California regional bank TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ: TCBK) announced better-than-expected revenue in Q4 CY2025, with sales up 8.6% year on year to $109.4 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.03 per share was 3.6% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Is now the time to buy TriCo Bancshares? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.

Company Overview

Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Chico, California, TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ: TCBK) operates Tri Counties Bank, providing personal, small business, and commercial banking services through branches across California.

Sales Growth

In general, banks make money from two primary sources. The first is net interest income, which is interest earned on loans, mortgages, and investments in securities minus interest paid out on deposits. The second source is non-interest income, which can come from bank account, credit card, wealth management, investing banking, and trading fees. Over the last five years, TriCo Bancshares grew its revenue at a tepid 6% compounded annual growth rate. This was below our standard for the banking sector and is a tough starting point for our analysis.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. TriCo Bancshares’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its revenue was flat over the last two years. Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.

This quarter, TriCo Bancshares reported year-on-year revenue growth of 8.6%, and its $109.4 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 1.2%.

Net interest income made up 83.4% of the company’s total revenue during the last five years, meaning TriCo Bancshares barely relies on non-interest income to drive its overall growth.

Our experience and research show the market cares primarily about a bank’s net interest income growth as non-interest income is considered a lower-quality and non-recurring revenue source.

Microsoft, Alphabet, Coca-Cola, Monster Beverage—all began as under-the-radar growth stories riding a massive trend. We’ve identified the next one: a profitable AI semiconductor play Wall Street is still overlooking. Go here for access to our full report.

Tangible Book Value Per Share (TBVPS)

The balance sheet drives banking profitability since earnings flow from the spread between borrowing and lending rates. As such, valuations for these companies concentrate on capital strength and sustainable equity accumulation potential.

This is why we consider tangible book value per share (TBVPS) the most important metric to track for banks. TBVPS represents the real, liquid net worth per share of a bank, excluding intangible assets that have debatable value upon liquidation. EPS can become murky due to acquisition impacts or accounting flexibility around loan provisions, and TBVPS resists financial engineering manipulation.

TriCo Bancshares’s TBVPS grew at a solid 6.4% annual clip over the last five years. TBVPS growth has also accelerated recently, growing by 11.4% annually over the last two years from $25.39 to $31.52 per share.

Over the next 12 months, Consensus estimates call for TriCo Bancshares’s TBVPS to grow by 6.3% to $33.49, lousy growth rate.

Key Takeaways from TriCo Bancshares’s Q4 Results

It was encouraging to see TriCo Bancshares beat analysts’ net interest income expectations this quarter. We were also happy its revenue narrowly outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its EPS slightly beat. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock traded up 1.6% to $51.44 immediately following the results.

Big picture, is TriCo Bancshares a buy here and now? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).