Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Revenues
Revenue from receivable portfolios, net	$ 270,094	$ 264,110
Other revenues	18,923	13,672
Total revenues	289,017	277,782
Operating expenses
Salaries and employee benefits	69,642	65,552
Cost of legal collections	54,308	54,998
Other operating expenses	26,343	24,326
Collection agency commissions	10,120	10,685
General and administrative expenses	35,239	31,197
Depreciation and amortization	9,861	8,137
Total operating expenses	205,513	194,895
Income from operations	83,504	82,887
Other (expense) income
Interest expense	(50,691)	(42,303)
Other income	7,124	2,117
Total other expense	(43,567)	(40,186)
Income before income taxes	39,937	42,701
Provision for income taxes	(10,148)	(14,614)
Income from continuing operations	29,789	28,087
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax	(3,182)	1,880
Net income	26,607	29,967
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(913)	(542)
Net income attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc. stockholders	25,694	29,425
Amounts attributable to Encore Capital Group, Inc.:
Income from continuing operations	28,876	27,545
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax	$ (3,182)	$ 1,880
Basic earnings (loss) per share from:
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 1.13	$ 1.06
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	(0.12)	0.07
Basic (in dollars per share)	1.01	1.13
Diluted earnings (loss) per share from:
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	1.12	1.01
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	(0.13)	0.07
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.99	$ 1.08
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	25,550	26,072
Diluted (in shares)	25,868	27,315