ARCC vs BX vs MAIN Stock Comparison

Ares Capital, Blackstone and Main Street Capital Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARCC Ares Capital Corp
$18.61 -3.1% 1M -7.3% 1Y
Market cap
$13.34B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.11B
Div. yield
–
Business Development Companies Financial Services
2 wins
BX Blackstone Inc.
$119.08 +0.6% 1M -23.0% 1Y
Market cap
$93.63B
P/E
26.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.11B
Div. yield
0.07%
Alternative Asset Managers Financial Services
3 wins
MAIN Main Street Capital CORP
$53.36 -3.1% 1M -7.1% 1Y
Market cap
$5.05B
P/E
11.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$575.05M
Div. yield
0.07%
Business Development Companies Financial Services
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Main Street Capital leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Main Street Capital 5, Blackstone 3, Ares Capital 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARCCBXMAINLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.34B $93.63B $5.05B BX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.9x 26.6x 11.2x MAIN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.4x 19.6x 13.5x ARCC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.2% +17.2% +3.0% BX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.9% 21.8% 78.5% MAIN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 21.6% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.07% 0.07% MAIN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.3% -23.0% -7.1% MAIN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.9%/yr -2.7%/yr +4.0%/yr MAIN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.1% 37.4% 24.4% ARCC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 68/100 46/100 BX

Percentile Scorecard

ARCCBXMAIN

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

AxisARCCBXMAIN
Valuation 19 #138 of 170 75 #46 of 184 11 #151 of 170
Growth 37 #102 of 160 83 #20 of 113 42 #93 of 160
Profitability 35 #98 of 149 81 #26 of 130 37 #94 of 149
Financial Health 59 #66 of 158 54 #77 of 167 81 #31 of 158
Shareholder Returns 27 #99 of 135 45 #42 of 76 57 #59 of 135
Overall 35 68 46
  • ARCC ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • BX ranked among 212 companies in Asset and Wealth Management
  • MAIN ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodARCCBXMAINSPY
1 month -3.1%+0.6%-3.1% -0.8%
3 months -1.5%-10.2%-0.8% +3.5%
6 months 0.0%-1.1%-1.1% +7.0%
Year to date -8.0%-22.7%-11.6% +12.2%
1 year -7.3%-23.0%-7.1% +13.0%
3 years -0.3%+32.9%+40.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year -0.1%+9.9%+12.1% +23.1%
5 years -13.7%-12.8%+21.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year -2.9%-2.7%+4.0% +11.0%
10 years +19.7%+369.2%+56.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +1.8%+16.7%+4.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureARCCBXMAINSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.1%37.4%24.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.8%37.6%24.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.621.340.71 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.38-0.61-0.29 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.7%-51.5%-30.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.5%-27.2%-17.4% -1.8%
52-week high $21.03$163.50$64.60 $779.14
52-week low $17.45$102.12$49.63 $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.

MultipleARCCBXMAIN
P/E now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 11.0x 27.1xmedian 33.6x 11.0xmedian 11.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 2.6x 5.6xmedian 4.9x 8.7xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 13.1x —median 11.5x —median 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -19.6xmedian 6.9x 16.3xmedian 13.2x -33.3xmedian 6.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 0.7x 4.3xmedian 1.8x 1.6xmedian 0.7x
PEG now vs peer median -2.73median 0.32 0.70median 0.91 2.76median 0.32

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 monthsARCCBXMAIN
Revenue $3.11B $16.11B $575.05M
Net income $960.00M $6.83B $451.34M
Free cash flow -$680.00M $5.49B -$149.81M
EPS (diluted) $1.34 $4.40 $4.84
Cash & equivalents $383.00M $2.51B $58.31M
Total debt $15.77B $50.92B $2.53B
Shares (diluted) 718.00M 799.90M 93.25M
Enterprise value $10.77B $83.62B $4.90B

