Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.84 EPS

Key Points

• Encore beat Q1 expectations with $3.86 EPS versus a $3.02 consensus and revenue of $475.41M (up 21% YoY), and raised FY2026 guidance to $13 EPS and $2.8B collections.
• Operational momentum was driven by record collections of $718M (up 19%), led by the U.S. MCM business (Q1 collections $556M) and continued portfolio purchases (Q1 purchases $363M; 2026 purchases guide $1.4–$1.5B) supported by digital initiatives boosting payer conversion.
• Management is returning capital via buybacks (~$20M in Q1) and reported improved ROIC (14.6%), but warned that AI/automation gains are limited by maturity and regulatory constraints which could slow labor-related efficiencies.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The asset manager reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.84, FiscalAI reports. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 28.19%. The company had revenue of $475.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Encore Capital Group's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. Encore Capital Group updated its FY 2026 guidance to 13.000-13.000 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Encore Capital Group's conference call:

• Record collections of $718M (up 19%) drove net income of $86M and EPS of $3.86 in Q1, and management raised 2026 guidance to $2.8B collections and $13 EPS (up ~19%).
• The U.S. MCM business led performance with Q1 purchases of $316M and record collections of $556M (+23%), with recent vintages (2024/2025) outperforming forecasts and early-stage digital initiatives boosting payer conversion.
• Encore expects to keep prioritizing portfolio buys (Q1 purchases $363M, 2026 guide $1.4–$1.5B), while also returning capital via buybacks (≈$20M in Q1) and showing improved ROIC (14.6%) and cash generation (up 21%).
• Cabot (Europe) delivered stable results—Q1 purchases $47M and collections $161M (+7%, aided by FX)—but the U.K. market remains subdued with low delinquencies and strong competition, so purchases are selective.
• Management is testing AI and automation but cautions voice/collection automation is not yet mature and is subject to regulatory limits, which could constrain the pace of labor-related efficiency gains.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

ECPG traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $84.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 255,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,941. The business's 50-day moving average price is $73.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.86. Encore Capital Group has a 12 month low of $32.66 and a 12 month high of $85.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total value of $499,849.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 48,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,325,656.80. The trade was a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 78.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 412,498 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $22,419,000 after purchasing an additional 180,733 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,916 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $20,214,000 after purchasing an additional 39,214 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 170,002 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,951 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 488.1% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 154,128 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $8,377,000 after purchasing an additional 127,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 139,465 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $7,580,000 after purchasing an additional 12,708 shares during the last quarter.

About Encore Capital Group

Encore Capital Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company that focuses on the purchase and management of nonperforming consumer receivables. Through its subsidiaries, the company acquires charged-off debt portfolios from credit card issuers, banks, and other financial institutions, and seeks to recover outstanding balances through a combination of customer outreach, payment arrangements, and, where appropriate, legal collection efforts. Encore's business model emphasizes compliance with regulatory and industry standards to ensure ethical and transparent debt-recovery practices.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Encore operates across North America and Europe.

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