KKR vs ARES Stock Comparison

Kkr and Ares Management Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KKR KKR & Co. Inc.
$98.02 +8.6% 1M -17.2% 1Y
Market cap
$88.00B
P/E
29.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.31B
Div. yield
0.78%
Alternative Asset Managers Financial Services
7 wins
ARES Ares Management Corp
$132.94 +13.1% 1M -10.6% 1Y
Market cap
$47.89B
P/E
56.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.99B
Div. yield
3.89%
Alternative Asset Managers Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Kkr leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Kkr 7, Ares Management 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKKRARESLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $88.00B $47.89B KKR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 29.4x 56.2x KKR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.5x 24.4x KKR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +31.1% +24.0% KKR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.0% 8.9% KKR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.0% 14.8% ARES
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.5x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.78% 3.89% ARES
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.2% -10.6% ARES
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.3%/yr +9.0%/yr ARES
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.5% 43.7% KKR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 57/100 KKR

Percentile Scorecard

KKRARES

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

AxisKKRARES
Valuation 78 #41 of 181 50 #91 of 181
Growth 80 #23 of 112 74 #30 of 112
Profitability 52 #63 of 131 68 #43 of 131
Financial Health 32 #113 of 165 42 #97 of 165
Shareholder Returns 45 #42 of 75 50 #38 of 75
Overall 57 57
  • KKR ranked among 209 companies in Asset and Wealth Management
  • ARES 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

PeriodKKRARESSPY
1 month +8.6%+13.1% -2.3%
3 months -8.0%-4.0% -0.7%
6 months -5.1%+10.8% +4.8%
Year to date -23.1%-17.8% +10.3%
1 year -17.2%-10.6% +10.3%
3 years +60.5%+24.2% +73.0%
3 years, per year +17.1%+7.5% +20.1%
5 years +17.5%+53.5% +61.9%
5 years, per year +3.3%+9.0% +10.1%
10 years +596.2%+777.5% +258.6%
10 years, per year +21.4%+24.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureKKRARESSPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.5%43.7% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.0%46.6% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.431.60 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.45-0.24 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.8%-51.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.3%-25.4% -3.5%
52-week high $142.77$178.28 $779.14
52-week low $83.88$96.50 $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.

MultipleKKRARES
P/E now vs peer median 29.4xmedian 34.9x 56.2xmedian 34.9x
P/S now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 4.7x 8.0xmedian 4.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.0xmedian 11.8x —median 11.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.6xmedian 14.1x 57.3xmedian 14.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.7x 5.6xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.99median 0.91 4.42median 0.91

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 monthsKKRARES
Revenue $21.31B $5.99B
Net income $5.64B $636.35M
Free cash flow $2.34B $836.15M
EPS (diluted) $3.16 $2.36
Cash & equivalents $21.08B $1.85B
Total debt $53.48B $4.58B
Shares (diluted) 945.58M 226.30M
Enterprise value $54.48B $46.56B

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
MetricKKRARES
P/E 29.4x 56.2x
P/FCF 37.6x 57.3x
P/Operating cash flow 35.4x 52.5x
P/S 4.1x 8.0x
P/B 1.1x 5.6x
P/Tangible book 1.2x 6.1x
EV/EBITDA 13.0x –
EV/EBIT 12.8x 22.1x
EV/Revenue 5.7x 8.5x
EV/FCF 51.5x 60.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 48.4x 55.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.99 4.42

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKKRARES
Dividend yield 0.8% 3.9%
Net buyback yield 0.3% 0.8%
Shareholder yield 1.0% 4.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 11.9% 301.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) 28.6% 229.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.1% 23.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 26.9%

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.

ConsensusKKRARES
Forward P/E 11.5xFY2026 24.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.52FY2026 $5.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +74.9%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -18.9% +35.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.55BFY2026 $5.46BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +50.8%FY2026 +13.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.9% +19.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKKRARES
Held by institutions 60.4% 97.3%
Institutions holding 1,268 804
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% +5.3%
Institutions buying 634 479
Institutions selling 459 229
Buyers to sellers 1.38 2.09

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.

KKRARES
KKR 1.00 0.84
ARES 0.84 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KKR and ARES?

Kkr (KKR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kkr (KKR) $88.00B, Ares Management (ARES) $47.89B.

Which stock is cheaper, KKR and ARES?

Kkr (KKR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kkr (KKR) 29.4x, Ares Management (ARES) 56.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kkr (KKR) is cheapest (Kkr (KKR) 11.5x, Ares Management (ARES) 24.4x). 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: Kkr (KKR) +31.1%, Ares Management (ARES) +24.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ares Management (ARES) returned the most: Kkr (KKR) -17.2%, Ares Management (ARES) -10.6%. Over five years, Ares Management (ARES) compounded fastest (Kkr (KKR) +3.3%/yr, Ares Management (ARES) +9.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Ares Management (ARES) has the highest dividend yield: Kkr (KKR) 0.78%, Ares Management (ARES) 3.89%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kkr (KKR) has been the steadiest (Kkr (KKR) 38.5%, Ares Management (ARES) 43.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do KKR and ARES move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.84, a strong positive relationship. Holding both adds little diversification.

Which is the better stock, KKR and ARES?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Kkr (KKR) leads on 7. 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.