ARES vs KKR vs BAM Stock Comparison

Ares Management, Kkr and Brookfield Asset Management Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARES Ares Management Corp
$127.50 +7.1% 1M -15.3% 1Y
Market cap
$45.93B
P/E
53.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.99B
Div. yield
4.05%
Alternative Asset Managers Financial Services
2 wins
KKR KKR & Co. Inc.
$95.82 +2.8% 1M -19.2% 1Y
Market cap
$86.02B
P/E
28.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.31B
Div. yield
0.80%
Alternative Asset Managers Financial Services
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Brookfield Asset Management leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Brookfield Asset Management 8, Kkr 2, Ares Management 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARESKKRBAMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $45.93B $86.02B $77.61B KKR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 53.9x 28.7x 27.7x BAM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.4x 11.2x 27.9x KKR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +24.0% +31.1% +31.9% BAM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.9% 14.0% 48.9% BAM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.8% 6.0% 26.8% BAM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.5x 0.5x BAM
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 4.05% 0.80% 3.99% ARES
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -15.3% -19.2% -10.9% BAM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.5%/yr +3.8%/yr — ARES
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 43.8% 38.2% 30.3% BAM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 59/100 74/100 BAM

Percentile Scorecard

ARESKKRBAM

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

AxisARESKKRBAM
Valuation 51 #90 of 181 81 #36 of 181 58 #77 of 181
Growth 73 #30 of 110 79 #24 of 110 86 #16 of 110
Profitability 70 #39 of 127 55 #58 of 127 94 #9 of 127
Financial Health 46 #88 of 162 33 #109 of 162 67 #55 of 162
Shareholder Returns 53 #36 of 76 48 #40 of 76 68 #25 of 76
Overall 59 59 74
  • ARES ranked among 209 companies in Asset and Wealth Management
  • KKR ranked among 209 companies in Asset and Wealth Management
  • BAM ranked among 209 companies in Asset and Wealth Management

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodARESKKRBAMSPY
1 month +7.1%+2.8%+8.0% +0.7%
3 months +2.8%-5.2%+1.3% +3.7%
6 months +8.6%-8.2%+1.2% +7.1%
Year to date -21.1%-24.8%-7.3% +12.8%
1 year -15.3%-19.2%-10.9% +11.9%
3 years +25.7%+74.0%+67.0% +85.2%
3 years, per year +7.9%+20.3%+18.7% +22.8%
5 years +50.5%+20.3%— +67.6%
5 years, per year +8.5%+3.8%— +10.9%
10 years +650.0%+560.4%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +22.3%+20.8%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureARESKKRBAMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 43.8%38.2%30.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 46.5%40.8%31.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.661.451.31 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.35-0.50-0.36 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.3%-49.8%-32.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.5%-32.9%-13.0% -1.2%
52-week high $178.28$142.77$55.85 $779.14
52-week low $96.50$83.88$42.87 $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.

MultipleARESKKRBAM
P/E now vs peer median 53.9xmedian 33.5x 28.7xmedian 33.5x 27.7xmedian 33.5x
P/S now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 4.9x 4.0xmedian 4.9x 13.5xmedian 4.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 12.0x 12.8xmedian 12.0x 20.4xmedian 12.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 54.9xmedian 14.3x 36.8xmedian 14.3x 33.6xmedian 14.3x
P/B now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 1.8x 1.1xmedian 1.8x 8.4xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 4.24median 0.97 0.97median 0.97 —median 0.97

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 monthsARESKKRBAM
Revenue $5.99B $21.31B $5.74B
Net income $636.35M $5.64B $3.07B
Free cash flow $836.15M $2.34B $2.31B
EPS (diluted) $2.36 $3.16 $1.74
Cash & equivalents $1.85B $21.08B $1.50B
Total debt $4.58B $53.48B $3.47B
Shares (diluted) 226.30M 945.58M 1.61B
Enterprise value $44.60B $52.51B $73.86B

