BFST

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500 Laurel Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70801

Phone: 877.614.7600

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 26, 2026

Media Contact: Misty Albrecht

b1BANK

225.286.7879

media@b1BANK.com

Business First Bancshares, Inc. Announces Financial Results for Q3 2026

Baton Rouge, La. (October 26, 2026) – Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: BFST) (Business First), parent company of b1BANK, today announced its unaudited results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Business First reported net income available to common shareholders of $23.2 million or $0.71 per diluted common share, increases of $0.4 million and $0.01, respectively, compared to the linked quarter. On a non-GAAP basis, core net income available to common shareholders for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, which excludes certain income and expenses, was $26.0 million or $0.79 per diluted common share, increases of $2.7 million and $0.08 from the linked quarter.

“Our third quarter showed what disciplined execution can deliver,” said Jude Melville, chairman, president, and CEO of Business First. “We completed the conversion of Progressive Bank, and I’m grateful to our North Louisiana teammates and clients for helping make it a seamless transition. We grew loans and deposits at a balanced pace appropriate to our level of capital strength, and we did so while expanding our net interest margin by 12 basis points and keeping non-interest expenses in check. The result was higher earnings and stronger returns. Our team earned these results through disciplined execution, and we’ll keep that same focus as we continue to invest in the growing number of opportunities we’re seeing across our diversified footprint.”

On Thursday, October 22, 2026, Business First’s board of directors declared a quarterly preferred dividend in the amount of $18.75 per share, which is the full quarterly dividend of 1.875% based on the per annum rate of 7.50%. Additionally, the board of directors declared a quarterly common dividend based upon financial performance for the third quarter in the amount of $0.15 per share of common stock. The preferred and common dividends will be paid on November 30, 2026, or as soon thereafter as practicable, to the shareholders of record as of November 15, 2026.

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Quarterly Highlights

• Improving Core Performance. Return to common shareholders on average assets, on an annualized basis, was 1.04% for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, or 1.17% on a non-GAAP basis, compared to 1.03% or 1.05% on a non-GAAP basis for the linked quarter. Return to common shareholders on average equity on an annualized basis, was 9.75% for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, or 10.93% on a non-GAAP basis, compared to 9.83%, or 10.05% on a non-GAAP basis for the linked quarter.

• Margin Expansion. Net interest margin expanded 13 basis points (bps) to 3.86% for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, or 12 bps to 3.80% on a non-GAAP basis, respectively, compared to 3.73% or 3.68%, respectively, for the linked quarter. The expansion was driven by improvement in book yield on loans and a reduction in the overall cost of funding. The reduction in overall cost of funding was driven by decreases of $65.9 million in brokered deposits and $107.8 million in borrowings while core deposit costs remained flat.

• Loan and Deposit Growth. Loans grew by $121.4 million or 7.23%, annualized and deposits grew by $141.2 million or 7.74% annualized, led by our Houston, Texas and Southwest Louisiana markets.

• Capital and Share Repurchases. During the third quarter, as part of a previously announced stock repurchase program, Business First repurchased 204,160 shares, with a market value of $6.3 million, at a weighted average price of $30.81 per share. Common equity to total assets decreased from 10.52% to 10.39%. Business First has repurchased a total of 630,618 common shares under the existing stock repurchase program, since October 2025, or $17.6 million at a weighted average repurchase price per share of $27.88.

• Progressive Conversion. In August 2026, Business First successfully converted Progressive Bank’s core systems onto its platform.

Statement of Financial Condition

Loans

Loans held for investment increased $121.4 million or 1.82%, 7.23% annualized, compared to the linked quarter. The commercial real estate and construction portfolios increased $72.7 million and $80.7 million, respectively, compared to the linked quarter. The residential real estate portfolio decreased $30.6 million compared to the linked quarter.

