Start here if you're new
what it is
Stellar takes deposits, makes loans, and pockets the spread between what it earns and what it pays.
how it gets paid
Last year Stellar Bancorp made $574M in revenue. Interest on loans was the main engine at $425M, or 74% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 4.6% last year. The number that mattered was $574 million in annual revenue.
what just happened
Revenue hit $430M and EPS reached $1.47, but the cleaner read is that annual revenue still fell 4.6% to $574M.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
65/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
16.4x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
1.7% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
$2.15 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 60/100 — average
What they do
Stellar takes deposits, makes loans, and pockets the spread between what it earns and what it pays.
This bank wins the boring way. It had $10.6 billion in assets as of September 30, 2025, and only $70 million of long-term debt, or 4% of capital. That means your bank is funded mostly by customer deposits, not Wall Street IOUs, so it can keep lending when funding markets get weird.
How they make money
$574M
annual revenue · their business grew -4.6% last year
Interest on loans
$425M
2.0%
Interest on investments
$74M
+6.0%
Service charges and deposit fees
$34M
+1.0%
Mortgage, treasury, and card fees
$23M
8.0%
Other noninterest income
$18M
5.0%
The products that matter
commercial loans and deposits
Commercial Banking
$447M · 78% of revenue
it produces the core $447M net interest income stream, and that stream fell 4.6% last year. that's the number you watch if the merger drags.
core earnings engine
fees and banking services
Non-Interest Income
$127M · 22% of revenue
this $127M revenue bucket was flat last year. it helps diversify the model, but not enough to offset pressure in the lending spread.
stability, not growth
Key numbers
4.0%
debt to capital
Long-term debt is just 4% of capital. Plain English: this bank is not leaning on heavy borrowing to stay upright.
$10.6B
total assets
That asset base gives Stellar real lending scale in its markets, even though the equity value is only about $2 billion.
16.4x
trailing p/e
You are paying 16.4 times trailing earnings for a bank with revenue down 4.6%, so this is a stability valuation, not a growth valuation.
1.7%
dividend yield
The yield is real but small. You are not buying STEL for income first.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 70 / 100
- long-term debt $70M (4% of capital)
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for STEL right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $430M and EPS reached $1.47, but the cleaner read is that annual revenue still fell 4.6% to $574M.
Short version: the quarter looked huge, with revenue up 196% vs. prior year and EPS up 194%. The longer version is less glamorous: trailing EPS is $2.17, the fiscal 2024 estimate is $2.15, and the business still posted a full-year revenue decline.
$430M
revenue
$1.47
eps
+196%
revenue growth
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was $574 million in annual revenue, down 4.6%, because one loud quarter does not erase a shrinking yearly top line.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk here is the Prosperity Bancshares merger not closing on the expected path.
high
deal clearance and closing risk
The $2B acquisition still needs regulatory approval. A stock trading about 20% above its pre-deal level is telling you the market expects a close.
If approval stalls or the deal breaks, that premium can disappear fast.
med
standalone earnings are softening
Net interest income fell 4.6%, non-interest income was flat, and net profit margin declined to 24.9% from 26.5%.
If the merger fails, investors are left with a bank that was already losing a little operating momentum.
med
efficiency ratio is moving the wrong way
Wall Street expects the efficiency ratio to worsen to 67.4% over the next year. For banks, higher means more of each revenue dollar gets eaten by costs.
That pressures returns even if revenue stabilizes.
The combined risk picture is simple: the stock is carrying roughly a 20% deal premium while the underlying bank is showing lower net interest income and a 24.9% margin.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
regulatory
antitrust clearance path
The key issue is still merger approval. If the timeline slips, the spread starts pricing more failure risk.
calendar
q1 2026 earnings report
Next earnings are scheduled for April 24, 2026. If the deal is still pending, this becomes the next read on the standalone bank.
profitability
efficiency ratio at 67.4%
Higher means costs are eating more revenue. That matters more if you end up owning the bank instead of selling it.
core trend
net interest income direction
$447M of net interest income pays most of the bills. Another decline would make the standalone story harder to defend.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
65 / 100
in human-speak, analysts think the numbers are workable but not clean enough to trust blindly in a deal break scenario.
risk rank
3
safer than many small caps, but event risk is doing more of the work than balance sheet risk.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for STEL is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$33
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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