Encore Capital Raises 2026 Forecast After Record Q3 Collections of $754 Million

Encore Capital Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ECPG) reported record third-quarter collections and raised its 2026 forecast, according to an 8-K filed Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. The filing furnishes a press release with results for the quarter ended Sept. 30.

The San Diego specialty finance company, which buys and collects consumer debt portfolios, reported net income of $124.0 million, or $5.57 per diluted share, for the quarter. A year earlier it earned $74.7 million, or $3.17 a share. Total revenues rose 18% to $544.5 million, and operating expenses rose 9% to $313.9 million.

Collections and purchases

Global portfolio purchases were $390 million in the quarter, including $310 million in the U.S. Global collections reached a record $754 million, up 14% from a year earlier. Chief Executive Ashish Masih said the U.S. unit, MCM, collected a record $589 million, up 17%. The European unit, Cabot, bought $80 million of portfolios and collected $164 million, up 2%.

Raised 2026 guidance

The company now expects 2026 global portfolio purchases of $1.50 billion to $1.55 billion and global collections of $2.90 billion to $2.95 billion, which it said reflects year-over-year growth of 12% to 14%. It also expects 2026 EPS of $15.50 to $16.00, an increase of more than 40% over 2025. The filing does not state the previous forecast, so the size of the change cannot be measured from the document.

Buybacks and balance sheet

Encore repurchased about $27 million of its common stock in the third quarter and about $73 million through the first nine months of 2026. Shares outstanding fell to 20.9 million at Sept. 30 from 21.7 million at Dec. 31, 2025. At quarter end the company held $158.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, against $4.24 billion in borrowings and total assets of $5.68 billion.

During the first nine months, Encore issued $1.13 billion of senior secured notes and repaid $983.5 million of senior secured notes. It also paid $367.9 million to settle convertible senior notes and recorded a $30.5 million loss on extinguishment of debt.

The company will hold a conference call and slide presentation on Nov. 4 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific, or 5:00 p.m. Eastern, with a webcast on its investor relations page. The filing does not say how the company expects its share count to change under its repurchase program beyond the amounts already completed.