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AFRM vs. ARES: Affirm vs. Ares Management Stock Comparison

How do Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but AFRM is classified in Financial Services while ARES is classified in Capital Markets.

Company profile comparison for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES)
Profile ItemAFRMARES
NameAffirm Holdings, Inc.Ares Management Corp. Class A Common Stock
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesFinancial Services
GICS IndustryFinancial ServicesCapital Markets
GICS Sub-IndustryTransaction & Payment Processing ServicesAsset Management & Custody Banks
Market Capitalization23.09 billion USD44.45 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNasdaqNYSE
Listing DateJanuary 13, 2021May 2, 2014
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AFRM
ARES
GSPC
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES)
MetricAFRMARES
Total Return (1Y)-6.89%-5.55%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)40.23%13.18%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)-15.36%13.38%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AFRM
ARES
GSPC
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES)
MetricAFRMARES
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)58.20%44.09%
Beta (5Y)3.701.45
Max Drawdown (5Y)-94.35%-49.97%
Avg. Volume (3M)4.46M2.20M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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AFRM and ARES are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES)
MetricAFRMARES
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.19-0.22
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.28-0.31

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Affirm (AFRM) earns 44.49% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Ares Management (ARES) has no ROE this period.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

44.49%

Max
44.78%
AFRM
44.49%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%

ARES

Financial Services industry group

--

Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
ARES
--
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES): ARES does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; AFRM is benchmarked against the Financial Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) at 43.86% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Ares Management (ARES) at 8.69%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

43.86%

Max
62.84%
AFRM
43.86%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%

ARES

Financial Services industry group

8.69%

Max
62.84%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
ARES
8.69%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) at 14.82% runs core operations around its industry’s norm, while Ares Management (ARES) at 2.89% operates in the bottom quartile.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

14.82%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
Median
30.09%
AFRM
14.82%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%

ARES

Financial Services industry group

2.89%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
ARES
2.89%
Min
-44.34%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES)
MetricAFRMARES
ROE (TTM)44.49%--
ROA (TTM)2.42%--
Net Margin (TTM)43.86%8.69%
Operating Margin (TTM)14.82%2.89%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Affirm (AFRM) at 32.15% and Ares Management (ARES) at 44.19% sit in the top peer quartile for revenue growth, so each is growing its top line faster than typical industry peers.

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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Affirm (AFRM) at 3,586.67% clears its industry range for EPS growth, a much stronger earnings trajectory than Ares Management (ARES) at -16.67%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES)
MetricAFRMARES
Revenue Growth (YoY)32.15%44.19%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)38.96%22.39%
EPS Growth (YoY)3,586.67%-16.67%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)--25.02%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Affirm (AFRM) in Financial Services and Ares Management (ARES) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Affirm (AFRM) in Financial Services and Ares Management (ARES) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES)
MetricAFRMARES
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Ares Management (ARES) reports a yield of 3.87%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
Median
1.09%
AFRM
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

ARES

Financial Services industry group

3.87%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
ARES
3.87%
Median
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Ares Management (ARES) reports payout ratio above 100% at 423.77%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings; Affirm (AFRM) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%).

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
AFRM
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

ARES

Financial Services industry group

423.77%

ARES
423.77%
Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES)
MetricAFRMARES
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.00%3.87%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)0.00%423.77%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Affirm (AFRM) at 11.80 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Ares Management (ARES) at 109.82 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for ARES’s trailing earnings.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

11.80

Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
AFRM
11.80
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16

ARES

Financial Services industry group

109.82

ARES
109.82
Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Affirm (AFRM) at 5.03 and Ares Management (ARES) at 8.92 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

5.03

Max
9.23
AFRM
5.03
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55

ARES

Financial Services industry group

8.92

Max
9.23
ARES
8.92
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Affirm (AFRM) at 4.01 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Ares Management (ARES) at 12.15 prices even higher, above its industry range.

AFRM

Financial Services industry group

4.01

Max
7.79
AFRM
4.01
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39

ARES

Financial Services industry group

12.15

ARES
12.15
Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39
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Affirm (AFRM) vs. Ares Management (ARES): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Affirm (AFRM) and Ares Management (ARES)
MetricAFRMARES
P/E Ratio (TTM)11.80109.82
P/S Ratio (TTM)5.038.92
P/B Ratio (MRQ)4.0112.15
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----