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
MetricARESKKRBAM
P/E 53.9x 28.7x 27.7x
P/FCF 54.9x 36.8x 33.6x
P/Operating cash flow 50.4x 34.6x 33.3x
P/S 7.7x 4.0x 13.5x
P/B 5.3x 1.1x 8.4x
P/Tangible book 5.8x 1.2x 8.7x
EV/EBITDA – 12.8x 20.4x
EV/EBIT 21.2x 12.6x 20.6x
EV/Revenue 8.1x 5.6x 13.9x
EV/FCF 58.2x 50.6x 34.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 53.3x 47.6x 34.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.24 0.97 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARESKKRBAM
Revenue growth (1Y) 24.0% 31.1% 31.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.0% 24.2% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – – –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 32.6% 16.1% 32.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 7.5% 48.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) 27.3% 50.9% 16.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.7% 29.7% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -77.5% -47.6% 73.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 98.3% 33.3% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -79.0% -48.8% 72.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 84.4% 32.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARESKKRBAM
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – 43.3% 68.1%
Operating margin – – –
Pretax margin 26.0% 31.1% 64.7%
Net margin 8.9% 14.0% 48.9%
FCF margin 14.0% 11.0% 40.3%
Operating cash flow margin 15.2% 11.7% 40.7%
Return on equity 15.4% 7.1% 34.5%
Return on assets 4.5% 1.3% 16.1%
Return on invested capital 14.8% 6.0% 26.8%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 0.4x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 3.6% 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARESKKRBAM
Debt / assets 15.4% 12.9% 17.3%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.7x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.5x 0.5x
Debt / FCF 5.5x 22.9x 1.5x
Liabilities / assets 71.0% 81.3% 54.2%
Equity / assets 29.0% 18.7% 45.8%
Interest coverage 3.1x 3.4x 27.0x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARESKKRBAM
Dividend yield 4.1% 0.8% 4.0%
Net buyback yield 0.8% 0.3% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 4.9% 1.1% 5.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 301.7% 11.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 229.6% 28.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 23.7% 6.1% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 26.9% 7.3% –

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.

ConsensusARESKKRBAM
Forward P/E 23.4xFY2026 11.2xFY2026 27.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.44FY2026 $8.52FY2026 $1.74FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.3%FY2026 +74.9%FY2026 +6.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +35.3% -18.9% +30.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.46BFY2026 $11.55BFY2026 $6.57BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.0%FY2026 +50.8%FY2026 +20.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.6% +1.9% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARESKKRBAM
Held by institutions 66.7% 60.4% 93.3%
Institutions holding 803 1,267 620
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% +3.8% +0.6%
Institutions buying 478 634 293
Institutions selling 229 458 204
Buyers to sellers 2.09 1.38 1.44

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.

ARESKKRBAM
ARES 1.00 0.83 0.74
KKR 0.83 1.00 0.77
BAM 0.74 0.77 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARES, KKR and BAM?

Kkr (KKR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ares Management (ARES) $45.93B, Kkr (KKR) $86.02B, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) $77.61B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARES, KKR and BAM?

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ares Management (ARES) 53.9x, Kkr (KKR) 28.7x, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) 27.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kkr (KKR) is cheapest (Ares Management (ARES) 23.4x, Kkr (KKR) 11.2x, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) 27.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ares Management (ARES) +24.0%, Kkr (KKR) +31.1%, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) +31.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) has the highest net margin (Ares Management (ARES) 8.9%, Kkr (KKR) 14.0%, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) 48.9%). On return on invested capital, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) leads (Ares Management (ARES) 14.8%, Kkr (KKR) 6.0%, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) 26.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) returned the most: Ares Management (ARES) -15.3%, Kkr (KKR) -19.2%, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) -10.9%. Over five years, Ares Management (ARES) compounded fastest (Ares Management (ARES) +8.5%/yr, Kkr (KKR) +3.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Ares Management (ARES) has the highest dividend yield: Ares Management (ARES) 4.05%, Kkr (KKR) 0.80%, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) 3.99%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) has been the steadiest (Ares Management (ARES) 43.8%, Kkr (KKR) 38.2%, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) 30.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARES, KKR and BAM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) leads on 8. 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.