ARCC vs HTGC Stock Comparison

Ares Capital and Hercules Capital Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARCC Ares Capital Corp
$18.64 -2.7% 1M -6.5% 1Y
Market cap
$13.33B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.11B
Div. yield
–
Business Development Companies Financial Services
3 wins
HTGC Hercules Capital, Inc.
$16.40 -3.4% 1M -7.0% 1Y
Market cap
$3.04B
P/E
7.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$566.17M
Div. yield
–
Business Development Companies Financial Services
6 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Hercules Capital leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Hercules Capital 6, Ares Capital 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARCCHTGCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.33B $3.04B ARCC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.9x 7.9x HTGC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.4x 8.9x HTGC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.2% +12.3% HTGC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.9% 67.7% HTGC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.5% -7.0% ARCC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.6%/yr -1.2%/yr HTGC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.1% 23.9% ARCC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 45/100 HTGC

Percentile Scorecard

ARCCHTGC

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

AxisARCCHTGC
Valuation 19 #138 of 170 27 #125 of 170
Growth 37 #105 of 165 82 #31 of 165
Profitability 34 #102 of 155 47 #83 of 155
Financial Health 61 #65 of 163 46 #88 of 163
Shareholder Returns 29 #97 of 137 25 #103 of 137
Overall 36 45
  • ARCC ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • HTGC 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

PeriodARCCHTGCSPY
1 month -2.7%-3.4% -1.0%
3 months -0.7%+4.3% +2.9%
6 months -0.2%+5.7% +6.4%
Year to date -7.9%-12.9% +11.4%
1 year -6.5%-7.0% +13.1%
3 years -1.8%+5.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year -0.6%+1.9% +21.5%
5 years -12.3%-5.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year -2.6%-1.2% +10.9%
10 years +21.5%+20.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +2.0%+1.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureARCCHTGCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.1%23.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.8%25.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.630.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.34-0.29 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.7%-39.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.4%-13.9% -2.5%
52-week high $21.03$19.05 $779.14
52-week low $17.45$13.89 $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.

MultipleARCCHTGC
P/E now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 11.0x 7.9xmedian 11.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 2.6x 5.4xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 13.1x —median 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -19.7xmedian 6.9x 364.4xmedian 6.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 0.7x 1.4xmedian 0.7x
PEG now vs peer median -2.73median 0.31 -2.17median 0.31

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 monthsARCCHTGC
Revenue $3.11B $566.17M
Net income $960.00M $383.20M
Free cash flow -$680.00M $8.43M
EPS (diluted) $1.34 $1.92
Cash & equivalents $383.00M $48.18M
Total debt $15.77B $2.34B
Shares (diluted) 718.00M 199.58M
Enterprise value $10.77B $2.87B

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
MetricARCCHTGC
P/E 13.9x 7.9x
P/FCF -19.7x 364.4x
P/Operating cash flow -19.7x 361.0x
P/S 4.3x 5.4x
P/B 1.0x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA – –
EV/EBIT – –
EV/Revenue 9.3x 9.5x
EV/FCF -42.3x 635.9x
EV/Operating cash flow -42.3x 629.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.73 -2.17

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARCCHTGC
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.2% 12.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 11.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – –
Net income growth (1Y) -29.0% 47.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 7.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -31.3% 41.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.1% -3.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 47.9% 102.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -50.4% 28.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 47.9% 102.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -50.4% 28.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARCCHTGC
Gross margin – –
EBITDA margin – –
Operating margin – –
Pretax margin – –
Net margin 30.9% 67.7%
FCF margin -21.9% 1.5%
Operating cash flow margin -21.9% 1.5%
Return on equity – –
Return on assets – –
Return on invested capital – –
Return on capital employed – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.7x 0.0x
Stock comp / revenue – 2.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARCCHTGC
Debt / assets 51.7% 49.8%
Debt / equity 1.1x 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – –
Debt / FCF -23.2x 277.2x
Liabilities / assets 54.5% 51.5%
Equity / assets 45.5% 48.5%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio – –
Quick ratio – –
Cash ratio – –
Altman Z-score – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARCCHTGC
Dividend yield 10.3% 8.2%
Net buyback yield -1.7% -2.0%
Shareholder yield 8.6% 6.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

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.

ConsensusARCCHTGC
Forward P/E 10.4xFY2026 8.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.79FY2026 $1.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.9%FY2026 -4.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.5% +10.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.88BFY2026 $604.28MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -5.4%FY2026 +13.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.8% +7.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARCCHTGC
Held by institutions 33.7% 28.8%
Institutions holding 780 331
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.8% +0.3%
Institutions buying 379 166
Institutions selling 254 102
Buyers to sellers 1.49 1.63

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.

ARCCHTGC
ARCC 1.00 0.66
HTGC 0.66 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARCC and HTGC?

Ares Capital (ARCC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ares Capital (ARCC) $13.33B, Hercules Capital (HTGC) $3.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARCC and HTGC?

Hercules Capital (HTGC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ares Capital (ARCC) 13.9x, Hercules Capital (HTGC) 7.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Hercules Capital (HTGC) is cheapest (Ares Capital (ARCC) 10.4x, Hercules Capital (HTGC) 8.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Hercules Capital (HTGC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ares Capital (ARCC) +3.2%, Hercules Capital (HTGC) +12.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Hercules Capital (HTGC) has the highest net margin (Ares Capital (ARCC) 30.9%, Hercules Capital (HTGC) 67.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ares Capital (ARCC) returned the most: Ares Capital (ARCC) -6.5%, Hercules Capital (HTGC) -7.0%. Over five years, Hercules Capital (HTGC) compounded fastest (Ares Capital (ARCC) -2.6%/yr, Hercules Capital (HTGC) -1.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ares Capital (ARCC) has been the steadiest (Ares Capital (ARCC) 19.1%, Hercules Capital (HTGC) 23.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ARCC and HTGC move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.66, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ARCC and HTGC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Hercules Capital (HTGC) leads on 6. 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.