Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) is a Business Development Company (BDC) that directly originates loans to U.S. middle-market companies, primarily first-lien senior secured loans. TSLX targets companies with EBITDA of roughly $10M–$250M, with borrowers using capital for growth, acquisitions, and recapitalizations. TSLX has no employees of its own — its external manager, Sixth Street (a ~$125B AUM investment platform), sources, underwrites, and manages the portfolio on TSLX's behalf. TSLX originates deals through two channels: sponsor-backed transactions (historically ~65% of fundings) and non-sponsored or thematic deals in specialized sectors like pharma services, energy, and asset-based lending, where TSLX argues it faces less competition and earns wider spreads. TSLX earns money primarily by collecting interest on its ~$3.3B loan portfolio, then uses leverage (targeting 0.9x–1.25x debt-to-equity) to amplify returns. Because most loans are floating-rate, earnings are sensitive to benchmark interest rates. TSLX also earns episodic income from prepayment fees and OID acceleration when loans repay early. As a Regulated Investment Company, TSLX must distribute at least 90% of taxable income to shareholders, so most earnings flow out as dividends rather than being retained. TSLX pays Sixth Street a management fee and incentive fee. Management explicitly prioritizes return on equity over asset growth, and argues that below-average credit losses — rather than portfolio size — are the primary driver of long-run performance relative to BDC peers.