Business First (BFST) Tops Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Core Viewpoint - Business First (BFST) reported quarterly earnings of $0.65 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.61 per share, and showing an increase from $0.50 per share a year ago, indicating a positive earnings surprise of 6.56% [1] Financial Performance - The company achieved revenues of $79.21 million for the quarter ended March 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.44%, and up from $60.92 million in the same quarter last year [2] - Over the last four quarters, Business First has consistently exceeded consensus EPS estimates and revenue estimates [2] Stock Performance - Business First shares have declined approximately 9.7% since the beginning of the year, compared to a decline of 8.6% in the S&P 500 [3] - The stock's immediate price movement will largely depend on management's commentary during the earnings call [3] Future Outlook - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $0.66 on revenues of $78.64 million, and for the current fiscal year, it is $2.78 on revenues of $318.06 million [7] - The estimate revisions trend for Business First is currently favorable, resulting in a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy), suggesting the stock is expected to outperform the market in the near future [6] Industry Context - The Banks - Northeast industry, to which Business First belongs, is currently ranked in the top 22% of over 250 Zacks industries, indicating a strong industry performance potential [8] - Empirical research indicates a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, which can be tracked by investors [5]