Data as of:
LIVE
KKR
KKR & Co Inc. · Financial Services / Alternative Asset Management
$98.81
-10.55% this month
VERSUS
COMPARE
ARES
Ares Management Corporation · Financial Services / Alternative Asset Management
$123.80
-13.49% this month
Comparison scoreboard
KKR LEADS 4/5AI Scorei
KKR ✓58.4
ARES 57.2
1Y Returni
KKR -33.84%
ARES ✓-32.50%
Fwd P/Ei
KKR ✓14.48
ARES 18.30
Target Up.i
KKR ✓+19.29%
ARES +12.26%
Op. Margini
KKR ✓20.65%
ARES 19.38%
Metrics last refreshed: 9/20/2026
Quick take
KKR vs ARES Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
KKR and ARES are both leading alternative asset managers with different strategic emphasis. KKR was founded on PE and has built a multi-strategy platform (PE, credit, real assets, insurance) with Global Atlantic providing transformative permanent capital. Ares is primarily a credit specialist with the most predictable FRE from direct lending and structured credit management. In strong PE deal environments, KKR's more PE-heavy carried interest exposure provides upside. In credit market growth scenarios, Ares's direct lending dominance captures the structural bank lending retreat.
KKR vs ARES — KKR & Co (multi-strategy alternative manager with PE heritage, Global Atlantic insurance capital as a $100B+ permanent capital advantage, and $550B+ AUM across PE, credit, and real assets) versus Ares Management (world's largest credit alternative manager with $450B+ AUM dominated by direct lending and structured credit providing predictable FRE from stable management fee income).
Live analysis · updated 9/20/2026
KKR holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ARES has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-32.50% vs -33.84%), though KKR has the better forward P/E setup (14.48x vs 18.30x for ARES). KKR leads on both revenue growth (7.80%) and operating margin (20.65%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for KKR (+19.29%) than for ARES (+12.26%).
Normalized 1Y performance
KKR
ARES
Recent returns
KKR
ARES
Analyst price targets & sentiment
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
KKR
Price target range
analyst mean$127.98
current price$98.81
+19.3% upside to analyst mean
ARES
Price target range
analyst mean$147.78
current price$123.80
+12.3% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
KKR may suit investors who:
- want exposure to KKR's multi-strategy alternative platform with PE carried interest upside when deal environments improve alongside credit and real assets management fees
- value the Global Atlantic insurance capital as a transformative structural advantage — $100B+ permanent capital not subject to fundraising or LP redemptions at insurance return hurdles
- are positive on KKR's PE brand driving premium deal flow and LP relationships built over 50 years in leveraged buyouts — brand matters in alternative asset management
- prefer multi-strategy alternative exposure rather than credit specialization — KKR's diversified strategy mix provides different drivers than Ares's credit concentration
ARES may suit investors who:
- prefer more stable and predictable FRE from credit AUM management fees vs KKR's PE-influenced carried interest cycle dependency
- are positive on structural direct lending market growth as bank regulatory constraints create ongoing opportunity for non-bank middle market lenders
- want credit-specialist alternative management expertise rather than KKR's generalist multi-strategy approach — depth of credit knowledge creates genuine competitive differentiation
- value Ares's insurance capital partnerships as a strategic capital advantage building toward KKR/Apollo-scale permanent capital at lower execution risk than KKR's full insurance acquisition
Performance & AI score
| Metric | KKR | ARES |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 58.4 | 57.2 |
| AI ranki | #206 | #227 |
| Latest closei | $98.81 | $123.80 |
| 1M returni | -10.55% | -13.49% |
| 6M returni | +9.06% | +14.64% |
| 1Y returni | -33.84% | -32.50% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | KKR | ARES |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $6.62K (-33.8%) started 2025-09-18 | $6.75K (-32.5%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $16.92K (+69.2%) started 2021-09-20 | $16.18K (+61.8%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $93.94K (+839.4%) started 2016-09-19 | $65.16K (+551.6%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | KKR | ARES |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $99.08B | $43.67B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 34.27 | 60.11 |
| Forward P/Ei | 14.48 | 18.30 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 6.04 | 8.20 |
| Analyst targeti | $127.98 | $147.78 |
| Target upsidei | +19.29% | +12.26% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | KKR | ARES |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 7.80% | 5.80% |
| Earnings growthi | 40.00% | 6.50% |
| EPS growthi | +40.00% | +6.50% |
| FCF margini | N/A | +36.07% |
| Operating margini | 20.65% | 19.38% |
| Profit margini | 12.20% | 10.63% |
| ROIC proxyi | 7.28% | 14.94% |
| Return on equityi | 7.28% | 14.94% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.73% | 4.10% |
| Payout ratioi | 23.96% | 226.61% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | N/A |
| Betai | 1.79 | 1.52 |
| Debt/equityi | 69.81 | 172.38 |
| Current ratioi | 0.86 | 0.54 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.82 | 0.47 |
Correlation
Over the past year, KKR and ARES have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.83), based on daily returns.
