3 Reasons to Avoid FFBC and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

3 Reasons to Avoid FFBC and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Anthony Lee

Thu, February 26, 2026 at 8:03 PM GMT+9 3 min read

In this article:

FFBC

+2.01%

^GSPC

+0.81%

First Financial Bancorp trades at $29.40 per share and has stayed right on track with the overall market, gaining 10.6% over the last six months. At the same time, the S&P 500 has returned 6.5%.

Is now the time to buy First Financial Bancorp, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Get the full breakdown from our expert analysts, it’s free.

Why Is First Financial Bancorp Not Exciting?

We’re swiping left on First Financial Bancorp for now. Here are three reasons why FFBC doesn’t excite us and a stock we’d rather own.

1. Long-Term Revenue Growth Disappoints

In general, banks make money from two primary sources. The first is net interest income, which is interest earned on loans, mortgages, and investments in securities minus interest paid out on deposits. The second source is non-interest income, which can come from bank account, credit card, wealth management, investing banking, and trading fees.

Regrettably, First Financial Bancorp’s revenue grew at a tepid 7.8% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This was below our standard for the banking sector.

First Financial Bancorp Quarterly Revenue

2. Net Interest Income Points to Soft Demand

Markets consistently prioritize net interest income over non-recurring fees, recognizing its superior quality compared to the more unpredictable revenue streams.

First Financial Bancorp’s net interest income has grown at a 7.1% annualized rate over the last five years, worse than the broader banking industry and in line with its total revenue. Its growth was driven by both an increase in its outstanding loans and net interest margin, which represents how much a bank earns in relation to its outstanding loan book.

First Financial Bancorp Trailing 12-Month Net Interest Income

3. Recent EPS Growth Below Our Standards

Although long-term earnings trends give us the big picture, we like to analyze EPS over a shorter period to see if we are missing a change in the business.

First Financial Bancorp’s weak 2.8% annual EPS growth over the last two years aligns with its revenue trend. This tells us it maintained its per-share profitability as it expanded.

First Financial Bancorp Trailing 12-Month EPS (Non-GAAP)

Final Judgment

First Financial Bancorp isn’t a terrible business, but it isn’t one of our picks. That said, the stock currently trades at 1× forward P/B (or $29.40 per share). While this valuation is fair, the upside isn’t great compared to the potential downside. We’re fairly confident there are better stocks to buy right now. We’d recommend looking at a top digital advertising platform riding the creator economy.

Stocks We Would Buy Instead of First Financial Bancorp

The market’s up big this year - but there’s a catch. Just 4 stocks account for half the S&P 500’s entire gain. That kind of concentration makes investors nervous, and for good reason. While everyone piles into the same crowded names, smart investors are hunting quality where no one’s looking - and paying a fraction of the price. Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).

Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

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