BLK
BlackRock, Inc.
BLK has a slight edge over FRME overall, supported by stronger fundamentals.
FRME
First Merchants Corporation
FRME offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
BLK Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
BLK's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like BLK.
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.
BLK PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 19x | $848 | -30% |
| Fair | 22x | $973 | -20% |
| Expensive | 26x | $1,149 | -5.5% |
| Current | 28x | $1,217 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BLK's PE is in its expensive range at 28x.
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 has the edge over BLK in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
BLK Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for BLK to show an outlook.
FRME Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for FRME, with profitability holding steady.
BLK Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $43.87 | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $41.73 | -0.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $39.73 | -4.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $35.31 | -17% |
| Q3 2025 | $39.42 | -2.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $41.89 | +4% |
| Q1 2025 | $41.69 | +5.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $42.53 | +16% |
BLK has the edge over FRME on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
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.
BLK Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $7.8B | +19% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.1B | +31% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.7B | +27% |
| Q4 2025 | $7B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.5B | +25% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.4B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.3B | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.7B | +23% |
BLK has the edge over FRME on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 30% | 0 points |
| Q2 2026 | 35% | +2.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 42% | +9.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 24% | -13 points |
| Q3 2025 | 30% | -8.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 32% | -5.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 32% | -3.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 37% | +2.3 points |
BLK's operating margin was 30% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
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 BLK on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BLK Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.6B | +95% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.1B | -12% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.1B | +$120M |
| Q4 2025 | $2.1B | -15% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.3B | -6.1% |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.2B | -$734M |
| Q4 2024 | $2.5B | +35% |
| Q2 2024 | $1.4B | +47% |
BLK has the edge over FRME on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
BLK Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -148K shares |
| 1 year | -0.4% | -677K shares |
| 3 years | +9.3% | +14M shares |
| 5 years | +6.2% | +9.6M shares |
| Available history | +4.4% | +7M shares |
BLK has the edge over FRME on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | $396M |
| Q1 2025 | $657M |
| Q4 2024 | $386M |
| Q2 2024 | $519M |
| Q1 2024 | $634M |
| Q4 2023 | $384M |
| Q3 2023 | $396M |
| Q2 2023 | $383M |
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.
BLK Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2024 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2024 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2023 | 0.1x | Very low |
BLK has the edge over FRME on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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's net debt is about 4.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.5 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like FRME.
BLK Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 79.0 | Neutral |
BLK's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 79 (neutral).
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).
BLK PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | BLK | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 28x | 13x | 113% above |
| PE % | 97 | 63 | 34 pts above |
BLK is trading at 28x earnings, a 113% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
FRME PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | FRME | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 13x | 13x | 2.4% below |
| PE % | 79 | 63 | 16 pts above |
FRME has the edge over BLK on valuation relative to its sector.
BLK Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $1,128.0 | 7.9% above |
| 20 week MA | $1,108.9 | 9.7% above |
| 50 week MA | $1,071.6 | 14% above |
| 100 week MA | $1,051.1 | 16% above |
| 200 week MA | $914.1 | 33% above |
BLK has the edge over FRME on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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's trend is mixed: it's above four of its five weekly moving averages, and 11% above its 200-week average.
BLK Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $503.0 | $707.2 | +41% |
| 2021 | $707.2 | $913.9 | +29% |
| 2022 | $913.9 | $703.9 | -23% |
| 2023 | $703.9 | $811.8 | +15% |
| 2024 | $811.8 | $1,044.2 | +29% |
| 2025 | $1,044.2 | $1,088.1 | +4.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $1,088.1 | $1,216.6 | +12% |
BLK has the edge over FRME on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
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 finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 7% so far in 2026.