Introduction and market context
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on February 5, 2026, reporting strong asset growth but falling short of analyst expectations. The alternative asset manager reported realized earnings per share after tax of USD 1.45, missing the forecast of USD 1.70 by 14.71% and triggering a 4.9% drop in the share price in pre-market trading.
Despite missing profit expectations, Ares presented impressive operating figures, including surpassing the 600 billion dollar mark in assets under management and a fundraising and investment volume of over 100 billion dollars in the year under review. Following the publication of the figures, the share price fell by 10.35%, reflecting investors' disappointment with the results.
Quarterly performance highlights
Ares reported a realized gain of $589.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, up 24% from the same period in 2024. Fee-related revenue (FRE) increased 33% to $527.7 million, underscoring the company's operational strength despite the earnings miss.
Management fees reached a record USD 993.7 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 27% year-on-year. For the full year, management fees amounted to USD 3.68 billion, an increase of 25% compared to 2024. The fee-related profit margin increased to 42.5% in the fourth quarter and 41.7% for the full year.
Balance sheet and liquidity
Ares had a solid balance sheet as of December 31, 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of USD 488.9 million. The company had non-current liabilities of USD 2.56 billion and available liquidity of USD 948.9 million.
Forward-looking statements
Despite missing earnings expectations, Ares management was optimistic about the outlook for 2026. The company expects capital raising to reach or exceed the record level of 2025 and forecasts a fee-based profit margin at the upper end of the target range of 0 to 150 basis points.
CEO Michael Arougheti said: "We have passed the USD 600 billion mark in assets under management and have surpassed the USD 100 billion mark in both our fundraising and investment activities by 2025." He also expressed confidence that the company would overcome market challenges, adding: "We are confident that our company is well equipped to overcome any market challenges."
Ares Management increases the dividend by 20 % to 1.35 $.
