ARCC vs. SYF: Ares Capital vs. Synchrony Financial Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Ares Capital (ARCC) and Synchrony Financial (SYF) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but ARCC is classified in Capital Markets while SYF is classified in Consumer Finance.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Synchrony Financial (SYF) has an aggressive beta of 1.40, 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 Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 19.83% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

For every dollar of sales, both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 28.35% and Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 34.07% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

Ares Capital (ARCC) at 72.74% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 49.84%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Both Ares Capital (ARCC) at -12.08% and Synchrony Financial (SYF) at -0.50% post bottom-quartile revenue growth versus peers, pointing to weaker demand or pricing momentum than typical rivals.

Both Ares Capital (ARCC) at -23.77% and Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 8.54% 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 Synchrony Financial (SYF) 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 Synchrony Financial (SYF) 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

Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 1.67% 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 Synchrony Financial (SYF) reports 12.94%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 7.70 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Ares Capital (ARCC) at 15.68 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for SYF, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

On P/S ratio, both Ares Capital (ARCC) at 4.48 and Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 2.45 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 Synchrony Financial (SYF) at 1.55 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

Valuation Metrics