BAC
Bank of America Corporation
BAC has the edge over FRME overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
FRME
First Merchants Corporation
FRME's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
BAC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
BAC's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like BAC.
FRME Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
FRME's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like FRME.
BAC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9.4x | $39.50 | -22% |
| Forward | 10x | $50.51 | — |
| Current | 12x | $50.51 | — |
| Fair | 13x | $53.81 | +6.5% |
| Expensive | 15x | $62.23 | +23% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BAC has the edge over FRME in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
FRME PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.8x | $28.35 | -31% |
| Forward | 9.7x | $40.94 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $35.18 | -14% |
| Expensive | 13x | $41.89 | +2.3% |
| Current | 13x | $40.94 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FRME's PE is in its expensive range at 13x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 9.7x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
BAC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
BAC has the edge over FRME on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
FRME Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for FRME, with profitability holding steady.
BAC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.92 | +17% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.19 | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.34 | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.02 | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.81 | +19% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.66 | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.41 | +20% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.35 | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.21 | +4.2% |
BAC has the edge over FRME on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
FRME Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.21 | +31% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.22 | -19% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.11 | -19% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.39 | -4.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.88 | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.99 | +32% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.85 | +23% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.55 | +2.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.41 | -8.6% |
FRME's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $3.22 over the past year, against $4.36 in mid-2023.
BAC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $30B | +6.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $31.6B | +19% |
| Q1 2026 | $30.3B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $31.2B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $28.1B | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $26.5B | +4.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $27.4B | +6% |
| Q4 2024 | $25.3B | +15% |
BAC has the edge over FRME on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 30% | -3.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 37% | +7.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +4.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 40% | +12 points |
| Q3 2025 | 34% | +4.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 29% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 30% | +1.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 28% | +14 points |
BAC's operating margin was 30% last quarter, down 3.7 points from the same quarter a year ago.
FRME Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $199.1M | +20% |
| Q2 2026 | $196.1M | +19% |
| Q1 2026 | $157.1M | -2% |
| Q4 2025 | $172.2M | -2.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $166.1M | +6.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $164.3M | +2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $160.3M | +4.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $177.1M | +13% |
FRME's revenue has picked up after two years of holding roughly level: $199M last quarter, up 20% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 40% | +0.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 24% | -15 points |
| Q1 2026 | 17% | -22 points |
| Q4 2025 | 38% | -5.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 39% | +3.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 40% | +12 points |
| Q1 2025 | 39% | +3.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 43% | +13 points |
FRME has the edge over BAC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BAC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$6.5B | -114% |
| Q2 2026 | $29B | +$38.2B |
| Q1 2026 | $41.8B | +$44B |
| Q4 2025 | -$22.9B | -189% |
| Q3 2025 | $46.9B | +$84.2B |
| Q2 2025 | -$9.1B | -150% |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.2B | +$13.4B |
| Q4 2024 | $25.9B | -21% |
BAC's free cash flow was $41.4B over the past year, down 33% from the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like BAC.
FRME Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $78.4M | -10% |
| Q2 2026 | $88M | +64% |
| Q1 2026 | $58.6M | -5% |
| Q4 2025 | $80.7M | +20% |
| Q3 2025 | $87.6M | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $53.7M | -15% |
| Q1 2025 | $61.7M | +4.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $67.5M | -22% |
FRME's free cash flow was $306M over the past year, up 13% from the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like FRME.
BAC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1% | -72M shares |
| 1 year | -5.3% | -405M shares |
| 3 years | -11% | -854M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -1.3B shares |
| Available history | -24% | -2.2B shares |
BAC has the edge over FRME on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6B |
| Q2 2026 | $6B |
| Q1 2026 | $7.2B |
| Q4 2025 | $6.3B |
| Q3 2025 | $5.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $5.3B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.5B |
| Q4 2024 | $3.5B |
BAC spent $25.6B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 37% from the year before.
FRME Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -163K shares |
| 1 year | +8.6% | +5M shares |
| 3 years | +4.9% | +2.9M shares |
| 5 years | +16% | +8.5M shares |
| Available history | +12% | +6.9M shares |
FRME has 62M diluted shares, up 8.6% from a year ago, despite $61M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12M |
| Q2 2026 | $13.4M |
| Q1 2026 | $24.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $10.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $6.5M |
| Q2 2025 | $22.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $7.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $6.2M |
FRME spent $61M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 42% from the year before.
BAC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.4x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 6.7x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 7.1x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 7.7x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 8.3x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.8x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.6x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 9.0x | High |
BAC's net debt is about 6.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.3 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like BAC.
FRME Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.0x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 6.0x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 5.1x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.2x | Elevated |
FRME has the edge over BAC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
BAC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 37.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 4.9 | Oversold |
BAC's weekly RSI is 37 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 5 (oversold).
FRME Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 42.5 | Neutral |
FRME's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 43 (neutral).
BAC PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | BAC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 13x | 7.5% below |
| PE % | 40 | 63 | 23 pts below |
BAC has the edge over FRME on valuation relative to its sector.
FRME PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | FRME | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 13x | 13x | 2.4% below |
| PE % | 79 | 63 | 16 pts above |
FRME is trading at 13x earnings, in line with the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
BAC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $52.1 | 3% below |
| 20 week MA | $57.8 | 13% below |
| 50 week MA | $54.7 | 7.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $50.5 | 0% below |
| 200 week MA | $42.5 | 19% above |
BAC has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 19% above its 200-week average.
FRME Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $40.3 | 1.6% above |
| 20 week MA | $41.7 | 1.8% below |
| 50 week MA | $40.4 | 1.3% above |
| 100 week MA | $39.7 | 3.2% above |
| 200 week MA | $36.9 | 11% above |
FRME has the edge over BAC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BAC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $35.4 | $30.0 | -15% |
| 2021 | $30.0 | $44.4 | +48% |
| 2022 | $44.4 | $32.5 | -27% |
| 2023 | $32.5 | $33.7 | +3.7% |
| 2024 | $33.7 | $44.3 | +32% |
| 2025 | $44.3 | $56.2 | +27% |
| 2026 YTD | $56.2 | $50.5 | -10% |
BAC has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's down 10% so far in 2026.
FRME Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $41.3 | $36.8 | -11% |
| 2021 | $36.8 | $41.2 | +12% |
| 2022 | $41.2 | $40.5 | -1.6% |
| 2023 | $40.5 | $37.1 | -8.5% |
| 2024 | $37.1 | $40.3 | +8.5% |
| 2025 | $40.3 | $38.3 | -4.9% |
| 2026 YTD | $38.3 | $40.9 | +7% |
FRME has the edge over BAC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.