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Side-by-side financial comparison of ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC (ECPG) and KADANT INC (KAI). 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 $271.6M, roughly 1.7× KADANT INC). ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC runs the higher net margin — 16.2% vs 10.2%, a 6.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (78.3% vs -0.0%). ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($126.9M vs $44.1M). Over the past eight quarters, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC's revenue compounded faster (20.1% CAGR vs 6.7%).

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.

Kadant Inc. is a company that was established in 1991, as a partly privately owned subsidiary of Thermo Electron, and partly publicly traded company, and was fully spun out and renamed Kadant in 2001. The company supports papermaking, paper recycling, wood processing, material handling, and other processing industries. Kadant is a multi-national corporation with operations in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.

ECPG vs KAI — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ECPG
ECPG
1.7× larger
ECPG
$473.6M
$271.6M
KAI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ECPG
ECPG
+78.3% gap
ECPG
78.3%
-0.0%
KAI
Higher net margin
ECPG
ECPG
6.0% more per $
ECPG
16.2%
10.2%
KAI
More free cash flow
ECPG
ECPG
$82.9M more FCF
ECPG
$126.9M
$44.1M
KAI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ECPG
ECPG
Annualised
ECPG
20.1%
6.7%
KAI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2025

Metric
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Revenue
$473.6M
$271.6M
Net Profit
$76.7M
$27.7M
Gross Margin
45.2%
Operating Margin
36.6%
15.7%
Net Margin
16.2%
10.2%
Revenue YoY
78.3%
-0.0%
Net Profit YoY
-12.2%
EPS (diluted)
$3.32
$2.35

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
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$473.6M
Q3 25
$460.4M
$271.6M
Q2 25
$442.1M
$255.3M
Q1 25
$392.8M
$239.2M
Q4 24
$265.6M
$258.0M
Q3 24
$367.1M
$271.6M
Q2 24
$355.3M
$274.8M
Q1 24
$328.4M
$249.0M
Net Profit
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$76.7M
Q3 25
$74.7M
$27.7M
Q2 25
$58.7M
$26.2M
Q1 25
$46.8M
$24.1M
Q4 24
$24.0M
Q3 24
$30.6M
$31.6M
Q2 24
$32.2M
$31.3M
Q1 24
$23.2M
$24.7M
Gross Margin
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
Q3 25
45.2%
Q2 25
45.9%
Q1 25
46.1%
Q4 24
43.4%
Q3 24
44.7%
Q2 24
44.4%
Q1 24
44.6%
Operating Margin
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
36.6%
Q3 25
37.6%
15.7%
Q2 25
34.1%
15.4%
Q1 25
32.9%
14.9%
Q4 24
14.3%
Q3 24
28.9%
18.0%
Q2 24
28.7%
17.6%
Q1 24
25.5%
14.8%
Net Margin
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
16.2%
Q3 25
16.2%
10.2%
Q2 25
13.3%
10.2%
Q1 25
11.9%
10.1%
Q4 24
9.3%
Q3 24
8.3%
11.6%
Q2 24
9.1%
11.4%
Q1 24
7.1%
9.9%
EPS (diluted)
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$3.32
Q3 25
$3.17
$2.35
Q2 25
$2.49
$2.22
Q1 25
$1.93
$2.04
Q4 24
$2.04
Q3 24
$1.26
$2.68
Q2 24
$1.34
$2.66
Q1 24
$0.95
$2.10

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$156.8M
$124.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$4.0B
$254.6M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$976.8M
$949.8M
Total Assets
$5.3B
$1.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
4.13×
0.27×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$156.8M
Q3 25
$172.5M
$124.5M
Q2 25
$172.9M
$95.3M
Q1 25
$187.1M
$91.7M
Q4 24
$199.9M
$94.7M
Q3 24
$247.4M
$88.4M
Q2 24
$250.6M
$73.8M
Q1 24
$173.0M
$81.4M
Total Debt
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$4.0B
Q3 25
$254.6M
Q2 25
$245.7M
Q1 25
$273.5M
Q4 24
$3.7B
$285.2M
Q3 24
$323.2M
Q2 24
$342.0M
Q1 24
$306.8M
Stockholders' Equity
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$976.8M
Q3 25
$952.9M
$949.8M
Q2 25
$896.0M
$926.0M
Q1 25
$819.1M
$876.0M
Q4 24
$767.3M
$847.1M
Q3 24
$1.0B
$851.7M
Q2 24
$988.1M
$807.7M
Q1 24
$953.9M
$782.7M
Total Assets
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$5.3B
Q3 25
$5.3B
$1.5B
Q2 25
$5.2B
$1.5B
Q1 25
$5.0B
$1.4B
Q4 24
$4.8B
$1.4B
Q3 24
$5.0B
$1.5B
Q2 24
$4.8B
$1.5B
Q1 24
$4.7B
$1.4B
Debt / Equity
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
4.13×
Q3 25
0.27×
Q2 25
0.27×
Q1 25
0.31×
Q4 24
4.83×
0.34×
Q3 24
0.38×
Q2 24
0.42×
Q1 24
0.39×

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
KAI
KAI
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$153.2M
$47.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$126.9M
$44.1M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
26.8%
16.2%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
5.5%
1.2%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.00×
1.70×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$244.0M
$145.9M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$153.2M
Q3 25
$81.6M
$47.3M
Q2 25
$9.5M
$40.5M
Q1 25
$45.3M
$22.8M
Q4 24
$156.2M
$51.9M
Q3 24
$45.9M
$52.5M
Q2 24
$35.7M
$28.1M
Q1 24
$51.0M
$22.8M
Free Cash Flow
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
$126.9M
Q3 25
$75.6M
$44.1M
Q2 25
$3.2M
$36.5M
Q1 25
$38.3M
$19.0M
Q4 24
$127.2M
$46.3M
Q3 24
$39.7M
$48.3M
Q2 24
$28.3M
$23.1M
Q1 24
$44.1M
$16.6M
FCF Margin
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
26.8%
Q3 25
16.4%
16.2%
Q2 25
0.7%
14.3%
Q1 25
9.7%
7.9%
Q4 24
47.9%
17.9%
Q3 24
10.8%
17.8%
Q2 24
8.0%
8.4%
Q1 24
13.4%
6.7%
Capex Intensity
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
5.5%
Q3 25
1.3%
1.2%
Q2 25
1.4%
1.6%
Q1 25
1.8%
1.6%
Q4 24
10.9%
2.2%
Q3 24
1.7%
1.5%
Q2 24
2.1%
1.8%
Q1 24
2.1%
2.5%
Cash Conversion
ECPG
ECPG
KAI
KAI
Q4 25
2.00×
Q3 25
1.09×
1.70×
Q2 25
0.16×
1.55×
Q1 25
0.97×
0.95×
Q4 24
2.16×
Q3 24
1.50×
1.66×
Q2 24
1.11×
0.90×
Q1 24
2.19×
0.92×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ECPG
ECPG

Segment breakdown not available.

KAI
KAI

Flow Control$94.8M35%
Capital$83.2M31%
Material Handling Systems$70.3M26%
Transferred Over Time$17.1M6%
Other$6.1M2%

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