TCOM vs ARES Comparison

Trip.com is the largest online travel agent in China and is positioned to benefit from the country's rising demand for higher-margin outbound travel as passport penetration is only 12% in China. The company generated about 79% of sales from accommodation reservations and transportation ticketing in 2024. The rest of revenue comes from package tours and corporate travel. Before the pandemic in 2019, the company generated 25% of revenue from international travel, which is important to its margin expansion. Most of sales come from its domestic platform, but the company is expanding its overseas business. The competes in a crowded OTA industry in China, including Meituan, Alibaba-backed Fliggy, Tongcheng, and Qunar. The company was founded in 1999 and listed on the Nasdaq in December 2003.

Ares Management is one of the world's largest alternative-asset managers, with $622.5 billion in total assets under management, or AUM, including $384.9 billion in fee-earning AUM, at the end of 2025. The company has four main business segments: credit strategies ($406.9 billion in total AUM and $249.8 billion in fee-earning AUM), private equity, ($25.3 billion/$14.4 billion), real estate/real assets ($139.1 billion/$84.1 billion), and other alternatives ($51.2 billion/$36.6 billion). The firm primarily serves institutional investors (80% of AUM) and high-net-worth individuals (20%). Ares operates through more than 35 offices in over 15 countries around the globe.