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Ares Capital (ARCC) Competitors

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$20.04 +0.03 (+0.15%)
As of 09/4/2026 04:00 PM Eastern

ARCC vs. CSWC, GBDC, ARES, EPD, and FSK

Should you buy Ares Capital stock or one of its competitors? Ares Capital's main competitors and comparable companies include Capital Southwest (CSWC), Golub Capital BDC (GBDC), Ares Management (ARES), Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), and FS KKR Capital (FSK). Companies are selected based on similarities in market, industry, and size.

How does Ares Capital compare to Capital Southwest?

Capital Southwest (NASDAQ:CSWC) and Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Capital Southwest currently has a consensus price target of $23.60, suggesting a potential downside of 3.99%. Ares Capital has a consensus price target of $20.60, suggesting a potential upside of 2.79%. Given Ares Capital's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ares Capital is more favorable than Capital Southwest.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Capital Southwest
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
6 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67
Ares Capital
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
8 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.73

Ares Capital has higher revenue and earnings than Capital Southwest. Capital Southwest is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ares Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Capital Southwest$145.60M10.76$113M$1.8113.58
Ares Capital$3.05B4.71$1.30B$1.3514.84

Capital Southwest has a net margin of 46.68% compared to Ares Capital's net margin of 30.91%. Capital Southwest's return on equity of 13.88% beat Ares Capital's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Capital Southwest46.68% 13.88% 6.45%
Ares Capital 30.91%9.80%4.50%

23.4% of Capital Southwest shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.4% of Ares Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Capital Southwest shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Ares Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

In the previous week, Capital Southwest had 3 more articles in the media than Ares Capital. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Capital Southwest and 11 mentions for Ares Capital. Capital Southwest's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat Ares Capital's score of 0.94 indicating that Capital Southwest is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Capital Southwest
9 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
3 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Ares Capital
8 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Capital Southwest has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Ares Capital has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the broader market.

Capital Southwest pays an annual dividend of $2.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.4%. Ares Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.6%. Capital Southwest pays out 128.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ares Capital pays out 142.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Capital Southwest has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Summary

Capital Southwest beats Ares Capital on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Ares Capital compare to Golub Capital BDC?

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) and Golub Capital BDC (NASDAQ:GBDC) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Ares Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.6%. Golub Capital BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.2%. Ares Capital pays out 142.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Golub Capital BDC pays out 203.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

27.4% of Ares Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.4% of Golub Capital BDC shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ares Capital shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Golub Capital BDC shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Ares Capital has a net margin of 30.91% compared to Golub Capital BDC's net margin of 21.45%. Golub Capital BDC's return on equity of 9.91% beat Ares Capital's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Ares Capital30.91% 9.80% 4.50%
Golub Capital BDC 21.45%9.91%4.39%

Ares Capital presently has a consensus price target of $20.60, suggesting a potential upside of 2.79%. Golub Capital BDC has a consensus price target of $13.90, suggesting a potential upside of 6.92%. Given Golub Capital BDC's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Golub Capital BDC is more favorable than Ares Capital.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Ares Capital
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
8 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.73
Golub Capital BDC
0 Sell rating(s)
2 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.86

Ares Capital has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Golub Capital BDC has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its share price is 61% less volatile than the broader market.

Ares Capital has higher revenue and earnings than Golub Capital BDC. Ares Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Golub Capital BDC, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Ares Capital$3.05B4.71$1.30B$1.3514.84
Golub Capital BDC$203.39M16.60$376.65M$0.6520.00

In the previous week, Ares Capital had 7 more articles in the media than Golub Capital BDC. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Ares Capital and 4 mentions for Golub Capital BDC. Ares Capital's average media sentiment score of 0.94 beat Golub Capital BDC's score of 0.75 indicating that Ares Capital is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Ares Capital
8 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Golub Capital BDC
2 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Summary

Ares Capital beats Golub Capital BDC on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Ares Capital compare to Ares Management?

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) and Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and media sentiment.

Ares Capital has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ares Management. Ares Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ares Management, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Ares Management$5.60B8.27$527.36M$2.1864.35
Ares Capital$3.05B4.71$1.30B$1.3514.84

In the previous week, Ares Management had 9 more articles in the media than Ares Capital. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Ares Management and 11 mentions for Ares Capital. Ares Capital's average media sentiment score of 0.94 beat Ares Management's score of 0.47 indicating that Ares Capital is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Ares Management
7 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
10 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Ares Capital
8 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Ares Management pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Ares Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.6%. Ares Management pays out 247.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ares Capital pays out 142.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ares Management has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Ares Capital is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Ares Management presently has a consensus price target of $160.47, indicating a potential upside of 14.39%. Ares Capital has a consensus price target of $20.60, indicating a potential upside of 2.79%. Given Ares Management's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Ares Management is more favorable than Ares Capital.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Ares Management
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
11 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.72
Ares Capital
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
8 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.73

50.0% of Ares Management shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.4% of Ares Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 34.7% of Ares Management shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Ares Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Ares Capital has a net margin of 30.91% compared to Ares Management's net margin of 10.63%. Ares Management's return on equity of 25.42% beat Ares Capital's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Ares Management10.63% 25.42% 6.35%
Ares Capital 30.91%9.80%4.50%

Ares Management has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its share price is 49% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Ares Capital has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its share price is 43% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Ares Management beats Ares Capital on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Ares Capital compare to Enterprise Products Partners?

