ARCC vs MAIN vs FSK Stock Comparison

Ares Capital, Main Street Capital and FS KKR Capital Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ARCC Ares Capital Corp
$19.01 +0.8% 1M -6.9% 1Y
Market cap
$14.01B
P/E
16.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.09B
Div. yield
–
Business Development Companies Financial Services
2 wins
MAIN Main Street Capital CORP
$56.36 +2.2% 1M -1.4% 1Y
Market cap
$5.39B
P/E
11.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$575.05M
Div. yield
0.06%
Business Development Companies Financial Services
5 wins
FSK FS KKR Capital Corp
$11.13 +1.4% 1M -26.3% 1Y
Market cap
$3.21B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.32B
Div. yield
0.22%
Business Development Companies Financial Services
3 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

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

QuestionARCCMAINFSKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.01B $5.39B $3.21B ARCC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.0x 11.9x -8.6x MAIN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.6x 14.2x 7.1x FSK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.3% +3.0% -20.1% MAIN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.3% 78.5% -28.5% MAIN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.06% 0.22% FSK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.9% -1.4% -26.3% MAIN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.9%/yr +5.1%/yr -12.3%/yr MAIN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.4% 24.4% 34.1% ARCC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 45/100 71/100 FSK

Percentile Scorecard

ARCCMAINFSK

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

AxisARCCMAINFSK
Valuation 41 #100 of 168 10 #152 of 168 93 #12 of 168
Growth 65 #58 of 163 43 #93 of 163 19 #132 of 163
Profitability 58 #65 of 154 35 #100 of 154 78 #34 of 154
Financial Health 56 #72 of 162 83 #29 of 162 94 #10 of 162
Shareholder Returns 28 #99 of 137 54 #63 of 137 68 #44 of 137
Overall 50 45 71
  • ARCC ranked among 173 companies in Lending and Credit
  • MAIN ranked among 173 companies in Lending and Credit
  • FSK ranked among 173 companies in Lending and Credit

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodARCCMAINFSKSPY
1 month +0.8%+2.2%+1.4% -2.0%
3 months -3.3%-1.3%-3.0% -2.2%
6 months -1.8%-1.7%-3.2% +4.2%
Year to date -6.0%-6.7%-24.8% +10.6%
1 year -6.9%-1.4%-26.3% +10.4%
3 years -3.3%+38.5%-43.8% +73.6%
3 years, per year -1.1%+11.5%-17.5% +20.2%
5 years -9.1%+28.3%-48.2% +61.6%
5 years, per year -1.9%+5.1%-12.3% +10.1%
10 years +24.9%+74.9%-70.1% +261.3%
10 years, per year +2.2%+5.7%-11.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureARCCMAINFSKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.4%24.4%34.1% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.6%24.5%35.9% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.570.680.78 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.35-0.06-0.77 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.7%-30.1%-58.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.6%-12.8%-31.0% -3.2%
52-week high $21.03$64.60$16.13 $779.14
52-week low $17.45$49.63$9.91 $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.

MultipleARCCMAINFSK
P/E now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 11.8x 11.6xmedian 11.8x -8.3xmedian 11.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 2.7x 9.1xmedian 2.7x 2.4xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 13.1x —median 13.1x —median 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.0xmedian 6.0x -35.1xmedian 6.0x 1.6xmedian 6.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 0.7x 1.7xmedian 0.7x 0.6xmedian 0.7x
PEG now vs peer median -0.87median 0.33 2.92median 0.33 0.17median 0.33

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 monthsARCCMAINFSK
Revenue $3.09B $575.05M $1.32B
Net income $875.00M $451.34M -$375.00M
Free cash flow $1.15B -$149.81M $1.92B
EPS (diluted) $1.22 $4.84 $-1.34
Cash & equivalents $722.00M $58.31M –
Total debt $15.12B $2.53B $51.00M
Shares (diluted) 720.00M 93.25M 280.24M
Enterprise value $11.77B $5.24B $3.21B

