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Side-by-side financial comparison of Clearwater Paper Corp (CLW) and ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC (ECPG). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($473.6M vs $360.3M, roughly 1.3× Clearwater Paper Corp). ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC runs the higher net margin — 16.2% vs -3.6%, a 19.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (78.3% vs -4.7%). Over the past eight quarters, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC's revenue compounded faster (20.1% CAGR vs 2.3%).
Clearwater Paper Corporation is an American pulp and paperboard manufacturer. The company was created on December 9, 2008, via a spin-off from Potlatch Corporation and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.
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.
CLW vs ECPG — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $360.3M | $473.6M |
| Net Profit | $-12.8M | $76.7M |
| Gross Margin | -0.2% | — |
| Operating Margin | — | 36.6% |
| Net Margin | -3.6% | 16.2% |
| Revenue YoY | -4.7% | 78.3% |
| Net Profit YoY | -103.2% | — |
| EPS (diluted) | — | $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.
| Q1 26 | $360.3M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $386.4M | $473.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $399.0M | $460.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $391.8M | $442.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $378.2M | $392.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $387.1M | $265.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | $393.3M | $367.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $344.4M | $355.3M |
| Q1 26 | $-12.8M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $38.3M | $76.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-53.3M | $74.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.7M | $58.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-6.3M | $46.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $199.1M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.8M | $30.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-25.8M | $32.2M |
| Q1 26 | -0.2% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 4.5% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 4.7% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 11.0% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 9.7% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.8% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 7.7% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | -0.6% | — |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 1.9% | 36.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | -13.9% | 37.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.5% | 34.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | -1.1% | 32.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | -4.0% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | -0.3% | 28.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | -13.6% | 28.7% |
| Q1 26 | -3.6% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 9.9% | 16.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | -13.4% | 16.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.7% | 13.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | -1.7% | 11.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 51.4% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 8.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | -7.5% | 9.1% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $2.36 | $3.32 | ||
| Q3 25 | $-3.30 | $3.17 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.17 | $2.49 | ||
| Q1 25 | $-0.38 | $1.93 | ||
| Q4 24 | $11.87 | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.35 | $1.26 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-1.55 | $1.34 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $36.5M | $156.8M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $361.1M | $4.0B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $813.8M | $976.8M |
| Total Assets | $1.6B | $5.3B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.44× | 4.13× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | $36.5M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $30.7M | $156.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $34.4M | $172.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $46.7M | $172.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $44.0M | $187.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $79.6M | $199.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $35.5M | $247.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $39.6M | $250.6M |
| Q1 26 | $361.1M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $346.8M | $4.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $337.0M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $330.1M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $283.4M | $3.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.2B | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.1B | — |
| Q1 26 | $813.8M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $825.3M | $976.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $783.0M | $952.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $836.8M | $896.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $836.6M | $819.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $854.6M | $767.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $664.6M | $1.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $658.6M | $988.1M |
| Q1 26 | $1.6B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.6B | $5.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.6B | $5.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.6B | $5.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.6B | $5.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.7B | $4.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.5B | $5.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.5B | $4.8B |
| Q1 26 | 0.44× | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.42× | 4.13× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.43× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.39× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.33× | 4.83× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.73× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.74× | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | — | $153.2M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $126.9M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | 26.8% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | — | 5.5% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | 2.00× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $244.0M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $5.0M | $153.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $34.0M | $81.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-28.2M | $9.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.5M | $45.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-35.1M | $156.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $16.2M | $45.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $21.1M | $35.7M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $-9.9M | $126.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $15.7M | $75.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-51.1M | $3.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-31.2M | $38.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-68.1M | $127.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-30.8M | $39.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.0M | $28.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | -2.6% | 26.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.9% | 16.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | -13.0% | 0.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | -8.2% | 9.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | -17.6% | 47.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | -7.8% | 10.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.9% | 8.0% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 3.9% | 5.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 4.6% | 1.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 5.8% | 1.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 8.6% | 1.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 8.5% | 10.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 12.0% | 1.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 5.3% | 2.1% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.13× | 2.00× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 1.09× | ||
| Q2 25 | -10.44× | 0.16× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 0.97× | ||
| Q4 24 | -0.18× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.79× | 1.50× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 1.11× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
