Stock Analysis
Ares Capital CorporationARCC
P/E 14.00×· 5Y range 4.80–18.52×· top 20% of history
Sector: Financial Services · Industry: Asset Management
AnalystsStrong Buy20 analystsP/E 14.0× sits at the 80th percentile of its 5.065023956194388-year history.
Cash covers 4% of debt · FY 2024.
PMP Verdict
Weak fundamentals, expensive
Strengths
- Profitability60
Risks
- Valuation50
- Growth25
Weak fundamentals at a demanding price.
What's happening with ARCC
Profile
moat, growth, financial health and earnings quality lag behind.
How is each axis scored?
- Valuation50/100 · Moderate
- P/E vs own history (80th pct)0/25
- FCF yield (n/a)10/25
- P/S (4.3x)20/25
- EV/EBIT (12.2x)20/25
- Growth25/100 · Weak
- Revenue CAGR (n/a)0/25
- Net income CAGR (-4.6%)0/25
- EPS CAGR 5Y (-14.7%)0/25
- Fwd implied growth (39.4%)25/25
- Profitability60/100 · Moderate
- ROIC (6.3%)5/25
- ROE (6.7%)5/25
- Net margin (30.9%)25/25
- Operating margin (48.5%)25/25
- Financial Health30/100 · Weak
- Altman Z (0.75)3/25
- Current ratio (1.10)12/25
- Interest coverage (2.8x)10/25
- Net cash / debt (D/A 49%)5/25
- Quality30/100 · Weak
- Piotroski F (2/9)5/25
- Beneish M (n/a)0/25
- FCF conversion (n/a)0/25
- Margin stability (σ 4.3%)25/25
- Moat0/100 · Weak
- ROIC >12% years (0/5 yrs)0/25
- Median gross margin (n/a)0/25
- FCF-positive years (n/a)0/25
- Worst-year net margin (n/a)0/25
Risk Flags
- ⚠Altman Z 0.7 — distress-zone balance sheet
- ⚠Interest coverage 2.8× — thin debt cushion
- ⚠P/E 14.0× at top 20% of 5-year history
About Ares Capital Corporation
Ares Capital Corp is a United States-based closed-ended specialty finance company. Show more
Its investment objective is to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments. The company focuses on investing in first lien senior secured loans (including unitranche loans, which are loans that combine both senior and subordinated debt, generally in a first lien position) and second lien senior secured loans. In addition to senior secured loans, the company also invests in subordinated loans and preferred equity, it also makes common equity investments.
Headquarters: NEW YORK, NY · Employees: 4,250 · Website ↗
Price History
Weekly Candlestick Chart — up to 5Y
Key Metrics
Financial snapshot · Tap any metric for its definition and grade
TTM Snapshot
trailing twelve months · YoYValuation
50CP/E (TTM)14.0xA
Grade A: CheapPrice / TTM EPS (own statements) — vs own 5Y history: 4.8x–18.5x · 80th pct
P/FCF25.7xB
Grade B: FairPrice / Free Cash Flow per share (Finnhub). Inverse of FCF yield — negative when FCF is negative
FCF Yield3.9%C
Grade C: LowInverse of Finnhub P/FCF (own TTM FCF unavailable)
P/S (TTM)4.30xB
Grade B: FairPrice / TTM Revenue (own statements) — vs own 5Y history: 4.1x–5.6x · 14th pct
EV/EBIT12.2xB
Grade B: FairEnterprise value / TTM EBIT (D&A not in our data) — capital-structure neutral — vs own 5Y history: 11.9x–19.4x · 3rd pct
EV/Sales9.3xC
Grade C: ExpensiveEnterprise Value / TTM Revenue (Finnhub) — capital-structure neutral sales multiple
Forward P/E10.0xA
Grade A: CheapPrice / next-year EPS estimate — shows whether the TTM multiple is rich or just front-loading growth
P/B Ratio0.94xA
Grade A: FairPrice to Book Value. Neg. equity = heavy buybacks
PEG Ratio-13.07A
Grade A: CheapFinnhub PEG — their P/E basis ÷ expected EPS growth. Suppressed when their P/E diverges >2× from our TTM P/E (different basis)
Dividend Yield9.96%C
Grade C: HighTTM dividend yield (Finnhub) — annual dividends / price. None = no dividend; very high yield can signal distress
Payout Ratio138.4%D
Grade D: UnsustainableDividends / Net Income (Finnhub) — share of earnings paid out; >90% or negative = unsustainable
Profitability
60BROIC6.3%D
Grade D: LowNOPAT (EBIT less ~21% tax) / invested capital (equity + debt − cash). Flagship quality metric — durable >15% signals a moat
ROE6.7%D
Grade D: WeakReturn on Equity. Neg. equity = heavy buybacks
ROA3.1%D
Grade D: WeakReturn on Assets (Finnhub) — Net Income / Total Assets; how efficiently assets produce profit
Net Margin30.9%A
Grade A: HighNet Income / Revenue