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Credit Quality

Loans over 30 days past due at September 30, 2026 were $32.5 million or 0.48% of total loans, which was generally stable from the linked quarter. The ratio of nonperforming loans compared to loans held for investment decreased 2 bps to 1.24% at September 30, 2026, while the ratio of nonperforming assets compared to total assets also decreased by 1 bps to 1.22

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500 Laurel Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70801

Phone: 877.614.7600

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 27, 2026

Media Contact: Misty Albrecht

b1BANK

225.286.7879

media@b1BANK.com

Business First Bancshares, Inc., Announces Financial Results for Q1 2026

Baton Rouge, La. (April 27, 2026) – Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: BFST) (Business First), parent company of b1BANK, today announced its unaudited results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Business First reported net income available to common shareholders of $22.2 million or $0.68 per diluted common share, an increase of $1.2 million and a decrease of $0.03, respectively, compared to the linked quarter. On a non-GAAP basis, core net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, which excludes certain income and expenses, was $24.0 million or $0.73 per diluted common share, an increase of $0.5 million and a decrease of $0.06 from the linked quarter. The quarter ended March 31, 2026, included the consummation of the Progressive Bancorp, Inc. (Progressive) acquisition.

“It was a busy and productive start of the year for b1BANK,” said Jude Melville, chairman, president, and CEO of Business First. “Quantitatively, we continued generating consistent profitability, increased our capital ratios and strengthened our liquidity positioning. Qualitatively, we added a large number of strong teammates through consummation of the Progressive Bank acquisition, the addition of a number of seasoned, respected bankers in Houston, and our partnership with Covecta, with whom we are working on building out Agentic AI capabilities. I’m also proud of our team’s self-managed subordinated-debt issuance through our network of community bank partners. All these deepening partnerships bode well for the continued building of shareholder value over the course of 2026.”

On Thursday, April 23, 2026, Business First’s board of directors declared a quarterly preferred dividend in the amount of $18.75 per share, which is the full quarterly dividend of 1.875% based on the per annum rate of 7.50%. Additionally, the board of directors declared a quarterly common dividend based upon financial performance for the first quarter in the amount of $0.15 per share of common stock. The preferred and common dividends will be paid on May 29, 2026, or as soon thereafter as practicable, to the shareholders of record as of May 15, 2026.

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Quarterly Highlights

• Consistent Core Performance. Return to common shareholders on average assets, on an annualized basis, was 1.01% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, or 1.10% on a non-GAAP basis, compared to 1.04% or 1.16% on a non-GAAP basis for the linked quarter.

• Progressive Acquisition. On January 1, 2026, Business First closed its previously announced acquisition of Progressive and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Progressive Bank. Progressive had approximately $773.8 million of total assets, $589.7 million of net loans, and $684.9 million of deposits as of December 31, 2025. Business First does not anticipate material synergies to be reflected in its earnings until after conversion in the third quarter. b1BANK added nine banking centers in North Louisiana as a result of the Progressive acquisition.

• Meaningful Production Additions. On January 15, 2026, Business First announced the hiring of a new regional president to the Houston, Texas market and head of private banking. This individual joined b1BANK from Veritex Community Bank, where he served as senior vice president and Houston market president. Prior to his tenure at Veritex, he had been with Comerica Bank for nearly 20 years in leadership roles across private banking, middle market, and wealth management. By quarter-end, we successfully added four producers and three production support staff to the new Houston team.

• New Technology Partnership. On February 17, 2026, b1BANK and Covecta announced a strategic partnership to deploy agentic AI across the bank’s day to day workflows. The collaboration focuses on streamlining and automating repeatable, policy-driven activities across core deposit and loan operational processes, reducing manual effort and operational friction so that teams can devote more time towards higher value-adding work including analysis, exception handling and customer engagement.

• Improving Shareholder Value. During the first quarter, as part of a previously announced stock repurchase program, Business First repurchased 99,105 shares, with a market value of $2.7 million, at a weighted average price of $27.75 per share. Common equity to total assets increased from 10.04% to 10.32%. Tangible common equity to tangible assets increased from 8.53% to 8.65%, 1.37% or 5.57% annualized, compared to the linked quarter. Book value per common share increased to $28.18 at March 31, 2026, compared to $27.95 at Dec. 31, 2025. On a non-GAAP basis, tangible book value per common share decreased from $23.36 at the link