Latest Ratios: P/E Ratio 7.2x · EV/EBITDA 8.0x · ROE 29.5%. (1998–2025 historical series)
Price-based multiples — how expensive the stock is relative to earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $2.4B | $1.3B | $1.1B | $1.2B | $1.3B | $1.9B | $1.2B | $1.1B | $671M | $1.1B | $742M |
| Enterprise Value | $6.4B | $5.3B | $4.6B | $4.4B | $4.0B | $4.7B | $4.3B | $4.4B | $4.0B | $4.3B | $3.4B |
| P/E Ratio → | 7.24 | 4.98 | — | — | 6.43 | 5.52 | 5.83 | 6.63 | 5.79 | 13.37 | 9.68 |
| P/S Ratio | 1.45 | 0.87 | 1.07 | 1.18 | 1.00 | 1.34 | 0.96 | 0.94 | 0.60 | 1.13 | 0.88 |
| P/B Ratio | 2.75 | 1.31 | 1.49 | 1.28 | 1.06 | 1.63 | 1.01 | 1.09 | 0.82 | 1.54 | 1.24 |
| P/FCF | 15.66 | 10.08 | 8.98 | 11.86 | 9.33 | 7.17 | 4.44 | 5.43 | 5.63 | 11.62 | 7.52 |
| P/OCF | 15.97 | 8.35 | 7.30 | 7.85 | 5.94 | 6.38 | 3.95 | 4.55 | 3.59 | 8.98 | 5.70 |
P/E links to full P/E history page with 30-year chart
Enterprise-value multiples — capital-structure-neutral measures of total business value
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue | — | 3.56 | 4.34 | 4.27 | 3.22 | 3.28 | 3.35 | 3.76 | 3.56 | 4.42 | 4.03 |
| EV / EBITDA | 8.01 | 8.05 | 24.31 | 74.84 | 7.88 | 6.94 | 7.51 | 9.10 | 8.97 | 11.92 | 12.30 |
| EV / EBIT | 10.30 | 8.42 | 32.59 | 201.77 | 8.63 | 7.82 | 8.79 | 10.58 | 10.17 | 12.96 | 13.98 |
| EV / FCF | — | 41.40 | 36.34 | 43.06 | 29.87 | 17.59 | 15.55 | 21.61 | 33.56 | 45.42 | 34.45 |
Margins and return-on-capital ratios measuring operating efficiency
Full margin charts and quarterly trend are on the Earnings History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 82.4% | 82.4% | 56.7% | 56.0% | 61.8% | 64.2% | 64.6% | 64.0% | 65.8% | 63.8% | 60.6% |
| Operating Margin | 42.3% | 42.3% | 14.8% | 1.6% | 37.1% | 43.8% | 41.3% | 37.8% | 36.0% | 33.0% | 28.6% |
| Net Profit Margin | 17.4% | 17.4% | -13.1% | -20.2% | 15.6% | 24.3% | 16.4% | 14.2% | 10.3% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 29.5% | 29.5% | -16.3% | -19.5% | 16.5% | 29.2% | 18.9% | 18.2% | 15.0% | 12.6% | 12.3% |
| ROA | 5.1% | 5.1% | -3.0% | -4.5% | 4.3% | 7.4% | 4.3% | 3.5% | 2.5% | 2.0% | 1.9% |
| ROIC | 9.8% | 9.8% | 2.7% | 0.3% | 8.4% | 10.9% | 8.9% | 7.6% | 7.2% | 6.4% | 5.0% |
| ROCE | 12.6% | 12.6% | 3.5% | 0.4% | 11.4% | 16.1% | 14.0% | 11.2% | 9.5% | 8.5% | 6.6% |
Solvency and debt-coverage ratios — lower is generally safer
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 4.23 | 4.23 | 4.79 | 3.54 | 2.46 | 2.53 | 2.69 | 3.43 | 4.26 | 4.76 | 4.67 |
| Debt / EBITDA | 6.33 | 6.33 | 19.35 | 56.94 | 5.70 | 4.39 | 5.69 | 7.21 | 7.82 | 9.46 | 10.15 |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | 4.07 | 4.53 | 3.37 | 2.34 | 2.37 | 2.53 | 3.24 | 4.07 | 4.47 | 4.42 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | 6.09 | 6.09 | 18.30 | 54.22 | 5.42 | 4.11 | 5.37 | 6.81 | 7.46 | 8.87 | 9.61 |
| Debt / FCF | — | 31.32 | 27.36 | 31.20 | 20.54 | 10.41 | 11.11 | 16.19 | 27.94 | 33.80 | 26.92 |
| Interest Coverage | 2.17 | 2.17 | 0.56 | 0.11 | 3.03 | 3.57 | 2.35 | 1.92 | 1.66 | 1.64 | 1.31 |
Short-term solvency ratios and asset-utilisation metrics
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 595.09 | 595.09 | 1.18 | 0.95 | 0.78 | 0.35 | 0.33 | 0.20 | 0.55 | 0.74 | 0.64 |
| Quick Ratio | 595.09 | 595.09 | 1.18 | 0.95 | 0.78 | 0.35 | 0.33 | 0.20 | 0.55 | 0.74 | 0.64 |
| Cash Ratio | 488.42 | 488.42 | 0.86 | 0.72 | 0.54 | 0.26 | 0.22 | 0.15 | 0.55 | 0.74 | 0.64 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 0.28 | 0.22 | 0.22 | 0.28 | 0.31 | 0.27 | 0.24 | 0.24 | 0.22 | 0.23 |
| Inventory Turnover | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Earnings, FCF, buyback, and dividend yields — total returns to shareholders
Full dividend history and growth charts are on the Dividend History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Payout Ratio | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | 13.8% | 20.1% | — | — | 15.6% | 18.1% | 17.2% | 15.1% | 17.3% | 7.5% | 10.3% |
| FCF Yield | 6.4% | 9.9% | 11.1% | 8.4% | 10.7% | 13.9% | 22.5% | 18.4% | 17.8% | 8.6% | 13.3% |
| Buyback Yield | 3.7% | 7.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 7.0% | 20.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 3.7% | 7.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 7.0% | 20.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $24M | $24M | $24M | $26M | $31M | $32M | $31M | $29M | $26M | $26M |
Includes 30+ ratios · 28 years · Updated daily
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Quick answers to the most common questions about buying ECPG stock.
