AGNC vs. ARCC: AGNC Investment vs. Ares Capital Stock Comparison

Company Profile

AGNC Investment (AGNC) and Ares Capital (ARCC) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but AGNC is classified in Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) while ARCC is classified in Capital Markets.

Ares Capital (ARCC) is an ordinary operating company, while AGNC Investment (AGNC) is a REIT — read its payout ratio and P/E alongside FFO (funds from operations) rather than comparing them directly to ARCC’s multiples.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

AGNC Investment (AGNC) has an aggressive beta of 1.37, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Ares Capital (ARCC) is defensive at 0.59 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 6.19% is around its peer norm for ROE, while AGNC Investment (AGNC) at 0.90% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker returns on shareholders’ equity.

For every dollar of sales, both AGNC Investment (AGNC) at 43.64% and Ares Capital (ARCC) at 28.35% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

Both AGNC Investment (AGNC) at 102.11% and Ares Capital (ARCC) at 72.74% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

AGNC Investment (AGNC) at 84.69% delivers above-range revenue growth, while Ares Capital (ARCC) at -12.08% falls into the bottom quartile — a wide split in revenue momentum.

AGNC Investment (AGNC) at 58.06% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Ares Capital (ARCC) at -23.77% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for AGNC.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: AGNC Investment (AGNC) in Financial Services and Ares Capital (ARCC) 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-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: AGNC Investment (AGNC) in Financial Services and Ares Capital (ARCC) 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

Dividends

Both AGNC Investment (AGNC) at 16.33% and Ares Capital (ARCC) at 9.92% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

Both AGNC Investment (AGNC) at 7,200.00% and Ares Capital (ARCC) at 157.38% report payout ratio above 100%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings on both sides.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 15.68 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while AGNC Investment (AGNC) at 439.00 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for AGNC’s trailing earnings.

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 4.48 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while AGNC Investment (AGNC) at 47.39 clears its benchmark range — AGNC looks notably rich on sales.

On P/B ratio, both AGNC Investment (AGNC) at 1.15 and Ares Capital (ARCC) at 0.99 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

Valuation Metrics