AFG vs ARX vs MKL Stock Comparison

American Financial, Accelerant Holdings and Markel Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AFG American Financial Group Inc
$150.66 +9.0% 1M +13.9% 1Y
Market cap
$12.53B
P/E
13.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.28B
Div. yield
0.05%
Property and Casualty Insurance Financial Services
4 wins
ARX Accelerant Holdings
$19.82 +0.3% 1M +58.9% 1Y
Market cap
$4.33B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.15B
Div. yield
–
Property and Casualty Insurance Financial Services
2 wins
MKL Markel Group Inc.
$1,875.12 +8.5% 1M -0.2% 1Y
Market cap
$23.35B
P/E
10.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.51B
Div. yield
–
Property and Casualty Insurance Financial Services
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Markel leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Markel 5, American Financial 4, Accelerant Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAFGARXMKLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $12.53B $4.33B $23.35B MKL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.1x -3.2x 10.2x MKL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.5x 23.0x 18.8x AFG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.2% +54.6% +3.5% ARX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.5% -119.3% 14.7% MKL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% -179.7% 10.6% AFG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.3x 1.0x — AFG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.05% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.9% +58.9% -0.2% ARX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.2%/yr — +7.6%/yr MKL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 18.3% 67.5% 19.9% AFG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 39/100 12/100 43/100 MKL

Percentile Scorecard

AFGARXMKL

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAFGARXMKL
Valuation 38 #74 of 119 1 #118 of 119 64 #43 of 119
Growth 19 #93 of 115 9 #105 of 115 11 #103 of 115
Profitability 71 #34 of 113 4 #109 of 113 55 #51 of 113
Financial Health 50 #58 of 114 29 #81 of 114 63 #43 of 114
Shareholder Returns 17 #89 of 107 19 #87 of 107 21 #85 of 107
Overall 39 12 43
  • AFG ranked among 126 companies in Insurance
  • ARX ranked among 126 companies in Insurance
  • MKL ranked among 126 companies in Insurance

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAFGARXMKLSPY
1 month +9.0%+0.3%+8.5% -0.8%
3 months +4.8%+35.8%-7.0% +3.5%
6 months +16.3%+45.9%-1.1% +7.0%
Year to date +10.2%+21.2%-12.8% +12.2%
1 year +13.9%+58.9%-0.2% +13.0%
3 years +40.3%—+30.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.9%—+9.4% +23.1%
5 years +11.7%—+44.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +2.2%—+7.6% +11.0%
10 years +100.6%—+110.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +7.2%—+7.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAFGARXMKLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 18.3%67.5%19.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 17.4%59.8%21.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.210.050.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.760.87-0.01 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -29.4%-68.9%-28.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.8%-0.4%-14.5% -1.8%
52-week high $153.47$19.89$2,191.90 $779.14
52-week low $124.18$9.36$1,714.26 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAFGARXMKL
P/E now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 10.6x -3.2xmedian 10.6x 10.3xmedian 10.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.4x 3.8xmedian 1.4x 1.5xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 7.6x -1.9xmedian 7.6x —median 7.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.7xmedian 8.6x 93.9xmedian 8.6x 11.0xmedian 8.6x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 1.5x 5.8xmedian 1.5x 1.2xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 2.81median 0.52 —median 0.52 1.20median 0.52

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAFGARXMKL
Revenue $8.28B $1.15B $15.51B
Gross profit $3.96B $885.00M $10.63B
Operating income $1.20B -$1.53B $3.09B
Net income $953.00M -$1.28B $2.32B
Free cash flow $1.43B $45.80M $2.12B
EPS (diluted) $11.48 $-6.22 $181.44
Cash & equivalents $1.44B $1.66B $3.42B
Total debt $1.82B $120.10M $4.37B
Shares (diluted) 83.00M 219.69M 12.59M
Enterprise value $3.05B -$2.34B -$43.32B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAFGARXMKL
P/E 13.1x -3.2x 10.3x
P/FCF 8.7x 93.9x 11.0x
P/Operating cash flow 8.0x 93.9x 10.0x
P/S 1.5x 3.8x 1.5x
P/B 2.6x 5.8x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 5.8x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 9.4x -1.9x –
EV/EBIT 10.1x -1.8x 3.5x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 2.4x 0.7x
EV/FCF 8.5x 60.3x 5.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.7x 60.3x 4.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.81 – 1.20

