First Merchants Q1 profit beats on higher interest income

First Merchants

22/04/2026 21:23

Overview

U.S. regional bank's Q1 adjusted EPS rose 9.6% yr/yr, beating analyst expectations

Adjusted net income for Q1 beat analyst expectations

Company completed acquisition of First Savings Financial Group, adding $2.4 bln in assets

Outlook

Company expects continued growth and strong capital position in current market conditions

Company expects incremental funding capacity from mortgage loan sale closing in second qtr

Result Drivers

FIRST SAVINGS ACQUISITION - Co said the acquisition of First Savings added $2.4 bln in assets, $1.8 bln in loans, and $1.7 bln in deposits, but also resulted in $17 mln in acquisition-related costs

MORTGAGE LOAN RECLASSIFICATION - Co recorded a $29.8 mln mark-to-market loss on $357 mln of mortgage loans moved to held-for-sale, reducing noninterest income

NET INTEREST INCOME GROWTH - Net interest income rose 8.8% from prior qtr, driven by higher net interest margin, improved funding mix, and lower deposit costs

Company press release: ID:nGNX4nmS9S

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 Adjusted EPS
Beat
$1.03
$0.93 (6 Analysts)
Q1 EPS
$0.45
Q1 Adjusted Net Income
Beat
$63.10 mln
$53.95 mln (5 Analysts)
Q1 Net Income
$27.70 mln
Q1 Net Interest Income
$151.30 mln


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 4 "strong buy" or "buy", 2 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the banks peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for First Merchants Corp is $48.00, about 18.9% above its April 21 closing price of $40.36

The stock recently traded at 10 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 9 three months ago

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(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)