Ares Capital Corporation vs Bandwidth Inc — how do they compare? Ares Capital Corporation trades at $19.89 (market cap $14.34B), while Bandwidth Inc trades at $51.42 (market cap $1.66B). The key difference: Ares Capital Corporation is far larger — about 8.6× Bandwidth Inc's market cap, and Ares Capital Corporation pays a 9.61% dividend while Bandwidth Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ARCC | BAND | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $14.34B | $1.66B |
Sector | Financials | Technology |
52-Week High | $22.68 | $78.44 |
52-Week Low | $17.45 | $12.82 |
Dividend Yield | 9.61% | — |
Enterprise Value | — | $2.04B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
ARCC trades at $19.87, down 0.55% with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages. The company reported $1.51B revenue and $1.30B net income for 2025, maintaining an 86.25% profit margin. Recent earnings show slight misses against expectations, but dividend coverage remains stable at 104% with a 9.9% yield. Analyst consensus is strongly bullish with 24 buy ratings and a $19.63 price target.
The stock presents income appeal with its high dividend yield and stable payout history, though recent earnings compression and rising non-accruals to 2.4% signal credit quality concerns. Private credit sector strain and potential rate cuts pose medium-term risks to net investment income, which is 71% variable-rate exposed.
Bandwidth (BAND) trades at $52.30, down 0.78% on the day, with strong technical momentum showing bullish moving averages but overbought RSI signals. The company demonstrated solid Q2 2026 performance with EPS of $0.37 beating estimates and 22% revenue growth, driven by AI-driven communications demand and enterprise wins. Analyst sentiment remains overwhelmingly positive with 75% buy ratings and a $75.25 consensus price target representing 44% upside potential.
The outlook appears favorable with accelerating AI adoption and raised 2026 guidance, though valuation remains elevated at 34x EBITDA. Key risks include execution challenges in scaling AI deployments and competitive pressure in cloud communications. Current profitability metrics show improvement but remain thin, requiring sustained growth to justify premium multiples.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Ares Capital Corp is a United States-based closed-ended specialty finance company. Its investment objective is to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments. The company focuses on investing primarily in U.S. middle-market companies with investment opportunities as well as in larger companies. Its portfolio comprises of first lien senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loans, and mezzanine debt (subordinated unsecured loan), which may include equity components that are diversified by industry and sector. The company may invest in preferred and common equity investments to a lesser proportion. Its revenue mainly consists of interest and dividend income received from the investment made.
Read more on ARCC →Bandwidth is a global communications software company. Its CPaaS platform allows enterprises to embed voice, messaging, and 911 emergency services directly into their software applications via robust APIs.
Read more on BAND →