BayFirst Financial
BAFN on Nasdaq. BayFirst Financial sells banking products to consumers and small businesses. Market value $209m.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Some use the latest annual report instead, as marked. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
We can't read total debt from the filing, so debt is left out.
Should I look at this?
Look carefully before going further
Why it could be worth it
Nothing stands out yet.
Read the warning sign in its own filings
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
Yearly profit per dollar of owners' money: 3 cents. Above 10 is good.
What you pay for each dollar of net assets: $1.69.
Profit per $100 you pay: $-30.84.
Quality score: 26 of 100. Price score: 32 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$7.26 a share, 70% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $4.26 to $10.52.
Pays no dividend
Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.00bn | 0.00bn | 0.00bn | 0.00bn | 0.03bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positiveDoesn't apply to banks and insurers
- Accounting checksDoesn't apply to banks and insurers
- DebtDoesn't apply to banks and insurers
- Revenue growth, five yearsUnknown
- Buying back its own sharesNo, 568% more shares since 2021
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- A loss of $33 million, compared with a loss of $2 million a year ago.
- Spare cash over the past 12 months: $147 million, down from $330 million.
- 1% fewer shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit more of the company.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $1m |
| December 2024 | $7m |
| March 2025 | -$938,000 |
| June 2025 | -$2m |
| September 2025 | -$19m |
| December 2025 | Not reported |
| March 2026 | -$6m |
| June 2026 | -$33m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 27 March 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 13 November 2026
Who owns it
1 long-term investor we follow owns it, unchanged from 1 last quarter. 16 funds in all.
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Manhattan Co.First Manhattan partners | $664,630 | <0.1% | Added |
Largest holders overall
- Vanguard Capital Management$754,030
- First Manhattan Co.$664,630Added
- Banc Funds$458,395
- BlackRock$264,140Added
- FourThought Financial Partners$263,640Added
- Geode Capital Management$193,929Cut
- Stifel Financial$183,365Added
- Modern Wealth Management$138,305New
- Vanguard Fiduciary Trust$111,075Added
- LPL Financial$96,605Added
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
2 investors own more than 5%.
- LEHMAN KENNETH R42.4%Since 14 July 2026
What they said
Mr. Lehman acquired his shares because he believes they represent a prudent investment. Mr. Lehman intends to join the board of directors of the Company and its subsidiary, BayFirst National Bank. Mr. Lehman intends to review continuously his investment in the Company, including…
Read the filing - INTERPLUS RE LtdPassive investor5.4%Since 12 May 2026
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
LEHMAN KENNETH R | 42.4% | 14 July 2026 | What they saidMr. Lehman acquired his shares because he believes they represent a prudent investment. Mr. Lehman intends to join the board of directors of the Company and its subsidiary, BayFirst National Bank. Mr. Lehman intends to review continuously his investment in the Company, including… Read the filing |
INTERPLUS RE Ltd Passive investor | 5.4% | 12 May 2026 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
No insider bought or sold on the open market in the last 12 months.
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
2 serious warning signs in BayFirst Financial’s filings.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 27 Mar 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 14 Aug 2026 and 15 later 8-Ks.
Weak checks on its own accounts
SeriousThe company said its checks on its own accounts did not work at the end of its latest quarter. Mistakes could slip into the numbers.
“The Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as a result of the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting described below, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of June 30, 2026.”
Show the full paragraph
An evaluation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13(a)-15(e) and 15(d)-15(e) of the Exchange Act), was carried out under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer as of June 30, 2026, the last day of the period covered by this Quarterly Report. The Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as a result of the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting described below, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of June 30, 2026.
From the 10-Q filed 14 August 2026, Part I, Item 4. Controls and Procedures. Read it in the filing
Its past accounts can't be relied on
SeriousIt told the SEC its earlier accounts should no longer be relied on, usually because they contained errors.
8-K Item 4.02 filed 15 Jul 2026: the company said its earlier financial statements should no longer be relied on.
From an 8-K filed 15 July 2026: Previously issued accounts should no longer be relied on. Open the filing
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
Cheap for a reason is the question the numbers cannot answer.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.