Ares Capital Corporation vs Zscaler Inc — how do they compare? Ares Capital Corporation trades at $19.85 (market cap $14.34B), while Zscaler Inc trades at $176.13 (market cap $28.87B). The key difference: Zscaler Inc is far larger — about 2× Ares Capital Corporation's market cap, and Ares Capital Corporation pays a 9.61% dividend while Zscaler Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ARCC | ZS | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $14.34B | $28.87B |
Sector | Financials | Technology |
52-Week High | $22.68 | $336.27 |
52-Week Low | $17.45 | $118.05 |
Dividend Yield | 9.61% | — |
Enterprise Value | — | $27.20B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
ARCC trades at $19.875, down 0.53% on the day, with strong analyst support showing 24 buy ratings and a consensus price target of $19.63. The stock maintains a bullish technical signal with moving averages supporting upward momentum, though oscillators indicate some near-term pressure. Recent earnings showed Q2 2026 EPS of $0.47, slightly below expectations, while the company continues its 17-year dividend streak with consistent $0.48 quarterly payments.
The outlook remains positive with solid fundamentals including 81.77% net income margin and 6.88% ROE, though investors should monitor declining revenue trends from $1.7B in 2024 to projected $1.2B in 2026. Key risks include private credit market strain and dividend coverage tightening to 104%, while institutional confidence remains high with no sell ratings among 32 analysts covering the stock.
Zscaler (ZS) trades at $176.11, showing modest daily movement. The stock exhibits a bullish technical trend with strong analyst support, evidenced by 42 buy ratings and a consensus price target of $191.81. Recent earnings consistently beat expectations, with Q1 2026 EPS of $1.08 surpassing the $1.01 forecast. Revenue growth is robust, increasing from $1.1B in 2022 to $2.67B in 2025, though the company remains unprofitable with a net income margin of -2.44%.
The outlook is positive due to strong revenue growth, leadership in cloud security, and bullish analyst sentiment. Key risks include persistent unprofitability, high valuation multiples like a P/S of 8.94, and competitive pressures in the cybersecurity sector. The upcoming Q2 2026 earnings report on September 3, 2026, will be critical for validating growth trajectory and investor confidence.
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 →Zscaler is a security-as-a-service firm that offers its customers cloud-delivered solutions for protecting user devices and data. The firm leverages its position in 150 colocation data centers to deliver traditionally appliance-based security functionality, such as firewalls and sandboxes, as a completely cloud-native platform. The firm focuses on large enterprise customers and offers two primary product suites: Zscaler Internet Access, which securely connects users to externally managed application and websites (such as Salesforce and Google), and Zscaler Private Access, which securely connects users to internally managed applications. Both product suites encompass a broad gamut of capabilities situated across the traditional security stack.
Read more on ZS →