ARLP vs NCTY vs SSL Stock Comparison

Alliance Resource Partners, The9 and Sasol Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NCTY The9 LTD
$3.13 -14.5% 1M -66.8% 1Y
Market cap
$24.71M
P/E
0.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.12M
Div. yield
–
Video Games Technology
3 wins
SSL Sasol Ltd
$18.02 +26.2% 1M +177.7% 1Y
Market cap
$11.02B
P/E
15.8x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Integrated Oil and Gas Energy
3 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Alliance Resource Partners leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Alliance Resource Partners 4, Sasol 3, The9 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARLPNCTYSSLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.41B $24.71M $11.02B SSL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.8x 0.5x 15.8x NCTY
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.1x — 5.5x SSL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -5.1% -39.5% — ARLP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.3% 409.6% — NCTY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.9% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x -0.6x — NCTY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.7% -66.8% +177.7% SSL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +17.6%/yr -50.5%/yr +0.3%/yr ARLP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.8% 91.7% 53.9% ARLP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 42/100 — ARLP

Percentile Scorecard

ARLPNCTYSSL

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

AxisARLPNCTYSSL
Valuation 96 #2 of 23 24 #128 of 167 93 #8 of 99
Growth 60 #9 of 21 79 #33 of 153 –
Profitability 94 #2 of 19 31 #106 of 153 –
Financial Health 18 #19 of 23 35 #117 of 179 52 #50 of 102
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 67 42 –
  • ARLP ranked among 25 companies in Coal and Uranium
  • NCTY ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • SSL ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodARLPNCTYSSLSPY
1 month +2.3%-14.5%+26.2% -1.0%
3 months +5.8%-2.5%+52.2% +2.9%
6 months +5.0%-44.6%+40.0% +6.4%
Year to date +12.5%-50.9%+176.8% +11.4%
1 year +8.7%-66.8%+177.7% +13.1%
3 years +12.1%-28.5%+37.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +3.9%-10.6%+11.2% +21.5%
5 years +124.8%-97.0%+1.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +17.6%-50.5%+0.3% +10.9%
10 years +11.5%-99.4%-36.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +1.1%-39.8%-4.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureARLPNCTYSSLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.8%91.7%53.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.8%85.7%55.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.132.28-0.76 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.40-0.733.29 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.1%-97.7%-89.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.8%-69.3%0.0% -2.5%
52-week high $28.99$10.19$18.02 $779.14
52-week low $23.05$3.12$6.00 $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.

MultipleARLPNCTYSSL
P/E now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 26.9x 0.5xmedian 17.5x 15.8xmedian 13.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 6.7x 2.1xmedian 1.4x 0.7xmedian 2.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.0xmedian 11.7x -1.4xmedian 14.9x —median 5.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 10.2x -6.1xmedian 11.2x 3.7xmedian 11.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.2x 0.3xmedian 1.7x 1.1xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median -0.43median 47.24 —median 0.42 —median 2.24

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 monthsARLPNCTYSSL
Revenue $2.17B $11.12M –
Gross profit $775.00M $502.33K –
Operating income $319.75M -$32.57M –
Net income $272.96M $45.54M –
Free cash flow $357.09M -$3.90M –
R&D – $998.24K –
EPS (diluted) $2.07 $6.01 –
Cash & equivalents $111.19M $1.88M $2.64B
Total debt $579.59M $86.29M $6.66B
Shares (diluted) 128.66M 7.58M 642.00M
Enterprise value $3.10B $6.51M -$37.93M

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
MetricARLPNCTYSSL
P/E 12.6x 0.5x 15.8x
P/FCF 9.4x -6.1x 3.7x
P/Operating cash flow 5.5x -6.1x –
P/S 1.5x 2.1x 0.7x
P/B 1.9x 0.3x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 0.3x 1.1x
EV/EBITDA 6.0x -1.4x –
EV/EBIT 12.0x -1.3x –
EV/Revenue 1.8x 3.9x –
EV/FCF 10.7x -11.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 6.3x -11.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.43 – –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARLPNCTYSSL
Revenue growth (1Y) -5.1% -39.5% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -6.3% – –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.7% 148.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -12.3% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.8% 31.3% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -26.1% – –
Net income growth (1Y) 13.2% 186.3% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -28.6% – –
EPS growth (1Y) 12.7% 153.1% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -29.1% – –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -9.3% – –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -16.8% – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.4% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.1% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARLPNCTYSSL
Gross margin 35.6% 4.5% –
EBITDA margin 29.3% -266.3% –
Operating margin 14.7% -292.8% –
Pretax margin 13.4% 411.0% –
Net margin 12.3% 409.6% –
FCF margin 16.4% -35.1% –
Operating cash flow margin 28.2% -35.1% –
Return on equity 15.3% 67.5% –
Return on assets 9.4% 36.1% –
Return on invested capital 12.9% – –
Return on capital employed 12.3% -42.3% –
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.1x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x -0.1x –
Stock comp / revenue – 63.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARLPNCTYSSL
Debt / assets 19.7% 14.7% 30.1%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.3x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x -0.6x –
Debt / FCF 1.6x -5.5x –
Liabilities / assets 39.3% 41.5% 53.3%
Equity / assets 60.7% 58.5% 46.7%
Interest coverage 6.9x -7.7x –
Current ratio 1.8x 2.6x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.1x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.0x 0.6x
Altman Z-score – -6.07 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARLPNCTYSSL
Dividend yield 9.2% – –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 9.2% 0.0% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusARLPNCTYSSL
Forward P/E 10.1xFY2026 – 5.5xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $2.59FY2026 – $3.26FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +7.9%FY2026 – +37.0%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +7.3% – -24.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.37BFY2026 – $16.57BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +8.4%FY2026 – -2.0%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after -8.6% – +7.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARLPNCTYSSL
Held by institutions 15.2% 0.8% 4.7%
Institutions holding 171 9 174
Change in shares held, QoQ -11.7% +25.7% -7.6%
Institutions buying 74 4 111
Institutions selling 40 2 45
Buyers to sellers 1.85 2.00 2.47

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.

ARLPNCTYSSL
ARLP 1.00 0.03 0.19
NCTY 0.03 1.00 -0.04
SSL 0.19 -0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARLP, NCTY and SSL?

Sasol (SSL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) $3.41B, The9 (NCTY) $24.71M, Sasol (SSL) $11.02B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARLP, NCTY and SSL?

The9 (NCTY) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) 12.8x, The9 (NCTY) 0.5x, Sasol (SSL) 15.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sasol (SSL) is cheapest (Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) 10.1x, Sasol (SSL) 5.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) -5.1%, The9 (NCTY) -39.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

The9 (NCTY) has the highest net margin (Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) 12.3%, The9 (NCTY) 409.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sasol (SSL) returned the most: Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) +8.7%, The9 (NCTY) -66.8%, Sasol (SSL) +177.7%. Over five years, Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) compounded fastest (Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) +17.6%/yr, The9 (NCTY) -50.5%/yr, Sasol (SSL) +0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) has been the steadiest (Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) 21.8%, The9 (NCTY) 91.7%, Sasol (SSL) 53.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARLP, NCTY and SSL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) leads on 4. 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.