3 Reasons to Sell ABCB and 1 Stock to Buy Instead Jabin Bastian Tue, October 13, 2026 at 11:15 AM EDT 3 min read ABCB -0.45% ^GSPC -0.27% Trade ABCB on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
Over the past six months, Ameris Bancorp's stock price fell to $79.02. Shareholders have lost 5.3% of their capital, which is disappointing considering the S&P 500 has climbed by 13.5%. This was partly driven by its softer quarterly results and might have investors contemplating their next move.
Even though the stock has become cheaper, we don't have much confidence in Ameris Bancorp. Here are three reasons you should be careful with ABCB, plus one stock we'd rather own.
Net interest income commands greater market attention due to its reliability and consistency, whereas one-time fees are often seen as lower-quality revenue that lacks the same dependable characteristics.
Ameris Bancorp's net interest income has grown at an 8.5% annualized rate over the last five years, worse than the broader banking industry. Its growth was driven by both an increase in its outstanding loans and net interest margin, which represents how much a bank earns in relation to its outstanding loan book.
Topline growth is certainly important, but the overall profitability of this growth matters for the bottom line. For banks, we look at efficiency ratio, which is non-interest expense (salaries, rent, IT, marketing, excluding interest paid out to depositors) as a percentage of total revenue.
Investors place greater emphasis on efficiency ratio movements than absolute values, understanding that expense structures reflect revenue mix variations. Lower ratios represent better operational performance since they show banks generating more revenue per dollar of expense.
For the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Ameris Bancorp to become less profitable as it anticipates an efficiency ratio of 50.4% compared to 49.1% over the past year.
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) because it highlights whether a company's growth is profitable.
Ameris Bancorp's flat EPS over the last five years was below its 2.1% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.
Ameris Bancorp isn't a terrible business, but it doesn't pass our bar. After the recent drawdown, the stock trades at 1.2× forward P/B (or $79.02 per share). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but our analysis shows the upside isn't great compared to the potential downside. We're pretty confident there are superior stocks to buy right now. Let us point you toward the Amazon and PayPal of Latin America.
ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI is taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies.
Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662% between October 2022 and February 2026. AppLovin before it ran 753% between February 2024 and February 2026. Nvidia before it ran 1,178% between January 2023 and February 2026. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 Stocks for Free HERE.
Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+1,154% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
