Regional banking company First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ: FIBK) reported Q4 CY2025 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with sales up 20% year on year to $313 million. Its GAAP profit of $1.08 per share was 65.3% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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“We made continued, meaningful progress as we advance through each phase of our strategic plan. Our net interest margin continues to improve, we continued executing on our previously announced share repurchase program, and we were pleased to see reductions in non-performing and criticized assets as we continue to take a proactive approach to credit risk management. Given our strong capital position, we further increased our share repurchase authorization,” said James A Reuter, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

Company Overview

Tracing its roots back to 1971 and still guided by founding family principles, First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ: FIBK) operates a network of community banks across 14 western and midwestern states, offering comprehensive banking services to individuals, businesses, and government entities.

Sales Growth

Net interest income and and fee-based revenue are the two pillars supporting bank earnings. The former captures profit from the gap between lending rates and deposit costs, while the latter encompasses charges for banking services, credit products, wealth management, and trading activities. Unfortunately, First Interstate BancSystem’s 9.9% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was mediocre. This was below our standard for the banking sector and is a tough starting point for our analysis.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. First Interstate BancSystem’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its revenue was flat over the last two years. Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.

This quarter, First Interstate BancSystem reported robust year-on-year revenue growth of 20%, and its $313 million of revenue topped Wall Street estimates by 22.2%.

Net interest income made up 80.7% of the company’s total revenue during the last five years, meaning First Interstate BancSystem barely relies on non-interest income to drive its overall growth.

While banks generate revenue from multiple sources, investors view net interest income as the cornerstone - its predictable, recurring characteristics stand in sharp contrast to the volatility of non-interest income.

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Tangible Book Value Per Share (TBVPS)

The balance sheet drives banking profitability since earnings flow from the spread between borrowing and lending rates. As such, valuations for these companies concentrate on capital strength and sustainable equity accumulation potential.

This is why we consider tangible book value per share (TBVPS) the most important metric to track for banks. TBVPS represents the real, liquid net worth per share of a bank, excluding intangible assets that have debatable value upon liquidation. On the other hand, EPS is often distorted by mergers and flexible loan loss accounting. TBVPS provides clearer performance insights.

First Interstate BancSystem’s TBVPS grew at a sluggish 1.6% annual clip over the last five years. However, TBVPS growth has accelerated recently, growing by 6.7% annually over the last two years from $19.68 to $22.40 per share.

Over the next 12 months, Consensus estimates call for First Interstate BancSystem’s TBVPS to grow by 1.9% to $22.84, inadequate growth rate.

Key Takeaways from First Interstate BancSystem’s Q4 Results

It was good to see First Interstate BancSystem beat analysts’ EPS expectations this quarter. We were also excited its revenue outperformed Wall Street’s estimates by a wide margin. Zooming out, we think this quarter featured some important positives. The stock remained flat at $36.68 immediately after reporting.

Sure, First Interstate BancSystem had a solid quarter, but if we look at the bigger picture, is this stock a buy? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).