Compare Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) vs Main Street Capital Corporation (MAIN) Price & Performance
Price performance (Past 24H)
Key statistics
Key statistics
Ares Capital Corporation vs Main Street Capital Corporation — how do they compare? Ares Capital Corporation trades at $18.75 (market cap $13.48B), while Main Street Capital Corporation trades at $52.95 (market cap $4.91B). The key difference: Ares Capital Corporation is far larger — about 2.7× Main Street Capital Corporation's market cap, and Ares Capital Corporation pays the higher dividend (10.22%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ARCC | MAIN | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $13.48B | $4.91B |
Sector | Financials | Financials |
52-Week High | $23.25 | $67.54 |
52-Week Low | $17.45 | $49.63 |
Dividend Yield | 10.22% | 8.29% |
Aura AI Summary
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Aura AI Summary
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Ares Capital (ARCC) trades at $18.78, up 2.01% on the day, with a bearish technical signal but strong analyst support. The stock shows a P/E of 11.52 and P/B of 0.96, trading below the consensus price target of $20.58. Recent earnings have missed expectations, with Q2 2026 results pending, while revenue declined to $1.51B in 2025 from $1.7B in 2024. A dividend of $0.48 is scheduled for payment on June 30, 2026, supporting income appeal amid mixed sentiment.
ARCC presents a value opportunity with a high dividend yield and undervaluation relative to analyst targets, but faces headwinds from earnings misses and a bearish technical outlook. Risks include revenue volatility and competitive pressures in the BDC space, though institutional buy ratings suggest confidence in recovery potential. Investors should weigh income stability against growth challenges.
Main Street Capital (MAIN) trades at $52.84, up 2.26% today, with mixed technical signals showing bearish moving averages but neutral oscillators. The company maintains strong profitability with an 81.08% net margin and 14.37% ROE, though recent quarters show inconsistent earnings performance with two misses and one beat. Revenue declined slightly from $601M in 2024 to $592M in 2025, with further contraction projected for 2026. The stock pays consistent dividends, with recent payments ranging from $0.26 to $0.30 per share.
MAIN presents a cautious outlook with analysts showing 78.57% hold ratings despite a $57.75 consensus price target suggesting 9.3% upside. The bearish technical trend and projected revenue decline to $526M in 2026 create headwinds, while strong profitability metrics and dividend consistency provide support. Investors face balancing attractive valuation (P/E 11.12) against earnings volatility and negative operating cash flow of -$45.71M in 2025.
Returns comparison
Trailing returns across standard periods
Returns comparison
Trailing returns across standard periods
Top news
Latest headlines on both assets
Top news
Latest headlines on both assets
About Ares Capital Corporation
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 →About Main Street Capital Corporation
Main Street Capital Corp is an investment firm engaged in providing customized debt and equity financing to lower middle market companies and debt capital to middle market companies. The investment portfolio of the company is typically made to support management buyouts, recapitalizations, growth financings, refinancings and acquisitions of companies that operate in diverse industry sectors. The group invests in secured debt investments, equity investments, warrants and other securities of the lower middle market and middle market companies based in the US. Business is functioned through the U.S region and it derives the majority of the income from the source of fee, commission, and interest.
Read more on MAIN →
