Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. or First Merchants Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for First Interstate Bank that provides a range of banking products and services in the United States. The company offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, and time deposits; and repurchase agreements primarily for commercial and municipal depositors. It also provides a range of trust, employee benefit, investment management, insurance, agency, and custodial services, including administration of estates and personal trusts; manages investment accounts for individuals; employee benefit plans and charitable foundations; and insurance planning. The company’s loan portfolio includes real estate loans, such as commercial real estate, construction, residential, agricultural, and other real estate loans; consumer loans, including direct personal loans, credit card loans and lines of credit, and indirect loans; variable and fixed rate commercial loans for small and medium-sized manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and service businesses for working capital needs and business expansions; and agricultural loans. In addition, it offers marketing, credit review, loan servicing, credit cards servicing, mortgage loan sales and servicing, indirect consumer loan and processing, loan collection services, other operational, and specialized staff support services, as well as online and mobile banking services. The company serves individuals, businesses, municipalities, and other entities in various industries, including agriculture, construction, education, governmental services, healthcare, hospitality, housing, professional services, real estate development, retail, technology, tourism, and wholesale trade. First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. was formerly known as First Interstate Bancsystem Of Montana, Inc. and changed its name to First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. in June 1993. The company was founded in 1879 and is headquartered in Billings, Montana.

First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including checking, savings, and deposit products; debit and credit cards; mortgages, refinance, construction or renovation of residential properties, agricultural lending, treasury management services and depository products. It also provides personal and commercial wealth management services, brokerage, investment management, private banking, fiduciary estate, and financial planning services. The company operates banking locations in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan counties. It offers its services through electronic and mobile delivery channels. First Merchants Corporation was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Muncie, Indiana.

Latest Banks and First Interstate BancSystem, Inc., First Merchants Corporation Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. had a $3.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $750.0 million. First Interstate BancSystem, Inc.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 14.13% in the past year.

Currently, First Interstate BancSystem, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 11.5. First Interstate BancSystem, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.1 billion with a 30.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.709 per share for the current fiscal year. First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. currently has a 5.1% dividend yield.

Currently, First Merchants Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 13.5. First Merchants Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $642.2 million with a 29.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 2.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.863 per share for the current fiscal year. First Merchants Corporation currently has a 3.6% dividend yield.

How We Compare First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
First Interstate BancSystem, Inc.	FIBK	B
First Merchants Corporation	FRME	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. has a Growth Score of 64, which is Strong. First Merchants Corporation has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: First Merchants Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, First Merchants Corporation has a more attractive growth grade than First Interstate BancSystem, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, First Merchants Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
First Interstate BancSystem, Inc.	FIBK	D
First Merchants Corporation	FRME	F

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. has a Quality Score of 33, which is Weak. First Merchants Corporation has a Quality Score of 7, which is Very Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. or First Merchants Corporation has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. or First Merchants Corporation is the better investment when it comes to quality.

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
First Interstate BancSystem, Inc.	FIBK	B
First Merchants Corporation	FRME	D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 63, which is Positive. First Merchants Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 34, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: First Interstate BancSystem, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than First Merchants Corporation. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation Grades

In addition to Growth, Quality and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. or First Merchants Corporation Stock?

Overall, First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 64, Estimate Revisions Score of 63 and Quality Score of 33.

First Merchants Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 95, Estimate Revisions Score of 34 and Quality Score of 7.

Comparing First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.