Operating Margin—
TTM EBIT / TTM Revenue
Gross Margin50.2%A
Grade A: PremiumGross Profit / Revenue
FCF Margin—
FCF / Revenue
True FCF Margin—
TTM (OCF − CapEx − SBC) / TTM Revenue — SBC treated as a real cost
Growth
25ERevenue CAGR—
Compound annual revenue growth (up to 5Y depending on data availability)
Net Income CAGR-4.6%D
Grade D: LowCompound annual net income growth (up to 5Y depending on data availability)
EPS CAGR (5Y)-14.7%D
Grade D: LowCompound annual EPS growth over up to 5Y of per-share earnings (own statements). Null when either endpoint EPS ≤ 0
Implied EPS Growth39.4%A
Grade A: HighAnalyst forward EPS (normalized basis) vs our GAAP TTM EPS — different bases, so extreme values usually mark cyclically depressed TTM earnings, not real growth
Dilution (5Y)—
Share count change over 5Y
SBC / Net Income—
Stock-based comp/Net income. >30% = dilution risk
SBC / Revenue—
TTM stock-based comp / TTM Revenue
Financial Health
30DAltman Z-Score0.75D
Grade D: DistressBankruptcy risk. >3 Safe, <1.8 Distress
Current Ratio1.10xC
Grade C: OkCurrent Assets/Liabilities
Quick Ratio1.10xA
Grade A: High(Current Assets − Inventory) / Current Liabilities (Finnhub) — stricter liquidity test, excludes inventory
Interest Coverage2.8xD
Grade D: RiskyEBIT/Interest. >10 Strong
Debt Repayment—
Years to repay net debt via FCF
Net Debt/EBIT6.5xD
Grade D: HighLeverage. <2x Low, >4x High
Debt/Equity1.12xC
Grade C: MedDebt / Equity: <1 Conservative, >2 Risky. Not meaningful with non-positive equity; shown as unavailable rather than low debt.
Cash / Debt0.04xD
Grade D: ThinCash covers how much of total debt. >1 = could repay all debt from cash
Quality
30DPiotroski F-Score2/9D
Grade D: WeakFinancial strength 0–9. >7 Strong
Beneish M-Score—
Earnings manipulation risk. < -2.22 Safe
FCF Conversion—
FCF / Net Income
Margin Stability4.3%A
Grade A: StableEBIT margin std deviation. Lower = stable
Capex / Revenue—
TTM CapEx / TTM Revenue — high % = capital-hungry business
Asset Turnover0.10xD
Grade D: LowRevenue / Total Assets (Finnhub) — how efficiently the asset base generates sales
Insider Transactions
SEC Form 4 · 5 records| Trade date | Insider | Transaction | Shares | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
MARKOWICZ JANA Filed | MARKOWICZ JANA | BuyOpen market buy | +15.0K | |
Lem Scott C Filed | Lem Scott C | BuyOpen market buy | +5.2K | |
SCHNABEL MICHAEL KORT Filed | SCHNABEL MICHAEL KORT | BuyOpen market buy | +12.5K | |
HENSON MARY BETH Filed | HENSON MARY BETH | BuyOpen market buy | +4.0K | |
SCHNABEL MICHAEL KORT Filed | SCHNABEL MICHAEL KORT | BuyOpen market buy | +13.0K |
More metrics — Moat, Per Share, Balance Sheet, MarketHide additional metrics
Moat
0EROIC >12% Years0/5 yrsD
Grade D: WeakShare of completed fiscal years with ROIC > 12% — measures multi-year capital-return durability
Gross Margin (Med.)—
Median annual gross margin across available fiscal years — pricing-power durability
FCF-Positive Years—
Share of completed fiscal years with positive free cash flow
Net Margin Floor—
Weakest annual net margin across completed fiscal years — recession/downcycle resilience
Per Share
EPS (TTM)$1.34
Own TTM net income / shares — same earnings basis as P/E
Cash / Share$0.53
Cash & short-term investments per share (Finnhub)
Book Value / Share$19.35
Shareholders' equity per share (Finnhub). Negative = accumulated losses / heavy buybacks
Balance Sheet
Total Debt$15.99B
Total debt obligations (short + long term)
Cash & Equiv.$638.00M
Cash and short-term investments
Net Debt$15.35B
Total Debt minus Cash. Negative = Net Cash position
Total Equity$14.32B
Shareholders' equity (book value)
Asset / Liability1.85xC
Grade C: AdequateTotal Assets / Total Liabilities
Market
Market Cap$13.45B
Current Market Capitalization
Beta0.66B
Grade B: DefensivePrice sensitivity vs the market (Finnhub) — 1.0 moves with market, >1.2 amplifies swings
How grades work: each metric is graded A–D against fixed thresholds (tap a row for the meaning). Card grades map the pillar score to A+–E — a card grade is that pillar's own score, not an average of the rows shown.