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) and Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) are related large-cap companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Ares Capital has a net margin of 30.91% compared to Enterprise Products Partners' net margin of 10.79%. Enterprise Products Partners' return on equity of 20.67% beat Ares Capital's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Ares Capital30.91% 9.80% 4.50%
Enterprise Products Partners 10.79%20.67%7.93%

27.4% of Ares Capital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.1% of Enterprise Products Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ares Capital shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.6% of Enterprise Products Partners shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Enterprise Products Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Ares Capital. Enterprise Products Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ares Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Ares Capital$3.05B4.71$1.30B$1.3514.84
Enterprise Products Partners$52.60B1.60$5.81B$2.8813.53

In the previous week, Enterprise Products Partners had 7 more articles in the media than Ares Capital. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for Enterprise Products Partners and 11 mentions for Ares Capital. Ares Capital's average media sentiment score of 0.94 beat Enterprise Products Partners' score of 0.70 indicating that Ares Capital is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Ares Capital
8 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Enterprise Products Partners
8 Very Positive mention(s)
3 Positive mention(s)
6 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Ares Capital presently has a consensus target price of $20.60, indicating a potential upside of 2.79%. Enterprise Products Partners has a consensus target price of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.64%. Given Ares Capital's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Ares Capital is more favorable than Enterprise Products Partners.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Ares Capital
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
8 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.73
Enterprise Products Partners
1 Sell rating(s)
7 Hold rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.50

Ares Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.6%. Enterprise Products Partners pays an annual dividend of $2.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Ares Capital pays out 142.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Enterprise Products Partners pays out 77.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Enterprise Products Partners has increased its dividend for 28 consecutive years.

Ares Capital has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Enterprise Products Partners has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Ares Capital and Enterprise Products Partners tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Ares Capital compare to FS KKR Capital?

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) and FS KKR Capital (NYSE:FSK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Ares Capital currently has a consensus target price of $20.60, indicating a potential upside of 2.79%. FS KKR Capital has a consensus target price of $11.43, indicating a potential downside of 8.28%. Given Ares Capital's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Ares Capital is more favorable than FS KKR Capital.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Ares Capital
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
8 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.73
FS KKR Capital
1 Sell rating(s)
7 Hold rating(s)
0 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1.88

In the previous week, Ares Capital had 8 more articles in the media than FS KKR Capital. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Ares Capital and 3 mentions for FS KKR Capital. FS KKR Capital's average media sentiment score of 1.60 beat Ares Capital's score of 0.94 indicating that FS KKR Capital is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Ares Capital
8 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
FS KKR Capital
2 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Very Positive

27.4% of Ares Capital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.3% of FS KKR Capital shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ares Capital shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of FS KKR Capital shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Ares Capital has higher revenue and earnings than FS KKR Capital. FS KKR Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ares Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Ares Capital$3.05B4.71$1.30B$1.3514.84
FS KKR Capital$1.52B2.27$11M-$1.35N/A

Ares Capital has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, FS KKR Capital has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the broader market.

Ares Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.6%. FS KKR Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.5%. Ares Capital pays out 142.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. FS KKR Capital pays out -124.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FS KKR Capital is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Ares Capital has a net margin of 30.91% compared to FS KKR Capital's net margin of -28.52%. Ares Capital's return on equity of 9.80% beat FS KKR Capital's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Ares Capital30.91% 9.80% 4.50%
FS KKR Capital -28.52%9.70%4.14%

Summary

Ares Capital beats FS KKR Capital on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding ARCC and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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ARCC vs. The Competition

MetricAres CapitalCapital Markets IndustryFinance SectorNASDAQ Exchange
Market Cap$14.39B$5.72B$14.00B$12.91B
Dividend Yield9.58%7.42%5.89%9.14%
P/E Ratio14.8431.4426.1825.45
Price / Sales4.711,211.13508.47125.90
Price / Cash9.9848.1439.9652.44
Price / Book1.041.982.136.17
Net Income$1.30B$419.47M$1.32B$350.08M
7 Day Performance0.45%7.28%3.84%-0.14%
1 Month Performance2.14%0.60%1.69%0.94%
1 Year Performance-10.70%5.65%11.19%14.02%

Ares Capital Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
ARCC
Ares Capital
2.6823 of 5 stars
$20.04
+0.1%
$20.60
+2.8%
-10.7%$14.39B$3.05B14.842,550
CSWC
Capital Southwest
2.6454 of 5 stars
$25.24
+0.1%
$23.60
-6.5%
+7.1%$1.61B$232.10M13.9420
GBDC
Golub Capital BDC
3.4216 of 5 stars
$13.11
flat
$13.90
+6.0%
-11.9%$3.40B$870.78M20.17N/A
ARES
Ares Management
3.8132 of 5 stars
$142.42
-0.2%
$159.73
+12.2%
-20.9%$47.15B$5.60B65.334,250
EPD
Enterprise Products Partners
3.4637 of 5 stars
$39.09
+2.1%
$40.00
+2.3%
+23.0%$82.64B$52.60B13.578,000

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This page (NASDAQ:ARCC) was last updated on 9/6/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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