FFBC Q4 Deep Dive: Fee Income Strength and Acquisition Integration Drive Outlook

Regional banking company First Financial Bancorp missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025, but sales rose 6.5% year on year to $238.8 million. Its GAAP profit of $0.64 per share was 4% below analysts’ consensus estimates.

First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:

• Net Interest Income: $174 million vs analyst estimates of $170.8 million (12.7% year-on-year growth, 1.9% beat)
• Net Interest Margin: 4% vs analyst estimates of 4% (2.1 basis point beat)
• Revenue: $238.8 million vs analyst estimates of $246.4 million (6.5% year-on-year growth, 3.1% miss)
• Efficiency Ratio: 62.6% vs analyst estimates of 59.6% (300 basis point miss)
• EPS (GAAP): $0.64 vs analyst expectations of $0.67 (4% miss)
• Tangible Book Value per Share: $15.74 vs analyst estimates of $15.57 (9.8% year-on-year growth, 1.1% beat)
• Market Capitalization: $2.69 billion

Archie Brown, President and CEO, commented on the quarter, "I am very pleased with our record earnings performance for the fourth quarter. Adjusted(1) earnings per share were $0.80, leading to an adjusted(1) return on assets of 1.52%, an adjusted(1) return on tangible common equity ratio of 20.3%. The net interest margin, which declined slightly from the third quarter, has proven resilient as the reduction in funding costs negated most of the impact of short term rate reductions. Balance sheet trends were solid for the quarter with loan growth of 4% on an annualized basis and total average deposits increasing by approximately 7% on an annualized basis, excluding the impact from the Westfield acquisition.

Company Overview

Tracing its roots back to 1863 during the Civil War era, First Financial Bancorp is a bank holding company that provides commercial banking, lending, deposit services, and wealth management to individuals and businesses.

Sales Growth

From lending activities to service fees, most banks build their revenue model around two income sources. Interest rate spreads between loans and deposits create the first stream, with the second coming from charges on everything from basic bank accounts to complex investment banking transactions. Unfortunately, First Financial Bancorp’s 7.6% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was tepid. This fell short of our benchmark for the banking sector and is a poor baseline for our analysis.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. First Financial Bancorp’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its annualized revenue growth of 4% over the last two years was below its five-year trend.

This quarter, First Financial Bancorp’s revenue grew by 6.5% year on year to $238.8 million, missing Wall Street’s estimates.

Net interest income made up 72.5% of the company’s total revenue during the last five years, meaning lending operations are First Financial Bancorp’s largest source of revenue.

Our experience and research show the market cares primarily about a bank’s net interest income growth as non-interest income is considered a lower-quality and non-recurring revenue source.

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Tangible Book Value Per Share (TBVPS)

Banks are balance sheet-driven businesses because they generate earnings primarily through borrowing and lending. They’re also valued based on their balance sheet strength and ability to compound book value (another name for shareholders’ equity) over time.

Because of this, tangible book value per share (TBVPS) emerges as the critical performance benchmark. By excluding intangible assets with uncertain liquidation values, this metric captures real, liquid net worth per share. Other (and more commonly known) per-share metrics like EPS can sometimes be murky due to M&A or accounting rules allowing for loan losses to be spread out.

First Financial Bancorp’s TBVPS grew at a tepid 3.8% annual clip over the last five years. However, TBVPS growth has accelerated recently, growing by 11.9% annually over the last two years from $12.56 to $15.74 per share.

Over the next 12 months, Consensus estimates call for First Financial Bancorp’s TBVPS to grow by 13.9% to $17.93, decent growth rate.

Key Takeaways from First Financial Bancorp’s Q4 Results

It was encouraging to see First Financial Bancorp beat analysts’ net interest income expectations this quarter. We were also happy its tangible book value per share narrowly outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its revenue missed and its EPS fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock remained flat at $27.20 immediately following the results.

Is First Financial Bancorp an attractive investment opportunity at the current price? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).

Regional banking company First Financial Bancorp will be reporting earnings this Wednesday after market hours. Here’s what to look for.

First Financial Bancorp beat analysts’ revenue expectations by 2.7% last quarter, reporting revenues of $234.4 million, up 9.3% year on year. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a solid beat of analysts’ tangible book value per share estimates but a narrow beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Is First Financial Bancorp a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members.

This quarter, analysts are expecting First Financial Bancorp’s revenue to grow 9.9% year on year to $246.4 million, slowing from the 11.3% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $0.79 per share.

Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. First Financial Bancorp has missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates three times over the last two years.

Looking at First Financial Bancorp’s peers in the regional banks segment, some have already reported their Q4 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. ServisFirst Bancshares delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 20.7%, beating analysts’ expectations by 5%, and Dime Community Bancshares reported revenues up 24.5%, topping estimates by 5.2%. ServisFirst Bancshares traded up 14.6% following the results while Dime Community Bancshares was also up 12.5%.

Read our full analysis of ServisFirst Bancshares’s results here and Dime Community Bancshares’s results here.

There has been positive sentiment among investors in the regional banks segment, with share prices up 3.1% on average over the last month. First Financial Bancorp is up 6.7% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $30 (compared to the current share price of $27.14).

As the Q3 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the regional banks industry, including Regions Financial and its peers.

