First Merchants Corporation Common Stock (FRME)

FairStock Score: 52/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

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

As a Graham-and-Buffett-style investor, I want a bank that earns solid returns on equity and trades at a sensible price to book, with a balance sheet I can trust. First Merchants is a $2.5 billion regional bank holding company with deposits, commercial and consumer loans, mortgages, and wealth management. At the 2026-10-13 close of $39.06, FairStock calculations show a P/E of 12.56, P/B of 0.91, ROE of 7.37%, and a 3.79% dividend yield. The sub-book price is interesting, but a 7.37% ROE is not the durable high return I look for. Filed figures are mixed: in fiscal FY2025, the year ended 2025-12-31, net income was $226.0M and diluted EPS $3.88, up from $201.4M and $3.41 in FY2024, and above FY2023's $223.8M and $3.73. But in fiscal Q1 2026, the quarter ended 2026-03-31, net income was $28.2M and diluted EPS $0.45, down from $55.3M and $0.94 in fiscal Q1 2025. That is a sharp break. The Lynch classification is STALWART based on 8.7% five-year profit growth, yet the latest evidence is weaker, and the Piotroski F-Score is 3/9. CET1, net interest margin, and credit/underwriting data are not in the materials, and D/E is N/A, so I cannot fully judge leverage or loan quality; combined ratio is not applicable to a bank. I would call the price fair-to-cheap, but only with an unusual amount of uncertainty.

In plain English: First Merchants is a regional bank that takes deposits, makes loans to people and businesses, and offers wealth management. Its full-year 2025 profit rose from 2024, but the latest quarter's profit fell sharply from a year earlier. At $39.06, the shares look inexpensive compared with the company's accounting value and dividend, but the uneven results and missing loan-quality details make it look more fair than clearly cheap.

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

Sources (SEC EDGAR): 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) · fiscal Q1 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-03-31) · 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