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Side-by-side financial comparison of ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC (ECPG) and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NGVC). 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 $335.6M, roughly 1.4× Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.). ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC runs the higher net margin — 16.2% vs 3.4%, a 12.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (78.3% vs 1.6%). ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($126.9M vs $11.6M). Over the past eight quarters, ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC's revenue compounded faster (20.1% CAGR vs 4.4%).

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.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. is a U.S.-based specialty retail chain that offers certified organic groceries, dietary supplements, natural personal care items, and eco-friendly household products. It serves health-conscious consumers across multiple U.S. states, following strict quality standards that exclude artificial preservatives, colors, flavors and harmful additives.

ECPG vs NGVC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ECPG
ECPG
1.4× larger
ECPG
$473.6M
$335.6M
NGVC
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ECPG
ECPG
+76.7% gap
ECPG
78.3%
1.6%
NGVC
Higher net margin
ECPG
ECPG
12.8% more per $
ECPG
16.2%
3.4%
NGVC
More free cash flow
ECPG
ECPG
$115.4M more FCF
ECPG
$126.9M
$11.6M
NGVC
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ECPG
ECPG
Annualised
ECPG
20.1%
4.4%
NGVC

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Revenue
$473.6M
$335.6M
Net Profit
$76.7M
$11.3M
Gross Margin
29.5%
Operating Margin
36.6%
4.4%
Net Margin
16.2%
3.4%
Revenue YoY
78.3%
1.6%
Net Profit YoY
14.0%
EPS (diluted)
$3.32
$0.49

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
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$473.6M
$335.6M
Q3 25
$460.4M
$336.1M
Q2 25
$442.1M
$328.7M
Q1 25
$392.8M
$335.8M
Q4 24
$265.6M
$330.2M
Q3 24
$367.1M
$322.7M
Q2 24
$355.3M
$309.1M
Q1 24
$328.4M
$308.1M
Net Profit
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$76.7M
$11.3M
Q3 25
$74.7M
$11.8M
Q2 25
$58.7M
$11.6M
Q1 25
$46.8M
$13.1M
Q4 24
$9.9M
Q3 24
$30.6M
$9.0M
Q2 24
$32.2M
$9.2M
Q1 24
$23.2M
$8.0M
Gross Margin
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
29.5%
Q3 25
29.5%
Q2 25
29.9%
Q1 25
30.3%
Q4 24
29.9%
Q3 24
29.6%
Q2 24
29.2%
Q1 24
29.3%
Operating Margin
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
36.6%
4.4%
Q3 25
37.6%
4.6%
Q2 25
34.1%
4.7%
Q1 25
32.9%
5.2%
Q4 24
4.0%
Q3 24
28.9%
3.7%
Q2 24
28.7%
4.2%
Q1 24
25.5%
3.7%
Net Margin
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
16.2%
3.4%
Q3 25
16.2%
3.5%
Q2 25
13.3%
3.5%
Q1 25
11.9%
3.9%
Q4 24
3.0%
Q3 24
8.3%
2.8%
Q2 24
9.1%
3.0%
Q1 24
7.1%
2.6%
EPS (diluted)
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$3.32
$0.49
Q3 25
$3.17
$0.51
Q2 25
$2.49
$0.50
Q1 25
$1.93
$0.56
Q4 24
$0.43
Q3 24
$1.26
$0.38
Q2 24
$1.34
$0.40
Q1 24
$0.95
$0.35

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$156.8M
$23.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$4.0B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$976.8M
$220.0M
Total Assets
$5.3B
$668.6M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
4.13×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$156.8M
$23.2M
Q3 25
$172.5M
$17.1M
Q2 25
$172.9M
$13.2M
Q1 25
$187.1M
$21.2M
Q4 24
$199.9M
$6.3M
Q3 24
$247.4M
$8.9M
Q2 24
$250.6M
$13.9M
Q1 24
$173.0M
$11.0M
Total Debt
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$4.0B
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$3.7B
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
Stockholders' Equity
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$976.8M
$220.0M
Q3 25
$952.9M
$212.4M
Q2 25
$896.0M
$202.5M
Q1 25
$819.1M
$193.0M
Q4 24
$767.3M
$181.9M
Q3 24
$1.0B
$174.3M
Q2 24
$988.1M
$167.8M
Q1 24
$953.9M
$160.0M
Total Assets
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$5.3B
$668.6M
Q3 25
$5.3B
$670.5M
Q2 25
$5.2B
$659.0M
Q1 25
$5.0B
$664.6M
Q4 24
$4.8B
$648.9M
Q3 24
$5.0B
$655.5M
Q2 24
$4.8B
$654.4M
Q1 24
$4.7B
$656.6M
Debt / Equity
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
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
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$153.2M
$21.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$126.9M
$11.6M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
26.8%
3.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
5.5%
2.9%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.00×
1.86×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$244.0M
$42.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$153.2M
$21.1M
Q3 25
$81.6M
$15.6M
Q2 25
$9.5M
$2.9M
Q1 25
$45.3M
$34.1M
Q4 24
$156.2M
$2.7M
Q3 24
$45.9M
$24.5M
Q2 24
$35.7M
$12.4M
Q1 24
$51.0M
$20.2M
Free Cash Flow
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$126.9M
$11.6M
Q3 25
$75.6M
$7.5M
Q2 25
$3.2M
$-4.2M
Q1 25
$38.3M
$27.6M
Q4 24
$127.2M
$-6.9M
Q3 24
$39.7M
$18.0M
Q2 24
$28.3M
$3.6M
Q1 24
$44.1M
$9.8M
FCF Margin
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
26.8%
3.4%
Q3 25
16.4%
2.2%
Q2 25
0.7%
-1.3%
Q1 25
9.7%
8.2%
Q4 24
47.9%
-2.1%
Q3 24
10.8%
5.6%
Q2 24
8.0%
1.2%
Q1 24
13.4%
3.2%
Capex Intensity
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
5.5%
2.9%
Q3 25
1.3%
2.4%
Q2 25
1.4%
2.2%
Q1 25
1.8%
1.9%
Q4 24
10.9%
2.9%
Q3 24
1.7%
2.0%
Q2 24
2.1%
2.9%
Q1 24
2.1%
3.4%
Cash Conversion
ECPG
ECPG
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
2.00×
1.86×
Q3 25
1.09×
1.32×
Q2 25
0.16×
0.25×
Q1 25
0.97×
2.60×
Q4 24
0.27×
Q3 24
1.50×
2.72×
Q2 24
1.11×
1.35×
Q1 24
2.19×
2.54×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ECPG
ECPG

Segment breakdown not available.

NGVC
NGVC

Grocery$243.8M73%
Dietary Supplements$60.7M18%
Manufactured Product Other$31.0M9%

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