First Foundation (FFWM) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $464.39M
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 662.19K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 0.70
• Revenue Growth: -6.47%
• EPS Growth: -75.82%
• Country: US
• Employees: 561
• Sector: Financial
• Sector Strength: 70
• Industry: Banks - Regional
• EPS (TTM): -0.04
• Shares Outstanding: 82,884,400
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 774,924
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 662,190
• PEG Ratio: -0.10
• Price to Book (P/B): 0.56
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.86
• P/FCF Ratio: -15.93
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 0.95
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 0.80
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 3.32
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: -6.98
• 1Y Price Target: $6.75
• Price Target Upside: 19.47% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 2
• EPS Forecast (FY): 0.15
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $240.85M

• Rating: 46 Neutral
• Price Target: $5.50 ▼(-2.65% Downside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 03/17/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 03/17/26

The score is held down primarily by weak financial performance (multi-year losses, negative operating/free cash flow, and elevated leverage) and bearish technical momentum (below key moving averages with negative MACD). Offsetting this, recent positive merger approvals provide a meaningful catalyst, while valuation is difficult to assess due to the negative P/E and missing dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Merger / Scale

Regulatory approvals and a targeted early-Q2 close create a durable structural change: combining franchises materially increases scale, geographic diversification, and product breadth. That scale can enable cost synergies, broader deposit access, and stronger competitive positioning versus regional peers.

Balance-sheet transformation

Management has executed structural funding and portfolio moves that lower concentration and funding cost, improving resilience. Lower L/D, planned asset sales and improved ACL and capital ratios strengthen long-term liquidity, risk profile and capacity to support lending and advisory growth post-close.

Wealth management franchise

A relationship-driven wealth/advisory business provides recurring fee income, higher client stickiness and cross-sell opportunities that diversify revenue away from interest margins. Over 2–6 months this stabilizes noninterest revenue and supports client retention through the merger integration.

Negative Factors

Multi-year losses

Persistent losses erode retained capital and constrain internal reinvestment. Multi-year negative profitability reduces buffer against loan losses or integration costs, may necessitate external capital or cost cuts, and weakens the firm’s ability to fund strategic initiatives over the medium term.

Weak cash generation

Sustained negative operating and free cash flow undermines self-funding capacity. That weakness limits ability to reduce leverage, absorb post-merger integration expenses, or invest in tech and branch upgrades, raising the likelihood of external funding needs or slower organic growth.

Elevated leverage

Higher leverage increases financial rigidity and reduces shock absorption. With equity base weakened, the bank is more sensitive to credit or market stress and may face constrained capital flexibility during integration, potentially forcing asset sales or dilutive capital raises to meet strategic objectives.

First Foundation Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

First Foundation Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides personal banking, business banking, and private wealth management services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking and Wealth Management. The company offers a range of bank deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, and time certificate of deposits; and loan products consisting of multifamily and single family residential real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, and commercial term loans and line of credits, as well as consumer loans, such as personal installment loans and line of credits, and home equity line of credits. It also provides various specialized services comprising trust services, internet and mobile banking, remote deposit capture services, merchant credit card services, ATM cards, Visa debit cards, and business sweep accounts, as well as insurance brokerage services and equipment financing solutions. In addition, the company offers investment management and financial planning services; treasury management services; advisory and coordination services in the areas of estate planning, retirement planning, and charitable and business ownership issues; and financial, investment, and economic advisory and related services. Further, it provides support services, including the processing and transmission of financial and economic data for charitable organizations. The company operates through a network of 28 branch offices and 3 loan production offices in California, Nevada, Texas, and Hawaii. First Foundation Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

How the Company Makes Money

First Foundation makes money primarily through (1) net interest income and (2) noninterest income. Net interest income is earned by taking deposits and other funding sources (e.g., checking, savings, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit) and deploying those funds into interest-earning assets—mainly loans and, to a lesser extent, investment securities—then capturing the spread between interest earned and interest paid. Key drivers include loan volumes and mix (e.g., commercial real estate, commercial lending, and consumer lending), asset yields, deposit costs, and overall interest rate conditions. Noninterest income is generated from fees and service charges associated with banking activities (such as account-related fees and other transactional/service fees) and from wealth management/advisory activities, where the company earns fees based on client assets under management/advisory, investment management services, and related client services. Additional contributors can include gains/losses and income tied to investment securities and loan-related activities; specific items vary by period. Information on any specific major partnerships contributing to earnings: null.

