As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q3. Today, we are looking at specialty finance stocks, starting with Main Street Capital (NYSE: MAIN).

Specialty finance companies provide targeted lending or financial services for specific industries or needs. They benefit from expertise in particular sectors, often reduced competition in specialized niches, and tailored underwriting that can yield higher margins. Challenges include concentration risk in specific industries, difficulty achieving scale efficiencies, and potential vulnerability during sector-specific downturns affecting their specialized markets.

The 10 specialty finance stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 5.8%.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 9.5% on average since the latest earnings results.

Main Street Capital (NYSE: MAIN)

With a focus on building long-term partnerships rather than quick transactions, Main Street Capital (NYSE: MAIN) is a business development company that provides long-term debt and equity capital to lower middle market and middle market companies.

Main Street Capital reported revenues of $139.8 million, up 2.2% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company.

In commenting on the Company's operating results for the third quarter of 2025, Dwayne L. Hyzak, Main Street's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are pleased with our performance in the third quarter, which resulted in another quarter of strong operating results highlighted by an annualized return on equity of 17.0%, favorable levels of net investment income per share and distributable net investment income per share and another record for net asset value per share primarily driven by a significant net fair value increase of our existing lower middle market investment portfolio. We believe that these continued strong results demonstrate the sustainable strength of our overall platform, the benefits of our differentiated and diversified investment strategies, the unique contributions of our asset management business and the continued underlying strength and quality of our portfolio companies."

Interestingly, the stock is up 8.6% since reporting and currently trades at $62.08.

Read our full report on Main Street Capital here, it’s free.

Best Q3: Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ: ECPG)

Operating in the often misunderstood world of debt collection since 1999, Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ: ECPG) purchases portfolios of defaulted consumer debt at deep discounts and works with individuals to recover these obligations while helping them toward financial recovery.

Encore Capital Group reported revenues of $460.4 million, up 25.4% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 11.9%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS and revenue estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 28.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $55.02.

Is now the time to buy Encore Capital Group? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q3: DigitalBridge (NYSE: DBRG)

Transforming from a traditional real estate investor to a digital-focused powerhouse in 2021, DigitalBridge Group (NYSE: DBRG) is a global digital infrastructure investment firm that manages capital and operates assets across data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, and edge infrastructure.

DigitalBridge reported revenues of $3.82 million, down 95% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 96.2%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA and revenue estimates.

DigitalBridge delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 20.6% since the results and currently trades at $15.31.

Read our full analysis of DigitalBridge’s results here.

Farmer Mac (NYSE: AGM)

Created by Congress in 1987 to build a bridge between Wall Street and rural America, Farmer Mac (NYSE: AGM) provides a secondary market for agricultural and rural loans, helping lenders increase their liquidity and lending capacity to serve rural America.

Farmer Mac reported revenues of $94.96 million, up 11.1% year on year. This print lagged analysts' expectations by 6%. Overall, it was a softer quarter as it also recorded a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is up 5.9% since reporting and currently trades at $167.45.

Read our full, actionable report on Farmer Mac here, it’s free.

Capital Southwest (NASDAQ: CSWC)

Originally founded in 1961 as a venture capital investor that helped launch Texas Instruments, Capital Southwest (NASDAQ: CSWC) is a business development company that provides debt and equity financing to middle-market companies primarily in the United States.

Capital Southwest reported revenues of $56.95 million, up 16.9% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2.2%. Taking a step back, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced a decent beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is up 14.6% since reporting and currently trades at $23.42.

Read our full, actionable report on Capital Southwest here, it’s free.

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