1Y
0.83
-1.0+1.0
5Y
0.82
-1.0+1.0
10Y
0.70
-1.0+1.0
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
KKR max drawdowni43.83%
ARES max drawdowni47.39%
KKR max wkly dropi13.75%
ARES max wkly dropi19.66%
5Y risk snapshot
KKR max drawdowni49.65%
ARES max drawdowni51.32%
KKR max wkly dropi19.80%
ARES max wkly dropi23.78%
10Y risk snapshot
KKR max drawdowni49.65%
ARES max drawdowni51.32%
KKR max wkly dropi24.77%
ARES max wkly dropi28.50%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | KKR | ARES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -33.84% | -32.50% |
| CAGRi | -33.85% | -32.52% | |
| Volatilityi | 38.70% | 44.20% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.99 | -0.77 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -1.31 | -1.03 | |
| Max drawdowni | 43.83% | 47.39% | |
| Current drawdowni | 33.84% | 32.50% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 27.10% | 25.48% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 28.95% | 27.89% | |
| Max daily dropi | 9.69% | 11.19% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.75% | 19.66% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +63.61% | +61.81% |
| CAGRi | +10.36% | +10.12% | |
| Volatilityi | 39.73% | 38.11% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.33 | 0.33 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.48 | 0.45 | |
| Max drawdowni | 49.65% | 51.32% | |
| Current drawdowni | 40.69% | 37.54% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 23.48% | 13.86% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 27.96% | 18.79% | |
| Max daily dropi | 15.18% | 15.48% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 19.80% | 23.78% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +699.07% | +551.58% |
| CAGRi | +23.11% | +20.62% | |
| Volatilityi | 36.77% | 36.70% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.63 | 0.57 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.91 | 0.82 | |
| Max drawdowni | 49.65% | 51.32% | |
| Current drawdowni | 40.69% | 37.54% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 15.19% | 11.96% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 21.13% | 16.16% | |
| Max daily dropi | 15.18% | 15.48% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 24.77% | 28.50% |
Business comparison
| Category | KKR | ARES |
|---|---|---|
| Company | KKR & Co Inc. | Ares Management Corporation |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Asset Management | Asset Management |
| Core business | KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) pioneered the leveraged buyout industry in the 1970s and has evolved into a $550B+ multi-strategy alternative asset manager. KKR's core businesses: Private Equity (flagship buyout funds — historically the largest business), Credit (direct lending, leveraged finance, CLOs, real estate credit), Real Assets (infrastructure, real estate equity), and Insurance (Global Atlantic — KKR-owned insurance company providing captive capital). KKR's acquisition of Global Atlantic in 2021 is strategically transformative — insurance float provides $100B+ in permanent capital with matching returns from KKR's credit products. | Ares Management is the world's largest credit-focused alternative asset manager with $450B+ in AUM — primarily direct lending and credit strategies with complementary private equity and real estate businesses. Ares's credit dominance provides highly predictable FRE from management fees on deployed loan portfolios — a more stable earnings stream than PE-heavy managers that depend on deal exit timing for carried interest realization. |
| Investor focus | Investors focus on KKR's Global Atlantic insurance capital strategic advantage, fee-related earnings growth from multi-strategy AUM, PE deal activity and carried interest realization pace, and competition across all three major alternative strategies vs focused specialists. | Investors focus on Ares's credit AUM growth (direct lending market expansion as banks retreat), FRE growth from management fees on deployed credit capital, credit quality of underlying borrowers in high-rate environment, and Ares's expansion into insurance capital partnerships (Aspida). |
KKR strengths
- Global Atlantic insurance capital: owning a large insurance company provides KKR with $100B+ of permanent, non-redeemable capital at insurance industry return requirements — a structural advantage generating management fee income without fundraising
- Leveraged buyout brand heritage: KKR's PE brand is among the most recognized globally — premium deal flow access and LP relationships built over 50 years provide competitive advantages in deal sourcing
- Multi-strategy platform for LP capital concentration: large institutional LPs prefer concentrating capital with fewer relationships — KKR's multi-strategy platform (PE, credit, real assets) captures more wallet share per LP
ARES strengths
- Credit-dominant AUM provides predictable FRE: management fees on $300B+ credit AUM generate more consistent earnings than PE transaction cycle-dependent managers
- Direct lending market structural growth: bank regulatory retreat from middle market corporate lending creates a large, growing, structurally growing market for Ares's core business
- Insurance capital partnerships at scale: Ares manages insurance company AUM through Aspida and other partnerships — long-duration capital with stable FRE generation
Risks to watch — KKR
- PE performance cycle dependency: KKR's origins and reputation are PE-centric — PE deal environment impacts KKR's carried interest significantly more than credit-specialist Ares
- Scale vs specialization competitive tension: KKR competes with Ares in credit, Blackstone in PE and real assets, and Brookfield in infrastructure — fewer specialists at each strategy vs KKR's multi-strategy presence
- Global Atlantic integration complexity: managing a $100B+ insurance company alongside asset management requires insurance expertise, regulatory compliance, and balance sheet management different from pure asset management
Risks to watch — ARES
- Credit quality monitoring required: Ares's direct lending portfolios concentrated in middle market corporate borrowers face default risk in economic stress — portfolio quality is critical to management fee sustainability
- PE upside limited vs KKR: Ares's PE business is smaller relative to credit vs KKR's more balanced strategy allocation — less PE upside in strong deal environments
- Competition intensifying in direct lending: Blackstone, Apollo, Carlyle, and KKR are all building large credit franchises competing directly with Ares's core business — competitive moat in credit is harder to maintain as all managers expand credit
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