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAFGARXMKL
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.2% 54.6% 3.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.4% – 1.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.5% 61.0% 7.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.3% -1,080% -7.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.8% – 2.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 24.7% -2,833% 0.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.8% – 4.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 25.5% -2,986% 5.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.7% – 8.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.0% -94.5% 2.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.6% – -6.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -7.4% -94.5% 3.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.3% – -6.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAFGARXMKL
Gross margin 47.8% 77.2% 68.5%
EBITDA margin 15.6% -130.1% –
Operating margin 14.5% -133.6% 19.9%
Pretax margin 23.1% -110.8% 19.1%
Net margin 11.5% -119.3% 14.7%
FCF margin 17.3% 4.0% 13.7%
Operating cash flow margin 18.9% 4.0% 15.0%
Return on equity 35.0% -176.3% 12.5%
Return on assets 5.1% -14.7% 3.3%
Return on invested capital 15.9% -179.7% 10.6%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 0.0x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue – 7.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAFGARXMKL
Debt / assets 5.5% 1.3% 6.1%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.2x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.3x 1.0x –
Debt / FCF 1.3x 2.6x 2.1x
Liabilities / assets 85.4% 91.7% 73.3%
Equity / assets 14.6% 8.3% 26.7%
Interest coverage 13.5x -143.1x 15.2x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAFGARXMKL
Dividend yield 4.7% – –
Net buyback yield 0.6% 1.9% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 5.3% 1.9% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 60.4% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 40.3% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -24.4% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -7.0% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAFGARXMKL
Forward P/E 11.5xFY2026 23.0xFY2026 18.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $13.15FY2026 $0.86FY2026 $99.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +27.8%FY2026 -8.5%FY2026 -13.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -13.5% +11.6% +7.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.21BFY2026 $1.18BFY2026 $15.96BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.4%FY2026 +28.8%FY2026 -3.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.1% +9.6% +0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAFGARXMKL
Held by institutions 69.5% 54.5% 76.8%
Institutions holding 511 118 926
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.2% +16.0% -0.2%
Institutions buying 274 80 424
Institutions selling 144 27 315
Buyers to sellers 1.90 2.96 1.35

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AFGARXMKL
AFG 1.00 0.19 0.54
ARX 0.19 1.00 0.20
MKL 0.54 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AFG, ARX and MKL?

Markel (MKL) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Financial (AFG) $12.53B, Accelerant Holdings (ARX) $4.33B, Markel (MKL) $23.35B.

Which stock is cheaper, AFG, ARX and MKL?

Markel (MKL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Financial (AFG) 13.1x, Accelerant Holdings (ARX) -3.2x, Markel (MKL) 10.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, American Financial (AFG) is cheapest (American Financial (AFG) 11.5x, Accelerant Holdings (ARX) 23.0x, Markel (MKL) 18.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Accelerant Holdings (ARX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: American Financial (AFG) -0.2%, Accelerant Holdings (ARX) +54.6%, Markel (MKL) +3.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Markel (MKL) has the highest net margin (American Financial (AFG) 11.5%, Accelerant Holdings (ARX) -119.3%, Markel (MKL) 14.7%). On return on invested capital, American Financial (AFG) leads (American Financial (AFG) 15.9%, Accelerant Holdings (ARX) -179.7%, Markel (MKL) 10.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Accelerant Holdings (ARX) returned the most: American Financial (AFG) +13.9%, Accelerant Holdings (ARX) +58.9%, Markel (MKL) -0.2%. Over five years, Markel (MKL) compounded fastest (American Financial (AFG) +2.2%/yr, Markel (MKL) +7.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: American Financial (AFG) 0.05%, Accelerant Holdings (ARX) 0.00%, Markel (MKL) 0.00%. Accelerant Holdings (ARX) and Markel (MKL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, American Financial (AFG) has been the steadiest (American Financial (AFG) 18.3%, Accelerant Holdings (ARX) 67.5%, Markel (MKL) 19.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AFG, ARX and MKL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Markel (MKL) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.