Encore Capital Group Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
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.
Why this colour
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.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
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.
Operating momentum
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.
Earnings quality
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.
Balance sheet and leverage
$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.
September 2026 cash date
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.
Regulation
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.
Share count and valuation
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.
Worth Noting
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.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at ECPG since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 40.50 $ to 103.70 $ · Last price: 100.20 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
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.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Credit Services
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Encore Capital Group Inc ECPG | 2.2 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 100.0 | 38.7 | 33.9 | 124.4 |
| Visa Inc. Class A V | 699.4 | 33.2 | 24.3 | 97.7 | 67.4 | 11.3 | 7.7 |
| Mastercard Inc MA | 500.7 | 33.9 | 23.1 | 100.0 | 60.8 | 16.4 | -4.9 |
| American Express Company AXP | 213.1 | 19.5 | 0.0 | 62.3 | 21.3 | 8.4 | -6.4 |
| Capital One Financial Corporation COF | 124.4 | 62.2 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 28.6 | 28.4 | -9.1 |
| PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL | 45.7 | 10.1 | 6.6 | 40.5 | 17.0 | 4.3 | -20.3 |
| Synchrony Financial SYF | 25.3 | 7.7 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 48.0 | -7.9 | 2.1 |
| Affirm Holdings Inc AFRM | 23.7 | 63.7 | 25.7 | 48.9 | 8.5 | 38.8 | -22.3 |
| SoFi Technologies Inc. SOFI | 21.0 | 35.7 | 0.0 | 83.7 | 18.3 | 82.6 | -38.4 |
| Median of companies shown | 45.7 | 33.2 | 6.6 | 97.7 | 28.6 | 16.4 | -6.4 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
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.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($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 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| 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 | 3.34 | 178.30 | 474 | 78.30 | 16.20 | 17 | 10 |
| 2026: Q1 | 3.91 | 101.50 | 473 | 20.40 | 18.20 | 82 | 78 |
| 2026: Q2 | 2.81 | 11.50 | 492 | 11.30 | 13.00 | -29 | -38 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- 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.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 16 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Breakout & Setup
Momentum & Trend
- 21-EMA Trend
- Above 21-EMA Pullback
- Above the 50- & 200-SMA
- Gary Antonacci: Dual Momentum (Stock Adaptation)
- Mark Minervini: Trend Criteria — 1 Month
- Near 52-Week High
- Power Trend
- Stan Weinstein: Stage 2
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
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.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 13.52 | 13.40 – 13.65 | 1,911 | 5.7% | 4 |
| 12/31/2027 | 14.62 | 14.00 – 15.00 | 1,936 | 14.1% | 4 |
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.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 5.1% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $130.0M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $2.15B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $214.4M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 52.5% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow shrank by 14.5% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Encore 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.
10-K · 2026-02-25 · View SEC filing
„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.
10-K · 2026-02-25 · View SEC filing
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
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 8.0%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year -74.0%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -3.4%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 41.1%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 69.0%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 10.0%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 6.1 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 551 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 11.7%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 3.9%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
5/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 6.2%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 4.8%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 11.1%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 15.7%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 6.4x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 97.4%
- Return on equity > 15% –
- ROCE > 15% 11.7%
- Expected return > 10% 22.6%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | Gupta Ashwini | Director | Other | 291 | 93.01 | 27,066 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Beck Robert William | Director | Other | 1,462 | 100.15 | 146,419 |
The company
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
- 06/30/1999
- ISIN
- US2925541029
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Ashish Masih | President, CEO & Director | 1965 |
| Tomas C. Hernanz | Executive VP, Treasurer & CFO | 1978 |
| 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 | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/19/2026 ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC (ECPG): Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/05/2026 ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC (ECPG): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 07/22/2026 ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC (ECPG): Regulation FD Disclosure; Other Events; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 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.