First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) stock experienced a sharp pre-market plunge of 13.86% on Friday morning, following the release of its fourth quarter 2024 earnings report.
The regional bank reported Q4 earnings per share of $0.68, which while higher than the $0.62 EPS in the year-ago quarter, fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.65. The company's revenue of $225.53 million also missed the consensus expectation of $214.7 million.
While First Financial's net interest margin of 3.9% matched analyst estimates, its efficiency ratio of 66% was notably higher than the projected 58.7%, indicating higher operating costs. Additionally, the company's total noninterest income of $69.85 million fell below the average estimate of $63.55 million.
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