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what it is
It runs a regional bank that lends money, takes deposits, and sells wealth management services.
how it gets paid
Last year First Financial Bancorp made $1.0B in revenue. Commercial Banking was the main engine at $0.33B, or 33% of sales.
growth snapshot
Revenue was roughly flat last year at ~$1.0B. Feeds sometimes mis-label a multi-quarter stretch as “one quarter,” so we scale a typical quarter to ~one-fourth of annual revenue here.
what just happened
The latest quarter printed roughly ~$250M of revenue (~¼ of ~$1.0B) with EPS near ~$0.50 if you treat ~$2.02 as trailing annual EPS, not a single quarter.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
80/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
11.7x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
3.7% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
$2.66 fy2025 eps est
xvary composite: 69/100 — average
What they do
It runs a regional bank that lends money, takes deposits, and sells wealth management services.
You are not buying a one-trick lender. First Financial has $16.4B in deposits and $13.4B in loans, so your funding base is bigger than the loans it funds. Wealth management adds about $4B in assets under management (money clients hand over to be managed), so you get service fees, not just interest checks.
How they make money
$1.0B
annual revenue · their business grew -0.0% last year
Commercial Banking
$0.33B
+0.0%
Retail Banking
$0.22B
+0.0%
Investment Commercial Real Estate
$0.16B
1.0%
Mortgage Banking
$0.10B
2.0%
Commercial Finance
$0.10B
+0.0%
Wealth Management
$0.09B
+1.0%
The products that matter
business lending and treasury services
Commercial Banking
core profit engine
this sits inside the bank’s $780M of net interest income, which is 78% of total revenue. if loan growth slows or credit quality weakens, this is where you feel it first.
78% revenue driver
consumer deposits and household lending
Retail Banking
~$16.4B deposits (company)
the bank ended 2025 with ~$16.4B in deposits versus ~$13.4B in loans. retail is a key funding channel inside that stack — cheap, sticky deposits are the raw material for margin.
funding base
advisory, trust, and fee income
Wealth Management
inside $220M fee revenue
this lives in the $220M non-interest-income bucket, or 22% of total revenue. it is smaller than lending, but it gives you at least some revenue that does not depend on the Fed.
22% of revenue
Key numbers
$21.1B
assets
You are looking at a $21.1B bank, not a toy lender. Bigger balance sheets spread fixed costs across more loans.
$13.4B
loans
Loans are the income engine. $13.4B in loans means credit quality decides a lot of your return.
3.7%
dividend yield
You get paid 3.7% to own it. That softens the pain if the stock sits still.
80
earnings predictability
80 out of 100 means earnings are steadier than usual. Less whiplash matters when bank profits swing with rates.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 75 / 100
- long-term debt $348M (11% of capital)
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for FFBC right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue near ~$250M for the quarter (~¼ of ~$1.0B FY) with trailing EPS near ~$2.02 — not a second $1B year in three months.
Prior “$737M quarter” lines mixed period labels with full-year scale. Credit quality and net interest margin matter more than any one mis-scaled headline.
~$250M
revenue (q)
~$0.50
eps (q est)
~$2.02
ttm eps
what mattered most
Whether loan losses stay tame while funding costs move — that drives the bank more than a noisy revenue print.
source: company earnings report
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk here is integrating the $1.4B BankFinancial acquisition without losing deposits, overpaying on expenses, or discovering weaker loan quality after the fact.
high
rate compression
$780M of revenue comes from net interest income. If rates fall faster than funding costs, the spread narrows and the core earnings engine slows with it.
exposes 78% of revenue
high
merger integration misses
The deal added $1.4B in assets on jan 1, 2026. If customers leave, systems break, or cost saves arrive late, you do not get the earnings lift that justifies buying a scale story.
$1.4B assets now need to earn their keep
med
regional concentration
FFBC is tied to Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. A local slowdown hits borrowers, credit quality, and deposit growth all at once. You are not diversified across the whole country here.
four-state economic footprint
med
fee income is too small to save you
Non-interest income is $220M, or 22% of revenue. That helps diversify the story, but not enough to offset a serious hit to loan spreads or credit costs.
only 22% of revenue is non-interest income
This is a $1.0B revenue bank where 78% of revenue comes from net interest income. Add a $1.4B acquisition, and the combined risk picture is simple: margin pressure plus bad integration would hit the two parts of the thesis that matter most.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
next earnings
first full post-merger quarter
The next report is the first clean read on whether the jan 1, 2026 deal is helping or just making the org chart larger. This is the calendar event that matters most.
core metric
net interest income staying above the current $780M base
That number is the bank’s earnings engine. If it rolls over after the deal, the low multiple will stop looking like value and start looking accurate.
business trend
whether fee income can do more than tread water
Non-interest income fell 2%. You want to see the $220M fee base stabilize or grow so the stock is not entirely hostage to rate moves.
risk check
deposit retention after the acquisition
Retail deposits totaled $13.4B at the end of 2025. If acquired customers drift, the funding base gets more expensive, and that pressure shows up fast in a spread business.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
80 / 100
In human-speak: analysts see a bank that usually prints close to expectations. That fits the business model. Regional banks are supposed to be steady, not theatrical.
risk rank
2
A 2 rank means lower risk than most stocks in the market. You still have bank risk. You just do not have biotech-trial risk.
price stability
75 / 100
This has traded like a bank, not a casino chip. That matters if you own it for the 3.7% yield and not for adrenaline.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for FFBC is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$31
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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