At a glance
Encore Capital Group Inc is worth $2.16B, about 9 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 34.4% to $1.77B in fiscal 2025, with 14.5% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 3.3% a year. It pays no dividend; it spent $568.0M buying back its shares over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +133.3% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +13.6% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 58.0% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 37.2% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 5 months and 41 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Encore Capital Group is a specialty finance company that purchases unpaid consumer debts. Banks, credit unions, consumer finance companies and retailers write off (record as a loss) loans that borrowers stop paying. Encore pays a deep discount to face value (the amount owed) for portfolios of these accounts. It then works with each person to repay, often through payment plans. Profit comes from collecting more over time than it paid. In Europe, it also manages bad loans on behalf of lenders.
Two businesses make up its primary operations. Midland Credit Management (MCM) is a market leader in US debt purchasing and recovery. Cabot Credit Management is one of the largest credit management companies in Europe and the UK. Smaller operations in India and Mexico have not been significant to results. Growth plans center on the US and UK, plus France and Spain. The filings give no clean revenue split by segment or region.
Encore says its edge is data. In-house statisticians use years of data on financially distressed consumers to model what each portfolio is worth and how to approach each person. Contact comes by mail, phone, text, online or through the courts. Operations in India and Costa Rica help hold down costs. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, revenue was $1.77 billion and net income $257 million.
Price history
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ECPG +133.3% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $491.9M, up 11.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $64.0M (+9.0%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.77B (+34.4% year over year; +3.3% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 14.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +3.3% watch |
|---|---|
| Return on equity | 26.3% good |
| Net income / revenue | 14.5% weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.50B | $211.8M | — |
| FY2021 | $1.61B | $350.8M | — |
| FY2022 | $1.40B | $194.6M | — |
| FY2023 | $1.22B | $-206.5M | — |
| FY2024 | $1.32B | $-139.2M | — |
| FY2025 | $1.77B | $256.8M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $2.16B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 9.3 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Encore Capital Group’s market value went from $731.5M at the end of 2016 to $2.16B on Oct 28, 2026, about 2.9 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 78%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $2.16B | +77.8% |
| 2025 | $1.21B | +7.1% |
| 2024 | $1.13B | -5.2% |
| 2023 | $1.19B | +6.5% |
| 2022 | $1.12B | -38.3% |
| 2021 | $1.82B | +48.9% |
| 2020 | $1.22B | +11.2% |
| 2019 | $1.10B | +51.5% |
| 2018 | $725.0M | -33.1% |
| 2017 | $1.08B | +48.2% |
| 2016 | $731.5M |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECPG price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +87.0% | +133.3% | +37.0% | +13.6% | +17.8% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +87.0% |
| 2025 | +13.8% |
| 2024 | -5.9% |
| 2023 | +5.9% |
| 2022 | -22.8% |
| 2021 | +59.5% |
| 2020 | +10.2% |
| 2019 | +50.5% |
| 2018 | -44.2% |
| 2017 | +47.0% |
| 2016 | -1.5% |
| 2015 | -34.5% |
| 2014 | -11.7% |
| 2013 | +64.1% |
| 2012 | +44.0% |
| 2011 | -9.3% |
| 2010 | +34.8% |
| 2009 | +141.7% |
| 2008 | -25.6% |
| 2007 | -23.2% |
| 2006 | -27.4% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 75% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 79.3%, back to its old high 5.5 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 51.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 58%, back to its old high 4.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 23.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 37.2%, back to its old high 41.1 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 16 sales ($2.3M), 15 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 2026 | Andrew Eric Asch SVP, General Counsel | sell (plan) | $564K |
| Mar 2, 2026 | Ryan B Bell President, MCM | sell (plan) | $250K |
| Nov 6, 2025 | Ryan B Bell President, MCM | sell (plan) | $250K |
| Nov 6, 2025 | John Yung President, Intl. and Cabot | sell (plan) | $250K |
| Jun 10, 2026 | John Yung President, Intl. and Cabot | sell (plan) | $164K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 15.4% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.93% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 5.2% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.13% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc. | 4.9% | Jun 30, 2025 |
| Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. | 4.4% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Stephens Investment Management Group, LLC | 1.2% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in ECPG
| MMSC First Trust Multi-Manager Small Cap Opportunities ETF | 0.44% |
| RZV Invesco S&P SmallCap 600® Pure Value ETF | 0.23% |
| PSCF Invesco S&P SmallCap Financials ETF | 0.23% |
| HAPS Harbor Human Capital Factor US Small Cap ETF | 0.21% |
| BSVO EA Bridgeway Omni Small-Cap Value ETF | 0.21% |
| ISMD Inspire Small/Mid Cap ETF | 0.19% |
| VIOV Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | 0.14% |
| SLYV SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF | 0.13% |
What could go wrong
- Collections lean heavily on suing consumers. A significant share of collections depends on winning individual lawsuits against consumers and collecting on court judgments. Higher court costs or legal changes could make this costlier and cut recoveries.
