First Merchants Corporation (FRME)
OvervaluedFundamental
63
Price
$40.68
Market Cap
$2.51B
Part 1 · What the company is worth
Overview
First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including checking, savings, and deposit products; debit and credit cards; mortgages, refinance, construction or renovation of residential properties, agricultural lending, treasury management services and depository products. It also provides personal and commercial wealth management services, brokerage, investment management, private banking, fiduciary estate, and financial planning services. The company operates banking locations in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan counties. It offers its services through electronic and mobile delivery channels. First Merchants Corporation was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Muncie, Indiana.
No editorial profile for this company yet
Direct competitors
Who this company fights with for the same customers
Generated with artificial intelligence on September 18, 2026, shared with all users
The other large Indiana-headquartered commercial bank, competing branch by branch for the same Indiana, Michigan and Illinois deposit accounts, middle-market commercial loans and wealth-management clients.
A large Midwest regional bank with a dense branch and commercial presence in the same Indiana, Ohio and Michigan cities, taking retail and business customers from the same local pool.
A commercial bank holding company of similar profile headquartered in Michigan City, Indiana, chasing the same northern and central Indiana and Michigan small-business borrowers, retail depositors and private-wealth clients.
The largest locally controlled bank in northern Indiana, competing for the same regional commercial lending, deposit and trust business in the markets First Merchants has expanded into.
An Indiana-only commercial bank (Lake City Bank) focused on the same middle-market and agricultural borrowers across central and northern Indiana.
An Indiana community bank with the same mix of retail deposits, small-business and agricultural lending and trust services, now overlapping in southern Indiana where First Merchants has just expanded.
Balance Sheet & Liquidity
Revenue
$660M
Trailing 12 months (through 3/31/2026)
Net Income
$199M
Trailing 12 months (through 3/31/2026)
Free Cash Flow
-
Total Equity
$2.47B
Total Liabilities
$16.56B
Current Ratio
-
Interest Coverage
0.40
Debt/EBITDA
-
Earnings Per Share
Revenue & Net Income
Free Cash Flow
Income Breakdown
Historical statement
Margins over time
Debt over time
Growth grid
Growth — Revenue
Fair Value Estimation
Fair Value
$31.89
Current Price
$40.68
Margin of Safety
-27.5%
Fair Value Range
$23.26 - $40.53
Spread across the valuation methods used, not a statistically calibrated confidence interval.
Estimation Methods
Valuation Metrics
P/E Ratio
12.00
ROE
9.2%
P/B Ratio
0.96
P/FCF
-
Gross Margin
-
ROIC
-
Profitability Radar
Value Creation (Economic Moat)
ROIC
-
WACC
11.7%
ROIC − WACC
-
Fundamental Analysis Criteria
Passed (10)
- EPS shows upward trend
- P/B ratio 0.96
- Operating margin 33.8%
- Low reliance on intangibles
- Price below Graham Number
- Revenue growth 5Y 14.0%
- PEG ratio 1.83
- Earnings quality (operating cash flow / net income) 1.41
- Share dilution -1.4%
- Piotroski F-Score 6/9
Failed (8)
- Price CAGR 0.61%
- Debt/equity ratio
- Interest coverage
- Return on tangible assets
- DCF valuation (Unknown)
- ROE 7.3%
- Earnings surprise, average -3.9%
- Net margin trend 30.1% vs 32.0%
Unavailable (8)
- ROIC –
- Gross margin –
- P/FCF –
- Dividend payout –
- Positive free cash flow
- CapEx intensity
- Current ratio
- Debt/EBITDA
Piotroski F-Score
Mixed signals: some areas need attention
Earnings Quality
High quality: earnings backed by cash
Share Dilution
Buying back shares. Shareholder friendly
Institutional Holdings
Governance
Executive Team
| Name | Title | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Mark K. Hardwick CPA | CEO & Director | 54 |
| Mr. Michael C. Rechin | Advisor & Vice Chair | 66 |
| Mr. Michael J. Stewart | President | 59 |
| Ms. Michele M. Kawiecki | Executive VP, CFO & Principal Accounting Officer | 52 |
| Mr. John J. Martin | Executive VP & Chief Credit Officer | 58 |
| Mr. Joseph C. Peterson | Executive VP & Chief Commercial Officer | 49 |
| Mr. Marcos Nogues C.F.A. | Chief Investment Officer | - |
| Mr. Stephan H. Fluhler | Senior VP & Chief Information Officer | 56 |
| Ms. Nicole M. Weaver | VP & Director of Corporate Administration | - |
| Mr. Brian T. Hunt J.D. | Secretary & Legal Counsel | 65 |
Audit Risk
3
Board Risk
3
Compensation Risk
4
Shareholder Rights Risk
4
Documents
- View document
Annual Report (10-K)
A yearly overview of the business, its financial results, and the risks it faces.
