ARCC vs. JEF: Ares Capital vs. Jefferies Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Ares Capital (ARCC) and Jefferies (JEF) both belong to the Capital Markets industry, though ARCC is classified under Asset Management & Custody Banks while JEF falls under Investment Banking & Brokerage.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Jefferies (JEF) has an aggressive beta of 1.49, 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

Both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 6.19% and Jefferies (JEF) at 8.59% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 28.35% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Jefferies (JEF) at 11.00%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 72.74% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Jefferies (JEF) at 15.80%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Jefferies (JEF) at 2.93% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Ares Capital (ARCC) at -12.08% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Both Ares Capital (ARCC) at -23.77% and Jefferies (JEF) at -5.35% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Ares Capital (ARCC) in Financial Services and Jefferies (JEF) 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: Ares Capital (ARCC) in Financial Services and Jefferies (JEF) 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

Jefferies (JEF) at 3.29% pays an industry-typical yield; Ares Capital (ARCC) at 9.92% is above its entire peer range — the higher number, but one that calls for a look at payout sustainability before treating it as an advantage.

Ares Capital (ARCC) reports payout ratio above 100% at 157.38%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Jefferies (JEF) reports 42.67%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 15.68 and Jefferies (JEF) at 12.63 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

On P/S ratio, both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 4.48 and Jefferies (JEF) at 1.28 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

On P/B ratio, both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 0.99 and Jefferies (JEF) at 1.02 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

Valuation Metrics