Ares Management Corp (ARES)

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AI: Overvalued

Price checkThe shares demand years of strong growth, leaving little room for setbacks.

At $144.02, Ares trades at 27.9 times its $5.17 of after-tax realized income per share from the latest four quarters. This company measure combines recurring fee profits with investment profits actually earned. The annualized $5.40 dividend yields 3.75% and slightly exceeds that trailing income. The multiple could work if per-share income keeps growing at a strong double-digit rate, but it offers little protection if fundraising or investment sales slow. That supports an Overvalued verdict from a value-investor perspective.

Big pictureFast fee growth improves durability, but cash generation still swings sharply.

Revenue for the latest four quarters reached about $5.99 billion, up 24% from the comparable period, while reported net income rose 33% to $636 million. Recurring management fees make earnings steadier than investment gains, and second-quarter fee-related earnings increased 20% to $491 million. However, operating cash flow—cash generated through reported operations—was about $912 million over the latest four quarters, versus $3.27 billion in 2025 and negative amounts in 2021–2023. Consolidated investment funds make this cash measure unusually volatile, and capital-spending data are unavailable for a clean free-cash-flow calculation.

Business strengthScale and fundraising are excellent, while debt and dilution weaken downside protection.

Assets managed for clients reached more than $671 billion in June, supported by record quarterly inflows above $36 billion. That scale and $170 billion of undeployed client capital provide a strong future fee pipeline. Downside protection is less impressive: June cash was $557 million, stockholders’ equity was $3.97 billion, and consolidated liabilities were $21.00 billion, although fund-level obligations inflate that comparison. Parent debt obligations totaled about $3.94 billion at December 2025. Shares increased 21% from 2020 to 2024, 2025 stock compensation doubled to $741 million, and convertible preferred shares create further dilution.

What could change the storyFaster fee growth can justify the price; slower fundraising or realizations cannot.

The strongest bull case is sustained fundraising, deployment of the $170 billion capital pipeline, and fee-related earnings growth above 15% annually. If realized income reaches $7.20 per share within three years and investors still pay 22 times earnings, the implied price is roughly $158 before dividends. The bear case is cyclical: weak deal markets delay deployment and investment sales, leaving income near $5.20. At a less demanding 20 times earnings, that implies about $104. Continued share issuance or a dividend growing faster than realized income would further weaken per-share value.

$144.02 price considered

AI: News

Record fundraising quarterAres attracted record new capital while recurring fee profits grew strongly.

On July 31, 2026, Ares reported more than $36 billion of quarterly inflows, assets under management above $671 billion, fee-related earnings of $491.1 million, and after-tax realized income of $1.29 per share. Fee-related earnings rose approximately 20% from the prior-year quarter. Shares gained 3.2% that day and 8.2% on August 3. The timing suggests investors welcomed the results, but it does not prove the earnings release caused all of either move.

Pathfinder fundraising closesA large new fund expands the capital base that can produce future fees.

On June 10, 2026, Ares closed Pathfinder III at its $8.5 billion hard cap, above its $6.5 billion target and the prior fund’s $6.6 billion. Including related vehicles and extended commitments, the strategy raised approximately $12.7 billion over nine months. As this capital is invested, it can expand fee-paying assets and eventually performance income. The announcement supports the growth thesis, although no reliable, isolated stock-price reaction could be established.

Whitestone acquisition completedAres funds added a sizable retail-property portfolio, broadening future real-estate fee opportunities.

On July 14, 2026, Ares Real Estate funds completed the approximately $1.7 billion all-cash purchase of Whitestone REIT at $19 per share or operating unit. The transaction added 54 convenience-focused retail properties totaling about 4.8 million square feet in growing Texas and Arizona markets. Because Ares-managed funds—not the public company directly—bought the properties, the main shareholder benefit is potential management and performance fees. A distinct market reaction was not reliably attributable to this announcement.

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012
Revenue	$5.60B	$3.88B	$3.63B	$3.06B	$4.21B	$1.76B	$1.77B	$958.5M	$1.48B	$964.8M	$814.4M	$603.9M	$478.7M	$334.0M
Operating expenses	$4.71B	$2.94B	$2.80B	$2.75B	$3.41B	$1.45B	$1.46B	$870.4M	$1.50B	$1.02B	$769.0M	$860.0M	$801.9M	$758.5M
Net income	$527.4M	$463.7M	$474.3M	$167.5M	$408.8M	$152.1M	$148.9M	$57.0M	$76.2M	$111.8M	$19.4M	$35.0M	$813.4M	$1.24B

Review source filings at SEC.gov ↗

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys3$2.74M disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)436$1.11B disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Feb 20, 2026Form 4	Olian Judy D.Director	BuyClass A Common Stock	480	$124.43	$59.7K	29.7K
Feb 6, 2026Form 4	BHUTANI ASHISHDirector	BuyClass A Common Stock	10.0K	$126.61	$1.27M	34.1K
Feb 4, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Sagati Aghili NaseemGeneral Counsel	SellClass A Common Stock	1.2K	$137.72	$165.3K	326.9K
Feb 4, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Sagati Aghili NaseemGeneral Counsel	SellClass A Common Stock	611	$136.74	$83.5K	328.1K
Feb 4, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Sagati Aghili NaseemGeneral Counsel	SellClass A Common Stock	1.1K	$135.28	$150.2K	328.7K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

Ares Management Corp (ARES)

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Financial statements

Insider buys & sells