# Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) fundamentals

Data as of 2026-09-08. NASDAQ, United States. Sector: Financial Services / Capital Markets. Price $20.04, market value $14.4 billion.

## Valuation
- **P/E (trailing): 15.0×** (5-yr avg 7.8×, 3-yr avg 8.0×). Ares Capital Corporation trades at 15.0× trailing earnings, well above its own five-year average of 7.8×: investors are paying up relative to the company's past. The Financial Services median in the September 2026 study was 13.1×. Forward P/E is 10.4×, lower than trailing, so analysts expect earnings to grow.
- **Price / book: 1.0×**. The shares trade at 1.0× book value; book value is a meaningful part of the valuation.
- **Earnings yield: 6.7%**. The inverse of the P/E: 6.7% of the price is earned each year.

## Profitability
- **Return on equity: 9.1%**. 9.1% on shareholders' equity is weak; the business earns little on the capital its owners have in it.

## Growth
- **EPS growth (1 yr): -23.8%** (3-yr 16.1%/yr, 5-yr 10.3%/yr). Earnings per share fell 23.8%.

## Financial health
- **Piotroski F-score: 1/9**. 1 of 9 checks pass: weak or deteriorating financials.
- **Cash and short-term investments: $638 million**. Leverage ratios are shown differently for banks and insurers, whose balance sheets are built on deposits and reserves; use return on equity and the regulatory capital in the filings instead.

## Dividends
- **Dividend yield: 9.58%** ($1.92 per share, trailing). Ares Capital Corporation yields 9.58%, high enough to check carefully: yields this high often precede a cut.
- **Payout ratio: 97%**. 97% of earnings goes out as dividends, leaving a thin cushion.
- **Consecutive years of increases: 5**. 5 straight years of increases.
- **Dividend growth (5 yr): 3.7%/yr** (1-yr 0.0%). The dividend has grown 3.7% a year over five years.

## Analyst view
- **Analyst consensus: buy** (13 analysts). 13 analysts cover Ares Capital Corporation; the consensus is buy, with an average price target of $20.62 (+3% from the current price). Analyst opinion is shown for context; it is not part of the Fundamental Score.

## Price and momentum
- **Total return (1 yr): -1.3%** (YTD 4.4%, 3-mo 9.4%). The shares are down 1.3% over twelve months including dividends.
- **From 52-week high: -10.9%** (15.2% above the low). Trading 11% below its 52-week high.
- **200-day average: above**. The price sits above its 200-day moving average, the usual definition of an uptrend.
- **RSI (14-day): 60**. An RSI of 60 is neutral.
- **Beta (1 yr): 0.67** (volatility 19%). Beta of 0.67 against the S&P 500: the shares move much less than the market.

Live score and charts: https://foliofundamentals.com/analyzer?s=ARCC · Page: https://foliofundamentals.com/stocks/arcc

Not investment advice.