ABCB vs FBK: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ABCB and FBK share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ABCB and FBK exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Ameris Bancorp is the holding company for Ameris Bank, a relationship-focused Southeastern regional bank headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with roots going back to 1971 in Moultrie, Georgia. It operates banking centers across about eight Southeastern states (Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland), and makes money from commercial and consumer deposits, commercial real estate and residential lending, treasury management, mortgage banking, and other fee-based services. As of late 2025 it managed roughly $27 billion in total assets, with more than $22 billion in deposits and over $21 billion in loans. In 2026 it added a Nashville team and new South Carolina market presidents.

Full ABCB guide

FB Financial Corporation is the parent of FirstBank, a community and commercial bank headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, operating branches across Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. The bank makes most of its money the traditional way: gathering deposits from consumers and businesses and lending that money out as commercial, commercial real estate, construction, and residential loans, earning the spread (net interest margin) between what it pays on deposits and what it charges on loans. It supplements this with fee income from mortgage banking, wealth management, and deposit services. After completing its acquisition of Southern States Bancshares in July 2025, the combined company reached roughly $16 billion in assets, extending its reach deeper into Alabama and Georgia.

Full FBK guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ABCB drivers: Southeast growth footprint; Margin and profitability.
• FBK drivers: Southeastern expansion and M&A; Net interest margin and rate environment.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: As a regional bank, Ameris is sensitive to interest rate swings, which affect both its net interest margin and the value of its securities and deposit franchise, and management has already flagged slight margin compression ahead. For FBK, as a regional bank, FBK is exposed to interest-rate risk: sharp rate moves can squeeze the net interest margin that drives most of its earnings, and the Q3 2026 drop to a 3.83 percent core margin shows that pressure is live.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ABCB if you believe its drivers more; FBK if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ABCB and FBK guides.

ABCB. Trailing GAAP earnings are depressed by the Q2 2026 litigation accrual, which is why the trailing P/E (~14.5x) sits well above the forward multiple (~11.4x) built on analysts' ~$7.03 2027 EPS estimate. Consensus for Q3 2026, reported October 22, is about $1.68 per share on roughly $328 million of revenue. At ~1.3x book value and a ~1.0% yield, the shares price in a profitable mid-cap regional bank rather than rapid growth; the average analyst target is about $93.

FBK. As of October 2026, FBK trades around 11.5 times trailing earnings, about 10 times forward earnings and roughly 1.3 times book value, a moderate valuation for a growing Southern regional bank. The Q3 margin dip and revenue miss explain why the shares sit near the bottom of their 52-week range, while the mean analyst target of about $63 assumes margins stabilize. Raymond James trimmed its target to $62 from $65 after the quarter, citing margin pressure.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): ABCB shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.18B, revenue growth (latest quarter, yoy) ~3.6%, net income (ttm) ~$376M, diluted eps (ttm / forward) ~$5.53 / ~$7.03; FBK shows revenue (ttm) ~$684M, q3 2026 revenue ~$175.6M vs ~$180.8M estimate, q3 2026 adj. eps $1.21 (in line), net income (ttm) ~$233M.

ABCB and FBK are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ABCB and FBK exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.