ECPG vs ATLC vs JCAP Stock Comparison

Encore Capital, Atlanticus Holdings and Jefferson Capital Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ECPG Encore Capital Group Inc
$99.64 +1.2% 1M +122.5% 1Y
Market cap
$2.14B
P/E
7.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.90B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Finance Financial Services
6 wins
ATLC Atlanticus Holdings Corp
$87.39 -5.5% 1M +42.7% 1Y
Market cap
$1.34B
P/E
9.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.65B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Finance Financial Services
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Encore Capital leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Encore Capital 6, Atlanticus Holdings 3, Jefferson Capital 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionECPGATLCJCAPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.14B $1.34B $1.11B ECPG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.1x 9.1x 6.9x JCAP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.1x 9.1x 7.2x ECPG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +29.5% +83.7% +30.8% ATLC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.9% 5.5% 25.4% JCAP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.7% 20.9% 13.2% ATLC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.4x 2.9x 4.4x ATLC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +122.5% +42.7% +7.1% ECPG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.4%/yr +4.4%/yr — ECPG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.7% 51.9% 35.7% ECPG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 67/100 53/100 ECPG

Percentile Scorecard

ECPGATLCJCAP

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisECPGATLCJCAP
Valuation 69 #54 of 170 89 #20 of 170 59 #70 of 170
Growth 93 #12 of 160 90 #17 of 160 58 #68 of 160
Profitability 78 #33 of 149 94 #10 of 149 97 #6 of 149
Financial Health 24 #120 of 158 25 #119 of 158 35 #103 of 158
Shareholder Returns 71 #40 of 135 35 #88 of 135 16 #113 of 135
Overall 67 67 53
  • ECPG ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • ATLC ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit
  • JCAP ranked among 175 companies in Lending and Credit

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodECPGATLCJCAPSPY
1 month +1.2%-5.5%+3.5% -0.8%
3 months +5.5%-16.1%-1.4% +3.5%
6 months +18.2%+10.1%-3.2% +7.0%
Year to date +83.3%+30.5%-9.8% +12.2%
1 year +122.5%+42.7%+7.1% +13.0%
3 years +152.4%+205.1%— +86.3%
3 years, per year +36.2%+45.1%— +23.1%
5 years +87.5%+23.8%— +68.6%
5 years, per year +13.4%+4.4%— +11.0%
10 years +400.7%+2,404.0%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +17.5%+38.0%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureECPGATLCJCAPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.7%51.9%35.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.2%56.9%34.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.811.540.74 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 3.530.820.20 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -62.5%-74.9%-33.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.6%-21.8%-16.1% -1.8%
52-week high $105.60$111.79$24.00 $779.14
52-week low $40.90$47.96$15.52 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleECPGATLCJCAP
P/E now vs peer median 7.1xmedian 11.0x 9.0xmedian 11.0x 6.9xmedian 11.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 2.6x 0.5xmedian 2.6x 1.8xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 13.1x 3.6xmedian 13.1x 8.0xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.9xmedian 6.9x 1.4xmedian 6.9x —median 6.9x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 0.7x 1.9xmedian 0.7x 2.4xmedian 0.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.02median 0.32 0.46median 0.32 —median 0.32