First Foundation Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Financial statements are pressured by three straight years of net losses (2023–2025) and negative operating profit despite a revenue rebound in 2025. Cash generation is a major weakness, with negative operating and free cash flow in 2024 and 2025. Leverage is elevated (debt-to-equity ~1.5–1.8) and ROE is negative, though debt has been relatively stable and 2025 cash burn is less negative than 2024.

Income Statement

Revenue rebounded in 2025 (annual revenue up versus 2024), but profitability remains the core issue. The company has posted net losses for three straight years (2023–2025), with negative operating profit as well, indicating weak earnings power despite some improvement in 2025 margins versus 2024. The key strength is the clear recovery from the very depressed 2024 gross profitability, but the persistent losses and negative margins keep the income statement quality low.

Balance Sheet

Leverage is elevated for the recent period, with debt running well above equity (debt-to-equity around 1.5–1.8 in 2023–2025). Equity has also stepped down from 2024 to 2025, and returns on equity are negative in 2023–2025, reflecting pressure from losses. A positive is that total debt has been relatively stable year-to-year recently, but the combination of higher leverage versus earlier years and negative returns weighs on balance-sheet strength.

Cash Flow

Cash generation has deteriorated sharply: operating cash flow and free cash flow are negative in 2024 and 2025, versus strong positive levels in 2020–2022. Free cash flow growth is also deeply negative in 2024 and remains down in 2025, signaling weakening internal funding capacity. While 2025 free cash flow is less negative than 2024, the overall trajectory from positive to negative cash flow is a material red flag.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	588.36M	481.54M	546.24M	413.93M	308.90M
Gross Profit	170.47M	32.49M	175.33M	328.21M	291.10M
EBITDA	-71.55M	-129.41M	-191.87M	158.51M	158.63M
Net Income	-155.16M	-92.41M	-199.06M	110.51M	109.51M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	11.90B	12.65B	13.33B	13.01B	10.20B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	4.06B	2.33B	2.03B	882.65M	2.31B
Total Debt	1.60B	1.60B	1.58B	1.37B	210.13M
Total Liabilities	10.99B	11.59B	12.40B	11.88B	9.13B
Stockholders Equity	912.59M	1.05B	925.34M	1.13B	1.06B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-31.91M	-11.51M	-287.00K	96.91M	93.73M
Operating Cash Flow	-31.91M	-8.78M	7.92M	101.49M	96.94M
Investing Cash Flow	1.22B	287.36M	132.78M	-3.25B	-79.37M
Financing Cash Flow	-580.99M	-589.08M	529.44M	2.68B	474.49M

First Foundation Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 5.65
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For FFWM, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 5.65 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 5.92, below the 50-day MA of 6.12, and below the 200-day MA of 5.66, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.16 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 37.42 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 26.28 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for FFWM.

First Foundation Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
HBCP	73 Outperform	$459.76M	9.75	11.03%	1.92%	6.25%	24.92%
FBIZ	72 Outperform	$436.08M	8.80	14.27%	2.08%	8.21%	29.65%
Sector *	68 Neutral	$18.00B	11.42	9.92%	3.81%	9.73%	1.22%
AROW	66 Neutral	$532.17M	9.18	8.49%	3.59%	6.86%	6.11%
BWB	63 Neutral	$476.91M	10.41	8.63%	―	13.96%	25.74%
COFS	58 Neutral	$412.60M	14.61	6.16%	3.69%	50.36%	-56.64%
FFWM	46 Neutral	$464.39M	-3.28	-15.74%	―	-6.47%	-75.82%

First Foundation Corporate Events

First Foundation, FirstSun Capital Secure Fed Merger Approval

On March 12, 2026, FirstSun Capital Bancorp and First Foundation Inc. said they had received approval from the Federal Reserve to proceed with their planned merger, following earlier clearances from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and shareholders of both banks. With all required bank regulatory approvals now in hand, the companies aim to close the transaction on April 1, 2026, subject to remaining customary conditions, positioning the combined institution to expand its regional banking and wealth management footprint across multiple states and deepen its competitive standing against larger U.S. financial institutions.

