Carter Bankshares Inc. Common Stock (CARE)

FairStock Score: 43/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I look at Carter Bankshares as a small regional bank: 687 employees, retail and commercial deposits and loans, plus insurance services. Regional banking is a commodity business; a moat usually comes from low-cost deposits, local relationships, and disciplined underwriting, not from product novelty. The reported numbers are superficially appealing. At the 2026-10-13 close of $30.19, FairStock calculates a P/E of 5.21, P/B of 1.24, and ROE of 27.22%. Filed results show net income of $31.4M in FY2025, $24.5M in FY2024, and $23.4M in FY2023, while the latest filed fiscal Q2 2026 (quarter ended 2026-06-30) had net income of $28.9M and diluted EPS of $1.31. But the quality markers are troubling: FairStock's Piotroski F-Score is 1/9, revenue growth is -12.73%, and the Lynch category is SLOW GROWER — Shrinking, with profit -0.2% a year over four years and revenue 3.8%. The huge $85.8M net income in fiscal Q1 2026 (quarter ended 2026-03-31) looks anomalous and needs explanation; I never pay for one-time windfalls. For a bank, I need CET1, net interest margin, nonperforming loans, charge-offs, and reserve coverage — none are in the data. P/B of 1.24 is not demanding, and a 5.21 P/E is cheap if earnings are sustainable. But with weak internal signals, shrinking long-term growth, and no credit underwriting detail, this is a statistical cheapness, not a clearly durable bargain. I would require evidence that returns are repeatable and credit is sound before calling it a Graham-style value.

In plain English: Carter Bankshares is a small regional bank holding company for Carter Bank & Trust, serving retail and commercial customers. The business looks mixed: yearly reported profit has grown from $23.4 million in FY2023 to $31.4 million in FY2025, but revenue has been shrinking and a quality check score is very weak. At the 2026-10-13 close, the price looks cheap compared with reported profit and slightly above accounting book value, but missing loan and capital details make the cheapness uncertain.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer