Debt recovery company Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ: ECPG) reported Q1 CY2026 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 21% year on year to $475.4 million. Its GAAP profit of $3.86 per share was 28.2% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy Encore Capital Group? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.
Encore Capital Group (ECPG) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $475.4 million vs analyst estimates of $446.3 million (21% year-on-year growth, 6.5% beat)
- Pre-tax Profit: $111.7 million (23.5% margin)
- EPS (GAAP): $3.86 vs analyst estimates of $3.01 (28.2% beat)
- Market Capitalization: $1.81 billion
“Encore delivered another quarter of strong performance in Q1 as our industry leadership and operational improvement remain on full display,” said Ashish Masih, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Company Overview
Operating in the often misunderstood world of debt collection since 1999, Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ: ECPG) purchases portfolios of defaulted consumer debt at deep discounts and works with individuals to recover these obligations while helping them toward financial recovery.
Revenue Growth
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. Unfortunately, Encore Capital Group’s 2.6% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was sluggish. This was below our standards and is a poor baseline for our analysis.
Long-term growth is the most important, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes and market returns. Encore Capital Group’s annualized revenue growth of 22.3% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting its demand recently accelerated. 
Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.
This quarter, Encore Capital Group reported robust year-on-year revenue growth of 21%, and its $475.4 million of revenue topped Wall Street estimates by 6.5%.
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Key Takeaways from Encore Capital Group’s Q1 Results
It was good to see Encore Capital Group beat analysts’ EPS expectations this quarter. We were also excited its EBITDA outperformed Wall Street’s estimates by a wide margin. Zooming out, we think this was a solid print. The stock remained flat at $84.37 immediately after reporting.
Indeed, Encore Capital Group had a rock-solid quarterly earnings result, but is this stock a good investment here? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
