ARCC vs. BRK.A: Ares Capital vs. Berkshire Hathaway Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) 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

Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but ARCC is classified in Capital Markets while BRK.A is classified in Financial Services.

Company profile comparison for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Profile Item	ARCC	BRK.A
Name	Ares Capital Corp.	Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class A
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Capital Markets	Financial Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Asset Management & Custody Banks	Multi-Sector Holdings
Market Capitalization	13.82 billion USD	1,222.51 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	October 5, 2004	March 17, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ARCC

BRK.A

GSPC

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), 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 Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Metric	ARCC	BRK.A
Total Return (1Y)	5.40%	13.87%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	9.48%	17.28%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	8.26%	14.57%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ARCC

BRK.A

GSPC

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), 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 Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Ares Capital (ARCC) trades around 4.45M shares per day on average, while Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) sees only 206 — a volume gap that can matter for position sizing, exit liquidity, and order execution.

Risk profile metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Metric	ARCC	BRK.A
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	18.97%	14.86%
Beta (5Y)	0.59	0.56
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-21.76%	-25.98%
Avg. Volume (3M)	4.45M	206

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ARCC and BRK.A 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 Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Metric	ARCC	BRK.A
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.06	0.65
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.09	0.96

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 6.19% and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 12.12% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

ARCC

Financial Services industry group

6.19%

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
ARCC: 6.19%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

12.12%

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
BRK.A: 12.12%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 28.35% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 22.30%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

ARCC

Financial Services industry group

28.35%

Max: 62.84%
ARCC: 28.35%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

22.30%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
BRK.A: 22.30%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 72.74% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 32.56%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ARCC

Financial Services industry group

72.74%

Max: 107.33%
ARCC: 72.74%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

32.56%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
BRK.A: 32.56%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Metric	ARCC	BRK.A
ROE (TTM)	6.19%	12.12%
ROA (TTM)	4.78%	6.01%
Net Margin (TTM)	28.35%	22.30%
Operating Margin (TTM)	72.74%	32.56%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Ares Capital (ARCC) at -12.08% and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at -3.23% post bottom-quartile revenue growth versus peers, pointing to weaker demand or pricing momentum than typical rivals.

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Ares Capital (ARCC) at -23.77% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at -24.78% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Metric	ARCC	BRK.A
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-12.08%	-3.23%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	26.67%	20.59%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-23.77%	-24.78%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	16.05%	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Ares Capital (ARCC) in Financial Services and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) 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: Ares Capital (ARCC) in Financial Services and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) 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 Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Metric	ARCC	BRK.A
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Ares Capital (ARCC) reports a yield of 9.92%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ARCC

Financial Services industry group

9.92%

ARCC: 9.92%
Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
Median: 1.09%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
Median: 1.09%
BRK.A: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Ares Capital (ARCC) reports payout ratio above 100% at 157.38%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings; Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%).

ARCC

Financial Services industry group

157.38%

Max: 241.07%
ARCC: 157.38%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
BRK.A: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Metric	ARCC	BRK.A
Dividend Yield (TTM)	9.92%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	157.38%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 15.68 and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 14.36 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

ARCC

Financial Services industry group

15.68

Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
ARCC: 15.68
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

14.36

Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
BRK.A: 14.36
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 4.48 and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 3.18 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

ARCC

Financial Services industry group

4.48

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
ARCC: 4.48
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

3.18

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
BRK.A: 3.18
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 0.99 and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 1.72 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

ARCC

Financial Services industry group

0.99

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
ARCC: 0.99
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

1.72

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
BRK.A: 1.72
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Metric	ARCC	BRK.A
P/E Ratio (TTM)	15.68	14.36
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.48	3.18
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	0.99	1.72
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--