First Busey Corp. (BUSE)

Key figures

The last twelve months reported, with the latest price and balance sheet.

Revenue, last twelve months

$789.5M

Revenue growth

41.4%

Net income, last twelve months

$231.0M

Earnings per share

$2.42

Net margin

29.3%

Free cash flow

$208.5M

Return on equity

9.7%

Market value

$2.4B

Price to earnings

12.1x

Dividend yield

3.4%

Cash

$665.4M

Debt

$429.8M

Debt to equity

0.18

Shares outstanding

83.2M

Financial statements

Revenue, profit and cash flow by fiscal year, each year linked to its annual report.

By quarter

What the company said with its results

From the third quarter of 2026 results, filed 27 October 2026.

• Net income fell on credit provision. Net income was $55.8 million, or $0.61 per diluted share, against $63.2 million, or $0.69, in the prior quarter. Provision expense rose to $9.6 million from $2.2 million, mainly on one commercial credit.
• Adjusted EPS down from prior quarter. Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.63, against $0.69 in the second quarter and $0.64 a year earlier. The company reported adjusted pre-provision net revenue of $84.0 million.
• Wealth management revenue rose. Management said wealth management revenue increased 15.5% from the prior year. Operating revenue was $194.3 million, flat with the prior quarter.
• Returns on assets and equity eased. Annualized return on average assets was 1.20%, against 1.42% in the second quarter, and return on average tangible common equity was 12.93%, against 14.49%.
• Margin fell on deposit funding costs. Net interest margin was 3.58%, against 3.72% in the second quarter; adjusted margin was 3.46%. Deposit funding costs rose 13 basis points, partly from the late-quarter rate hike.
• Net interest income edged higher. Net interest income rose $0.7 million to $153.1 million, driven by growth in average earning assets. Purchase accounting accretion was $5.2 million, up from $4.2 million.
• Hedging and rate protection in use. Management said it continues to use off-balance sheet hedges, balance sheet strategies and rate protection in asset originations. The rate-shock sensitivity was modeled at 1.5%.
• Fee income fell on securities swing. Noninterest income was $40.4 million, down 8.8% from the second quarter. The main driver was a $3.1 million swing in net securities results, which management described as largely unrealized.
• Assets under care reached $16.72 billion. Wealth management assets under care were $16.72 billion, up from $14.96 billion a year earlier. Wealth management fees were $19.8 million, with a $0.7 million seasonal tax-preparation decline.
• Other income hit by LOCOM adjustment. Other noninterest income included a $0.7 million lower-of-cost-or-market adjustment linked to the loan repositioning, and fell with lower private equity and mortgage revenue.
• Expenses fell from last year. Noninterest expense was $111.4 million, down 1.1% from the second quarter and 7.2% from a year earlier. The efficiency ratio was 54.4%, against 54.0% in the second quarter.
• Other expense rose on business costs. Excluding acquisition and restructuring costs, expense rose 0.7% from the second quarter, on data processing and other expense. FDIC insurance fell on prior-period adjustments.
• Expense base kept under management. Management said it remains focused on prudently managing the expense base and operating efficiency.
• One commercial credit drove provision. The provision rose to $9.6 million from $2.2 million. A $37.6 million commercial relationship moved to non-accrual with a $10.0 million partial charge-off and a $17.8 million individual reserve.

Revenue by segment

As the company reports it in the segment note of its annual report.

By business, FY2025

Company events

The newest 8-K filings of 319 held.

Every filing

The newest filings with the SEC of 695 held.

Insider trades

Form 4 trades by officers, directors and 10% owners, last 12 months.

Planned insider sales

Form 144 notices, filed when the sell order goes to the broker.

Large holders

Schedule 13D and 13G filings by holders of more than 5% of the voting shares.

Trades by members of the House

From each member's periodic transaction report.

Short interest

Shares sold short and not yet bought back, on each FINRA settlement date.

Funds that hold it

From each fund's latest Form 13F.

285 funds held it at 30 Jun 2026: 126 added and 67 trimmed in the quarter. The largest:

Peers

Companies in the same industry.

• Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS): revenue $27.0B, market value $116.9B
• Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BNY): revenue $21.4B, market value $100.9B
• Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (ITUB): revenue $30.1B, market value $81.6B
• Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB): revenue $10.7B, market value $48.5B
• State Street Corp. (STT): revenue $15.5B, market value $47.4B
• M&T Bank Corp. (MTB): revenue $10.0B, market value $31.8B
• Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS): revenue $9.1B, market value $31.4B
• Banco Bradesco S.A. (BBD): revenue –, market value $28.9B
• Citizens Financial Group Inc. (CFG): revenue $8.9B, market value $27.5B
• First Citizens Bancshares Inc. (FCNCA): revenue $9.6B, market value $26.9B

What the company does

First Busey Corporation is a financial holding company organised in Nevada in 1980 and headquartered in Leawood, Kansas. Its common stock trades on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "BUSE", and its Series B preferred stock trades there under "BUSEP". The company, which it calls Busey, provides banking, asset management, brokerage and fiduciary services through Busey Bank, and payment technology solutions through FirsTech. Busey Bank is an Illinois state-chartered bank headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, founded in 1868. It has 79 banking centers across 10 states, and the company and its subsidiaries had 1,914 full-time equivalent employees at 31 December 2025.

