Encore Capital Group Inc (ECPG)
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symbol.quality_heading
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
The decisive number is not earnings per share but the changes in expected future recoveries line in the next quarterly report: it most recently stood at plus $16.7 million (Q1 2026) after subtracting $167.9 million in 2024. Anyone who wants to know whether the streak holds waits for that line and for the cash impact of the September 24, 2026 convertible redemption — together they say more about the next twelve months than any analyst estimate. The decision is yours.
symbol.quality_note
Encore Capital buys charged-off consumer debt for cents on the dollar and collects it. Diluted earnings per share doubled to $3.86 in the first quarter of 2026, the fifth straight quarter above the analyst consensus. The filings with the U.S. securities regulator, the SEC, also show where much of it comes from: a line called changes in recoveries, which subtracted $89.7 million from revenue in 2024 and added $208.8 million in 2025. Carrying all of it are $4,033.3 million of borrowings against $1,034.8 million of equity as of March 31, 2026. Let us separate the money that arrived from the money that was calculated.
Read the analysis
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of July 25, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at ECPG since then.
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Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 18 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
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Trading Day
Key levels of the most recently completed trading day — not a live quote.
52-Week Range
Current price 94.10 $ — 97% of the range above the low.
Lowest and highest closing price over the last 52 weeks. The marker shows where the current price sits within that range: close to the high speaks for strength, close to the low for weakness.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 08/03/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
AI Rating
ThreatenedEncore nennt Künstliche Intelligenz im Geschäftsbericht 2025 ausschließlich in den Risikofaktoren — als Gefahr, den Anschluss zu verpassen, und als Reputationsrisiko KI-gestützter Inkasso-Technik, das den Zukauf von Forderungen erschweren kann; eine KI-Umsatzquelle beschreibt der Konzern nirgends.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„We may not be successful in anticipating, investing in, or adopting technological changes, including emerging automation and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, on a timely or cost-effective basis."
Es kann sein, dass es uns nicht gelingt, technologische Veränderungen — darunter aufkommende Automatisierungs- und Künstliche-Intelligenz-Fähigkeiten — rechtzeitig oder kostengünstig vorherzusehen, in sie zu investieren oder sie einzuführen.
„Negative publicity about our alleged or actual debt collection practices, the debt collection industry in general, our cybersecurity or any exfiltration or disclosure of sensitive data, and concerns related to the use of new digital or artificial intelligence AI-enabled collection technologies could adversely affect our stock price, our position in the marketplace in which we compete, and our ability to purchase charged-off receivables, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results."
Negative Berichterstattung über unsere angeblichen oder tatsächlichen Inkasso-Praktiken, über die Inkasso-Branche im Allgemeinen, über unsere IT-Sicherheit oder über den Abfluss sensibler Daten sowie Bedenken gegen den Einsatz neuer digitaler oder KI-gestützter Inkasso-Technologien können unseren Aktienkurs, unsere Stellung im Wettbewerb und unsere Fähigkeit, ausgefallene Forderungen zu kaufen, beeinträchtigen — was sich jeweils nachteilig auf unser Geschäft, unsere Finanzlage und unser Betriebsergebnis auswirken kann.
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-05-06 · 10-K 2026-02-25 · 10-Q 2025-11-05 · 10-Q 2025-08-06 · 10-Q 2025-05-07 · 10-K 2025-02-26
Rated on July 25, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Analysts & Price Target
The price target sits 20.4% above the current price.
- Consensus
- Sell
- Analyst Ratings
- 5
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 13.00 | 12.97 – 13.02 | 1,853 | 5.7% | 3 |
| 12/31/2027 | 14.11 | 12.97 – 15.00 | 1,895 | 14.1% | 3 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Next Reporting Date
- Expected Earnings per Share
- 3.07 $
Expected date of the next quarterly or annual figures. Dates do shift occasionally — only the invitation issued by the company is binding.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
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· Total · per year
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The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | 1.39 | 28.70 | 355 | 10.00 | 9.10 | 36 | 28 |
| 2024: Q3 | 1.26 | 75.00 | 367 | 18.60 | 8.30 | 46 | 40 |
| 2024: Q4 | -4.26 | -647.90 | 266 | -4.20 | -84.80 | 24 | 15 |
| 2025: Q1 | 1.94 | 90.20 | 393 | 19.60 | 11.90 | 45 | 38 |
| 2025: Q2 | 2.52 | 81.30 | 442 | 24.40 | 13.30 | 10 | 3 |
| 2025: Q3 | 3.17 | 151.60 | 460 | 25.40 | 16.20 | 82 | 76 |
| 2025: Q4 | 3.48 | 181.70 | 474 | 78.30 | 16.20 | 17 | 10 |
| 2026: Q1 | 3.91 | 101.50 | 473 | 20.40 | 18.20 | 82 | 78 |
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Annual Figures
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,029 | 242 | 77 | 2.96 | 130 | 601 | 3,671 |
| 2017 | 1,187 | 325 | 83 | 3.15 | 124 | 724 | 4,491 |
| 2018 | 1,362 | 405 | 116 | 4.06 | 187 | 820 | 4,632 |
| 2019 | 1,398 | 446 | 168 | 5.33 | 245 | 1,025 | 4,910 |
| 2020 | 1,501 | 534 | 212 | 6.68 | 313 | 1,218 | 4,865 |
| 2021 | 1,615 | 633 | 351 | 11.26 | 303 | 1,185 | 4,608 |
| 2022 | 1,398 | 462 | 195 | 7.46 | 211 | 1,180 | 4,508 |
| 2023 | 1,223 | 17 | -206 | -8.72 | 153 | 937 | 4,630 |
| 2024 | 1,316 | 157 | -139 | -5.83 | 156 | 767 | 4,790 |
| 2025 | 1,763 | 624 | 257 | 10.91 | 153 | 977 | 5,340 |
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Cash actually collected has risen for years and is no accounting effect: $1,862.6 million (2023), $2,162.5 million (2024), $2,592.8 million (2025) and a record quarter of $718.4 million for the period ended March 31, 2026 (up 19 percent). The U.S. subsidiary MCM alone contributed $556 million in the quarter.
