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ARCC vs. MCO: Ares Capital vs. Moody's Stock Comparison

How do Ares Capital (ARCC) and Moody's (MCO) 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 Moody's (MCO) both belong to the Capital Markets industry, though ARCC is classified under Asset Management & Custody Banks while MCO falls under Financial Exchanges & Data.

Company profile comparison for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Moody's (MCO)
Profile ItemARCCMCO
NameAres Capital Corp.Moody's Corporation
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesFinancial Services
GICS IndustryCapital MarketsCapital Markets
GICS Sub-IndustryAsset Management & Custody BanksFinancial Exchanges & Data
Market Capitalization13.82 billion USD87.19 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNasdaqNYSE
Listing DateOctober 5, 2004October 31, 1994
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ARCC
MCO
GSPC
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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO), 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 Moody's (MCO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricARCCMCO
Total Return (1Y)5.40%5.02%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)9.48%15.27%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)8.26%6.21%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ARCC
MCO
GSPC
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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO), 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 Moody's (MCO). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricARCCMCO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)18.97%28.61%
Beta (5Y)0.591.28
Max Drawdown (5Y)-21.76%-40.93%
Avg. Volume (3M)4.45M817.57K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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ARCC and MCO 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 Moody's (MCO)
MetricARCCMCO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.060.03
Sortino Ratio (1Y)0.090.04

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 76.74% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Ares Capital (ARCC) at 6.19%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

76.74%

MCO
76.74%
Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 28.35% and Moody's (MCO) at 35.26% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

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%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

35.26%

Max
62.84%
MCO
35.26%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%
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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO): 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 Moody's (MCO) at 46.27%, 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%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

46.27%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
MCO
46.27%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%
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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricARCCMCO
ROE (TTM)6.19%76.74%
ROA (TTM)4.78%15.56%
Net Margin (TTM)28.35%35.26%
Operating Margin (TTM)72.74%46.27%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Moody's (MCO) at 8.89% 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.

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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Ares Capital (ARCC) at -23.77% and Moody's (MCO) at 21.40% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricARCCMCO
Revenue Growth (YoY)-12.08%8.89%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)26.67%12.17%
EPS Growth (YoY)-23.77%21.40%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)16.05%22.48%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Ares Capital (ARCC) in Financial Services and Moody's (MCO) 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 Moody's (MCO) 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 Moody's (MCO)
MetricARCCMCO
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 0.78% 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.

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%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

0.78%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
Median
1.09%
MCO
0.78%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO): 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 and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Moody's (MCO) reports 24.59%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

24.59%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
MCO
24.59%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricARCCMCO
Dividend Yield (TTM)9.92%0.78%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)157.38%24.59%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 15.68 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 30.85 sits in the richer quartile — MCO needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

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

MCO

Financial Services industry group

30.85

Max
45.85
MCO
30.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16
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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 4.48 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 10.66 clears its benchmark range — MCO looks notably rich on sales.

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

MCO

Financial Services industry group

10.66

MCO
10.66
Max
9.23
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55
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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 0.99 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 26.68 prices above its benchmark range — MCO looks rich relative to book.

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

MCO

Financial Services industry group

26.68

MCO
26.68
Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39
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Ares Capital (ARCC) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ares Capital (ARCC) and Moody's (MCO)
MetricARCCMCO
P/E Ratio (TTM)15.6830.85
P/S Ratio (TTM)4.4810.66
P/B Ratio (MRQ)0.9926.68
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----