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Side-by-side financial comparison of ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC (ECPG) and Forestar Group Inc. (FOR). 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 $273.0M, roughly 1.7× Forestar Group Inc.). ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC runs the higher net margin — 16.2% vs 5.6%, a 10.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (78.3% vs 9.0%). ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($126.9M vs $-157.1M). Over the past eight quarters, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC's revenue compounded faster (20.1% CAGR vs -9.6%).

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.

Forestar Group Inc. is a residential lot development company based in Arlington, Texas. The company has operations in 51 markets in 21 states and delivered 11,518 residential lots during the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2020. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and in October 2017 became a majority-owned subsidiary of D.R. Horton, Inc., the largest homebuilder by volume in the United States since 2002. The company primarily acquires entitled real estate and...

ECPG vs FOR — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ECPG
ECPG
1.7× larger
ECPG
$473.6M
$273.0M
FOR
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ECPG
ECPG
+69.3% gap
ECPG
78.3%
9.0%
FOR
Higher net margin
ECPG
ECPG
10.5% more per $
ECPG
16.2%
5.6%
FOR
More free cash flow
ECPG
ECPG
$284.0M more FCF
ECPG
$126.9M
$-157.1M
FOR
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ECPG
ECPG
Annualised
ECPG
20.1%
-9.6%
FOR

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Revenue
$473.6M
$273.0M
Net Profit
$76.7M
$15.4M
Gross Margin
20.1%
Operating Margin
36.6%
7.6%
Net Margin
16.2%
5.6%
Revenue YoY
78.3%
9.0%
Net Profit YoY
-6.7%
EPS (diluted)
$3.32
$0.30

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
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
$473.6M
$273.0M
Q3 25
$460.4M
$670.5M
Q2 25
$442.1M
$390.5M
Q1 25
$392.8M
$351.0M
Q4 24
$265.6M
$250.4M
Q3 24
$367.1M
$551.3M
Q2 24
$355.3M
$318.4M
Q1 24
$328.4M
$333.8M
Net Profit
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
$76.7M
$15.4M
Q3 25
$74.7M
$86.9M
Q2 25
$58.7M
$32.9M
Q1 25
$46.8M
$31.6M
Q4 24
$16.5M
Q3 24
$30.6M
$81.5M
Q2 24
$32.2M
$38.7M
Q1 24
$23.2M
$45.0M
Gross Margin
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
20.1%
Q3 25
22.3%
Q2 25
20.4%
Q1 25
22.6%
Q4 24
22.0%
Q3 24
23.9%
Q2 24
22.5%
Q1 24
24.9%
Operating Margin
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
36.6%
7.6%
Q3 25
37.6%
16.9%
Q2 25
34.1%
11.2%
Q1 25
32.9%
11.6%
Q4 24
8.7%
Q3 24
28.9%
19.7%
Q2 24
28.7%
16.2%
Q1 24
25.5%
17.6%
Net Margin
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
16.2%
5.6%
Q3 25
16.2%
13.0%
Q2 25
13.3%
8.4%
Q1 25
11.9%
9.0%
Q4 24
6.6%
Q3 24
8.3%
14.8%
Q2 24
9.1%
12.2%
Q1 24
7.1%
13.5%
EPS (diluted)
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
$3.32
$0.30
Q3 25
$3.17
$1.70
Q2 25
$2.49
$0.65
Q1 25
$1.93
$0.62
Q4 24
$0.32
Q3 24
$1.26
$1.59
Q2 24
$1.34
$0.76
Q1 24
$0.95
$0.89

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$156.8M
$211.7M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$4.0B
$793.2M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$976.8M
$1.8B
Total Assets
$5.3B
$3.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
4.13×
0.44×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
$156.8M
$211.7M
Q3 25
$172.5M
$379.2M
Q2 25
$172.9M
$189.2M
Q1 25
$187.1M
$174.3M
Q4 24
$199.9M
$132.0M
Q3 24
$247.4M
$481.2M
Q2 24
$250.6M
$359.2M
Q1 24
$173.0M
$416.2M
Total Debt
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
$4.0B
$793.2M
Q3 25
$802.7M
Q2 25
$872.8M
Q1 25
$872.5M
Q4 24
$3.7B
$806.8M
Q3 24
$706.4M
Q2 24
$706.1M
Q1 24
$705.7M
Stockholders' Equity
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
$976.8M
$1.8B
Q3 25
$952.9M
$1.8B
Q2 25
$896.0M
$1.7B
Q1 25
$819.1M
$1.6B
Q4 24
$767.3M
$1.6B
Q3 24
$1.0B
$1.6B
Q2 24
$988.1M
$1.5B
Q1 24
$953.9M
$1.5B
Total Assets
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
$5.3B
$3.2B
Q3 25
$5.3B
$3.1B
Q2 25
$5.2B
$3.1B
Q1 25
$5.0B
$3.0B
Q4 24
$4.8B
$3.0B
Q3 24
$5.0B
$2.8B
Q2 24
$4.8B
$2.7B
Q1 24
$4.7B
$2.6B
Debt / Equity
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
4.13×
0.44×
Q3 25
0.45×
Q2 25
0.52×
Q1 25
0.53×
Q4 24
4.83×
0.50×
Q3 24
0.44×
Q2 24
0.47×
Q1 24
0.48×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$153.2M
$-157.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$126.9M
$-157.1M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
26.8%
-57.5%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
5.5%
0.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.00×
-10.19×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$244.0M
$93.0M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
$153.2M
$-157.0M
Q3 25
$81.6M
$256.3M
Q2 25
$9.5M
$15.8M
Q1 25
$45.3M
$-19.8M
Q4 24
$156.2M
$-450.0M
Q3 24
$45.9M
$119.2M
Q2 24
$35.7M
$-61.7M
Q1 24
$51.0M
$-59.2M
Free Cash Flow
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
$126.9M
$-157.1M
Q3 25
$75.6M
$255.6M
Q2 25
$3.2M
$15.0M
Q1 25
$38.3M
$-20.5M
Q4 24
$127.2M
Q3 24
$39.7M
$118.4M
Q2 24
$28.3M
$-62.3M
Q1 24
$44.1M
$-59.8M
FCF Margin
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
26.8%
-57.5%
Q3 25
16.4%
38.1%
Q2 25
0.7%
3.8%
Q1 25
9.7%
-5.8%
Q4 24
47.9%
Q3 24
10.8%
21.5%
Q2 24
8.0%
-19.6%
Q1 24
13.4%
-17.9%
Capex Intensity
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
5.5%
0.0%
Q3 25
1.3%
0.1%
Q2 25
1.4%
0.2%
Q1 25
1.8%
0.2%
Q4 24
10.9%
0.0%
Q3 24
1.7%
0.1%
Q2 24
2.1%
0.2%
Q1 24
2.1%
0.2%
Cash Conversion
ECPG
ECPG
FOR
FOR
Q4 25
2.00×
-10.19×
Q3 25
1.09×
2.95×
Q2 25
0.16×
0.48×
Q1 25
0.97×
-0.63×
Q4 24
-27.27×
Q3 24
1.50×
1.46×
Q2 24
1.11×
-1.59×
Q1 24
2.19×
-1.32×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ECPG
ECPG

Segment breakdown not available.

FOR
FOR

D.R.Horton Inc.$183.8M67%
Other$89.2M33%

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