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ARES vs. EQH: Ares Management vs. Equitable Stock Comparison

How do Ares Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH) 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 Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but ARES is classified in Capital Markets while EQH is classified in Financial Services.

Company profile comparison for Ares Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH)
Profile ItemARESEQH
NameAres Management Corp. Class A Common StockEquitable Holdings Inc.
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesFinancial Services
GICS IndustryCapital MarketsFinancial Services
GICS Sub-IndustryAsset Management & Custody BanksDiversified Financial Services
Market Capitalization44.45 billion USD14.04 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateMay 2, 2014May 10, 2018
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ARES
EQH
GSPC
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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH), 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 Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ares Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH)
MetricARESEQH
Total Return (1Y)-5.55%26.35%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)13.18%32.07%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)13.38%12.88%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ARES
EQH
GSPC
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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH), 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 Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH)
MetricARESEQH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)44.09%33.44%
Beta (5Y)1.451.04
Max Drawdown (5Y)-49.97%-35.85%
Avg. Volume (3M)2.20M2.71M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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ARES and EQH 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 Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH)
MetricARESEQH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.220.66
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.310.94

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Equitable (EQH) earns 171.08% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Ares Management (ARES) has no ROE this period.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

--

Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
ARES
--

EQH

Financial Services industry group

171.08%

EQH
171.08%
Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH): ARES does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; EQH is benchmarked against the Financial Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Ares Management (ARES) at 8.69% and Equitable (EQH) at 11.52% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

8.69%

Max
62.84%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
ARES
8.69%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%

EQH

Financial Services industry group

11.52%

Max
62.84%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
EQH
11.52%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%
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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Equitable (EQH) at 37.18% runs core operations around its industry’s norm, while Ares Management (ARES) at 2.89% operates in the bottom quartile.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

2.89%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
ARES
2.89%
Min
-44.34%

EQH

Financial Services industry group

37.18%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
EQH
37.18%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%
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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH)
MetricARESEQH
ROE (TTM)--171.08%
ROA (TTM)--0.45%
Net Margin (TTM)8.69%11.52%
Operating Margin (TTM)2.89%37.18%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Ares Management (ARES) at 44.19% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Equitable (EQH) at -6.12% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in revenue momentum.

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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Ares Management (ARES) at -16.67% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Equitable (EQH) at -227.78% falls below its industry range, a notably weak earnings reading.

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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH)
MetricARESEQH
Revenue Growth (YoY)44.19%-6.12%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)22.39%-2.65%
EPS Growth (YoY)-16.67%-227.78%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)25.02%--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Ares Management (ARES) in Financial Services and Equitable (EQH) 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 Management (ARES) in Financial Services and Equitable (EQH) 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 Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH)
MetricARESEQH
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Ares Management (ARES) at 3.87% and Equitable (EQH) at 0.51% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

3.87%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
ARES
3.87%
Median
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

EQH

Financial Services industry group

0.51%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
Median
1.09%
EQH
0.51%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Ares Management (ARES) reports payout ratio above 100% at 423.77%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Equitable (EQH) reports 22.49%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

423.77%

ARES
423.77%
Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

EQH

Financial Services industry group

22.49%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
EQH
22.49%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH)
MetricARESEQH
Dividend Yield (TTM)3.87%0.51%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)423.77%22.49%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Equitable (EQH) at 10.39 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Ares Management (ARES) at 109.82 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for ARES’s trailing earnings.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

109.82

ARES
109.82
Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16

EQH

Financial Services industry group

10.39

Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
Median
15.37
EQH
10.39
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16
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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Equitable (EQH) at 1.08 looks cheap on sales in the lower P/S ratio quartile, while Ares Management (ARES) at 8.92 looks rich in the upper quartile — a clear gap in price per dollar of revenue.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

8.92

Max
9.23
ARES
8.92
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55

EQH

Financial Services industry group

1.08

Max
9.23
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
EQH
1.08
Min
-0.55
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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Equitable (EQH) reports a negative P/B ratio of -4.92, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Ares Management (ARES) reports 12.15, ranking against industry peers normally.

ARES

Financial Services industry group

12.15

ARES
12.15
Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39

EQH

Financial Services industry group

-4.92

Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39
EQH
-4.92
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Ares Management (ARES) vs. Equitable (EQH): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Equitable (EQH)
MetricARESEQH
P/E Ratio (TTM)109.8210.39
P/S Ratio (TTM)8.921.08
P/B Ratio (MRQ)12.15-4.92
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----