Is ARCC or ARES more undervalued in 2026?

CirclFi compares Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) and Ares Management Corporation (ARES) using 13 institutional-grade valuation models. ARCC has a Quality of Company score of 5.2/10 while ARES scores 8.7/10.

Which is a better buy — ARCC or ARES?

Compare intrinsic values from 13 independent models against current market prices. CirclFi also calculates Value Trap scores. This is not financial advice — conduct your own analysis.

How do ARCC and ARES valuations compare?

ARCC at $18.81 and ARES at $126.00 are compared across Bayesian DCF, EPV, EROIC Spread, First Chicago, Markov DDM, and 8 additional models.

ARCC vs ARES Valuation Comparison 2026 — Intrinsic Value Analysis

ARCC

Asset Management

Ares Capital Corporation

Quality

5.2

out of 10

Value Trap

SAFE

Price

$18.81

Last close

Models

11/13

Active

ARES

Asset Management

Ares Management Corporation

Quality

8.7

out of 10

Value Trap

WARN

Price

$126.00

Last close

Models

12/13

Active

Model-by-Model Comparison

Model	Type	ARCC Fair Value	ARCC Upside	ARES Fair Value	ARES Upside
Bayesian DCF	Intrinsic	$0.98	-94.8%	$308.77	+145.1%
Earnings Power Value	Intrinsic	—	—	$38.23	-69.7%
EROIC Spread	Intrinsic	$•••.••	••.•%	$•••.••	••.•%
First Chicago	Scenario	$•••.••	••.•%	$•••.••	••.•%
Markov DDM	Intrinsic	$41.76	+122.0%	$602.44	+378.1%
ML-RIV	Intrinsic	$•••.••	••.•%	$•••.••	••.•%
PWERM	Option-Based	$•••.••	••.•%	$•••.••	••.•%
Regime Cross-Sectional	Relative	$•••.••	••.•%	$•••.••	••.•%
Sentiment SOTP	Hybrid	$•••.••	••.•%	$•••.••	••.•%
CUCE Ensemble	Ensemble	$•••.••	••.•%	$•••.••	••.•%
FTNN Topology	Relative	$•••.••	••.•%	$•••.••	••.•%
RCMH-DCF	Intrinsic	$•••.••	••.•%	$•••.••	••.•%

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ARCC vs ARES — Which Stock Is More Undervalued?

ARES scores higher with a 8.7/10 quality rating vs ARCC's 5.2/10. Both stocks are analyzed daily using SEC EDGAR filings across 13 independent models.

Comparing Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) and Ares Management Corporation (ARES) across 13 institutional-grade valuation models reveals how each company's intrinsic value stacks up against its market price. CirclFi's engine processes SEC EDGAR 10-K and 10-Q filings, FRED macroeconomic data, and GDELT news sentiment to generate independent fair value estimates daily.

ARCC currently trades at $18.81 with a QOC of 5.2/10, while ARES trades at $126.00 with a QOC of 8.7/10.

Both companies are analyzed with models spanning intrinsic (Bayesian DCF, EPV), scenario-based (First Chicago), regime-switching (Markov DDM, RCMH-DCF), machine learning (ML-RIV, FTNN Topology), and ensemble methods (CUCE).