Wednesday, February 25

Assessing Valuation After Strategic Updates at Citizens Financial Services Conference 2025


Ares Management (ARES) drew attention at the Citizens Financial Services Conference 2025 by spotlighting its capital-light, fee-based approach. The company also pointed to opportunities in asset-based lending and digital infrastructure. Management’s comments come amid shifting market conditions.

See our latest analysis for Ares Management.

Ares Management’s focus on alternative assets and a capital-light model has attracted market attention, but momentum has cooled lately. After climbing sharply in recent years, with Ares delivering a 274.8% total shareholder return over five years, recent price action has softened. The share price is down nearly 19% since January and the total shareholder return is -13.3% over the past year, hinting at a shift in sentiment despite management’s upbeat outlook and resilient business updates.

If the evolving strategies at Ares have you thinking broader, now’s a great moment to check out fast growing stocks with high insider ownership.

With shares trading at a notable discount to analyst targets after recent declines, investors may be wondering whether Ares Management is now undervalued or if the market has already priced in the company’s future growth prospects.

With Ares Management now trading well below the most widely followed narrative fair value of $183.94, the market’s recent downturn contrasts sharply with upbeat analyst expectations. The narrative points to a notable gap between price action and consensus future outlook, inviting closer scrutiny of the numbers behind the optimism.

“Growing institutional and retail demand for alternative investments, fueled by persistent low-to-moderate interest rates and demographic-driven underfunded pensions, is accelerating Ares’ AUM growth and providing strong visibility to future management and fee-related revenue. Expansion into multiple asset classes (infrastructure, real estate, sports/media, secondaries), with recent successes like the GCP acquisition and the scaling of data center asset management, are expected to deliver higher management and development fees, supporting long-term revenue and FRE growth.”

Read the complete narrative.

This narrative is built on bold forecasts for revenue expansion, margin recovery, and an earnings jump that would flip the company’s profit profile. Want to see which future milestones this outlook relies on and which financial assumptions could turbocharge that lofty fair value? The complete breakdown will surprise you.

Result: Fair Value of $183.94 (UNDERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what’s behind the forecasts.

However, intensifying competition and heightened regulatory scrutiny could compress Ares Management’s fee revenues and pressure margins, which may challenge the upbeat outlook outlined above.

Find out about the key risks to this Ares Management narrative.

Looking at valuation through the lens of the price-to-earnings ratio offers a very different story. Ares Management trades at 62.5x earnings, significantly higher than both the industry average of 23.7x and a fair ratio of 23.2x. This large gap suggests the shares could be at risk of further correction. Are investors overlooking potential hazards, or pricing in too much future growth?

See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown.

NYSE:ARES PE Ratio as at Nov 2025
NYSE:ARES PE Ratio as at Nov 2025

If you want a different perspective or just enjoy putting the story together for yourself, it only takes a few minutes to run your own analysis and craft your unique view. Do it your way.

A great starting point for your Ares Management research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 3 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.

Smart investors always keep their list fresh. Seize your edge and see what you might be missing. Simply Wall Street’s unique screeners have standout finds you won’t want to overlook.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include ARES.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com



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