A meaningful share of the earnings jump hangs on the changes in recoveries line, which swung by $298.5 million within a year (2024: minus $89.7 million; 2025: plus $208.8 million) against pre-tax income of $336.2 million for 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, $16.7 million of the $62.7 million came from pure forecast increases with no cash effect.
$4,033.3 million of borrowings against $1,034.8 million of equity (March 31, 2026), an equity ratio of 19.0 percent. Interest expense of $293.9 million consumed close to 47 percent of operating income in 2025; May 2026 added $750.0 million and 325.0 million euros of new secured notes on top.
The redemption of the 4.00 percent convertible notes due 2029, announced on July 22, 2026, is expected to cost roughly $332.5 million in cash by September 24, 2026 — about 17 percent of market capitalization, against $227.2 million of cash as of March 31, 2026. No new shares are issued, and the value of the unwound capped calls flows back.
The 2020 stipulated judgment with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ($15.0 million civil monetary penalty) expired in October 2025 without a replacement order — a genuine relief. At the same time the CFPB, the FTC, state attorneys general, the FCA and the Central Bank of Ireland remain free to act, and changes in practice directly lower estimated remaining collections per the annual report.
Shares outstanding fell from 23,691 thousand (December 31, 2024) to 21,499 thousand (March 31, 2026), with $302.4 million of buyback authorization still open at year-end 2025. The market prices this at roughly 6.7 times earnings and 1.8 times book value (data as of July 25, 2026) — against an average analyst target of $113.33 and 8.15 percent of the float sold short.
Encore Capital is the case where two numbers have to be kept apart. The cash collected grows steadily and for real — $2,592.8 million in 2025, a record quarter of $718.4 million for the period ended March 31, 2026. Yet the celebrated jump to $3.86 of earnings per share rests to a meaningful degree on the changes in recoveries line, which swung by $298.5 million within a year and whose future-expectation half moves no cash at all. Carrying both is $4,033.3 million of borrowings against $1,034.8 million of equity, and in September 2026 roughly $332.5 million is expected to leave for the convertible redemption. Investing here means buying a working collection business attached to a balance sheet that forgives no forecasting errors. Not investment advice.
- Hook: rank 18 in our in-house Big Earnings Surprise ranking (U.S. universe, 81 hits), as of July 25, 2026 — the lists are recalculated daily.
- Data dates: annual figures from the Form 10-K for 2025 (filed February 25, 2026), quarterly figures from the Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2026 (filed May 6, 2026), financing events from current reports through July 22, 2026, valuation metrics as of July 25, 2026.
- Do not confuse: Encore Capital Group (Nasdaq: ECPG, receivables purchasing) has nothing to do with Encore Wire (copper cable, acquired by Prysmian in 2024) or Encore Energy. The company was named MCM Capital Group Inc. until March 2002.
- The balance sheet as of March 31, 2026 does not yet include the May 2026 issues of $750.0 million and 325.0 million euros; the next quarterly report is the first in which they appear.
About the Company
Encore Capital Group, Inc., a specialty finance company, provides debt recovery solutions and other related services for consumers across financial assets worldwide. The company purchases portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables at discounts to face value, as well as manages them by working with individuals as they repay their obligations and works toward financial recovery. It is also involved in the provision of debt servicing, such as early stage collection, business process outsourcing, and contingent collection services. In addition, the company engages in debt servicing and other portfolio management services to credit originator for non-performing loans. Further, it offers credit management services. Encore Capital Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
| CEO Insider Trades (12 Mo.) | selling own stock |
|---|---|
| Employees | 7,350 |
| Headquarters | San Diego, CA |
| Address | 350 Camino De La Reina, 92108 San Diego, United States |
| Phone | 877 345 3002 |
| Website | encorecapital.com |
| IPO Date | 30. Jun 1999 |
| ISIN | US2925541029 |
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Ashish Masih | President, CEO & Director | 1965 |
| Tomas C. Hernanz | Executive VP, Treasurer & CFO | 1978 |
| Andrew E. Asch J.D. | Senior VP, General Counsel & Government Affairs | 1974 |
| Ryan B. Bell | President of Midland Credit Management, Inc. | 1979 |
| John Yung | President of International & Cabot Credit Management and CEO of Cabot Credit Management | 1965 |
| Monique Dumais-Chrisope | Senior VP & Chief Information Officer | – |
| Bruce Thomas | Vice President of Global Investor Relations | – |
| Steve Carmichael | Senior VP and Chief Risk, Strategy & Compliance Officer | – |
| Faryar Borhani | VP & Chief Communications Officer | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 31, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.