SRCO vs JCAP vs ECPG Stock Comparison

Sparta Commercial Services, Jefferson Capital and Encore Capital Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (LU) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
ECPG Encore Capital Group Inc
$99.46 +1.1% 1M +124.0% 1Y
Market cap
$2.17B
P/E
7.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.90B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Finance Financial Services
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Encore Capital leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Encore Capital 6, Jefferson Capital 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSRCOJCAPECPGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.82M $1.09B $2.17B ECPG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -1.3x 6.7x 7.2x JCAP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 7.1x 7.0x ECPG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.9% +30.8% +29.5% JCAP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -974.8% 25.4% 15.9% JCAP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 13.2% 10.7% JCAP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 4.4x 5.4x JCAP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -53.3% +2.9% +124.0% ECPG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.6%/yr — +13.1%/yr ECPG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 131.8% 35.6% 34.7% ECPG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 11/100 53/100 67/100 ECPG

Percentile Scorecard

SRCOJCAPECPG

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

AxisSRCOJCAPECPG
Valuation 3 #164 of 169 60 #69 of 169 69 #54 of 169
Growth 32 #109 of 160 57 #70 of 160 93 #12 of 160
Profitability 14 #129 of 149 97 #6 of 149 78 #33 of 149
Financial Health 0 #157 of 158 36 #102 of 158 25 #119 of 158
Shareholder Returns 5 #129 of 136 18 #112 of 136 73 #38 of 136
Overall 11 53 67
  • SRCO ranked among 174 companies in Lending and Credit
  • JCAP ranked among 174 companies in Lending and Credit
  • ECPG ranked among 174 companies in Lending and Credit

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSRCOJCAPECPGSPY
1 month -12.5%+3.0%+1.1% -0.2%
3 months -22.2%-2.4%+3.7% +3.9%
6 months -22.2%-4.0%+18.3% +8.2%
Year to date -41.7%-10.3%+83.0% +12.9%
1 year -53.3%+2.9%+124.0% +12.3%
3 years -30.0%—+151.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year -11.2%—+36.1% +23.3%
5 years -12.5%—+85.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year -2.6%—+13.1% +10.9%
10 years -58.8%—+401.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year -8.5%—+17.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSRCOJCAPECPGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 131.8%35.6%34.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 225.5%34.3%31.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.090.730.81 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.400.083.58 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -85.7%-33.6%-62.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -61.1%-16.5%-5.8% -1.2%
52-week high $0.18$24.00$105.60 $779.14
52-week low $0.06$15.52$40.90 $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.

MultipleSRCOJCAPECPG
P/E now vs peer median -1.3xmedian 11.1x 6.9xmedian 11.1x 7.1xmedian 11.1x
P/S now vs peer median 12.9xmedian 2.6x 1.8xmedian 2.6x 1.1xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 13.5x 8.0xmedian 13.5x 8.2xmedian 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median -5.7xmedian 7.0x —median 7.0x 16.9xmedian 7.0x
P/B now vs peer median -0.3xmedian 0.7x 2.4xmedian 0.7x 2.0xmedian 0.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.02median 0.32 —median 0.32 0.02median 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 monthsSRCOJCAPECPG
Revenue $296.32K $635.89M $1.90B
Gross profit $269.77K – –
Operating income -$2.29M $308.67M $717.47M
Net income -$2.91M $165.04M $301.56M
Free cash flow -$666.29K – $125.14M
EPS (diluted) $-0.05 $2.90 $13.23
Cash & equivalents $54.74K $20.41M $182.93M
Total debt $39.10M $1.41B $4.18B
Shares (diluted) 54.14M 55.52M 22.79M
Enterprise value $4.55M $950.81M $1.43B