Financials as of Jun 2026 · Ratio snapshot Oct 17, 2026
Key Insights: Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC)
ARCC is down 1.06% at the last close. Ares Capital Corporation meets only 2 of 9 Piotroski F-Score criteria — a sign of weak underlying fundamentals.
- Altman Z-Score of 0.75 is below the 1.81 distress threshold — an elevated financial-risk flag.
- The stock currently yields 10.0% in dividends.
See how ARCC ranks on the Capex Tracker — top 50 capital spenders compared.
Recent Market Moves
See all ARCC moves →| Date | Session | Price | Move | Z-Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 15 | After-hours | 18.91 | +1.70% | 2.37 |
| Oct 8 | After-hours | 18.74 | +1.56% | 2.06 |
Frequently Asked Questions about ARCC
What is the current Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) stock price?
ARCC is trading at $18.72 at the last market close, down 1.06% on the session. PreMarketPrice tracks ARCC pre-market, intraday and after-hours prices.
Is ARCC stock a buy right now?
PreMarketPrice's quantitative model rates Ares Capital Corporation's financial health at 30/100. This is a data-driven snapshot of fundamentals, not investment advice.
Is ARCC stock overvalued?
Ares Capital Corporation trades at a trailing P/E of 14.0 and our valuation score rates it 50/100 (higher = cheaper vs. its own history). See the Valuation History and Key Metrics sections for forward P/E, EV/EBITDA and PEG context.
When does Ares Capital Corporation report earnings?
No confirmed earnings date is currently scheduled for ARCC. The Earnings section lists recent reports and updates as dates are announced.
What sector does Ares Capital Corporation operate in?
Ares Capital Corporation operates in the Financial Services sector, within the Asset Management industry. The Related Stocks section lists sector peers for comparison.
What does Ares Capital Corporation do?
Ares Capital Corp is a United States-based closed-ended specialty finance company.
About Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) Stock
Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) is a US-listed stock operating in the Financial Services sector, specifically the Asset Management industry. As of the latest update, Ares Capital Corporation is trading at $18.72, down 1.06% on the day with a market capitalization of $13.4 billion. The financial health score for ARCC is 30/100, which indicates weak financial strength based on profitability, leverage, liquidity, and growth metrics. This page provides real-time pre-market pricing, earnings calendar, financial health analysis, and valuation metrics for ARCC stock.
ARCC Stock Analysis & Key Metrics
On PreMarketPrice, you can track Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) across multiple dimensions:
- Pre-market price & movement: Real-time ARCC stock price with percentage change, updated continuously during pre-market and regular trading hours.
- Valuation & P/E history: Historical P/E, P/S, and P/B ratios for ARCC with trend analysis and normalized valuation multiples.
- Financial statements: Revenue, net income, assets, liabilities, and equity for Ares Capital Corporation across multiple reporting periods.
- Financial health score: A composite score of 30/100 based on Altman Z-Score, Piotroski F-Score, profitability, and leverage metrics for ARCC.
- Sector peers: Compare ARCC against 4 other financial services stocks on key financial metrics.
Is ARCC a Good Stock to Buy?
This page provides data-driven analysis to help you evaluate Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) as an investment. The financial health score of 30/100 suggests weak financial fundamentals. Valuation metrics show whether the stock is trading above or below its historical average.However, this is not financial advice — always do your own research before investing.
Data on this page is sourced from real-time market feeds, Polygon.io, and Finnhub.Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) trades on NYSE. Pre-market trading occurs 4:00 AM – 9:30 AM ET. Regular market hours are 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET.