Ares is flat today after a steady climb all week, and it currently sits at its all-time high. We think this is mostly just a quiet day for the market after a strong run following the company's recent earnings beat.
Our view
Ares is proving it can grow its fee-collecting business even when traditional banks are more cautious about lending. If you've been thinking about buying it, this is a fair price to pay for a very high-quality business.
Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund sets August distribution
The Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund, a closed-end fund managed by Ares that invests in various credit markets, declared its monthly payout of $0.1125 per share. This distribution is payable on August 31 to shareholders who own the stock by August 21. This is a routine event for one of the many funds Ares manages. While these payouts are important to the individual fund's investors, they are a standard part of the company's fee-earning business and do not change the overall outlook for the parent company.
Ares Commercial Real Estate reports second quarter results
Ares Commercial Real Estate, a specialized part of the business that focuses on property loans, earned about 4.4 million dollars in the second quarter. This is a small slice of the overall company, but it helps show how the property market is performing. The group also set its next quarterly dividend at $0.15 per share, which is a regular payment made to people who own the stock.
RBC Capital raised its target from $162 to $168 per share. This means the firm thinks the stock is worth more than it did before, likely because the company is bringing in more cash and managing more assets than expected. Even with this change, the stock is still trading well below this new target.
Ares beats expectations as revenue climbs to $1.43 billion
Ares brought in 1.43 billion dollars in revenue last quarter, which was about 15 percent higher than what Wall Street analysts were looking for. Profits also came in slightly ahead of expectations at $1.29 per share.
This growth matters because it shows the company is successfully raising more money from investors and putting it to work. As long as Ares keeps growing the total pool of money it manages, it collects more steady fees, which makes the business less reliant on the ups and downs of the stock market.
Direct lending business closes $8.2 billion in new deals
Ares closed about 8.2 billion dollars in new loans across 69 different deals last quarter. This brings the total for the past year to over 52 billion dollars.
Direct lending is when a firm like Ares lends money directly to a business instead of that business going to a bank. This is the core of the company's strategy because these loans provide a steady stream of fees. Seeing this much activity suggests that even when the broader economy is uncertain, there is still high demand for the kind of private loans Ares provides.
Analysts raised their price targets for the company following its second-quarter earnings report. Most analysts, 17 of 22, rate the stock a buy, and the average target of $149 suggests the price is fairly valued with 3% upside.
Average target$149.14+3%vs $145.28 today
Avg price
Low $134High $168
Strong Buy22 analysts
0Bearish
5Neutral
17Bullish
FirmRatingPrice TargetDate
RBC Capital
Outperform
$162→$168
8/3/2026
Deutsche Bank
Buy
$140→$144
8/3/2026
Oppenheimer
Outperform
$140→$151
8/3/2026
BMO Capital
Market Perform
$128→$134
8/3/2026
Morgan Stanley
Equal Weight
$163→$160
7/21/2026
BMO Capital
Market Perform
$125→$128
7/13/2026
Barclays
Overweight
$140→$139
7/9/2026
Barclays
Overweight
$127→$140
5/4/2026
Morgan Stanley
Equal Weight
$178→$163
4/21/2026
RBC Capital
Outperform
$180→$173
2/24/2026
UBS
Neutral
$198→$148
2/20/2026
RBC Capital
Outperform
$200→$180
2/9/2026
Ares Management earnings
The company has a habit of clearing the bar analysts set, beating expectations in most of the last two years. It shows management has a good handle on its growth pace.
Earnings history
EstimateBeatMiss
Ares Management past earnings results
Expected
Actual
Surprise
EPS
$1.28
$1.29
+0.8%
Revenue
$1.24B
$1.43B
+15.6%
Key highlights
Strong fundraising momentum: Ares attracted $36.4 billion in new capital this quarter, a significant jump from $30 billion last quarter, showing that the company's expansion into private credit and infrastructure continues to resonate with large investors.
Asset growth accelerating: Total assets under management rose 17% over the last year to $671.3 billion, and fee paying assets grew by the same 17% rate to $409.9 billion. This growth is vital because it expands the pool of capital that generates the steady management fees that fund the dividend.
Efficient profit expansion: Fee related earnings, which is the steady profit the company makes from managing assets rather than one-time investment gains, grew 20% to $491.1 million. This outpaced the 14% growth in management fees, meaning the company is becoming more efficient as it scales.
Capital deployment surge: The company invested $35.9 billion of its clients' capital into new deals this quarter, which is up from $26.9 billion a year ago. Deploying this money is a key step because it often triggers the start of management fee payments for many of the company's fund types.
Future fee potential: Ares reported $114.0 billion in assets that are not yet paying fees, which includes $92.6 billion ready to be invested. If the company can successfully deploy this capital, it could generate roughly $828.2 million in new annual management fees.
Our take: This was a very strong quarter driven by high investor demand and efficient scaling. Raising over $36 billion in a single quarter proves the company's brand is winning in a crowded market. This consistent ability to gather and deploy capital strengthens the long-term case for the business as a premier alternative manager.
Ares Management’s next earnings date
Q3 2026
NOV
2
Expectation
EPS
$1.34
Revenue
$1.25B
SEP
16
Dividend payday
Own the stock before this date to get the next dividend payment.
Metrics we are tracking
Metric
Expectations
Status
Fundraising Momentum
Attracting more than $25 billion in new capital per quarter
$36.4 billion in Q2 2026
Fee-Paying AUM Growth
Growing fee-paying assets at 15% or more annually
17% YoY as of Q2 2026
Fee-Related Earnings (FRE)
FRE growing faster than total revenue to show margin expansion
$491.1 million in Q2 2026
Dry Powder Deployment
Investing $15 billion or more of committed capital per quarter
