vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of Ares Management Corp (ARES) and Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc. (ASO). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Ares Management Corp is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.5B vs $1.4B, roughly 1.1× Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc.). Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 5.2% vs 3.6%, a 1.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Ares Management Corp posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (19.5% vs 3.0%). Over the past eight quarters, Ares Management Corp's revenue compounded faster (45.9% CAGR vs -12.2%).

Ares Management Corporation is a global alternative investment manager operating in the credit, private equity and real estate markets. The company was founded in 1997, with additional offices across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Academy Sports + Outdoors is an American sporting-goods store chain with corporate offices in the Katy Distribution Center in unincorporated western Harris County, Texas, United States, near Katy and west of Houston. For 74 years, it was a privately held company owned by the Gochman family, until its May 2011 acquisition by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. In October 2020, it was listed on NASDAQ.

ARES vs ASO — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ARES
ARES
1.1× larger
ARES
$1.5B
$1.4B
ASO
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ARES
ARES
+16.5% gap
ARES
19.5%
3.0%
ASO
Higher net margin
ASO
ASO
1.6% more per $
ASO
5.2%
3.6%
ARES
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ARES
ARES
Annualised
ARES
45.9%
-12.2%
ASO

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2026

Metric
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Revenue
$1.5B
$1.4B
Net Profit
$54.2M
$71.6M
Gross Margin
35.7%
Operating Margin
13.7%
7.3%
Net Margin
3.6%
5.2%
Revenue YoY
19.5%
3.0%
Net Profit YoY
-69.4%
8.8%
EPS (diluted)
$1.05

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
$1.5B
$1.4B
Q3 25
$1.7B
$1.6B
Q2 25
$1.4B
$1.4B
Q1 25
$1.1B
$1.7B
Q4 24
$1.3B
$1.3B
Q3 24
$1.1B
$1.5B
Q2 24
$788.7M
$1.4B
Q1 24
$707.4M
$1.8B
Net Profit
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
$54.2M
$71.6M
Q3 25
$288.9M
$125.4M
Q2 25
$137.1M
$46.1M
Q1 25
$47.2M
$133.6M
Q4 24
$177.3M
$65.8M
Q3 24
$118.5M
$142.6M
Q2 24
$94.9M
$76.5M
Q1 24
$73.0M
$168.2M
Gross Margin
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
35.7%
Q3 25
36.0%
Q2 25
34.0%
Q1 25
32.2%
Q4 24
34.0%
Q3 24
36.1%
Q2 24
33.4%
Q1 24
33.3%
Operating Margin
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
13.7%
7.3%
Q3 25
39.3%
10.8%
Q2 25
21.3%
5.1%
Q1 25
13.0%
9.2%
Q4 24
31.8%
6.8%
Q3 24
29.0%
12.3%
Q2 24
40.2%
7.5%
Q1 24
32.7%
11.4%
Net Margin
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
3.6%
5.2%
Q3 25
17.4%
7.8%
Q2 25
10.2%
3.4%
Q1 25
4.3%
8.0%
Q4 24
14.1%
4.9%
Q3 24
10.5%
9.2%
Q2 24
12.0%
5.6%
Q1 24
10.3%
9.4%
EPS (diluted)
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
$1.05
Q3 25
$1.85
Q2 25
$0.68
Q1 25
$1.85
Q4 24
$0.92
Q3 24
$1.95
Q2 24
$1.01
Q1 24
$2.19

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$289.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$4.3B
$2.1B
Total Assets
$28.6B
$5.4B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
$289.5M
Q3 25
$300.9M
Q2 25
$285.1M
Q1 25
$288.9M
Q4 24
$296.0M
Q3 24
$324.6M
Q2 24
$378.1M
Q1 24
$347.9M
Stockholders' Equity
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
$4.3B
$2.1B
Q3 25
$4.5B
$2.1B
Q2 25
$4.4B
$1.9B
Q1 25
$4.5B
$2.0B
Q4 24
$3.5B
$2.0B
Q3 24
$2.1B
$2.0B
Q2 24
$2.0B
$1.9B
Q1 24
$1.8B
$2.0B
Total Assets
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
$28.6B
$5.4B
Q3 25
$27.0B
$5.3B
Q2 25
$27.3B
$5.2B
Q1 25
$27.2B
$4.9B
Q4 24
$24.9B
$5.1B
Q3 24
$24.5B
$4.9B
Q2 24
$24.2B
$4.9B
Q1 24
$24.4B
$4.7B

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-483.7M
$49.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-13.6M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-1.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
4.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-8.92×
0.68×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$191.4M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
$-483.7M
$49.0M
Q3 25
$1.3B
$78.6M
Q2 25
$415.7M
$157.5M
Q1 25
$2.0B
$140.2M
Q4 24
$807.6M
$96.9M
Q3 24
$841.3M
$91.3M
Q2 24
$432.2M
$199.7M
Q1 24
$710.0M
$234.7M
Free Cash Flow
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
$-13.6M
Q3 25
$21.8M
Q2 25
$106.6M
Q1 25
$76.4M
Q4 24
$34.4M
Q3 24
$50.1M
Q2 24
$167.4M
Q1 24
$178.9M
FCF Margin
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
-1.0%
Q3 25
1.4%
Q2 25
7.9%
Q1 25
4.6%
Q4 24
2.6%
Q3 24
3.2%
Q2 24
12.3%
Q1 24
10.0%
Capex Intensity
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
4.5%
Q3 25
3.5%
Q2 25
3.8%
Q1 25
3.8%
Q4 24
4.6%
Q3 24
2.7%
Q2 24
2.4%
Q1 24
3.1%
Cash Conversion
ARES
ARES
ASO
ASO
Q4 25
-8.92×
0.68×
Q3 25
4.64×
0.63×
Q2 25
3.03×
3.42×
Q1 25
42.28×
1.05×
Q4 24
4.55×
1.47×
Q3 24
7.10×
0.64×
Q2 24
4.55×
2.61×
Q1 24
9.72×
1.40×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ARES
ARES

Management Service$991.1M66%
Management Service Incentive$206.7M14%
Carried Interest$205.4M14%
Fee Related Performance Revenues$113.3M8%

ASO
ASO

Outdoors$445.1M32%
Apparel$349.8M25%
Footwear$292.4M21%
Sports And Recreation$288.7M21%
Other$7.6M1%

Related Comparisons