How the business is organised

Busey reports its results in four groups: Banking, Wealth Management, FirsTech and Other. Busey Bank's principal sources of income are interest and fees on loans and investments, wealth management fees, service fees, and payment technology solutions revenue. Its principal expenses are interest paid on deposits and borrowings and general operating expenses. FirsTech is a wholly owned subsidiary of Busey Bank.

Where it operates

Busey Bank groups its banking centers into five regions and also runs several industry verticals. The state counts are 50 in Illinois, nine in Missouri, four in Texas, and three each in Colorado, Florida, Kansas and Oklahoma. Arizona has two, and Indiana and New Mexico have one each.

- East Region: 11 banking centers in suburban Chicago, 20 in the St. Louis MSA (eight in eastern Missouri and 12 in western Illinois), and three around Fort Myers, Florida. - Midwest Region: 27 banking centers in central Illinois, six of them in the Chicago MSA, and one in the Indianapolis area. - Central Region: three banking centers in the Kansas City MSA, one in Wichita, and three in Oklahoma (two in Oklahoma City, one in Tulsa). - Texas Region: four banking centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth MSA. - West Region: two banking centers in Arizona, three in Colorado, and one in Clayton, New Mexico.

The verticals are Life Equity Lending, Sponsor Finance, Energy Lending and SBA Lending. Busey completed its acquisition of CrossFirst Bankshares, Inc. on 1 March 2025. It ran CrossFirst Bank as a separate subsidiary until the two banks merged on 20 June 2025. The earlier acquisition of Merchants and Manufacturers Bank Corporation, completed on 1 April 2024, added Life Equity Loan® products and expanded Busey's presence in suburban Chicago.

What it sells

For businesses, Busey Bank offers commercial, CRE, real estate construction and agricultural loans, along with commercial deposit services such as cash management. For consumers it offers residential real estate loans, home equity lines of credit, consumer loans, demand and savings deposits, money transfers, safe deposit services and individual retirement accounts. Customers can bank through banking centers, automated teller machines, and online and mobile channels.

Wealth Management serves individuals, businesses and foundations. Its services include investment management, trust and estate advisory, financial planning, business succession planning, employee retirement plan services, philanthropic advisory, tax preparation and farm management. Busey Investment Services, a division of Busey Bank, offers brokerage-related services through a third-party arrangement.

FirsTech processes consumer payments for business clients across the United States. Its services include mobile text-based bill payment, interactive voice response, payment routing to Automated Clearing House, money management and credit card networks, walk-in payments through third-party retail agent locations, telephone payments, direct debit and lockbox processing. Its clients are concentrated in financial services, utilities, insurance and telecommunications.

How it lends and funds itself

Busey says it focuses on short to intermediate-term loans of 0-10 years in states where it has lending offices. Its underwriting is designed for relationship banking, which means at least an active deposit relationship alongside the loan. It uses SBA and U.S. Department of Agriculture lending programs when it judges them prudent. Commercial lending covers C&I and other commercial, CRE and real estate construction loans, and retail lending covers retail real estate and retail other loans. The filing says the majority of the loan portfolio is in the CRE class. At 31 December 2025 the loan to deposit ratio was 91.0% and core deposits were 93.7% of total deposits.

How it competes

Busey Bank competes for deposits and loans with national and state banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, digital banks and other financial companies. Busey Bank and FirsTech also compete with payment technology and financial technology companies. The filing says customers are influenced by convenience, quality of service and technology, personal contacts, price and product availability.

In the FDIC Summary of Deposits dated 30 June 2025, Busey Bank ranked fourth in total deposits among 349 financial institutions headquartered in Illinois. It ranked in the top 10 in nine Illinois counties, two Kansas counties and two New Mexico counties.

Its people and its regulators

Busey had 1,948 associates at 31 December 2025, of whom 1,880 were full-time and 68 part-time. In 2025, 47% of associates took part in talent and leadership development programs. The participation rate in the B Well health and wellness program was 86%.

First Busey Corporation is a bank holding company and has elected to operate as a financial holding company, supervised by the Federal Reserve. Busey Bank is regulated by the DFPR, its chartering authority, and by the Federal Reserve, which became its primary federal regulator when the bank joined the Federal Reserve System in October 2024. The FDIC administers its deposit insurance, and the CFPB oversees its consumer banking products and services.

*From First Busey's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025. [The filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/314489/000031448926000013/buse-20251231.htm)*

From the company's 10-K.