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Side-by-side financial comparison of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) and Proto Labs Inc (PRLB). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Proto Labs Inc is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($139.3M vs $83.1M, roughly 1.7× Business First Bancshares, Inc.). On growth, Proto Labs Inc posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (10.4% vs 7.1%). Over the past eight quarters, Business First Bancshares, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (16.8% CAGR vs 5.3%).

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.

Protolabs is a company that provides rapid manufacturing of 3D printed, CNC-machined, sheet metal, and injection-molded custom parts for prototyping and production. Markets like medical devices, aerospace, electronics, appliances, automotive and consumer products use these parts. Protolabs' headquarters are located in Maple Plain, Minnesota, with Minnesota-based manufacturing facilities in Plymouth, Brooklyn Park, and Rosemount, along with additional facilities in Nashua, New Hampshire and Ca...

BFST vs PRLB — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
PRLB
PRLB
1.7× larger
PRLB
$139.3M
$83.1M
BFST
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
PRLB
PRLB
+3.3% gap
PRLB
10.4%
7.1%
BFST
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
BFST
BFST
Annualised
BFST
16.8%
5.3%
PRLB

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Revenue
$83.1M
$139.3M
Net Profit
$8.1M
Gross Margin
45.6%
Operating Margin
33.2%
7.1%
Net Margin
5.8%
Revenue YoY
7.1%
10.4%
Net Profit YoY
125.4%
EPS (diluted)
$0.71
$0.29

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
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
$139.3M
Q4 25
$83.1M
$136.5M
Q3 25
$80.9M
$135.4M
Q2 25
$81.5M
$135.1M
Q1 25
$79.2M
$126.2M
Q4 24
$77.6M
$121.8M
Q3 24
$66.9M
$125.6M
Q2 24
$66.2M
$125.6M
Net Profit
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
$8.1M
Q4 25
Q3 25
$22.9M
$7.2M
Q2 25
$22.1M
$4.4M
Q1 25
$20.5M
$3.6M
Q4 24
Q3 24
$17.8M
$7.2M
Q2 24
$17.2M
$4.5M
Gross Margin
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
45.6%
Q4 25
44.2%
Q3 25
45.3%
Q2 25
44.3%
Q1 25
44.1%
Q4 24
42.7%
Q3 24
45.6%
Q2 24
45.0%
Operating Margin
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
7.1%
Q4 25
33.2%
5.0%
Q3 25
35.7%
6.5%
Q2 25
34.4%
3.7%
Q1 25
32.6%
3.6%
Q4 24
27.5%
-1.2%
Q3 24
34.0%
6.8%
Q2 24
32.9%
4.8%
Net Margin
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
5.8%
Q4 25
Q3 25
28.2%
5.3%
Q2 25
27.1%
3.3%
Q1 25
25.9%
2.9%
Q4 24
Q3 24
26.7%
5.7%
Q2 24
26.0%
3.6%
EPS (diluted)
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
$0.29
Q4 25
$0.71
$0.25
Q3 25
$0.73
$0.30
Q2 25
$0.70
$0.18
Q1 25
$0.65
$0.15
Q4 24
$0.51
$-0.01
Q3 24
$0.65
$0.29
Q2 24
$0.62
$0.18

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$411.2M
$124.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$896.9M
$683.1M
Total Assets
$8.2B
$778.6M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
$124.0M
Q4 25
$411.2M
$128.1M
Q3 25
$399.1M
$119.2M
Q2 25
$495.8M
$103.2M
Q1 25
$312.9M
$96.8M
Q4 24
$319.1M
$103.1M
Q3 24
$213.2M
$100.5M
Q2 24
$208.1M
$112.9M
Stockholders' Equity
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
$683.1M
Q4 25
$896.9M
$673.9M
Q3 25
$878.4M
$664.7M
Q2 25
$848.4M
$664.7M
Q1 25
$826.3M
$656.8M
Q4 24
$799.5M
$670.2M
Q3 24
$699.5M
$680.0M
Q2 24
$664.5M
$685.2M
Total Assets
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
$778.6M
Q4 25
$8.2B
$763.4M
Q3 25
$8.0B
$756.9M
Q2 25
$7.9B
$743.3M
Q1 25
$7.8B
$737.5M
Q4 24
$7.9B
$743.5M
Q3 24
$6.9B
$753.8M
Q2 24
$6.7B
$758.2M

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$92.1M
$17.5M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$92.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
110.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.16×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$165.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
$17.5M
Q4 25
$92.1M
$16.5M
Q3 25
$32.4M
$29.1M
Q2 25
$14.0M
$10.6M
Q1 25
$28.7M
$18.4M
Q4 24
$61.4M
$17.3M
Q3 24
$21.4M
$24.8M
Q2 24
$15.1M
$14.4M
Free Cash Flow
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
Q4 25
$92.0M
$8.4M
Q3 25
$32.1M
$25.0M
Q2 25
$13.8M
$9.1M
Q1 25
$27.7M
$17.1M
Q4 24
$59.8M
$16.5M
Q3 24
$21.0M
$23.2M
Q2 24
$14.0M
$10.2M
FCF Margin
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
Q4 25
110.7%
6.2%
Q3 25
39.6%
18.5%
Q2 25
16.9%
6.7%
Q1 25
34.9%
13.6%
Q4 24
77.1%
13.5%
Q3 24
31.4%
18.5%
Q2 24
21.2%
8.2%
Capex Intensity
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.1%
5.9%
Q3 25
0.4%
3.0%
Q2 25
0.3%
1.1%
Q1 25
1.3%
1.0%
Q4 24
2.0%
0.7%
Q3 24
0.6%
1.2%
Q2 24
1.6%
3.3%
Cash Conversion
BFST
BFST
PRLB
PRLB
Q1 26
2.16×
Q4 25
Q3 25
1.42×
4.03×
Q2 25
0.63×
2.39×
Q1 25
1.40×
5.11×
Q4 24
Q3 24
1.20×
3.44×
Q2 24
0.88×
3.18×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

BFST
BFST

Segment breakdown not available.

PRLB
PRLB

CNC Machining$63.2M45%
Injection Molding$51.1M37%
3D Printing$20.5M15%
Sheet Metal$4.4M3%
Other Revenue$207.0K0%

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