Business First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK, a bank serving personal and commercial customers with banking, treasury management and wealth solutions. Company news commonly covers operating results, earnings-call materials, dividend actions and capital management tied to lending, deposit activity, fees and securities income.
Recurring developments also include commercial and corporate banking initiatives, technology partnerships for loan and deposit operations, subordinated debt financing, shareholder voting matters and governance updates. These items reflect BFST's public-company disclosures around bank growth, regulatory capital support and the operating capabilities of b1BANK.
b1BANK (BFST) announced a multi-year partnership with Covecta to deploy agentic AI across deposit and loan operational workflows. The integration requires no platform migration and targets automation of policy-driven tasks, with an expected move from contract to go-live in eight weeks.
Covecta cites a 50% productivity uplift observed with U.K. clients as evidence of capacity and quality improvements; initial deployment emphasizes controls like post-close review and end-to-end assessment consistency.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ: BFST) reported unaudited results for Q4 2025 and fiscal 2025. Q4 net income available to common shareholders was $21.0M or $0.71 diluted EPS; core Q4 net income was $23.5M or $0.79 diluted EPS. For FY2025, net income was $82.5M or $2.79 diluted EPS; core FY net income was $83.5M or $2.83. The board declared a preferred dividend of $18.75 per share and a common dividend of $0.15 per share payable Feb 15, 2026.
Key balance-sheet moves: loans +$168.4M (2.80%), deposits +$191.7M (2.95%), NIM 3.71%, repurchased 150,504 shares ($3.7M), and nonperforming loans ratio rose to 1.24% largely from a single $25.8M CRE relationship.
Business First Bancshares (Nasdaq: BFST) will release fourth quarter 2025 earnings after market close on Thursday, January 22, 2026. Executive management will host a conference call and live webcast the same day at 4:00 p.m. CDT to discuss results.
Dial-in for North America: 1-800-715-9871 (conference ID 9526609). The live webcast will be available at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/3h33e6zb and the slide presentation at https://www.b1bank.com/shareholder-info.
Business First Bancshares (Nasdaq: BFST) completed its acquisition of Progressive Bancorp and Progressive Bank on January 5, 2026, expanding b1BANK's footprint across Louisiana.
The transaction increases Business First's pro forma totals to approximately $8.7 billion in assets, $6.6 billion in total loans, and $7.2 billion in deposits, and adds nine North Louisiana locations. Progressive's reported balances as of September 30, 2025 were $752 million in assets, $669 million in deposits, and $70 million in total equity capital.
Progressive shareholders received Business First common stock (with cash for fractional shares). George Cummings III and David Hampton joined Business First/b1BANK leadership roles; advisors and legal counsel for both parties were disclosed.
Business First Bancshares (Nasdaq: BFST) announced a Board-approved stock repurchase program authorizing repurchases of up to $30 million of common stock over a 24-month period beginning Oct. 28, 2025 and ending Oct. 28, 2027. Repurchases may occur in the open market under Rule 10b-18 or via privately negotiated transactions at prices management deems attractive.
The program is discretionary, may be modified, suspended or terminated, and depends on market, financial, regulatory, liquidity and other factors; there is no obligation or assurance that repurchases will occur.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ: BFST) reported Q3 2025 net income available to common shareholders of $21.5M or $0.73 diluted per share and non‑GAAP core net income of $21.2M or $0.72 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025.
Key metrics: net interest income $69.3M, NIM 3.68%, deposits +$87.2M, loans held for investment down $26.6M, shareholders' equity +$30.0M, book value per share $27.23, tangible book value per common share $22.63. Board declared common dividend $0.15 and preferred quarterly dividend $18.75, payable Nov. 30, 2025.
Business First Bancshares (Nasdaq: BFST), parent company of b1BANK, has scheduled its Q3 2025 earnings release for October 23, 2025, after market close. The company will host a conference call and webcast on the same day at 4:00 p.m. CST to discuss the financial results.
Investors can join the conference call by dialing 1-800-715-9871 (conference ID: 8427939) or view the webcast and presentation materials through the company's website.
[]Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ: BFST) reported strong Q2 2025 financial results with net income of $20.8 million ($0.70 per diluted share), up $1.6 million from Q1. Core net income reached $19.5 million ($0.66 per diluted share).
Key highlights include a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per common share, successful core conversion to FIS, and branch optimization through the sale of Kaplan branch for an 8% premium. The bank maintained a stable net interest margin of 3.68% and increased tangible book value per share to $28.61.
Notably, BFST announced the acquisition of Progressive Bancorp with $752 million in assets and executed strategic initiatives including branch repositioning and system upgrades, positioning for future growth particularly in the Dallas market.
b1BANK (Nasdaq: BFST) has promoted Heather Roemer to Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. In her expanded role, Roemer will oversee business transformation programs, product management, marketing and communications, human resources, and talent development, while continuing to serve as president of b1 FOUNDATION.
With 16 years of experience at the bank, Roemer has been instrumental in shaping the bank's culture and infrastructure. She will now take on additional responsibilities, including leading integration efforts for future acquisitions. Roemer, a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU and Louisiana State University, has been particularly focused on initiatives in financial literacy, entrepreneurship education, and community empowerment.
Business First Bancshares (Nasdaq: BFST) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Progressive Bancorp and its subsidiary Progressive Bank. The strategic acquisition will increase Business First's total assets to $8.5 billion, with total loans exceeding $6.6 billion.
Progressive brings $752 million in assets, $673 million in deposits, and $65 million in equity capital. The transaction will be executed through a stock issuance of approximately 3,050,490 shares, giving Progressive shareholders 9.3% ownership in the combined company. The merger is expected to close in Q1 2026, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.