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Side-by-side financial comparison of CARTERS INC (CRI) and ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC (ECPG). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
CARTERS INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($757.8M vs $473.6M, roughly 1.6× ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC). ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC runs the higher net margin — 16.2% vs 1.5%, a 14.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (78.3% vs -0.1%). ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($126.9M vs $-144.1M).
Carter's, Inc. is a major American designer and marketer of children's apparel. It was founded in 1865 by William Carter.
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.
CRI vs ECPG — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q3 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $757.8M | $473.6M |
| Net Profit | $11.6M | $76.7M |
| Gross Margin | 45.1% | — |
| Operating Margin | 3.8% | 36.6% |
| Net Margin | 1.5% | 16.2% |
| Revenue YoY | -0.1% | 78.3% |
| Net Profit YoY | -80.1% | — |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.32 | $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.
| Q4 25 | — | $473.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $757.8M | $460.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $585.3M | $442.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $629.8M | $392.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $265.6M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $367.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $355.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $328.4M |
| Q4 25 | — | $76.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $11.6M | $74.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $446.0K | $58.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | $15.5M | $46.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $30.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $32.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $23.2M |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 45.1% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 48.1% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 46.2% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
| Q4 25 | — | 36.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.8% | 37.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.7% | 34.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.1% | 32.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 28.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 28.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 25.5% |
| Q4 25 | — | 16.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.5% | 16.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.1% | 13.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.5% | 11.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 8.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 9.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 7.1% |
| Q4 25 | — | $3.32 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.32 | $3.17 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.01 | $2.49 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.43 | $1.93 | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $1.26 | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $1.34 | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $0.95 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $184.2M | $156.8M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $4.0B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $864.6M | $976.8M |
| Total Assets | $2.5B | $5.3B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 4.13× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | — | $156.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $184.2M | $172.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $338.2M | $172.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $320.8M | $187.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $199.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $247.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $250.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $173.0M |
| Q4 25 | — | $4.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $3.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
| Q4 25 | — | $976.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $864.6M | $952.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $853.9M | $896.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $847.2M | $819.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $767.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $1.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $988.1M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $953.9M |
| Q4 25 | — | $5.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.5B | $5.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.5B | $5.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.3B | $5.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $4.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $5.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $4.8B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $4.7B |
| Q4 25 | — | 4.13× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 4.83× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
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 | $-128.0M | $153.2M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-144.1M | $126.9M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -19.0% | 26.8% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.1% | 5.5% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | -11.04× | 2.00× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $244.0M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | — | $153.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-128.0M | $81.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $40.3M | $9.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-48.6M | $45.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $156.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $45.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $35.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $51.0M |
| Q4 25 | — | $126.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-144.1M | $75.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $24.1M | $3.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-59.0M | $38.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $127.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $39.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $28.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $44.1M |
| Q4 25 | — | 26.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | -19.0% | 16.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.1% | 0.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | -9.4% | 9.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 47.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 10.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 8.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 13.4% |
| Q4 25 | — | 5.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.1% | 1.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 1.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.6% | 1.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 10.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 2.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 2.1% |
| Q4 25 | — | 2.00× | ||
| Q3 25 | -11.04× | 1.09× | ||
| Q2 25 | 90.37× | 0.16× | ||
| Q1 25 | -3.13× | 0.97× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.50× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 1.11× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 2.19× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
CRI
| Sales Channel Directly To Consumer | $362.3M | 48% |
| Sales Channel Through Intermediary | $283.8M | 37% |
| Other | $110.4M | 15% |
| Gift Cards | $1.3M | 0% |
ECPG
Segment breakdown not available.
