First Busey Corporation (BUSE)

In the past six months, First Busey Corp. completed its merger and integration with CrossFirst Bankshares, Inc., which bolstered its assets and improved profitability in Q4 2025. The merger led to an expansion of its net interest margin and an improvement in adjusted return on average assets in Q4 2025. First Busey repurchased $29.8 million of stock in Q4 2025 and $69.9 million for the full year. Shareholders have experienced substantial dilution due to a 51.4% increase in total shares outstanding over the past year, and the stock has underperformed both the US Banks industry and the broader US Market.

There is an indication of demand seasonality within First Busey Corp.'s Wealth Management segment. In the second quarter of 2025, wealth management fees experienced a decline primarily due to seasonal fees, specifically a decrease in farm management fees, although this was partially offset by higher tax preparation fees.

First Busey Corp. operates in the Financial Services sector as a regional bank, with operations in Banking, Wealth Management, and FirsTech. The company offers demand and savings deposits, money transfers, safe deposit services, individual retirement accounts, and automated teller machines. Loan products include residential real estate, home equity lines of credit, consumer loans, commercial, commercial real estate, real estate construction, and agricultural loans, as well as cash management services. Wealth Management provides asset management, investment, brokerage, fiduciary, philanthropic advisory, tax preparation, farm management services, trust and estate advisory services, financial planning, succession planning, employee retirement plans, and investment strategy consulting services. FirsTech offers payment technology solutions including online, mobile, and voice-recognition bill payments; electronic payment concentration; walk-in payment processing; customer service payments over the telephone; direct debit services; merchant services referral solutions; lockbox remittance processing; and tools for billing, reconciliation, bill reminders, and treasury services.

First Busey Corp. has a regional presence across the Midwest and into Florida. Its banking centers are located in Illinois, the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area, southwest Florida, and Indianapolis, Indiana. The company also has a presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Statistical Area, Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, Wichita, Kansas, and Clayton, New Mexico. Additionally, it offers mortgage loan products through loan production offices in the St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, and Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan areas and other locations across the Midwest.

First Busey Corp. has a strong brand reputation, achieving a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 62.4 in 2024, which is above the industry average. Its Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) score in 2024 was 9.3 out of 10. The company emphasizes community involvement, with associates dedicating nearly 21,000 hours to community organizations and charitable donations totaling over $1.9 million in 2024.

First Busey Corp. has significant institutional ownership, with institutions holding 63.3% of the shares, while individual insiders hold 3.13%. Major institutional owners include BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A., The Vanguard Group, Inc., Dimensional Fund Advisors, L.P., State Street Investment Management (US), Geode Capital Management, L.L.C., and American Century Investment Management, Inc. Wellington Management Company, LLP is also a top holder.