The deal would unite FirstSun’s Sunflower Bank franchise, which has a sizable multistate branch and mortgage lending presence, with First Foundation’s broad suite of banking and wealth management services and high-touch advisory model. For clients and investors, the merger signals a push toward scale and geographic diversification in the mid-sized banking sector, potentially enhancing product breadth and market reach while concentrating more relationship-focused services under a larger, better-capitalized platform.

The most recent analyst rating on (FFWM) stock is a Hold with a $6.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on First Foundation stock, see the FFWM Stock Forecast page.

First Foundation Shareholders Approve Merger With FirstSun

On February 27, 2026, First Foundation Inc. held a special meeting of stockholders at which investors voted on four proposals related to its planned merger with FirstSun Capital Bancorp under an Agreement and Plan of Merger signed on October 27, 2025. Stockholders approved the merger of First Foundation into FirstSun and endorsed, on a non-binding advisory basis, the merger-related compensation for named executive officers, signaling broad shareholder support for the transaction and its executive pay framework.

Investors also backed, on a non-binding advisory basis, an amendment to FirstSun’s certificate of incorporation to increase authorized common shares and create a class of non-voting common stock, facilitating the merger’s share issuance and future capital flexibility. Because a quorum was present and the merger compensation proposal achieved the necessary votes, the proposal to adjourn the special meeting to solicit additional proxies was withdrawn and not called, clearing a key procedural hurdle for closing the combination.

The most recent analyst rating on (FFWM) stock is a Hold with a $6.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on First Foundation stock, see the FFWM Stock Forecast page.

Regulators Clear Key Hurdle in First Foundation Merger

FirstSun Capital Bancorp and First Foundation Inc., both regional banking and wealth management providers, are advancing a strategic merger that will combine First Foundation’s broad-based banking and advisory platform with Sunflower Bank’s multistate branch and mortgage footprint. The combined organization would blend large-institution product breadth with relationship-focused service, potentially reinforcing its position against both national banks and local community competitors.

On February 25, 2026, the two companies announced that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved the merger of their bank subsidiaries, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for Sunflower Bank, N.A. to remain as the surviving bank. The parent-company merger, governed by an October 27, 2025 agreement, still requires Federal Reserve approval, shareholder votes scheduled for February 27, 2026, and other customary closing conditions, with completion expected early in the second quarter of 2026, a timeline that could materially reshape their operational scale and market reach once finalized.

The most recent analyst rating on (FFWM) stock is a Hold with a $6.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on First Foundation stock, see the FFWM Stock Forecast page.

First Foundation, FirstSun Tighten Merger Stock Conversion Terms

On February 6, 2026, First Foundation Inc. and FirstSun Capital Bancorp amended their October 27, 2025 merger agreement to revise the terms governing a new class of FirstSun non-voting common stock. The amendment removes a prior feature that allowed holders of non-voting shares to voluntarily convert them into voting common stock up to a 4.99% regulatory ownership threshold, and replaces it with a more limited right permitting conversion only when a FirstSun action reduces the holder’s percentage of voting securities, and only up to the level of ownership that existed before such action. All other economic and procedural terms of the merger, including consideration, exchange ratio, and voting mechanics, remain unchanged, indicating the transaction’s overall structure and financial impact are intact while tightening control over potential changes in voting power distribution among investors.

The most recent analyst rating on (FFWM) stock is a Hold with a $6.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on First Foundation stock, see the FFWM Stock Forecast page.