ARCC vs WSO 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.

Watsco is the largest heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration products distributor in North America. The company primarily operates in the United States (90% of revenue), with significant exposure in the Sun Belt states. Watsco also has operations in Canada (5% of sales) and Latin America (5% of sales). The company's customer base consists of more than 125,000 contractors that serve the replacement and new construction HVACR markets for residential and light commercial applications.