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
MetricARCCBXMAIN
P/E 13.9x 27.1x 11.0x
P/FCF -19.6x 16.3x -33.3x
P/Operating cash flow -19.6x 16.0x -33.3x
P/S 4.3x 5.6x 8.7x
P/B 1.0x 4.3x 1.6x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 4.3x 1.6x
EV/EBITDA – – –
EV/EBIT – 11.7x –
EV/Revenue 9.3x 6.2x 13.0x
EV/FCF -42.3x 18.3x -49.8x
EV/Operating cash flow -42.3x 17.9x -49.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.73 0.70 2.76

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARCCBXMAIN
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.2% 17.2% 3.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 32.3% 56.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) -29.0% 19.2% -15.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 46.7% 9.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -31.3% 20.2% -19.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.1% 38.8% 4.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 47.9% 65.6% -150.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -50.4% 14.0% 2.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 47.9% 67.2% -150.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -50.4% 16.0% 2.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARCCBXMAIN
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – – –
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin – 50.1% –
Net margin 30.9% 21.8% 78.5%
FCF margin -21.9% 34.1% -26.1%
Operating cash flow margin -21.9% 34.7% -26.1%
Return on equity – 33.2% –
Return on assets – 13.9% –
Return on invested capital – 21.6% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.3x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.7x 0.8x -0.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 9.7% 3.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARCCBXMAIN
Debt / assets 51.7% 26.4% 42.6%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.6x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF -23.2x 2.4x -16.9x
Liabilities / assets 54.5% 57.8% 46.7%
Equity / assets 45.5% 42.2% 53.3%
Interest coverage – 16.0x –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARCCBXMAIN
Dividend yield 10.3% 4.4% 8.2%
Net buyback yield -1.7% 0.3% -3.4%
Shareholder yield 8.6% 4.7% 4.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 93.6% 77.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 116.4% -233.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 22.0% 5.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 7.9% 15.7%

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.

ConsensusARCCBXMAIN
Forward P/E 10.4xFY2026 19.6xFY2026 13.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.79FY2026 $6.07FY2026 $3.96FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.9%FY2026 +9.0%FY2026 +0.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.0% +25.5% +0.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.89BFY2026 $15.03BFY2026 $613.11MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -5.1%FY2026 +14.9%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.8% +27.3% +7.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARCCBXMAIN
Held by institutions 33.7% 67.3% 24.2%
Institutions holding 780 2,129 397
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.8% +2.8% -3.3%
Institutions buying 379 1,132 188
Institutions selling 254 716 120
Buyers to sellers 1.49 1.58 1.57

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.

ARCCBXMAIN
ARCC 1.00 0.56 0.71
BX 0.56 1.00 0.52
MAIN 0.71 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARCC, BX and MAIN?

Blackstone (BX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ares Capital (ARCC) $13.34B, Blackstone (BX) $93.63B, Main Street Capital (MAIN) $5.05B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARCC, BX and MAIN?

Main Street Capital (MAIN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ares Capital (ARCC) 13.9x, Blackstone (BX) 26.6x, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 11.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ares Capital (ARCC) is cheapest (Ares Capital (ARCC) 10.4x, Blackstone (BX) 19.6x, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 13.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Blackstone (BX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ares Capital (ARCC) +3.2%, Blackstone (BX) +17.2%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) +3.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Main Street Capital (MAIN) has the highest net margin (Ares Capital (ARCC) 30.9%, Blackstone (BX) 21.8%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 78.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Main Street Capital (MAIN) returned the most: Ares Capital (ARCC) -7.3%, Blackstone (BX) -23.0%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) -7.1%. Over five years, Main Street Capital (MAIN) compounded fastest (Ares Capital (ARCC) -2.9%/yr, Blackstone (BX) -2.7%/yr, Main Street Capital (MAIN) +4.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Main Street Capital (MAIN) has the highest dividend yield: Ares Capital (ARCC) 0.00%, Blackstone (BX) 0.07%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 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%, Blackstone (BX) 37.4%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 24.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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