ARES vs. MCO: Ares Management vs. Moody's Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

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

Company profile comparison for Ares Management (ARES) and Moody's (MCO)
Profile Item	ARES	MCO
Name	Ares Management Corp. Class A Common Stock	Moody's Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Capital Markets	Capital Markets
GICS Sub-Industry	Asset Management & Custody Banks	Financial Exchanges & Data
Market Capitalization	44.45 billion USD	87.19 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	May 2, 2014	October 31, 1994
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ARES

MCO

GSPC

Ares Management (ARES) 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 Management (ARES) and Moody's (MCO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ares Management (ARES) 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 Management (ARES) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	ARES	MCO
Total Return (1Y)	-5.55%	5.02%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	13.18%	15.27%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	13.38%	6.21%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ARES

MCO

GSPC

Ares Management (ARES) 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 Management (ARES) 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 Management (ARES) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	ARES	MCO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	44.09%	28.61%
Beta (5Y)	1.45	1.28
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-49.97%	-40.93%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.20M	817.57K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ARES 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 Management (ARES) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	ARES	MCO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.22	0.03
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.31	0.04

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Moody's (MCO) earns 76.74% 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: --

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%

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Moody's (MCO): ARES does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; MCO is benchmarked against the Financial Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 35.26% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Ares Management (ARES) at 8.69%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

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%

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%

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 46.27% 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%

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%

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	ARES	MCO
ROE (TTM)	--	76.74%
ROA (TTM)	--	15.56%
Net Margin (TTM)	8.69%	35.26%
Operating Margin (TTM)	2.89%	46.27%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Ares Management (ARES) at 44.19% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Moody's (MCO) at 8.89% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for ARES.

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

EPS Growth

Both Ares Management (ARES) at -16.67% 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.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	ARES	MCO
Revenue Growth (YoY)	44.19%	8.89%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	22.39%	12.17%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-16.67%	21.40%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	25.02%	22.48%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Ares Management (ARES) 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 Management (ARES) 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 Management (ARES) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	ARES	MCO
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Ares Management (ARES) at 3.87% and Moody's (MCO) at 0.78% 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%

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%

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Moody's (MCO): 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 Moody's (MCO) reports 24.59%, 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%

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%

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	ARES	MCO
Dividend Yield (TTM)	3.87%	0.78%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	423.77%	24.59%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on trailing earnings: Moody's (MCO) at 30.85 sits in the richer P/E ratio quartile, and Ares Management (ARES) at 109.82 is richer still, above its industry range.

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

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

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on sales: Ares Management (ARES) at 8.92 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Moody's (MCO) at 10.66 prices even higher, above its industry range.

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

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

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Measured against book value, both Ares Management (ARES) at 12.15 and Moody's (MCO) at 26.68 look expensive — each P/B ratio sits above its industry’s benchmark range.

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

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

Ares Management (ARES) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ares Management (ARES) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	ARES	MCO
P/E Ratio (TTM)	109.82	30.85
P/S Ratio (TTM)	8.92	10.66
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	12.15	26.68
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--