Which is better, ARES or V?

On the Buffett-Fit framework, Visa Inc. (V) currently grades higher than ARES — 79/100 (B grade) vs 64/100 (D). That said, "better" depends on which framework you trust — ARES wins on Benjamin Graham; V wins on Warren Buffett, Philip Fisher, Peter Lynch, Joel Greenblatt, Charlie Munger, and Terry Smith. The full pillar breakdown is on this page.

Should I buy ARES or V?

This page is an educational comparison, not investment advice. Both ARES and V are graded against the same Buffett 5-pillar framework (moat, earnings durability, management quality, financial health, valuation) plus six other documented investor frameworks. Read the side-by-side breakdown to see which one matches the criteria you care about most — and always do your own research before making any investment decision.

Is ARES better than V for value investing?

On the Buffett-style value-investing framework, V currently grades higher — 79/100 vs 64/100, a 15-point gap. The gap is driven by which pillars each stock passes; the table on this page shows moat, durability, management, financial health, and valuation side-by-side.

What's the difference between ARES and V on Warren Buffett's framework?

Both stocks are evaluated on the same five pillars: economic moat (durable competitive advantage), earnings durability (consistent profitability), management quality (capital allocation), financial health (conservative balance sheet), and valuation (margin of safety). ARES currently scores 64/100 (D grade); V scores 79/100 (B grade). The "Where each wins" section on this page breaks down which pillar each stock dominates.

Which has the stronger moat, ARES or V?

Moat strength is one of the five pillars in the Buffett-Fit score on this page. ARES and V are each scored on ROIC sustainability, gross-margin durability, and qualitative signals like brand strength, switching costs, network effects, and regulatory barriers. The pillar breakdown on this page shows the moat sub-score side-by-side so you can see which one has the more durable competitive advantage.

Which is more undervalued, ARES or V?

Valuation is one of the five Buffett-Fit pillars on this page. Both stocks are scored on owner-earnings yield, price-to-intrinsic-value vs the underlying compounding rate, and the margin of safety relative to a conservative DCF. The valuation sub-score in the table below tells you which one currently trades at a more attractive price relative to its underlying business quality.

Are ARES and V both Financial Services stocks?

Yes — both Ares Management Corporation (ARES) and Visa Inc. (V) operate in the Financial Services sector. That makes this a direct sector-peer comparison, which is the apples-to-apples way to use the Buffett-Fit framework: the score weighs each stock against its sector's specific quality and valuation benchmarks (sector-relative bonus), so the cross-stock comparison isn't distorted by inter-sector base-rate differences.

Is this ARES vs V comparison investment advice?

No. This page is an educational pattern-match against documented public frameworks (Buffett, Graham, Fisher, Lynch, Greenblatt, Munger, Smith), not personalised investment advice. The scores reflect how closely each stock matches each framework's documented criteria — they are not buy/hold/sell recommendations. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser for personalised advice.

Stock comparison

Ares Management

Visa

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

ARES

Ares Management

Market cap

$40.86B

Sector

Financials

Visa

Market cap

$630.41B

Sector

Financials

Overall winner

Visa V

Wins on the combined sum of fit scores across all four strategies. Per-strategy breakdown below.

Fit scores by strategy

Strategy	ARES	V	Winner
Warren Buffett	64D	79B	V
Benjamin Graham	96A	74B	ARES
Philip Fisher	59C	78B	V
Peter Lynch	35D	64C	V
Joel Greenblatt	43D	74B	V
Charlie Munger	63D	85A	V
Terry Smith	50D	90A	V

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	ARES	V
Market cap	$40.86B	$630.41B
P/E (TTM)	45.0x	28.4x
EV/EBIT	30.6x	26.8x
ROIC (TTM)	4.25%	32.73%
Gross margin	70.73%	81.29%
Net margin	9.87%	51.68%
Revenue CAGR 5y	11.33%	13.5%
EPS CAGR 5y	-3.39%	16.07%
Debt / Equity	3.5x	0.7x
Dividend yield	3.76%	0.79%

Where each one wins

The metrics with the biggest gap between the two - sorted so the most decisive edges read first.

ARES leads on

Dividend yield3.76%vs 0.79%+79%

V leads on

EPS CAGR 5y16.07%vs -3.39%+121%
Market cap$630.41Bvs $40.86B+94%
ROIC (TTM)32.73%vs 4.25%+87%
Net margin51.68%vs 9.87%+81%

More like ARES

ARES vs ING.WA ARES vs PKO.WA ARES vs MSCI ARES vs PEO.WA ARES vs SPL.WA ARES vs ICICIBANK.NS

More like V

V vs ING.WA V vs PKO.WA V vs MSCI V vs PEO.WA V vs SPL.WA V vs ICICIBANK.NS

Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for ARES Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for V

Related on invest-like

Strongest Moat Highest ROIC Warren Buffett strategy Economic Moat

Key terms in this analysis

ROIC Free Cash Flow (FCF)Economic Moat P/E Ratio Margin of Safety Quality Score

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.

Stock comparison

Ares Management

Visa

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

ARES

Ares Management

Market cap

$40.86B

Sector

Financials

Visa

Market cap

$630.41B

Sector

Financials

Overall winner

Visa V

Wins on the combined sum of fit scores across all four strategies. Per-strategy breakdown below.

Fit scores by strategy

Strategy	ARES	V	Winner
Warren Buffett	64D	79B	V
Benjamin Graham	96A	74B	ARES
Philip Fisher	59C	78B	V
Peter Lynch	35D	64C	V
Joel Greenblatt	43D	74B	V
Charlie Munger	63D	85A	V
Terry Smith	50D	90A	V

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	ARES	V
Market cap	$40.86B	$630.41B
P/E (TTM)	45.0x	28.4x
EV/EBIT	30.6x	26.8x
ROIC (TTM)	4.25%	32.73%
Gross margin	70.73%	81.29%
Net margin	9.87%	51.68%
Revenue CAGR 5y	11.33%	13.5%
EPS CAGR 5y	-3.39%	16.07%
Debt / Equity	3.5x	0.7x
Dividend yield	3.76%	0.79%

Where each one wins

The metrics with the biggest gap between the two - sorted so the most decisive edges read first.

ARES leads on

Dividend yield3.76%vs 0.79%+79%

V leads on

EPS CAGR 5y16.07%vs -3.39%+121%
Market cap$630.41Bvs $40.86B+94%
ROIC (TTM)32.73%vs 4.25%+87%
Net margin51.68%vs 9.87%+81%

More like ARES

ARES vs ING.WA ARES vs PKO.WA ARES vs MSCI ARES vs PEO.WA ARES vs SPL.WA ARES vs ICICIBANK.NS

More like V

V vs ING.WA V vs PKO.WA V vs MSCI V vs PEO.WA V vs SPL.WA V vs ICICIBANK.NS

Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for ARES Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for V

Related on invest-like

Strongest Moat Highest ROIC Warren Buffett strategy Economic Moat

Key terms in this analysis

ROIC Free Cash Flow (FCF)Economic Moat P/E Ratio Margin of Safety Quality Score

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.