Encore Capital Group, Inc. (ECPG) AI Stock Analysis

Encore Capital Group, Inc. operates as a specialty finance company headquartered in San Diego, California, specializing in debt recovery solutions and related services for consumers worldwide. Founded in 1999, the company purchases portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables at significant discounts to their face value. It assists individuals in repaying debts while offering services such as early stage collection, business process outsourcing, contingent collection, debt servicing, and portfolio management for non-performing loans. These services help credit originators manage and optimize the performance of debt portfolios.

Encore Capital Group's revenue fluctuated from $1.61B in FY2021 to $1.40B in FY2022 and $1.22B in FY2023, before rebounding to $1.32B in FY2024 and $1.76B in FY2025. After recording net losses of -$206.5M in FY2023 and -$139.2M in FY2024, the company generated net income of $256.8M in FY2025 with a net margin of 14.6% and EPS of $11.11. For the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2026, revenue was $1.90B and EPS reached $13.17. In the latest quarter ended June 30, 2026, quarterly revenue grew 11.3% year-over-year, while quarterly earnings increased 12.9%.

As of June 30, 2026, Encore Capital Group held $182.9M in cash and short-term investments against $4.87B in total debt, resulting in net debt of $4.69B. Shareholders' equity was $1.08B, corresponding to a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.52 and a current ratio of 25.12. In FY2025, the business generated $153.2M in operating cash flow and $126.9M in free cash flow. Cash deployment in FY2025 included $26.3M in capital expenditures and $90.4M directed to share buybacks, contributing to a 5-year share count decline of 24.1%.

Encore Capital Group trades at a trailing P/E of 7.7x and a forward P/E of 5.5x, compared to medians of 12.1x and 10.8x for its US-listed Financial Services peer group. The stock carries an enterprise value of $6.00B, an EV-to-EBITDA multiple of 8.5x (below the peer group median of 11.7x), and a price-to-sales ratio of 1.1x versus the peer median of 3.2x. Over the past 1 year, the stock returned 150.9%, outperforming the S&P 500 (SPY) return of 16.8%. Over 5 years, the stock gained 98.8% compared to 83.0% for the S&P 500.

Wall Street coverage includes 2 Strong Buy, 1 Buy, and 1 Hold ratings. The mean price target is $117.00, representing a 15.1% upside compared to the last close of $101.68 on October 16, 2026. For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026, consensus estimates project EPS of $13.52 on revenue of $1.91B. For the next fiscal year, 4 analysts estimate EPS of $14.74 on revenue of $1.94B. The company beat EPS estimates in 3 of the last 4 quarters, with its next earnings date set for November 4, 2026.

This page is an AI-written research summary of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (ECPG). The text was generated on October 30, 2026 from Quotelinks data as of October 16, 2026 (company profile, annual results, latest balance sheet, valuation, price performance and analyst estimates). An automatic check rejects any draft that contains a figure not found in that data. It is not investment advice; verify figures on the linked tabs before making decisions.

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