ARCC vs ARES vs BX Stock Comparison

Ares Capital, Ares Management and Blackstone Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARCC Ares Capital Corp
$18.64 -2.7% 1M -6.5% 1Y
Market cap
$13.36B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.11B
Div. yield
–
Business Development Companies Financial Services
5 wins
ARES Ares Management Corp
$122.08 +0.5% 1M -17.8% 1Y
Market cap
$27.60B
P/E
51.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.99B
Div. yield
0.07%
Alternative Asset Managers Financial Services
3 wins
BX Blackstone Inc.
$117.97 -1.1% 1M -23.9% 1Y
Market cap
$95.06B
P/E
27.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.11B
Div. yield
0.07%
Alternative Asset Managers Financial Services
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ares Capital leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Ares Capital 5, Blackstone 3, Ares Management 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARCCARESBXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.36B $27.60B $95.06B BX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.9x 51.6x 27.0x ARCC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.4x 22.4x 19.4x ARCC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.2% +24.0% +17.2% ARES
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.9% 8.9% 21.8% ARCC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 14.8% 21.6% BX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.07% 0.07% ARES
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.5% -17.8% -23.9% ARCC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.6%/yr +8.4%/yr -3.0%/yr ARES
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.1% 43.7% 37.3% ARCC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 57/100 68/100 BX

Percentile Scorecard

ARCCARESBX

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

AxisARCCARESBX
Valuation 19 #138 of 170 50 #92 of 183 76 #44 of 183
Growth 37 #105 of 165 74 #30 of 113 83 #20 of 113
Profitability 34 #102 of 155 69 #42 of 131 82 #25 of 131
Financial Health 61 #65 of 163 42 #98 of 168 53 #79 of 168
Shareholder Returns 29 #97 of 137 52 #37 of 76 45 #42 of 76
Overall 36 57 68
  • ARCC ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • ARES ranked among 212 companies in Asset and Wealth Management
  • BX ranked among 212 companies in Asset and Wealth Management

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodARCCARESBXSPY
1 month -2.7%+0.5%-1.1% -1.0%
3 months -0.7%-3.5%-9.2% +2.9%
6 months -0.2%+5.9%-3.0% +6.4%
Year to date -7.9%-24.5%-23.5% +11.4%
1 year -6.5%-17.8%-23.9% +13.1%
3 years -1.8%+16.9%+24.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year -0.6%+5.4%+7.4% +21.5%
5 years -12.3%+49.5%-14.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -2.6%+8.4%-3.0% +10.9%
10 years +21.5%+613.9%+390.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +2.0%+21.7%+17.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureARCCARESBXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.1%43.7%37.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.8%46.3%37.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.631.661.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.34-0.41-0.64 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.7%-51.3%-51.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.4%-31.5%-27.8% -2.5%
52-week high $21.03$178.28$163.50 $779.14
52-week low $17.45$96.50$102.12 $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.

MultipleARCCARESBX
P/E now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 11.0x 51.6xmedian 33.6x 26.8xmedian 33.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 2.6x 7.3xmedian 4.6x 5.5xmedian 4.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 13.1x —median 12.0x —median 12.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -19.7xmedian 6.9x 52.6xmedian 13.4x 16.2xmedian 13.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 0.7x 5.1xmedian 1.9x 4.2xmedian 1.9x
PEG now vs peer median -2.73median 0.31 4.06median 0.91 0.69median 0.91

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 monthsARCCARESBX
Revenue $3.11B $5.99B $16.11B
Net income $960.00M $636.35M $6.83B
Free cash flow -$680.00M $836.15M $5.49B
EPS (diluted) $1.34 $2.36 $4.40
Cash & equivalents $383.00M $1.85B $2.51B
Total debt $15.77B $4.58B $50.92B
Shares (diluted) 718.00M 226.30M 799.90M
Enterprise value $10.80B $21.36B $85.04B

