a percentage of fair value, were as follows:


	As of January 31, 2026
Industry
Software and Services	21.1	%
Health Care Equipment and Services	11.0	%
Commercial and Professional Services	9.0	%
Capital Goods	8.7	%
Investment Funds and Vehicles(1)	8.0	%
Financial Services	6.5	%
Consumer Services	6.5	%
Insurance	5.0	%
Sports, Media and Entertainment	3.8	%
Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Life Sciences	3.1	%

________________________________________

(1)Includes the Fund’s investments in a joint venture established between the Fund and a large North American pension fund.

Status of Offering

The Fund is currently publicly offering on a continuous basis up to $15.0 billion of its Common Shares, pursuant to a registered offering (the “Offering”). Additionally, the Fund has sold unregistered shares as part of private offerings (the “Private Placements”). The following table lists the Common Shares issued and total consideration for both the Offering and the Private Placements as of the date of this filing, reflective of transfers between share classes. The table below does not include Common Shares issued through the Fund’s distribution reinvestment plan. The Fund intends to continue selling Common Shares in the Offering and in Private Placements on a monthly basis.


(dollar amounts in millions)	Common Shares Issued	Total Consideration(1)
Registered Offering:
Class I	110,705,366	$	3,030.1
Class S	49,638,666	$	1,357.0
Class D	32,325,438	$	886.9
Private Placements
Class I	226,858,878	$	6,186.8
Class S	—	—
Class D	—	—
Total Registered Offering and Private Placements*	419,528,348	$	11,460.8

________________________________________

(1)No underwriting discounts or commissions have been or will be paid in connection with the sale of such common shares. Although the Fund does not charge investors an upfront sales load with respect to its common shares, if common shares are purchased through certain selling agents, such selling agents may directly charge shareholders transaction or other fees, including upfront placement fees or brokerage commissions, in such amount as they may determine, provided that selling agents limit such charges to a 2.0% cap on NAV for Class I common shares, a 3.5% cap on NAV for Class S common shares and a 2.0% cap on NAV for Class D common shares.

*Amounts may not sum due to rounding.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


		ARES STRATEGIC INCOME FUND

Date: February 19, 2026

	By:	/s/ SCOTT C. LEM
	Name:	Scott C. Lem
	Title:	Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

ARES STRATEGIC INCOME FUND 8-K