The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS): BCG Matrix [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking at the post-merger reality for The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS) following its April 2025 combination with Renasant, creating a $26.0 billion asset bank, and honestly, the picture is complex. We've mapped the combined portfolio-from the high-growth Stars in Florida and Georgia, aiming for that projected $2.82 EPS, to the legacy Dogs like the mortgage unit struggling with late 2025 rates and that $115.7 million unrealized loss on securities. This BCG analysis cuts through the noise, showing you exactly where the stable Cash Cows, fueled by $370 million in 2024 interest income, are funding the big Question Mark bets in new digital services; see below to find out which parts of the newly formed bank deserve your capital and which need to be trimmed.

Background of The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS)

You're looking at The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS), which operates as the bank holding company for The First Bank. Honestly, this firm has a history rooted in community banking, having been established back in 1995 and headquartered in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Before the major strategic shift in 2025, the company was already a significant regional player, providing a full spectrum of commercial and retail banking services across states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia through its various locations.

For the full fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, The First Bancshares, Inc. posted total revenue of $279.64 million, which was a slight dip of -0.67% compared to the year prior. On the profitability side, net income available to common shareholders for that same period reached $77.2 million. By the close of 2024, the company's total assets clocked in at approximately $8.005 billion, showing its scale in the regional banking space.

The structure of the business is generally broken down into three key segments for reporting: the Commercial/Retail Bank, the Mortgage Banking Division, and the Holding Company itself. These segments handle everything from basic deposit products-checking, savings, and money market accounts-to providing commercial loans for business expansion and originating mortgages. The key driver for their income, as you'd expect for a bank, was the Total Interest Income, which hit about $370 million in 2024, mainly coming from their loan portfolio and investment securities.

The most defining event for The First Bancshares, Inc. in 2025 was its definitive merger agreement with Renasant Corporation. This transaction, which was expected to close in the first half of 2025, was set to fundamentally change the scale of the operation, aiming to create a much larger financial services powerhouse, potentially reaching $26 billion in combined assets. This move signaled the market's recognition of the value and quality of the franchise The First Bancshares, Inc. had built.

The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS) - BCG Matrix: Stars

You're looking at the growth engines of The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS) franchise, the units operating in markets where scale and momentum are combining for significant upside. These are the areas where high market share meets a rapidly expanding environment, demanding heavy investment to maintain leadership.

Commercial lending in high-growth Florida and Georgia markets is definitely a Star component, now operating under the scale of a combined entity with $26.0 billion in total assets. This new scale helps support aggressive loan growth targets in these key Southeastern geographies. To put the market context into perspective, the broader commercial lending market size was projected to grow from $16442.29 billion in 2024 to $19041.55 billion in 2025, representing a 15.8% compound annual growth rate for that period. Within this environment, commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations saw a 66% increase in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the prior year. This is the kind of market velocity these lending units are capitalizing on.

Strategic expansion into new metro areas is key to translating this regional strength into sustained market share. The combined entity is leveraging its enhanced balance sheet to pursue high loan growth, which is necessary to establish dominance in new markets before they mature. This investment phase is cash-intensive, but it's the required fuel for future Cash Cow status.

Core earnings growth is the metric analysts watch closely to see if these investments are paying off. For the former FBMS shares, analysts project a full-year 2025 Earnings Per Share (EPS) of approximately $2.82. This projection reflects the expected accretion from the operational synergies achieved post-combination. Compare this to the $77.19 million in net income reported for the 2024 fiscal year by the standalone company; the 2025 projection signals a significant step up in profitability per share, assuming successful integration.

Technology-driven commercial services are also positioned as Stars, capturing market share in a rapidly digitizing sector. While specific market share data for FBMS in this niche is proprietary, the overall trend supports heavy investment here. These services are crucial for efficiency and client retention in a modern banking environment.

Here's a quick look at some of the key financial markers associated with this growth phase:

• Trailing twelve months revenue as of November 2025: $0.27 Billion USD.
• Projected 2025 EPS for former FBMS shares: $2.82.
• Combined entity asset base: $26.0 billion.
• Q2 2025 commercial/multifamily origination growth (YoY): 66%.

To illustrate the scale of the markets these Stars operate in, consider the data from just one of the high-growth Florida markets as of Q2 2025:

Maintaining success in these high-growth areas means continuing to fund placement and promotion, which is the classic strategy for Stars. If the combined entity sustains this success as the high-growth markets eventually slow, these units are set to transition into the Cash Cow quadrant, generating reliable, high-margin returns.

The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS) - BCG Matrix: Cash Cows

The Cash Cow quadrant represents the established, high-market-share business units operating in mature markets, which are the primary source of internal funding for The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS). These units generate more cash than they consume, supporting other areas of the portfolio.

The core of this cash generation stems from the established deposit base across Mississippi and Louisiana, which serves as a stable, low-cost funding source for lending activities. As of December 31, 2024, total deposits for The First Bancshares, Inc. stood at $6.605 billion. This base supports the primary revenue driver.

The mature branch network, which totaled 111 branches across Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia as of June 30, 2024, is expected to generate consistent, albeit slow-growing, fee income from checking and savings accounts. The core Commercial/Retail Bank segment benefits from long-standing customer relationships, meaning the cost to maintain this market share is relatively low compared to acquiring new customers in a growth market.

The primary, reliable cash engine for The First Bancshares, Inc. is the Total Interest Income. For the full year 2024, this figure reached $370 million. This income stream, derived mainly from the loan portfolio, underpins the firm's ability to fund operations and shareholder returns.

