ARCC
Ares Capital Corporation
ARCC has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
GS
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
GS has the edge over ARCC overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
ARCC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Weak | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
ARCC's profitability is currently healthy, but its revenue is weak. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like ARCC.
GS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
GS's revenue and profitability are currently strong. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like GS.
ARCC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 6.2x | $7.54 | -61% |
| Fair | 9.8x | $11.94 | -38% |
| Forward | 9.9x | $19.11 | — |
| Expensive | 15x | $17.95 | -6.1% |
| Current | 16x | $19.11 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ARCC's PE is in its expensive range at 16x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 9.9x, in its fair range.
GS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 7.6x | $528 | -42% |
| Current | 13x | $914 | — |
| Forward | 13x | $914 | — |
| Fair | 14x | $940 | +2.9% |
| Expensive | 17x | $1,214 | +33% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
GS has the edge over ARCC in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
ARCC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect ARCC's profitability to weaken, with its earnings and revenue holding steady.
GS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for GS, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
ARCC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.92 | +58% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.22 | -39% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.35 | -34% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.63 | -20% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.86 | -24% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.99 | -24% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.04 | -29% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.04 | -30% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.44 | -9% |
ARCC's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.22 over the past year, against $3.89 in mid-2021.
GS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $72.35 | +4% |
| Q3 2026 | $69.58 | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $64.82 | +43% |
| Q1 2026 | $54.75 | +27% |
| Q4 2025 | $51.32 | +27% |
| Q3 2025 | $49.22 | +44% |
| Q2 2025 | $45.37 | +45% |
| Q1 2025 | $43.08 | +68% |
| Q4 2024 | $40.54 | +77% |
GS has the edge over ARCC on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
ARCC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2022 | $230M | -61% |
| Q1 2022 | $375M | -27% |
| Q4 2021 | $505M | +6.1% |
| Q3 2021 | $444M | -17% |
| Q2 2021 | $585M | +59% |
| Q4 2020 | $476M | +61% |
GS has the stronger quarterly revenue trend. Revenue is down 61% for ARCC versus up 23% for GS.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2022 | 53% | -31 points |
| Q1 2022 | 60% | -14 points |
| Q4 2021 | 77% | -3.6 points |
| Q3 2021 | 76% | -7.3 points |
| Q2 2021 | 84% | +7 points |
| Q1 2021 | 73% | N/A |
| Q4 2020 | 81% | +11 points |
| Q3 2020 | 84% | N/A |
ARCC's operating margin was 53% last quarter, down 31 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
GS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $18.7B | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $20.3B | +39% |
| Q1 2026 | $17.2B | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.5B | -3% |
| Q3 2025 | $15.2B | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.6B | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $15.1B | +6% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.9B | +23% |
GS's revenue is growing: $18.7B last quarter, up 23% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 37% | +2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 42% | +8.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 38% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 44% | +5.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 36% | +4.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 34% | +3.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 37% | +0.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 38% | +18 points |
GS's operating margin was 37% last quarter, up 2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
ARCC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1B | +$1.8B |
| Q2 2026 | $336M | +$554M |
| Q1 2026 | $184M | +$483M |
| Q4 2025 | -$427M | -$159M |
| Q3 2025 | -$773M | -$252M |
| Q2 2025 | -$218M | +$1.1B |
| Q1 2025 | -$299M | -$278M |
| Q4 2024 | -$268M | +$91M |
ARCC has the edge over GS on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
GS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.7B | +72% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.6B | +7.8% |
| Q1 2026 | -$32.4B | +$5.3B |
| Q4 2025 | -$16.8B | -136% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.1B | +$40.6B |
| Q2 2025 | $5.2B | -6.8% |
| Q1 2025 | -$37.7B | -$9.2B |
| Q4 2024 | $46.2B | +$75.1B |
GS's free cash flow was −$40B over the past year, against $15.8B the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like GS.
ARCC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +2M shares |
| 1 year | +1.6% | +11M shares |
| 3 years | +24% | +138M shares |
| 5 years | +59% | +267M shares |
| Available history | +68% | +291M shares |
ARCC has 720M diluted shares, up 1.6% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q3 2020 | — |
GS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.2% | -3.8M shares |
| 1 year | -4.4% | -13.9M shares |
| 3 years | -12% | -42.8M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -52.8M shares |
| Available history | -20% | -74.4M shares |
GS has the edge over ARCC on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3B |
| Q2 2026 | $4B |
| Q1 2026 | $5B |
| Q4 2025 | $3B |
| Q3 2025 | $2B |
| Q2 2025 | $3B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.4B |
| Q4 2024 | $2B |
GS spent $15B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 32% from the year before.
ARCC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2022 | 10.9x | High |
| Q1 2022 | 6.9x | High |
| Q4 2021 | 6.8x | High |
| Q3 2021 | 5.6x | High |
| Q2 2021 | 5.3x | High |
| Q1 2021 | 5.2x | High |
| Q4 2020 | 16.6x | High |
| Q3 2020 | 23.1x | High |
ARCC's net debt is about 11 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 5.3 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like ARCC.
GS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -5.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -6.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -6.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -6.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -3.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -3.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -3.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -4.7x | Net Cash |
GS has more cash than debt. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like GS.
ARCC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 42.5 | Neutral |
ARCC's weekly RSI is 49 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 42 (neutral).
GS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.3 | Oversold |
GS's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
ARCC PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | ARCC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 16x | 13x | 20% above |
| PE % | 87 | 63 | 24 pts above |
ARCC is trading at 16x earnings, a 20% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
GS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | GS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 13x | 13x | 0.8% above |
| PE % | 46 | 63 | 17 pts below |
GS has the edge over ARCC on valuation relative to its sector.
ARCC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $18.9 | 1% above |
| 20 week MA | $19.2 | 0.6% below |
| 50 week MA | $19.2 | 0.5% below |
| 100 week MA | $20.5 | 6.6% below |
| 200 week MA | $20.2 | 5.4% below |
ARCC has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 5.4% below its 200-week average.
GS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $895.5 | 2% above |
| 20 week MA | $977.4 | 6.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $945.4 | 3.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $804.5 | 14% above |
| 200 week MA | $602.7 | 52% above |
GS has the edge over ARCC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
ARCC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $18.6 | $16.4 | -12% |
| 2021 | $16.4 | $20.7 | +26% |
| 2022 | $20.7 | $18.7 | -9.6% |
| 2023 | $18.7 | $20.0 | +7.2% |
| 2024 | $20.0 | $22.0 | +9.9% |
| 2025 | $22.0 | $20.2 | -8.3% |
| 2026 YTD | $20.2 | $19.1 | -5.4% |
ARCC has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 5.4% so far in 2026.
GS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $230.7 | $256.2 | +11% |
| 2021 | $256.2 | $385.0 | +50% |
| 2022 | $385.0 | $345.5 | -10% |
| 2023 | $345.5 | $385.8 | +12% |
| 2024 | $385.8 | $576.2 | +49% |
| 2025 | $576.2 | $907.0 | +57% |
| 2026 YTD | $907.0 | $913.6 | +0.7% |
GS has the edge over ARCC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.