Regional banks, financial institutions operating within specific geographic areas, serve as intermediaries between local depositors and borrowers. They benefit from rising interest rates that improve net interest margins (the difference between loan yields and deposit costs), digital transformation reducing operational expenses, and local economic growth driving loan demand. However, these banks face headwinds from fintech competition, deposit outflows to higher-yielding alternatives, credit deterioration (increasing loan defaults) during economic slowdowns, and regulatory compliance costs. Recent concerns about regional bank stability following high-profile failures and significant commercial real estate exposure present additional challenges.

The 101 regional banks stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.3%.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 9.2% on average since the latest earnings results.

Regions Financial

Tracing its roots back to 1971 and operating in a region known as the "heart of Dixie," Regions Financial is a financial holding company that provides banking services, wealth management, and specialty financial solutions across the South, Midwest, and Texas.

Regions Financial reported revenues of $1.95 billion, up 3.9% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with a narrow beat of analysts’ tangible book value per share estimates but a slight miss of analysts’ net interest income estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 22.7% since reporting and currently trades at $28.65.

Best Q3: Customers Bancorp

Originally founded with a "high-tech, high-touch" branch-light banking strategy, Customers Bancorp is a bank holding company that provides commercial and consumer banking services through its Customers Bank subsidiary, with a focus on business lending and digital banking.

Customers Bancorp reported revenues of $231.8 million, up 38.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.9%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ net interest income estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 17.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $77.19.

Weakest Q3: The Bancorp

Operating behind the scenes of many popular fintech apps and prepaid cards you might use daily, The Bancorp is a bank holding company that specializes in providing banking services to fintech companies and offering specialty lending products.

The Bancorp reported revenues of $174.7 million, up 38.8% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 9.9%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue and net interest income estimates.

The Bancorp delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 9.8% since the results and currently trades at $69.64.

Read our full analysis of The Bancorp’s results here.

Axos Financial

Originally founded as Bank of Internet USA in 1999 before rebranding in 2018, Axos Financial is a diversified financial services company that provides digital banking, securities clearing, and investment advisory solutions to retail and business customers nationwide.

Axos Financial reported revenues of $323.4 million, flat year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. More broadly, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also logged a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but a slight miss of analysts’ tangible book value per share estimates.

The stock is up 14.2% since reporting and currently trades at $90.58.

Read our full, actionable report on Axos Financial here, it’s free for active Edge members.

First Financial Bancorp

Tracing its roots back to 1863 during the Civil War era, First Financial Bancorp is a bank holding company that provides commercial banking, lending, deposit services, and wealth management to individuals and businesses.

First Financial Bancorp reported revenues of $234.4 million, up 9.3% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ tangible book value per share estimates but a narrow beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is up 5.1% since reporting and currently trades at $25.55.

Read our full, actionable report on First Financial Bancorp here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at The Bancorp and the best and worst performers in the regional banks industry.

Regional banks, financial institutions operating within specific geographic areas, serve as intermediaries between local depositors and borrowers. They benefit from rising interest rates that improve net interest margins (the difference between loan yields and deposit costs), digital transformation reducing operational expenses, and local economic growth driving loan demand. However, these banks face headwinds from fintech competition, deposit outflows to higher-yielding alternatives, credit deterioration (increasing loan defaults) during economic slowdowns, and regulatory compliance costs. Recent concerns about regional bank stability following high-profile failures and significant commercial real estate exposure present additional challenges.

The 98 regional banks stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.3%.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 8.6% on average since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q3: The Bancorp

Operating behind the scenes of many popular fintech apps and prepaid cards you might use daily, The Bancorp is a bank holding company that specializes in providing banking services to fintech companies and offering specialty lending products.

The Bancorp reported revenues of $174.7 million, up 38.8% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 9.9%. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ net interest income estimates.

“We had another successful quarter as we continue to build new Fintech capabilities and implement and expand partner programs,” said Damian Kozlowski, CEO of The Bancorp.

The Bancorp delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 8.3% since reporting and currently trades at $70.82.

Best Q3: Customers Bancorp

Originally founded with a "high-tech, high-touch" branch-light banking strategy, Customers Bancorp is a bank holding company that provides commercial and consumer banking services through its Customers Bank subsidiary, with a focus on business lending and digital banking.

Customers Bancorp reported revenues of $231.8 million, up 38.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.9%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ net interest income estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 19% since reporting. It currently trades at $78.00.

ServisFirst Bancshares

Founded in 2005 with a focus on serving underserved mid-sized businesses, ServisFirst Bancshares is a bank holding company that provides commercial banking services to businesses and professionals through its subsidiary ServisFirst Bank.

ServisFirst Bancshares reported revenues of $144.1 million, up 16.5% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. It was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ net interest income estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 3.3% since the results and currently trades at $73.80.

Read our full analysis of ServisFirst Bancshares’s results here.

Banc of California

Originally established in 1941 and now operating with a tech-forward approach that includes its SmartStreet platform for homeowner associations, Banc of California is a California-based bank holding company that provides banking services to small and middle-market businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals.

Banc of California reported revenues of $287.7 million, up 4% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 1.6%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also recorded a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a decent beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is up 16.6% since reporting and currently trades at $19.68.

Read our full, actionable report on Banc of California here, it’s free for active Edge members.

First Financial Bancorp

Tracing its roots back to 1863 during the Civil War era, First Financial Bancorp is a bank holding company that provides commercial banking, lending, deposit services, and wealth management to individuals and businesses.

First Financial Bancorp reported revenues of $234.4 million, up 9.3% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts’ tangible book value per share estimates but a narrow beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is up 6.1% since reporting and currently trades at $25.80.

Read our full, actionable report on First Financial Bancorp here, it’s free for active Edge members.