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsECPGATLCJCAP
Revenue $1.90B $2.65B $635.89M
Gross profit – $2.46B –
Operating income $717.47M $1.93B $308.67M
Net income $301.56M $153.50M $165.04M
Free cash flow $125.14M $936.46M –
EPS (diluted) $13.23 $7.68 $2.90
Cash & equivalents $182.93M $555.22M $20.41M
Total debt $4.18B $25.15B $1.41B
Shares (diluted) 22.79M 19.17M 55.52M
Enterprise value $1.40B -$816.55M $974.41M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricECPGATLCJCAP
P/E 7.1x 9.0x 6.9x
P/FCF 16.9x 1.4x –
P/Operating cash flow 14.0x 1.4x –
P/S 1.1x 0.5x 1.8x
P/B 2.0x 1.9x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 2.0x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 8.2x 3.6x 8.0x
EV/EBIT 8.5x 3.6x 8.2x
EV/Revenue 3.2x 2.7x 4.0x
EV/FCF 48.8x 7.5x –
EV/Operating cash flow 40.4x 7.5x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.02 0.46 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricECPGATLCJCAP
Revenue growth (1Y) 29.5% 83.7% 30.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 17.3% 34.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 86.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 34.8% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 184.7% 90.3% 21.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 34.8% –
Net income growth (1Y) 438.3% 26.3% 14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 350.1% 12.9% –
EPS growth (1Y) 450.0% 36.1% -94.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 359.7% 19.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.8% 87.7% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.7% 32.3% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 30.1% 90.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.7% 33.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricECPGATLCJCAP
Gross margin – 92.6% –
EBITDA margin 39.2% 74.2% 49.8%
Operating margin 37.7% 72.7% 48.5%
Pretax margin 20.6% 7.7% 32.2%
Net margin 15.9% 5.5% 25.4%
FCF margin 6.6% 35.3% –
Operating cash flow margin 8.0% 35.3% –
Return on equity 28.5% 22.8% 34.7%
Return on assets 5.5% 2.1% 7.9%
Return on invested capital 10.7% 20.9% 13.2%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 6.1x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 0.3% 2.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricECPGATLCJCAP
Debt / assets 75.1% 83.7% 67.5%
Debt / equity 3.9x 8.9x 3.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.4x 2.9x 4.4x
Debt / FCF 33.4x 6.7x –
Liabilities / assets 80.6% 90.6% 77.1%
Equity / assets 19.4% 9.4% 22.9%
Interest coverage 2.4x 4.3x 2.8x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricECPGATLCJCAP
Dividend yield – – 4.8%
Net buyback yield 5.3% 1.0% –
Shareholder yield 5.3% 1.0% 4.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusECPGATLCJCAP
Forward P/E 7.1xFY2026 9.1xFY2026 7.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.11FY2026 $9.61FY2026 $2.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +29.3%FY2026 +61.2%FY2026 -19.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +45.4% +1.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.84BFY2026 $3.18BFY2026 $755.54MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +61.3%FY2026 +23.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.1% +13.4% +2.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersECPGATLCJCAP
Held by institutions 100.0% 26.0% 38.5%
Institutions holding 283 146 113
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.8% +7.9% +1.3%
Institutions buying 159 93 73
Institutions selling 91 36 24
Buyers to sellers 1.75 2.58 3.04

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ECPGATLCJCAP
ECPG 1.00 0.41 0.44
ATLC 0.41 1.00 0.40
JCAP 0.44 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ECPG, ATLC and JCAP?

Encore Capital (ECPG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Encore Capital (ECPG) $2.14B, Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) $1.34B, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) $1.11B.

Which stock is cheaper, ECPG, ATLC and JCAP?

Jefferson Capital (JCAP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Encore Capital (ECPG) 7.1x, Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) 9.1x, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) 6.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Encore Capital (ECPG) is cheapest (Encore Capital (ECPG) 7.1x, Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) 9.1x, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) 7.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Encore Capital (ECPG) +29.5%, Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) +83.7%, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) +30.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Jefferson Capital (JCAP) has the highest net margin (Encore Capital (ECPG) 15.9%, Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) 5.5%, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) 25.4%). On return on invested capital, Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) leads (Encore Capital (ECPG) 10.7%, Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) 20.9%, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) 13.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Encore Capital (ECPG) returned the most: Encore Capital (ECPG) +122.5%, Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) +42.7%, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) +7.1%. Over five years, Encore Capital (ECPG) compounded fastest (Encore Capital (ECPG) +13.4%/yr, Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) +4.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Encore Capital (ECPG) has been the steadiest (Encore Capital (ECPG) 34.7%, Atlanticus Holdings (ATLC) 51.9%, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) 35.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ECPG, ATLC and JCAP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Encore Capital (ECPG) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.