Filed on 2026-02-25
- View document
Quarterly Report (10-Q)
A snapshot of financial performance for the most recent three-month period.
Filed on 2026-07-31
- View document
Current Report (8-K)
An announcement of a major event, such as a leadership change or big news.
Filed on 2026-10-21
via SEC EDGAR
Income History
via SEC EDGAR
Part 2 · The price and its context
This part shows how the price has behaved, not whether the company is worth owning. Inside: technical analysis, potential, historical drawdowns, gamma exposure.
Market Reaction Profile
How much FRME moves, measured on its daily prices.
More volatile than 7% of the tracked stocks (90-day volatility).
- Volatility 30d
- 16.2%
- Volatility 90d
- 19.6%
- Beta vs S&P 500 (1y)
- 0.47Correlation 0.27
- Max drawdown (12m)
- -14.4%
- ATR (14d, % of price)
- 1.83%
Earnings reactions
How FRME moved around its past quarterly results.
Next earnings release
No upcoming release on the calendar.
What usually happens
- Over the last 12 releases the stock moved a median of 2.1% the next day, up or down.
- Next-day moves: up 4, down 8 (out of 12).
- Of the 4 releases that beat estimates, the stock fell the next day after 2.
Release history
| Date | When | EPS est. | EPS actual | Surprise | Gap | 1 day | 5 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 21, 2026 | After the close | 1.04 | 1.10 | +5.4% | 0.0% | +2.2% | n/a |
| Jul 22, 2026 | After the close | 1.05 | 0.74 | -29.6% | -9.5% | -4.3% | -1.1% |
| Apr 22, 2026 | After the close | 0.95 | 1.03 | +8.9% | -2.0% | -1.7% | -1.4% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | After the close | 0.97 | 0.98 | +1.0% | +0.8% | +0.5% | +7.6% |
| Oct 22, 2025 | After the close | 0.98 | 0.98 | +0.1% | -0.5% | -0.5% | -2.6% |
| Jul 23, 2025 | After the close | n/a | n/a | n/a | -0.5% | -3.7% | -6.3% |
| Apr 24, 2025 | Before the open | n/a | n/a | n/a | -5.2% | -1.1% | -3.5% |
| Jan 30, 2025 | Before the open | n/a | n/a | n/a | +1.9% | +3.5% | +8.4% |
| Oct 24, 2024 | Before the open | n/a | n/a | n/a | -3.0% | -3.6% | +1.0% |
| Jul 25, 2024 | Before the open | n/a | n/a | n/a | -0.9% | +2.0% | +1.8% |
| Apr 25, 2024 | Before the open | n/a | n/a | n/a | -0.7% | -1.7% | -2.5% |
| Jan 25, 2024 | Before the open | n/a | n/a | n/a | +1.7% | -2.9% | -6.0% |
Release dates from SEC 8-K filings.
Updated 10/24/2026
Historical statistics for educational purposes only. They are not forecasts and not investment advice.
Price reaction to the news
Latest news on FRME and what the price did next.
Return of the stock minus return of SPY over the same days. A news item close to a price move did not necessarily cause it. Historical data for educational purposes only, not investment advice.
Latest News
Recent headlines for FRME.