First Merchants Corporation (FRME) Stock

First Merchants Corporation (FRME) is a Financials stock trading at $41.88 (as of 2026-08-20), with a market capitalization of $2.64B and a trailing P/E of 13.3. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

First Merchants Corporation is a financial holding company for First Merchants Bank, offering community banking services including deposit accounts and a range of loans such as consumer, commercial, agricultural, and real estate mortgage lending. It also provides trust, brokerage, private wealth management, and corporate services like letters of credit, operating through banking locations and electronic/mobile delivery channels.

Understand First Merchants Corporation: how it makes money

First Merchants Corporation operates a community bank, First Merchants Bank, taking deposits and making loans, and it also earns fee income from trust, brokerage, private wealth management, and corporate services like letters of credit and repurchase agreements.

Bank profits are structurally driven by taking customer deposits, deploying them into loans, and generating additional fee income from trust, wealth, brokerage, and corporate banking services.

Business quality (Weak): The company has a reported efficiency ratio (74.45 percent) and multiple credit quality metrics (including non-performing assets) that can help monitor operating performance and downside credit risk.

Valuation: At 13× earnings, FRME trades in line with the Banking average (13×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

  • Operational discipline tracked by efficiency: Efficiency Ratio is 74.45 percent for the latest reported period, giving investors a direct read on how efficiently the bank is operating.
  • Credit quality indicators are a focus point: Non-Performing Assets (Ending Balance) is reported at 0.02 USD_B, along with other non-performing asset and delinquency measures, which supports ongoing credit monitoring.

Bear case

  • Credit metrics can change and pressure earnings: Because the bank makes consumer, commercial, agri-business, and real estate mortgage loans, deterioration in non-performing assets, delinquency, or related credit metrics could hurt operating results.
  • Expense and operating efficiency risk: If the Efficiency Ratio worsens, it can indicate rising operating costs relative to operating income, which can reduce profitability even if credit stays stable.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$41.88
Market Cap$2.64B
P/E Ratio13.3
EV / EBITDA10.0
Price / Book0.99
Price / Sales2.78
DCF Value (model)$63.81
DCF Upside vs Price52.4%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$924.79M
Net Margin24.4%
Revenue Growth (YoY)11.7%
EPS Growth (YoY)-51.6%
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E13.3
Sector P/E (Financials)15.1
Industry P/E (Banking)12.9
vs Sector-12.3%
vs Industry2.8%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional HolderVANGUARD GROUP INC ($224.28M)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Company
SectorFinancials
IndustryBanking
CEOMark K. Hardwick
Employees2,120
CountryUS
IPO Date1989-06-20

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FRME earnings history · FRME institutional & insider holders · FRME KPIs & operating metrics · FRME financials · FRME investor presentations & press releases · FRME SEC filings · FRME peers · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-08-20.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.