ARCC vs ALGN Comparison

Ares Capital Corp is a United States-based closed-ended specialty finance company. Its investment objective is to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments. The company focuses on investing primarily in first lien senior secured loans (including unitranche loans, which are loans that combine both senior and subordinated debt, generally in a first lien position) and second lien senior secured loans. In addition to senior secured loans, the company also invests in subordinated loans and preferred equity, it also makes common equity investments.

Align Technology is the leading manufacturer of clear aligners. Invisalign, its main product, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1998 and has since dominated, controlling over 90% of the market. Invisalign can treat roughly 90% of all malocclusion cases (misaligned teeth), and there are over 230,000 Invisalign-trained dentists and orthodontists. In 2022, Invisalign treated over 2 million cases, or roughly 10% of all orthodontic cases for the year, and it has treated over 14 million patients since its launch. Align also sells intraoral scanners under the brand iTero, which captures digital impressions of patients' teeth and illustrates treatment plans. Over 85% of Invisalign cases are submitted by digital scans, and iTero scans make up over half of these scans.