Director George W. Cummings III details BFST share holdings (BFST)

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

Business First Bancshares, Inc. director George W. Cummings III filed an initial statement of beneficial ownership as of 01/01/2026. He reports direct ownership of 358,775 shares of common stock, which includes 223,669 pledged shares of the company’s common stock. He also reports indirect ownership of 3,911 common shares held by his spouse.

A portion of his stake was received through the merger of Progressive Bancorp, Inc. into Business First Bancshares. In that transaction, 54,704 Progressive shares were exchanged, with each Progressive share converted into the right to receive 6.63 shares of Business First Bancshares common stock plus cash instead of any fractional share.

SEC Form 3

FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

Cummings George W. III

(Last) (First) (Middle)

500 LAUREL STREET, SUITE 101

(Street)

BATON ROUGE LA 70801

(City) (State) (Zip)

2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
01/01/2026

3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Business First Bancshares, Inc. [ BFST ]

4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

X	Director		10% Owner
	Officer (give title below)		Other (specify below)

5. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
Common Stock	358,775(1)(2)	D
Common Stock	3,911(1)	I	By Spouse

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares

Explanation of Responses:

1. Acquired in exchange for 54,704 shares of Progressive Bancorp, Inc. ("Progressive") in connection with the merger of Progressive with and into the issuer (the "Merger"). At the effective time of the Merger, each share of Progressive common stock was converted into the right to receive 6.63 shares of the issuer's common stock, plus cash, without interest, in lieu of any fractional shares.

2. Includes 223,669 pledged shares of common stock of the issuer.

Remarks:

Exhibit List: Exhibit 24, Power of Attorney

	/s/ Heather G. Roemer, as Attorney-in-Fact for George W. Cummings III	01/21/2026
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
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