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
MetricSRCOJCAPECPG
P/E -1.3x 6.9x 7.1x
P/FCF -5.7x – 16.9x
P/Operating cash flow -5.7x – 13.9x
P/S 12.9x 1.8x 1.1x
P/B -0.3x 2.4x 2.0x
P/Tangible book -0.3x 2.4x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA – 8.0x 8.2x
EV/EBIT -6.1x 8.2x 8.5x
EV/Revenue 47.0x 4.0x 3.2x
EV/FCF -20.9x – 48.8x
EV/Operating cash flow -20.9x – 40.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.02 – 0.02

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSRCOJCAPECPG
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.9% 30.8% 29.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.8% – 17.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.7% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.8% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -97.2% 21.1% 184.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -26.3% – 44.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -79.4% 14.9% 438.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -115.0% – 350.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -32.3% -94.3% 450.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -61.7% – 359.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 40.9% – 21.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 40.0% – -4.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 40.9% – 30.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 40.0% – -3.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSRCOJCAPECPG
Gross margin 91.0% – –
EBITDA margin – 49.8% 39.2%
Operating margin -772.6% 48.5% 37.7%
Pretax margin -1,069% 32.2% 20.6%
Net margin -974.8% 25.4% 15.9%
FCF margin -224.9% – 6.6%
Operating cash flow margin -224.9% – 8.0%
Return on equity – 34.7% 28.5%
Return on assets -2,283% 7.9% 5.5%
Return on invested capital – 13.2% 10.7%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 2.3x 0.3x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.2x – 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 53.5% 2.8% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSRCOJCAPECPG
Debt / assets 10,856% 67.5% 75.1%
Debt / equity -0.7x 3.0x 3.9x
Net debt / EBITDA – 4.4x 5.4x
Debt / FCF -15.2x – 33.4x
Liabilities / assets 14,623% 77.1% 80.6%
Equity / assets -14,523% 22.9% 19.4%
Interest coverage -2.6x 2.8x 2.4x
Current ratio 0.0x – –
Quick ratio 0.0x – –
Cash ratio 0.0x – –
Altman Z-score -1,311 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSRCOJCAPECPG
Dividend yield – 4.8% –
Net buyback yield -6.0% – 5.3%
Shareholder yield -6.0% 4.8% 5.3%
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.

ConsensusSRCOJCAPECPG
Forward P/E – 7.1xFY2026 7.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $2.81FY2026 $14.11FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -19.3%FY2026 +29.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +1.4% +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $755.54MFY2026 $1.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +23.2%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +2.0% +11.1%

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

SRCOJCAPECPG
SRCO 1.00 0.04 0.06
JCAP 0.04 1.00 0.44
ECPG 0.06 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SRCO, JCAP and ECPG?

Encore Capital (ECPG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Sparta Commercial Services (SRCO) $3.82M, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) $1.09B, Encore Capital (ECPG) $2.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, SRCO, JCAP and ECPG?

Jefferson Capital (JCAP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Sparta Commercial Services (SRCO) -1.3x, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) 6.7x, Encore Capital (ECPG) 7.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Encore Capital (ECPG) is cheapest (Jefferson Capital (JCAP) 7.1x, Encore Capital (ECPG) 7.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Jefferson Capital (JCAP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Sparta Commercial Services (SRCO) +1.9%, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) +30.8%, Encore Capital (ECPG) +29.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Jefferson Capital (JCAP) has the highest net margin (Sparta Commercial Services (SRCO) -974.8%, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) 25.4%, Encore Capital (ECPG) 15.9%). On return on invested capital, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) leads (Jefferson Capital (JCAP) 13.2%, Encore Capital (ECPG) 10.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Encore Capital (ECPG) returned the most: Sparta Commercial Services (SRCO) -53.3%, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) +2.9%, Encore Capital (ECPG) +124.0%. Over five years, Encore Capital (ECPG) compounded fastest (Sparta Commercial Services (SRCO) -2.6%/yr, Encore Capital (ECPG) +13.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Encore Capital (ECPG) has been the steadiest (Sparta Commercial Services (SRCO) 131.8%, Jefferson Capital (JCAP) 35.6%, Encore Capital (ECPG) 34.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.