Encore Capital Group

ECPG

Financial - Mortgages · Financial Services

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is curious

Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Good

Growth

Strong

Cash Flow

Weak

Stability

Weak

Valuation

Good

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Winston Score History

The full picture

Encore Capital Group buys large bundles of unpaid consumer debt — things like overdue credit card bills, personal loans, and medical bills — from banks and other lenders at a steep discount. The company then tries to collect that money from the people who owe it, keeping whatever it recovers. Encore is one of the largest debt buyers in the United States and Europe.

Encore makes money on the difference between what it pays for a debt portfolio and what it ultimately collects over several years. It operates mainly in the US through its Midland Credit Management brand and across Europe through its Cabot Financial subsidiary, giving it a broad geographic footprint. Its competitive edge comes from its large scale, data-driven collection models, and long relationships with major banks that sell debt regularly. The main risk is rising interest rates, which increase Encore's borrowing costs and can compress the returns it earns on the portfolios it purchases.

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+11.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+18.8% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady EPS growth

Insider Activity

2.3%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Runway

~4 months

$183M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

Encore Capital Group has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

38.0%

Modest — 38.0% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

38.0%

Excellent — 38.0% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

13.6%

Good — 13.6% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+29.4%

Fast-growing sales (+29.4% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

N/A

Data not available

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

8/8 quarters

Every recent quarter grew earnings vs last year

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

20%

Weak — only 20% of profit becomes cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

1.8%

Thin free cash flow (1.8%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

3.87

Heavy debt load (3.87)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

2.47x

Tight — interest eats into profit (2.5x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

7.2x

no trend

Attractive valuation — P/E 7.2

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

-0.3

SLOWING

Earnings expected to fall — forward P/E higher than today

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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