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
MetricARCCARESBX
P/E 13.9x 51.6x 26.8x
P/FCF -19.7x 52.6x 16.2x
P/Operating cash flow -19.7x 48.2x 15.9x
P/S 4.3x 7.3x 5.5x
P/B 1.0x 5.1x 4.2x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 5.6x 4.2x
EV/EBITDA – – –
EV/EBIT – 20.4x 11.6x
EV/Revenue 9.3x 7.8x 6.2x
EV/FCF -42.3x 55.8x 18.1x
EV/Operating cash flow -42.3x 51.2x 17.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.73 4.06 0.69

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARCCARESBX
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.2% 24.0% 17.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 18.0% 32.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) -29.0% 32.6% 19.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 7.5% 46.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -31.3% 27.3% 20.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.1% 12.7% 38.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 47.9% -77.5% 65.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -50.4% 98.3% 14.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 47.9% -79.0% 67.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -50.4% 84.4% 16.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARCCARESBX
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – – –
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin – 26.0% 50.1%
Net margin 30.9% 8.9% 21.8%
FCF margin -21.9% 14.0% 34.1%
Operating cash flow margin -21.9% 15.2% 34.7%
Return on equity – 15.4% 33.2%
Return on assets – 4.5% 13.9%
Return on invested capital – 14.8% 21.6%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.7x 1.4x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue – – 9.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARCCARESBX
Debt / assets 51.7% 15.4% 26.4%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.5x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF -23.2x 5.5x 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 54.5% 71.0% 57.8%
Equity / assets 45.5% 29.0% 42.2%
Interest coverage – 3.1x 16.0x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARCCARESBX
Dividend yield 10.3% 4.2% 4.4%
Net buyback yield -1.7% 0.9% 0.3%
Shareholder yield 8.6% 5.1% 4.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 301.7% 93.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 229.6% 116.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 23.7% 22.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 26.9% 7.9%

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.

ConsensusARCCARESBX
Forward P/E 10.4xFY2026 22.4xFY2026 19.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.79FY2026 $5.44FY2026 $6.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.9%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026 +9.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.5% +35.7% +26.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.88BFY2026 $5.47BFY2026 $14.70BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -5.4%FY2026 +13.2%FY2026 +12.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.8% +19.7% +27.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARCCARESBX
Held by institutions 33.7% 66.7% 67.3%
Institutions holding 780 802 2,129
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.8% +5.3% +2.8%
Institutions buying 379 477 1,132
Institutions selling 254 229 716
Buyers to sellers 1.49 2.08 1.58

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.

ARCCARESBX
ARCC 1.00 0.57 0.56
ARES 0.57 1.00 0.80
BX 0.56 0.80 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARCC, ARES and BX?

Blackstone (BX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ares Capital (ARCC) $13.36B, Ares Management (ARES) $27.60B, Blackstone (BX) $95.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARCC, ARES and BX?

Ares Capital (ARCC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ares Capital (ARCC) 13.9x, Ares Management (ARES) 51.6x, Blackstone (BX) 27.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ares Capital (ARCC) is cheapest (Ares Capital (ARCC) 10.4x, Ares Management (ARES) 22.4x, Blackstone (BX) 19.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ares Management (ARES) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ares Capital (ARCC) +3.2%, Ares Management (ARES) +24.0%, Blackstone (BX) +17.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ares Capital (ARCC) has the highest net margin (Ares Capital (ARCC) 30.9%, Ares Management (ARES) 8.9%, Blackstone (BX) 21.8%). On return on invested capital, Blackstone (BX) leads (Ares Management (ARES) 14.8%, Blackstone (BX) 21.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ares Capital (ARCC) returned the most: Ares Capital (ARCC) -6.5%, Ares Management (ARES) -17.8%, Blackstone (BX) -23.9%. Over five years, Ares Management (ARES) compounded fastest (Ares Capital (ARCC) -2.6%/yr, Ares Management (ARES) +8.4%/yr, Blackstone (BX) -3.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Ares Management (ARES) has the highest dividend yield: Ares Capital (ARCC) 0.00%, Ares Management (ARES) 0.07%, Blackstone (BX) 0.07%. Ares Capital (ARCC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ares Capital (ARCC) has been the steadiest (Ares Capital (ARCC) 19.1%, Ares Management (ARES) 43.7%, Blackstone (BX) 37.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARCC, ARES and BX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ares Capital (ARCC) 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.