First Merchants Corp

First Merchants pulls in $925M a year and still trades at 10.8x earnings, because banking is apparently the new suspense genre.

If you own FRME, you own a bank that lends money and pays you back in cash.

frme

financials mid cap updated feb 20, 2026
$42.03
market cap ~$2B · 52-week range $33–$43
xvary composite: 51 / 100 · below average
our overall rating — combines growth, value, risk, and momentum
Start here if you're new
what it is
First Merchants is a Midwest bank that takes deposits, makes loans, and sells trust and wealth services.
how it gets paid
Last year First Merchants made $925M in revenue. Net interest income was the main engine at $650M, or 70% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 2.4% last year. Revenue at $687M mattered because it was 3.9 times last year’s level.
what just happened
First Merchants posted $687M of revenue in the quarter, up 192% from a year ago.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
80/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
10.8x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
4.0% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
$3.89 fy2025 eps est
xvary composite: 51/100 — below average
What they do
First Merchants is a Midwest bank that takes deposits, makes loans, and sells trust and wealth services.
You do not switch a checking account, loans, and trust services just because a flyer showed up. FRME has 127 branches across Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, and the merger lifts assets to $21.4B. Your money is already doing paperwork in three states.
financials small-cap banking wealth-management midwest
How they make money
$925M annual revenue · their business grew -2.4% last year
Net interest income
$650M
1.8%
Service charges & fees
$110M
+1.0%
Wealth management & trust
$75M
+6.0%
Mortgage banking
$55M
8.0%
Other noninterest income
$35M
+3.0%
The products that matter
business lending and treasury services
Commercial banking
$18.6B loan book
This is the core lending engine. If credit quality slips inside that $18.6B book, the whole thesis changes fast.
core earnings driver
deposits and consumer lending
Consumer banking
$20.8B deposits
Deposits fund the bank. A $20.8B deposit base matters because cheaper funding can protect margins when rates move the wrong way.
funding base
investment, trust, and fee revenue
Wealth management
inside $217M non-interest income
Fee income gives the story some diversification. It still sits behind a $708M net interest income engine, which tells you what matters more.
rate buffer
Key numbers
$925M
annual revenue
You are buying a bank with $925M of revenue, not a tiny branch office.
10.8x
trailing p/e
You pay 10.8 times earnings, while the bank sends you 4.0% in cash.
4.0%
dividend yield
Your payout beats a normal savings account and keeps showing up every quarter.
$916M
long-term debt
Debt is 28% of capital, so the balance sheet is working, not spotless.
Financial health
B+
strength
  • balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
  • risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
  • price stability 65 / 100
  • long-term debt $916M (28% of capital)
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market

Return history isn't available for FRME right now.

same standard. no invented return math.

source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
First Merchants posted $687M of revenue in the quarter, up 192% from a year ago.
The larger merged bank pushed the quarter higher. Revenue beat the $172.89M consensus mark, and EPS came in at $2.90.
$687M
revenue
$2.90
eps
n/a
n/a
the number that mattered
Revenue at $687M mattered because it was 3.9 times last year’s level.
source: company earnings report, 2026

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What could go wrong

Your top risk is First Savings merger integration. The deal closed on feb 8, 2026, and FRME now has to prove a larger balance sheet can become a better income statement.

!
high
Merger integration
System conversions, customer retention, and cost control now matter more than the deal announcement. If the first few combined quarters don't improve the revenue trend, the acquisition just made a slow grower bigger.
System conversions, customer retention, and cost control now matter more than the deal announcement. If the first few combined quarters don't improve the revenue trend, the acquisition just made a slow grower bigger.
!
high
Net interest margin pressure
$708M of the $925M revenue base comes from net interest income. When deposit costs rise faster than loan yields, the core earnings engine slows down fast.
$708M of the $925M revenue base comes from net interest income. When deposit costs rise faster than loan yields, the core earnings engine slows down fast.
∘
med
Credit quality in the $18.6B loan book
A bigger loan book helps scale. It also gives you more places for losses to show up if commercial borrowers weaken or underwriting slips during integration.
A bigger loan book helps scale. It also gives you more places for losses to show up if commercial borrowers weaken or underwriting slips during integration.
∘
med
Commodity banking economics
Management said it plainly in the filing: this is a highly competitive industry. FRME can win locally, but it still competes on rates, service, and discipline more than on true differentiation.
Management said it plainly in the filing: this is a highly competitive industry. FRME can win locally, but it still competes on rates, service, and discipline more than on true differentiation.
With $708M of $925M revenue tied to spread income, you are mostly underwriting rate discipline and merger execution, not a hidden growth engine.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
Q1 2026 earnings on deck
Estimated for april 23, 2026. This should be your first real look at post-merger operating performance.
trend
Net interest income versus fee income
Net interest income is 76.5% of revenue. If that line keeps shrinking, non-interest income is not big enough to bail out the story.
risk
Integration friction after the feb 8 close
Listen for customer attrition, system issues, and expense pressure. Those are the unglamorous numbers that decide whether a bank merger worked.
metric
Can record balances become revenue growth
Assets, loans, and deposits hit record highs, but full-year revenue still fell 2.4%. That gap is the whole puzzle.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
80 / 100
Management tends to produce relatively stable results. In human-speak: this bank usually does not surprise you, for better or worse.
xvary composite
51 / 100
Below average overall. Translation: the valuation is fine, but the growth and risk profile do not do the selling for you.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity

institutional ownership data for FRME is being compiled.

source: institutional data
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a n/a
$42 current price
n/a target midpoint · n/a from current
target data not available

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