ARCC vs MAIN vs TSLX Stock Comparison

Ares Capital, Main Street Capital and Sixth Street Specialty Lending Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARCC Ares Capital Corp
$18.61 -3.1% 1M -7.3% 1Y
Market cap
$13.28B
P/E
13.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.11B
Div. yield
–
Business Development Companies 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

9 decided of 12

Main Street Capital leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Main Street Capital 5, Ares Capital 3, Sixth Street Specialty Lending 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARCCMAINTSLXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.28B $5.05B $1.64B ARCC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.8x 11.2x 18.4x MAIN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.4x 13.5x 9.1x TSLX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.2% +3.0% -13.8% ARCC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.9% 78.5% 21.8% MAIN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.07% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.3% -7.1% -24.7% MAIN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.9%/yr +4.0%/yr -6.5%/yr MAIN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.1% 24.4% 26.8% ARCC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 46/100 42/100 MAIN

Percentile Scorecard

ARCCMAINTSLX

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

AxisARCCMAINTSLX
Valuation 19 #138 of 170 11 #151 of 170 40 #103 of 170
Growth 37 #102 of 160 42 #93 of 160 26 #119 of 160
Profitability 35 #98 of 149 37 #94 of 149 71 #44 of 149
Financial Health 59 #66 of 158 81 #31 of 158 41 #93 of 158
Shareholder Returns 27 #99 of 135 57 #59 of 135 30 #95 of 135
Overall 35 46 42
  • ARCC ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • MAIN ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • TSLX 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

PeriodARCCMAINTSLXSPY
1 month -3.1%-3.1%-6.9% -0.8%
3 months -1.5%-0.8%-1.4% +3.5%
6 months 0.0%-1.1%-10.0% +7.0%
Year to date -8.0%-11.6%-22.1% +12.2%
1 year -7.3%-7.1%-24.7% +13.0%
3 years -0.3%+40.9%-11.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year -0.1%+12.1%-3.9% +23.1%
5 years -13.7%+21.9%-28.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year -2.9%+4.0%-6.5% +11.0%
10 years +19.7%+56.2%-5.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +1.8%+4.6%-0.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureARCCMAINTSLXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.1%24.4%26.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.8%24.6%27.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.620.710.39 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.38-0.29-0.92 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.7%-30.1%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.5%-17.4%-26.1% -1.8%
52-week high $21.03$64.60$22.89 $779.14
52-week low $17.45$49.63$16.20 $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.

MultipleARCCMAINTSLX
P/E now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 11.0x 11.0xmedian 11.0x 18.1xmedian 11.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 2.6x 8.7xmedian 2.6x 3.9xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 13.1x —median 13.1x —median 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -19.6xmedian 6.9x -33.3xmedian 6.9x 15.6xmedian 6.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 0.7x 1.6xmedian 0.7x 1.0xmedian 0.7x
PEG now vs peer median -2.73median 0.32 2.76median 0.32 -0.72median 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 monthsARCCMAINTSLX
Revenue $3.11B $575.05M $408.93M
Net income $960.00M $451.34M $89.04M
Free cash flow -$680.00M -$149.81M $103.45M
EPS (diluted) $1.34 $4.84 $0.94
Cash & equivalents $383.00M $58.31M $193.56M
Total debt $15.77B $2.53B $1.92B
Shares (diluted) 718.00M 93.25M 95.02M
Enterprise value $10.72B $4.90B $1.31B

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
MetricARCCMAINTSLX
P/E 13.9x 11.0x 18.1x
P/FCF -19.6x -33.3x 15.6x
P/Operating cash flow -19.6x -33.3x 15.6x
P/S 4.3x 8.7x 3.9x
P/B 1.0x 1.6x 1.0x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 1.6x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA – – –
EV/EBIT – – –
EV/Revenue 9.3x 13.0x 8.2x
EV/FCF -42.3x -49.8x 32.3x
EV/Operating cash flow -42.3x -49.8x 32.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.73 2.76 -0.72

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARCCMAINTSLX
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.2% 3.0% -13.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 56.5% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) -29.0% -15.9% -52.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 9.1% -21.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -31.3% -19.5% -53.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.1% 4.0% -25.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 47.9% -150.0% -56.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -50.4% 2.1% 31.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 47.9% -150.0% -56.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -50.4% 2.1% 31.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARCCMAINTSLX
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – – –
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin – – –
Net margin 30.9% 78.5% 21.8%
FCF margin -21.9% -26.1% 25.3%
Operating cash flow margin -21.9% -26.1% 25.3%
Return on equity – – 12.4%
Return on assets – – 5.5%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.7x -0.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 3.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARCCMAINTSLX
Debt / assets 51.7% 42.6% 54.3%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.8x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF -23.2x -16.9x 18.6x
Liabilities / assets 54.5% 46.7% 56.3%
Equity / assets 45.5% 53.3% 43.7%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARCCMAINTSLX
Dividend yield 10.3% 8.2% 10.6%
Net buyback yield -1.7% -3.4% -1.3%
Shareholder yield 8.6% 4.8% 9.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 77.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – -233.0% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 5.4% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 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.

ConsensusARCCMAINTSLX
Forward P/E 10.4xFY2026 13.5xFY2026 9.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.79FY2026 $3.96FY2026 $1.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.9%FY2026 +0.3%FY2026 -15.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.0% +0.8% -6.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.89BFY2026 $613.11MFY2026 $409.12MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -5.1%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 -8.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.8% +7.3% -3.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARCCMAINTSLX
Held by institutions 33.7% 24.2% 51.9%
Institutions holding 780 397 239
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.8% -3.3% -5.9%
Institutions buying 379 188 112
Institutions selling 254 120 77
Buyers to sellers 1.49 1.57 1.45

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.

ARCCMAINTSLX
ARCC 1.00 0.71 0.68
MAIN 0.71 1.00 0.57
TSLX 0.68 0.57 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARCC, MAIN and TSLX?

Ares Capital (ARCC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ares Capital (ARCC) $13.28B, Main Street Capital (MAIN) $5.05B, Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) $1.64B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARCC, MAIN and TSLX?

Main Street Capital (MAIN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ares Capital (ARCC) 13.8x, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 11.2x, Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) 18.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) is cheapest (Ares Capital (ARCC) 10.4x, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 13.5x, Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) 9.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ares Capital (ARCC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ares Capital (ARCC) +3.2%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) +3.0%, Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) -13.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Main Street Capital (MAIN) has the highest net margin (Ares Capital (ARCC) 30.9%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 78.5%, Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) 21.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Main Street Capital (MAIN) returned the most: Ares Capital (ARCC) -7.3%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) -7.1%, Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) -24.7%. Over five years, Main Street Capital (MAIN) compounded fastest (Ares Capital (ARCC) -2.9%/yr, Main Street Capital (MAIN) +4.0%/yr, Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) -6.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ares Capital (ARCC) 0.00%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 0.07%, Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) 0.00%. Ares Capital (ARCC) and Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) 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%, Main Street Capital (MAIN) 24.4%, Sixth Street Specialty Lending (TSLX) 26.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.