Business First Bancshares (BFST) investor relations material

Executive summary

• Q3’26 assets were $8.956B, gross loans held for investment $6.781B, and deposits $7.377B; core net income was $26.012M and core diluted EPS was $0.79.

• Loan and deposit growth, wider margins, and controlled expenses lifted core earnings and returns; core EPS rose 9.7% YoY.

Financial highlights

• Core net income was $26.012M versus $21.215M YoY, and core diluted EPS was $0.79 versus $0.72.

• Net income available to common shareholders was $23.201M versus $21.505M YoY; GAAP diluted EPS was $0.71 versus $0.73.

• Net interest income was $80.7M versus $69.3M YoY; net interest margin was 3.86% versus 3.68%.

• Core pre-tax, pre-provision earnings were $36.3M and core efficiency ratio was 61.1%.

• GAAP noninterest expense was $60.5M, including $3.5M of acquisition and conversion costs; core expense was $56.9M, down $1.4M QoQ. Noninterest income was $12.5M, below expectations.

Outlook and guidance

• Q4 loan growth expected in the mid-to-upper single digits; Houston pipeline activity continued, and management cited Q3 growth as a model to replicate.

• Q4 NIM expansion was viewed as achievable; low-to-mid single-digit quarterly expansion may be reasonable if rates move gradually and deposit-cost lag persists.

• Q4 core noninterest expense baseline was $57M, followed by low single-digit organic expense growth over the next year.

• Management expects NPA reductions of up to $15M in Q4 and further declines in H1 2027; NPL-to-loan target is 50 bps or less.

• Management cited a Q4 ROAA goal of 1.25%, versus Q3 core ROAA of 1.17%, subject to margin, growth, funding costs, and credit progress.