ARES vs KKR vs MET Stock Comparison

Ares Management, Kkr and Metlife Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ARES Ares Management Corp
$136.84 +16.8% 1M -10.6% 1Y
Market cap
$31.20B
P/E
58.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.99B
Div. yield
0.06%
Alternative Asset Managers Financial Services
1 win
KKR KKR & Co. Inc.
$101.35 +12.7% 1M -14.3% 1Y
Market cap
$92.03B
P/E
30.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.31B
Div. yield
0.01%
Alternative Asset Managers Financial Services
4 wins
MET Metlife Inc
$102.84 +6.2% 1M +29.4% 1Y
Market cap
$67.97B
P/E
19.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$79.40B
Div. yield
0.02%
Life Insurance Financial Services
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Metlife leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Metlife 6, Kkr 4, Ares Management 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARESKKRMETLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $31.20B $92.03B $67.97B KKR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 58.3x 30.8x 19.8x MET
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.2x 11.9x 10.4x MET
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +24.0% +31.1% +8.7% KKR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.9% 14.0% 4.3% KKR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.8% 6.0% 32.5% MET
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.5x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.06% 0.01% 0.02% ARES
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.6% -14.3% +29.4% MET
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.8%/yr +4.8%/yr +10.0%/yr MET
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.2% 38.9% 24.0% MET
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 59/100 45/100 KKR

Percentile Scorecard

ARESKKRMET

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

AxisARESKKRMET
Valuation 52 #97 of 199 79 #42 of 199 72 #34 of 119
Growth 75 #30 of 117 79 #25 of 117 27 #85 of 116
Profitability 69 #45 of 143 54 #66 of 143 39 #71 of 116
Financial Health 46 #90 of 165 32 #112 of 165 48 #62 of 118
Shareholder Returns 51 #39 of 79 49 #41 of 79 40 #66 of 109
Overall 59 59 45
  • ARES ranked among 209 companies in Asset and Wealth Management
  • KKR ranked among 209 companies in Asset and Wealth Management
  • MET ranked among 126 companies in Insurance

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodARESKKRMETSPY
1 month +16.8%+12.7%+6.2% -1.0%
3 months -2.1%-4.1%+6.8% -0.4%
6 months +10.5%+0.6%+28.3% +4.5%
Year to date -15.3%-20.5%+30.3% +12.4%
1 year -10.6%-14.3%+29.4% +13.6%
3 years +27.8%+65.9%+66.5% +76.4%
3 years, per year +8.5%+18.4%+18.5% +20.8%
5 years +59.7%+26.2%+60.7% +63.7%
5 years, per year +9.8%+4.8%+10.0% +10.4%
10 years +782.8%+643.0%+146.4% +267.7%
10 years, per year +24.3%+22.2%+9.4% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureARESKKRMETSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.2%38.9%24.0% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 46.7%40.9%24.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.631.470.66 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.24-0.371.23 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.3%-49.8%-36.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.2%-29.0%-0.7% -1.6%
52-week high $178.28$142.77$103.55 $779.14
52-week low $96.50$83.88$67.70 $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.

MultipleARESKKRMET
P/E now vs peer median 57.9xmedian 33.9x 30.4xmedian 33.9x 19.2xmedian 11.1x
P/S now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 4.9x 4.3xmedian 4.9x 0.8xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 12.6x 13.4xmedian 12.6x —median 7.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 58.9xmedian 15.5x 38.9xmedian 15.5x 4.4xmedian 9.0x
P/B now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 1.8x 1.2xmedian 1.8x 2.4xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 4.55median 0.92 1.02median 0.92 1.82median 0.64

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 monthsARESKKRMET
Revenue $5.99B $21.31B $79.40B
Gross profit – – $29.06B
Operating income – – $14.51B
Net income $636.35M $5.64B $3.66B
Free cash flow $836.15M $2.34B $14.81B
EPS (diluted) $2.36 $3.16 $5.32
Cash & equivalents $1.85B $21.08B $19.30B
Total debt $4.58B $53.48B $5.89B
Shares (diluted) 226.30M 945.58M 646.90M
Enterprise value $24.96B $12.18B -$38.81B

