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what it is
Business First runs b1BANK, taking deposits and making loans to businesses and consumers across its markets.
how it gets paid
Last year Business First made $465M in revenue. Net interest income was the main engine at $372M, or 80% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 12.1% last year. $347M matters most because scale pays the bills at a bank.
what just happened
Revenue hit $347M, up 193% vs. prior year, while EPS rose to $2.08.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
70/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
10.5x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.3% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
$2.26 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 62/100 — average
What they do
Business First runs b1BANK, taking deposits and making loans to businesses and consumers across its markets.
Banking is local, and that still matters. Business First has built a $7.95 billion asset base since 2006, and your checking account, loan, and cash tools tend to stay where your relationships live. That stickiness shows up in $6.51 billion of deposits funding $5.97 billion of loans.
How they make money
$465M
annual revenue · their business grew +12.1% last year
Net interest income
$372M
+12.1%
Service charges and deposit fees
$37M
+4.0%
Mortgage banking and loan fees
$28M
3.0%
Wealth management and treasury services
$19M
+9.0%
Other banking income
$9M
+1.0%
The products that matter
lends and gathers deposits
Commercial Banking
$273M · 87.3% of revenue
it's the engine. commercial banking produced $273M of revenue, and management is targeting mid-single-digit annual loan growth to keep it moving.
core
fee income and advisory
Wealth Management
$40M · 12.7% of revenue
this $40M stream matters because it diversifies a bank that still gets nearly 88% of revenue from interest income.
fee income
buys and integrates banks
Acquisition Engine
3 bank integrations in 2026
Progressive Bancorp closed in jan 2026, and two more banks are being integrated this year. that's the growth plan — and the main execution risk.
execution watch
Key numbers
$7.95B
total assets
You are paying about $853M in market value for a bank managing $7.95B of assets.
$6.51B
total deposits
Deposits are the raw material for a bank. More cheap deposits usually mean better loan economics.
10.5x
trailing p/e
P/E → price divided by earnings → so what: you are paying $10.50 for each $1 of profit, which is cheap versus the market.
$378M
long-term debt
Debt → borrowed money → so what: $378M equals 31% of capital, which is fine for now but gives you less room if credit costs climb.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 60 / 100
- long-term debt $378M (31% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for BFST right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $347M, up 193% vs. prior year, while EPS rose to $2.08.
That is the kind of jump you usually see after a deal closes or comparisons get very easy. Contrast that with 2024 full-year EPS of $2.26 from the quarterly run-rate, and you can see why the next few quarters matter more than the headline.
$347M
revenue
$2.08
eps
+193%
revenue growth
the number that mattered
$347M matters most because scale pays the bills at a bank, and that figure was 193% above last year.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is commercial real estate credit stress while BFST is integrating three banks.
high
Commercial real estate loans
BFST has called out a substantial commercial real estate portfolio. If property values fall or borrowers crack, credit costs rise fast in a bank earning just 1.09% on assets.
this hits the core lending engine that produces 87.3% of revenue
high
IT internal control weakness
the company disclosed a material weakness in IT controls tied to financial reporting. that's the kind of issue you want fixed before, not during, a heavy integration year.
the cost is credibility, audit friction, and less room for execution mistakes
med
Three-bank integration load
Progressive Bancorp is already closed, and two more banks are being integrated in 2026. serial acquisition works until systems, culture, and credit books stop cooperating.
if integration slips, the path from 1.09% ROA to 1.2% gets pushed out
these risks sit on top of a bank earning 1.09% on assets with $378M of long-term debt. there is room for upside if execution lands. there is not much room for sloppiness.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
q1 2026 earnings report
scheduled for april 22, 2026. you want to see whether the q4 margin improvement carries into the new year.
profitability
return on assets vs. the 1.2% target
1.09% today versus 1.2% targeted for 2026. that 11-basis-point gap is the difference between a cheap bank and a rerating story.
controls
material weakness resolution
if the IT control issue drags on while acquisitions are being integrated, you have two execution problems stacked on top of each other.
estimate
2026 EPS forecast
analysts expect $2.81 EPS in 2026 versus $2.72 in 2025. at roughly 9.6x that number, even a small miss matters to the valuation case.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
70 / 100
in human-speak, the bank is steady enough to model, but not steady enough to stop watching credit and integration closely.
risk rank
2
that means safer than 80% of stocks on this dataset. helpful, but regional banks can still get into trouble quickly when asset quality turns.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for BFST is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$27
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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