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Side-by-side financial comparison of AMERICAN STATES WATER CO (AWR) and Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

AMERICAN STATES WATER CO is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($164.3M vs $83.1M, roughly 2.0× Business First Bancshares, Inc.). On growth, AMERICAN STATES WATER CO posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (14.8% vs 7.1%). Business First Bancshares, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($92.0M vs $-36.0M). Over the past eight quarters, Business First Bancshares, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (16.8% CAGR vs 10.2%).

American Water is an American public utility company that, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States.

First Citizens Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company based in Raleigh, North Carolina and one of the largest banks in the United States. Its primary subsidiary is First Citizens Bank, which operates over 500 branches in 23 states. A second subsidiary is Silicon Valley Bank, which operates 39 offices in 15 states.

AWR vs BFST — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
AWR
AWR
2.0× larger
AWR
$164.3M
$83.1M
BFST
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
AWR
AWR
+7.7% gap
AWR
14.8%
7.1%
BFST
More free cash flow
BFST
BFST
$128.0M more FCF
BFST
$92.0M
$-36.0M
AWR
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
BFST
BFST
Annualised
BFST
16.8%
10.2%
AWR

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Revenue
$164.3M
$83.1M
Net Profit
$28.7M
Gross Margin
88.9%
Operating Margin
27.4%
33.2%
Net Margin
17.5%
Revenue YoY
14.8%
7.1%
Net Profit YoY
1.1%
EPS (diluted)
$0.74
$0.71

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
$164.3M
$83.1M
Q3 25
$182.7M
$80.9M
Q2 25
$163.1M
$81.5M
Q1 25
$148.0M
$79.2M
Q4 24
$143.1M
$77.6M
Q3 24
$161.8M
$66.9M
Q2 24
$155.3M
$66.2M
Q1 24
$135.3M
$60.9M
Net Profit
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
$28.7M
Q3 25
$41.2M
$22.9M
Q2 25
$33.7M
$22.1M
Q1 25
$26.8M
$20.5M
Q4 24
$28.4M
Q3 24
$35.8M
$17.8M
Q2 24
$31.9M
$17.2M
Q1 24
$23.1M
$13.6M
Gross Margin
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
88.9%
Q3 25
91.0%
Q2 25
92.1%
Q1 25
91.3%
Q4 24
92.4%
Q3 24
92.7%
Q2 24
89.6%
Q1 24
88.4%
Operating Margin
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
27.4%
33.2%
Q3 25
33.8%
35.7%
Q2 25
31.3%
34.4%
Q1 25
30.8%
32.6%
Q4 24
27.0%
27.5%
Q3 24
34.0%
34.0%
Q2 24
33.3%
32.9%
Q1 24
28.8%
28.2%
Net Margin
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
17.5%
Q3 25
22.5%
28.2%
Q2 25
20.7%
27.1%
Q1 25
18.1%
25.9%
Q4 24
19.9%
Q3 24
22.1%
26.7%
Q2 24
20.5%
26.0%
Q1 24
17.1%
22.3%
EPS (diluted)
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
$0.74
$0.71
Q3 25
$1.06
$0.73
Q2 25
$0.87
$0.70
Q1 25
$0.70
$0.65
Q4 24
$0.75
$0.51
Q3 24
$0.95
$0.65
Q2 24
$0.85
$0.62
Q1 24
$0.62
$0.48

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$18.8M
$411.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$782.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.0B
$896.9M
Total Assets
$2.7B
$8.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.75×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
$18.8M
$411.2M
Q3 25
$26.1M
$399.1M
Q2 25
$20.2M
$495.8M
Q1 25
$21.2M
$312.9M
Q4 24
$26.7M
$319.1M
Q3 24
$16.5M
$213.2M
Q2 24
$3.6M
$208.1M
Q1 24
$17.0M
$185.9M
Total Debt
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
$782.7M
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$640.4M
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
Stockholders' Equity
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
$1.0B
$896.9M
Q3 25
$1.0B
$878.4M
Q2 25
$972.5M
$848.4M
Q1 25
$956.4M
$826.3M
Q4 24
$920.1M
$799.5M
Q3 24
$879.5M
$699.5M
Q2 24
$833.5M
$664.5M
Q1 24
$800.5M
$649.0M
Total Assets
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
$2.7B
$8.2B
Q3 25
$2.7B
$8.0B
Q2 25
$2.6B
$7.9B
Q1 25
$2.5B
$7.8B
Q4 24
$2.5B
$7.9B
Q3 24
$2.4B
$6.9B
Q2 24
$2.3B
$6.7B
Q1 24
$2.3B
$6.7B
Debt / Equity
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
0.75×
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.70×
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$27.7M
$92.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-36.0M
$92.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-21.9%
110.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
38.8%
0.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.96×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-7.1M
$165.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
$27.7M
$92.1M
Q3 25
$92.4M
$32.4M
Q2 25
$64.6M
$14.0M
Q1 25
$45.1M
$28.7M
Q4 24
$64.5M
$61.4M
Q3 24
$63.7M
$21.4M
Q2 24
$24.7M
$15.1M
Q1 24
$45.8M
$7.6M
Free Cash Flow
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
$-36.0M
$92.0M
Q3 25
$37.7M
$32.1M
Q2 25
$13.7M
$13.8M
Q1 25
$-22.5M
$27.7M
Q4 24
$6.0M
$59.8M
Q3 24
$-478.0K
$21.0M
Q2 24
$-37.0M
$14.0M
Q1 24
$-1.7M
$7.2M
FCF Margin
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
-21.9%
110.7%
Q3 25
20.7%
39.6%
Q2 25
8.4%
16.9%
Q1 25
-15.2%
34.9%
Q4 24
4.2%
77.1%
Q3 24
-0.3%
31.4%
Q2 24
-23.8%
21.2%
Q1 24
-1.3%
11.8%
Capex Intensity
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
38.8%
0.1%
Q3 25
29.9%
0.4%
Q2 25
31.2%
0.3%
Q1 25
45.6%
1.3%
Q4 24
40.9%
2.0%
Q3 24
39.7%
0.6%
Q2 24
39.8%
1.6%
Q1 24
35.2%
0.6%
Cash Conversion
AWR
AWR
BFST
BFST
Q4 25
0.96×
Q3 25
2.24×
1.42×
Q2 25
1.92×
0.63×
Q1 25
1.68×
1.40×
Q4 24
2.27×
Q3 24
1.78×
1.20×
Q2 24
0.78×
0.88×
Q1 24
1.98×
0.56×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

AWR
AWR

Water Service Utility Operations$110.0M67%
Public Utilities Inventory Water$22.3M14%
Wastewater$15.9M10%
Electric Service Utility Operations$15.2M9%

BFST
BFST

Segment breakdown not available.

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