Business First (BFST) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates

Group 1: Earnings Performance - Business First reported quarterly earnings of $0.66 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.65 per share, and up from $0.64 per share a year ago, representing an earnings surprise of +1.54% [1] - The company posted revenues of $81.46 million for the quarter ended June 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.29%, compared to year-ago revenues of $66.18 million [2] - Over the last four quarters, Business First has consistently surpassed consensus EPS estimates and revenue estimates [2] Group 2: Stock Performance and Outlook - Business First shares have declined approximately 1.2% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.6% [3] - The company's earnings outlook is crucial for investors, as it includes current consensus earnings expectations for upcoming quarters and any recent changes to these expectations [4] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the next quarter is $0.69 on revenues of $80.27 million, and for the current fiscal year, it is $2.68 on revenues of $318.4 million [7] Group 3: Industry Context - The Banks - Northeast industry, to which Business First belongs, is currently ranked in the top 15% of over 250 Zacks industries, indicating a favorable outlook [8] - Empirical research suggests a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, which can be tracked by investors [5] - The favorable trend in estimate revisions prior to the earnings release has resulted in a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) for Business First, suggesting expected outperformance in the near future [6]