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
MetricARESKKRMET
P/E 57.9x 30.4x 19.2x
P/FCF 58.9x 38.9x 4.4x
P/Operating cash flow 54.0x 36.6x 4.2x
P/S 8.2x 4.3x 0.8x
P/B 5.7x 1.2x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 6.3x 1.3x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA – 13.4x –
EV/EBIT 22.7x 13.1x 3.0x
EV/Revenue 8.7x 5.8x 0.6x
EV/FCF 62.2x 52.7x 3.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 57.0x 49.6x 2.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.55 1.02 1.82

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARESKKRMET
Revenue growth (1Y) 24.0% 31.1% 8.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.0% 24.2% 4.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 6.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 10.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) – – 5.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – 10.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 32.6% 16.1% -14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 7.5% 48.3% 4.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 27.3% 50.9% -12.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.7% 29.7% 10.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -77.5% -47.6% 2.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 98.3% 33.3% 10.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -79.0% -48.8% 2.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 84.4% 32.8% 12.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARESKKRMET
Gross margin – – 36.6%
EBITDA margin – 43.3% –
Operating margin – – 18.3%
Pretax margin 26.0% 31.1% 6.1%
Net margin 8.9% 14.0% 4.3%
FCF margin 14.0% 11.0% 18.7%
Operating cash flow margin 15.2% 11.7% 19.6%
Return on equity 15.4% 7.1% 13.2%
Return on assets 4.5% 1.3% 0.5%
Return on invested capital 14.8% 6.0% 32.5%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 0.4x 4.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 3.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARESKKRMET
Debt / assets 15.4% 12.9% 0.8%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.7x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.5x –
Debt / FCF 5.5x 22.9x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 71.0% 81.3% 96.3%
Equity / assets 29.0% 18.7% 3.7%
Interest coverage 3.1x 3.4x 1.5x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARESKKRMET
Dividend yield 3.8% 0.8% 2.3%
Net buyback yield 0.8% 0.3% 3.7%
Shareholder yield 4.6% 1.0% 6.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 301.7% 11.9% 41.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) 229.6% 28.6% 10.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) 23.7% 6.1% -0.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 26.9% 7.3% -1.6%

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.

ConsensusARESKKRMET
Forward P/E 25.2xFY2026 11.9xFY2026 10.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.44FY2026 $8.52FY2026 $9.86FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.3%FY2026 +74.9%FY2026 +11.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +35.3% -18.9% +7.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.46BFY2026 $11.55BFY2026 $83.11BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.0%FY2026 +50.8%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.6% +1.9% -2.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARESKKRMET
Held by institutions 97.3% 60.4% 75.7%
Institutions holding 805 1,269 1,444
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% +3.8% +0.7%
Institutions buying 480 634 724
Institutions selling 229 459 484
Buyers to sellers 2.10 1.38 1.50

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.

ARESKKRMET
ARES 1.00 0.84 0.45
KKR 0.84 1.00 0.50
MET 0.45 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARES, KKR and MET?

Kkr (KKR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ares Management (ARES) $31.20B, Kkr (KKR) $92.03B, Metlife (MET) $67.97B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARES, KKR and MET?

Metlife (MET) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ares Management (ARES) 58.3x, Kkr (KKR) 30.8x, Metlife (MET) 19.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Metlife (MET) is cheapest (Ares Management (ARES) 25.2x, Kkr (KKR) 11.9x, Metlife (MET) 10.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Kkr (KKR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ares Management (ARES) +24.0%, Kkr (KKR) +31.1%, Metlife (MET) +8.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kkr (KKR) has the highest net margin (Ares Management (ARES) 8.9%, Kkr (KKR) 14.0%, Metlife (MET) 4.3%). On return on invested capital, Metlife (MET) leads (Ares Management (ARES) 14.8%, Kkr (KKR) 6.0%, Metlife (MET) 32.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Metlife (MET) returned the most: Ares Management (ARES) -10.6%, Kkr (KKR) -14.3%, Metlife (MET) +29.4%. Over five years, Metlife (MET) compounded fastest (Ares Management (ARES) +9.8%/yr, Kkr (KKR) +4.8%/yr, Metlife (MET) +10.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Ares Management (ARES) has the highest dividend yield: Ares Management (ARES) 0.06%, Kkr (KKR) 0.01%, Metlife (MET) 0.02%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Metlife (MET) has been the steadiest (Ares Management (ARES) 44.2%, Kkr (KKR) 38.9%, Metlife (MET) 24.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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