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
MetricARCCMAINFSK
P/E 15.6x 11.6x -8.3x
P/FCF 12.0x -35.1x 1.6x
P/Operating cash flow 12.0x -35.1x 1.6x
P/S 4.4x 9.1x 2.4x
P/B 1.0x 1.7x 0.6x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 1.7x 0.6x
EV/EBITDA – – –
EV/EBIT – – –
EV/Revenue 9.1x 13.5x 2.4x
EV/FCF 24.6x -51.6x 1.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.6x -51.6x 1.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.87 2.92 0.17

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARCCMAINFSK
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.3% 3.0% -20.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 56.5% -9.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) -35.8% -15.9% -272.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -12.0% 9.1% -49.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -36.8% -19.5% -271.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -18.0% 4.0% -49.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 173.5% -150.0% 156.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 30.9% 2.1% -1.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 173.5% -150.0% 156.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 30.9% 2.1% -1.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARCCMAINFSK
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – – –
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin – – –
Net margin 28.3% 78.5% -28.5%
FCF margin 37.1% -26.1% 146.2%
Operating cash flow margin 37.1% -26.1% 146.2%
Return on equity – – –
Return on assets – – –
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x -0.3x -5.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 3.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARCCMAINFSK
Debt / assets 49.4% 42.6% 0.4%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.8x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF 13.2x -16.9x 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 54.4% 46.7% 57.3%
Equity / assets 45.6% 53.3% 42.7%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARCCMAINFSK
Dividend yield 10.1% 7.7% 18.1%
Net buyback yield -0.8% -3.2% –
Shareholder yield 9.3% 4.5% 18.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 77.3% -192.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -233.0% 37.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 5.4% -7.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 15.7% -2.8%

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.

ConsensusARCCMAINFSK
Forward P/E 10.6xFY2026 14.2xFY2026 7.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.79FY2026 $3.96FY2026 $1.57FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.9%FY2026 +0.3%FY2026 -32.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.0% +0.8% 0.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.89BFY2026 $613.11MFY2026 $1.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -5.1%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 -29.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.8% +7.3% +4.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARCCMAINFSK
Held by institutions 33.7% 24.3% 38.2%
Institutions holding 782 400 439
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.8% -3.0% +0.4%
Institutions buying 380 190 183
Institutions selling 254 120 184
Buyers to sellers 1.50 1.58 0.99

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.

ARCCMAINFSK
ARCC 1.00 0.71 0.67
MAIN 0.71 1.00 0.54
FSK 0.67 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARCC, MAIN and FSK?

Ares Capital (ARCC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ares Capital (ARCC) $14.01B, Main Street Capital (MAIN) $5.39B, FS KKR Capital (FSK) $3.21B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARCC, MAIN and FSK?

Main Street Capital (MAIN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ares Capital (ARCC) 16.0x, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 11.9x, FS KKR Capital (FSK) -8.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, FS KKR Capital (FSK) is cheapest (Ares Capital (ARCC) 10.6x, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 14.2x, FS KKR Capital (FSK) 7.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Main Street Capital (MAIN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ares Capital (ARCC) +2.3%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) +3.0%, FS KKR Capital (FSK) -20.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Main Street Capital (MAIN) has the highest net margin (Ares Capital (ARCC) 28.3%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 78.5%, FS KKR Capital (FSK) -28.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Main Street Capital (MAIN) returned the most: Ares Capital (ARCC) -6.9%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) -1.4%, FS KKR Capital (FSK) -26.3%. Over five years, Main Street Capital (MAIN) compounded fastest (Ares Capital (ARCC) -1.9%/yr, Main Street Capital (MAIN) +5.1%/yr, FS KKR Capital (FSK) -12.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

FS KKR Capital (FSK) has the highest dividend yield: Ares Capital (ARCC) 0.00%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 0.06%, FS KKR Capital (FSK) 0.22%. 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) 19.4%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 24.4%, FS KKR Capital (FSK) 34.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.