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Side-by-side financial comparison of BRIGHT HORIZONS FAMILY SOLUTIONS INC. (BFAM) and ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC (ECPG). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

BRIGHT HORIZONS FAMILY SOLUTIONS INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($733.7M vs $473.6M, roughly 1.5× ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC). On growth, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (78.3% vs 8.8%). BRIGHT HORIZONS FAMILY SOLUTIONS INC. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($258.5M vs $126.9M). Over the past eight quarters, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC's revenue compounded faster (20.1% CAGR vs 8.5%).

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. is a United States–based child-care provider and is the largest provider of employer-sponsored child care. It also provides back-up child care and elder care, tuition program management, education advising, and student loan repayment programs. It is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.

Encore Capital Group, Inc. is a publicly traded debt buyer based in the United States. The company is headquartered in San Diego, and operates throughout the United States. The firm is a publicly traded NASDAQ Global Select company (ECPG), a component stock of the Russell 2000, the S&P SmallCap 600, and the Wilshire 4500.

BFAM vs ECPG — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
BFAM
BFAM
1.5× larger
BFAM
$733.7M
$473.6M
ECPG
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ECPG
ECPG
+69.4% gap
ECPG
78.3%
8.8%
BFAM
More free cash flow
BFAM
BFAM
$131.6M more FCF
BFAM
$258.5M
$126.9M
ECPG
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ECPG
ECPG
Annualised
ECPG
20.1%
8.5%
BFAM

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Revenue
$733.7M
$473.6M
Net Profit
$76.7M
Gross Margin
19.3%
Operating Margin
6.2%
36.6%
Net Margin
16.2%
Revenue YoY
8.8%
78.3%
Net Profit YoY
EPS (diluted)
$0.38
$3.32

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
$733.7M
$473.6M
Q3 25
$802.8M
$460.4M
Q2 25
$731.6M
$442.1M
Q1 25
$665.5M
$392.8M
Q4 24
$674.1M
$265.6M
Q3 24
$719.1M
$367.1M
Q2 24
$670.1M
$355.3M
Q1 24
$622.7M
$328.4M
Net Profit
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
$76.7M
Q3 25
$78.6M
$74.7M
Q2 25
$54.8M
$58.7M
Q1 25
$38.0M
$46.8M
Q4 24
Q3 24
$54.9M
$30.6M
Q2 24
$39.2M
$32.2M
Q1 24
$17.0M
$23.2M
Gross Margin
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
19.3%
Q3 25
27.0%
Q2 25
25.0%
Q1 25
23.4%
Q4 24
20.8%
Q3 24
25.2%
Q2 24
24.2%
Q1 24
21.7%
Operating Margin
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
6.2%
36.6%
Q3 25
15.1%
37.6%
Q2 25
11.8%
34.1%
Q1 25
9.4%
32.9%
Q4 24
7.2%
Q3 24
12.4%
28.9%
Q2 24
10.3%
28.7%
Q1 24
6.4%
25.5%
Net Margin
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
16.2%
Q3 25
9.8%
16.2%
Q2 25
7.5%
13.3%
Q1 25
5.7%
11.9%
Q4 24
Q3 24
7.6%
8.3%
Q2 24
5.8%
9.1%
Q1 24
2.7%
7.1%
EPS (diluted)
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
$0.38
$3.32
Q3 25
$1.37
$3.17
Q2 25
$0.95
$2.49
Q1 25
$0.66
$1.93
Q4 24
$0.50
Q3 24
$0.94
$1.26
Q2 24
$0.67
$1.34
Q1 24
$0.29
$0.95

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$140.1M
$156.8M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$747.6M
$4.0B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.3B
$976.8M
Total Assets
$3.9B
$5.3B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.56×
4.13×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
$140.1M
$156.8M
Q3 25
$116.6M
$172.5M
Q2 25
$179.2M
$172.9M
Q1 25
$112.0M
$187.1M
Q4 24
$110.3M
$199.9M
Q3 24
$109.9M
$247.4M
Q2 24
$140.2M
$250.6M
Q1 24
$63.7M
$173.0M
Total Debt
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
$747.6M
$4.0B
Q3 25
$747.5M
Q2 25
$797.0M
Q1 25
$872.7M
Q4 24
$918.4M
$3.7B
Q3 24
$925.7M
Q2 24
$931.9M
Q1 24
$938.1M
Stockholders' Equity
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
$1.3B
$976.8M
Q3 25
$1.4B
$952.9M
Q2 25
$1.4B
$896.0M
Q1 25
$1.3B
$819.1M
Q4 24
$1.3B
$767.3M
Q3 24
$1.4B
$1.0B
Q2 24
$1.3B
$988.1M
Q1 24
$1.2B
$953.9M
Total Assets
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
$3.9B
$5.3B
Q3 25
$3.9B
$5.3B
Q2 25
$3.9B
$5.2B
Q1 25
$3.8B
$5.0B
Q4 24
$3.9B
$4.8B
Q3 24
$3.9B
$5.0B
Q2 24
$3.8B
$4.8B
Q1 24
$3.8B
$4.7B
Debt / Equity
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
0.56×
4.13×
Q3 25
0.52×
Q2 25
0.57×
Q1 25
0.66×
Q4 24
0.72×
4.83×
Q3 24
0.66×
Q2 24
0.73×
Q1 24
0.76×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$350.7M
$153.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$258.5M
$126.9M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
35.2%
26.8%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
12.6%
5.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.00×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$402.4M
$244.0M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
$350.7M
$153.2M
Q3 25
$-17.6M
$81.6M
Q2 25
$134.2M
$9.5M
Q1 25
$86.2M
$45.3M
Q4 24
$337.5M
$156.2M
Q3 24
$-8.9M
$45.9M
Q2 24
$109.4M
$35.7M
Q1 24
$116.3M
$51.0M
Free Cash Flow
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
$258.5M
$126.9M
Q3 25
$-42.4M
$75.6M
Q2 25
$115.4M
$3.2M
Q1 25
$70.9M
$38.3M
Q4 24
$240.2M
$127.2M
Q3 24
$-32.2M
$39.7M
Q2 24
$86.8M
$28.3M
Q1 24
$96.9M
$44.1M
FCF Margin
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
35.2%
26.8%
Q3 25
-5.3%
16.4%
Q2 25
15.8%
0.7%
Q1 25
10.7%
9.7%
Q4 24
35.6%
47.9%
Q3 24
-4.5%
10.8%
Q2 24
13.0%
8.0%
Q1 24
15.6%
13.4%
Capex Intensity
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
12.6%
5.5%
Q3 25
3.1%
1.3%
Q2 25
2.6%
1.4%
Q1 25
2.3%
1.8%
Q4 24
14.4%
10.9%
Q3 24
3.2%
1.7%
Q2 24
3.4%
2.1%
Q1 24
3.1%
2.1%
Cash Conversion
BFAM
BFAM
ECPG
ECPG
Q4 25
2.00×
Q3 25
-0.22×
1.09×
Q2 25
2.45×
0.16×
Q1 25
2.26×
0.97×
Q4 24
Q3 24
-0.16×
1.50×
Q2 24
2.79×
1.11×
Q1 24
6.85×
2.19×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

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