Encore Capital Group, Inc.'s current P/E ratio is 7.2x. The historical average is 11.1x. This places it at the 32th percentile of its historical range.
Encore Capital Group, Inc.'s current EV/EBITDA is 8.0x. This enterprise value multiple compares the company's total value (equity + debt - cash) to its EBITDA. The historical average is 14.9x.
Encore Capital Group, Inc.'s return on equity (ROE) is 29.5%. This is above the typical threshold of 15-20% considered good for most companies. The historical average is 6.3%.
Based on historical data, Encore Capital Group, Inc. is trading at a P/E of 7.2x. This is at the 32th percentile of its historical P/E range. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
Encore Capital Group, Inc. has 82.4% gross margin and 42.3% operating margin. Operating margin above 20% indicates strong pricing power and cost efficiency.
Encore Capital Group, Inc.'s Debt/EBITDA ratio is 6.3x, indicating high leverage. A ratio above 4x may signal elevated financial risk.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Leverage amplifies collection sensitivity
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Discount Multiples Reflect Earnings Skepticism
Based on ECPG's reported figures, the stock trades at 10.46x trailing earnings, 8.44x forward earnings and 2.75x book, a set of multiples that sits between a distressed-debt buyer and a premium specialty lender.
The gap between trailing and forward P/E suggests the market is pricing in the reported Q3 2026 EPS beat as partly durable, though the discount to book implies skepticism about how much of the earnings step-up reflects recurring collections versus portfolio revaluation. Investors should monitor whether the multiple re-rates as quarterly earnings confirm the raised guidance, since the current P/B leaves limited room for a premium without sustained returns on tangible equity above recent levels.
ROE Swings Driven by Provision Volatility
As reported in financial statements, ECPG's ROE moved from -24.8% in 2024Q4 to 11.5% in 2026Q3, a range that suggests headline returns are dominated by estimate revisions rather than a stable collection run-rate.
Decomposing returns through the leverage lens, an equity-to-assets ratio near 0.19 implies roughly 5x asset leverage, so modest changes in portfolio cash flows are magnified into large swings in ROE and ROA. ROA of 2.2% in 2026Q3 against 1.2% in 2026Q2 indicates that much of the recent improvement is attributable to provision timing, and warrants further investigation before treating the current run-rate as representative.
Negative Margin Readings Obscure Operating Trend
Based on ECPG's reported figures, net interest margin sits near -1.3% in most recent quarters against a 7.0% reading in 2026Q1, while the efficiency ratio ranged from 19.1% to 117.1%, making both metrics unreliable as standalone indicators.
The persistent negative NIM and the 7.0% outlier in 2026Q1 point to a classification inconsistency in how interest income is presented, rather than a clean reflection of spread economics. The efficiency ratio's wide range similarly appears driven by irregular revenue recognition under the effective interest method, so analysts should normalize for yield augmentations and impairments before drawing conclusions about cost discipline.
Thin Equity Base Against Heavy Leverage
According to the reported quarterly figures, equity-to-assets stands near 0.19 in 2026Q3 while Debt/Equity of 4.23 leaves a capital cushion that appears modest for a portfolio lender exposed to collection volatility.
Regulatory capital ratios such as CET1 are not provided in the supplied data, so capacity for capital return cannot be assessed directly, and this gap should be treated as data unavailable rather than inferred. The equity build from roughly $767M to $1.1B over the period is encouraging, but leverage that remains near 4x to 5x suggests that a softening in collections would compress equity faster than it can be rebuilt through retained earnings.
Premium P/E Against Peer Discount Set
Based on the peer data supplied, ECPG's 10.46x trailing P/E and 2.75x P/B sit below FirstCash at 25.02x and 3.63x, yet above PRA Group's 0.49x book multiple, with PRA Group's negative earnings making its P/E unusable for comparison.
The most relevant peer for ECPG's distressed-debt model is PRA Group, which trades at a sharp book discount and reports negative returns, suggesting the market differentiates ECPG on the strength of its earnings recovery and data advantages. FirstCash's higher multiples and stronger ROE of 17.7% reflect a different pawn-lending model, so the valuation gap is partly structural rather than a clean signal of mispricing. Investors should monitor whether ECPG's premium to PRA Group persists if the earnings beat proves less recurring than the headline suggests.
Price-to-Book Misapplied to Leveraged Portfolio Lenders
As reported in financial statements, P/B is often treated as a clean valuation anchor, but for ECPG the book value is built on estimated remaining collections, so the multiple obscures how much of equity depends on forward recovery assumptions.
Because ECPG's assets are purchased receivables carried at amortized cost adjusted for expected collections, book value moves with ERC revisions, meaning a P/B of 2.75x can look either cheap or expensive depending on the period's estimate changes. A more informative adjustment would pair P/TBV with a tangible return analysis and a collection-curve sensitivity, and the ratio should not be read in isolation given the reported Debt/Equity of 4.23 and the volatility in provisions.