Here's a quick look at the key financial metrics defining this cash-generating segment for the fiscal year 2024:

The operational efficiency of these established units is critical. Investments here are focused on maintaining infrastructure rather than aggressive expansion, aiming to improve efficiency and increase cash flow passively. The segment structure supports this focus:

• Commercial/Retail Bank segment is the core deposit and loan generator.
• Mortgage Banking Division provides ancillary, though potentially more cyclical, income.
• Holding Company manages administrative overhead and corporate funding.

The profitability of this mature business is evident in the annual net income available to common shareholders, which was $77.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This cash flow is what the company uses to service corporate debt and pay dividends, such as the $0.36 per share declared in the fourth quarter of 2024. You defintely want these units running smoothly.

The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS) - BCG Matrix: Dogs

Dogs are business units characterized by low market share in low-growth markets. For The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS), these areas tie up capital without generating significant returns, making them candidates for divestiture or minimization.

Investment Securities Portfolio Drag

The investment securities portfolio represents a clear cash trap due to significant mark-to-market losses. The investment portfolio had a net unrealized loss of $115.7 million at December 31, 2024. This compares to a net unrealized loss of $91.6 million at September 30, 2024, indicating the loss widened by $24.1 million in the last quarter of 2024. The total investment securities balance was $1.646 billion, representing 20.6% of total assets at the end of 2024.

The average tax equivalent yield on investment securities was 2.52% at December 31, 2024.

Asset Quality Concerns in Legacy Markets

Non-performing assets (NPAs) signal potential issues in underlying loan segments, which often reside in slower-growth or legacy markets requiring disproportionate management attention. The ratio of nonperforming assets to total assets increased to 0.37% as of December 31, 2024, up from 0.31% as of September 30, 2024.

Nonaccrual loans specifically totaled $20.3 million at December 31, 2024. The overall past due loans to total loans ratio stood at 0.40% as of December 31, 2024.

Legacy Operations and Integration Redundancy

The legacy Mortgage Banking Division faces headwinds from the late 2025 high-interest-rate environment, which depresses origination volume and increases servicing costs relative to income. The upcoming merger agreement with Renasant Corporation, expected to close in the first half of 2025, will likely accelerate the need to consolidate redundant infrastructure, including older, low-volume branches.

• The merger integration process following the expected first half of 2025 closing will identify overlapping physical footprints.
• Digital banking dependency reached 89% of US adults in 2025, increasing pressure on physical locations.
• Cost-per-transaction for digital banking is approximately $0.04 versus $4.00 for branch-based equivalents.

The average yield on all earning assets (non-GAAP) was 5.25% for the fourth quarter of 2024, down from 5.27% in the third quarter of 2024.

The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS) - BCG Matrix: Question Marks

You're looking at the pieces of The First Bancshares, Inc. franchise, now integrated into the larger Renasant structure post-April 1, 2025, that fit the profile of a Question Mark: high market growth potential but currently holding a small slice of that market. These areas consume cash now, hoping to become Stars later.

Financial and wealth management services, a high-growth sector where the combined entity's market share is still relatively small. While The First Bancshares, Inc. offered these services before the merger, scaling them within the larger, combined footprint represents a growth opportunity. For context, The First Bancshares, Inc. ended 2024 with total assets of approximately $8.005 billion. The post-merger entity is targeting a scale of around $26 billion in total assets. The success of capturing a larger share of fee-based wealth management revenue, which typically has higher growth prospects than core lending, is key here. The 2024 net income for the original entity was $77.2 million.

New digital banking products or fintech partnerships that require significant capital investment to scale. Integrating and enhancing digital platforms post-merger demands heavy upfront spending to compete in a market where digital adoption is accelerating rapidly. These investments are cash-intensive, fitting the Question Mark profile perfectly. The merger assumptions included a significant capital event, with an assumed base common equity offering of $150 million. This capital deployment is precisely what funds these high-growth, low-market-share digital initiatives.

Expansion into new, high-potential geographic markets where the brand is not yet established. The merger itself expanded the footprint to over 250 locations across the Southeast. However, penetrating specific high-potential Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) where the combined brand is new requires marketing and operational investment before market share builds. The original FBMS had operations in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana. The goal is to quickly gain share in these new territories to avoid becoming a Dog. Analysts projected an estimated 2025 Earnings Per Share (EPS) accretion of approximately $2.82 for the former FBMS shares, reflecting the anticipated growth from the merger's scale and market penetration.

Efforts to cross-sell Renasant's insurance products to the former The First Bancshares, Inc. customer base. This strategy is complicated by a prior divestiture. Renasant Corporation sold its insurance arm, Renasant Insurance, to Sunstar Insurance Group, effective July 1, 2024. This means the cross-selling focus shifts to leveraging the strategic relationship Renasant retained with Sunstar to offer banking clients access to Sunstar's insurance and employee benefits services. The divestiture itself generated an after-tax gain on sale of $36.4 million for Renasant, but resulted in an estimated after-tax earnings loss of approximately $3 million annually for the combined entity. The success of this referral/strategic relationship model, rather than direct product ownership, determines if this service line generates returns or drains resources.

Here's a look at the financial context surrounding the combined entity and the merger assumptions that impact resource allocation:

The core decision for these Question Marks involves resource allocation. You need to decide where to pour capital to force market share growth. Consider the following strategic options:

• Invest heavily to achieve critical mass in digital adoption.
• Aggressively market wealth management services in key MSAs.
• Divest specific underperforming digital/geographic initiatives early.
• Focus on maximizing referral revenue from the strategic insurance partnership.

If these units fail to capture significant market share quickly, the high cash consumption means they definitely become Dogs in the next review cycle. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.