- Pricing models could overestimate future collections. Encore pays for portfolios based on statistical models that project years of future collections. If those projections prove too optimistic, portfolios can earn less than expected, or fail to recover their cost.
- Few big suppliers and fierce bidding competition. A few large lenders can supply much of Encore's purchases. If they offload less or rivals bid up prices, volumes and returns may fall. Forward flow contracts (scheduled purchase commitments) can lock in high prices.
- Strict, expanding regulation and class actions. Debt collection is tightly regulated in the US and UK, and rules have expanded. Breaches can bring fines or operating limits. Investigations and class action lawsuits can also bring damages and bad publicity.
- Heavy debt and interest rate exposure. Debt was about $4.03 billion as of December 31, 2025. Servicing it takes significant cash, loan covenants (lender conditions) must keep being met, and rising interest rates can raise borrowing costs.
- Strained consumers and bankruptcies cut collections. Encore collects from people already in financial trouble. Unemployment, inflation or other economic shocks can reduce what they can repay, and more bankruptcy filings or changes to bankruptcy law could hurt results.
Recent events
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Executive or board change; Bylaws or fiscal year changed; Shareholder vote results
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change; Bylaws or fiscal year changed
- Quarterly results released
- Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
Encore Capital does not pay a dividend and paid none from FY2021 through FY2025. The shares produce no regular income, so any return comes from the share price. The company returns cash through buybacks (repurchasing its own shares) instead: $568 million over those five years. It paused them in FY2023 and FY2024, when it posted net losses, and resumed with $90.4 million in FY2025. The share count fell 27.5%, from about 29.3 million in October 2021 to 21.2 million in July 2026.
The stock has swung hard in downturns. It fell about 79% from September 2008 to March 2009 and 58% in March 2020, though it recovered within about six months both times. After a 37% drop from July to September 2022, it took about 41 months, until March 2026, to regain its peak. Its deepest decline over 21 years of price history was 85.2%. Single stocks like this carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Encore Capital make money?
Encore makes money by collecting on unpaid consumer debts it purchases for far less than face value (the amount owed). Banks, credit unions, consumer finance companies and retailers write off accounts that borrowers stop paying and offload them in portfolios. Encore then collects over time through payment plans, letters, calls, digital channels and, in some cases, lawsuits. Midland Credit Management runs the US business. Cabot Credit Management runs Europe and the UK, where it also services bad loans for lenders. Revenue was $1.77 billion in FY2025.
Does Encore Capital pay a dividend?
No. Encore Capital does not pay a dividend, and it paid none from FY2021 through FY2025. Instead, it returns cash by repurchasing its own shares, spending $568 million on buybacks over those five years. It paused repurchases in FY2023 and FY2024, when it posted net losses, and resumed with $90.4 million in FY2025. The share count fell 27.5% between October 2021 and July 2026. Investors who rely on regular cash income from their holdings would get none from this stock.
Is Encore Capital profitable?
Yes, based on its latest full-year results. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, net income was $256.8 million, or $10.91 per share, on revenue of $1.77 billion, up 34.4% from FY2024. That followed net losses of $206.5 million in FY2023 and $139.2 million in FY2024. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, revenue rose 11.3% from a year earlier to $491.9 million, and net income rose 9% to $64.0 million. Return on equity (profit as a share of shareholders' money) was 26.3% for FY2025.
How has Encore Capital stock performed?
It performed strongly over the past year, with big swings along the way. As of October 28, 2026, the shares had returned 133.3% over one year and 87% year to date. Over 10 years the average annual return was 17.8%, and over five years 13.6%. Losses have been steep at times, including a 44.2% drop in 2018 and 22.8% in 2022, and the deepest fall on record was 85.2%. The price was about 9.3 times FY2025 earnings per share, its price-to-earnings ratio.
How much debt does Encore Capital have?
Encore carries substantial debt. Total debt was about $4.03 billion as of December 31, 2025. As of June 30, 2026, shareholders' equity was about $1.08 billion, cash and investments about $183 million, and total assets $5.57 billion. The company warns that servicing this debt takes significant cash. It must also keep meeting loan covenants (conditions set by lenders), and higher interest rates can raise its costs. It says it may use extra cash to cut debt or, when borrowing sits within its target range, to repurchase shares.