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 Merchants Corporation or First Commonwealth Financial 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 Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About First Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial Corporation

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.

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking products and services in the United States. The company’s consumer services include internet, mobile, and telephone banking; an automated teller machine network; personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, and IRA accounts. The company also provides commercial banking services comprising commercial lending and leasing, business checking accounts, online account management services, payroll direct deposits, commercial cash management services, and repurchase agreements, as well as ACH origination services. In addition, the company offers various trust and asset management services; auto, home, and business insurance, as well as term life insurance products; and annuities, mutual funds, and stock and bond brokerage services through a broker-dealer and insurance brokers. Further, it provides commercial real estate, residential real estate, real estate construction loans, and loans to individuals, as well as commercial, financial, agricultural, and other loans. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

Latest Banks and First Merchants Corporation, First Commonwealth Financial Corporation Stock News

As of July 31, 2026, First Merchants Corporation had a $2.7 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $716.9 million. First Merchants Corporation’s stock is up 15.1% in 2026, down 0.1% in the previous five trading days and up 11.59% in the past year.

Currently, First Merchants Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 12.8. First Merchants Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $637.8 million with a 29.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -2.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.863 per share for the current fiscal year. First Merchants Corporation currently has a 3.4% dividend yield.

As of July 31, 2026, First Commonwealth Financial Corporation had a $2.2 billion market cap, putting it in the 55th percentile of all stocks. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation’s stock is up 27.7% in 2026, up 3.2% in the previous five trading days and up 31.76% in the past year.

Currently, First Commonwealth Financial Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 14.2. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $495.7 million with a 33.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.723 per share for the current fiscal year. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation currently has a 2.6% dividend yield.

How We Compare First Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial 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 Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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First Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
First Merchants Corporation	FRME	A
First Commonwealth Financial Corporation	FCF	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 Merchants Corporation has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both First Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial Corporation have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

First Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
First Merchants Corporation	FRME	F
First Commonwealth Financial Corporation	FCF	D

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 Merchants Corporation has a Quality Score of 6, which is Very Weak. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a Quality Score of 21, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither First Merchants Corporation or First Commonwealth Financial 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 Merchants Corporation or First Commonwealth Financial Corporation is the better investment when it comes to quality.

First Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
First Merchants Corporation	FRME	C
First Commonwealth Financial Corporation	FCF	B

Momentum grades help to 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. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

First Merchants Corporation has a Momentum Score of 53, which is Average. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a Momentum Score of 70, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: First Commonwealth Financial Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, First Commonwealth Financial Corporation is considered to have stronger momentum compared to First Merchants Corporation. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, First Commonwealth Financial Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other First Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial Corporation Grades

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

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

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 Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, First Merchants Corporation or First Commonwealth Financial Corporation Stock?

Overall, First Merchants Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 95, Momentum Score of 53 and Quality Score of 6.

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 95, Momentum Score of 70 and Quality Score of 21.

Comparing First Merchants Corporation and First Commonwealth Financial 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.