Zions Bancorporation N.A. (ZION) Stock Price & How to Invest
Short answer
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) is a Utah-based regional bank holding company operating across 11 western states, so investing in it is a bet on western commercial and small-business lending, net interest margin, and credit quality rather than on high growth. It trades like a classic value regional bank, at a single-digit earnings multiple with a meaningful dividend.
ZION stock price
As of 2026-07-09, Zions Bancorporation N.A. (ZION) last closed at $70.42, up 26.5% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $46.93 and $70.70.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Zions Bancorporation N.A.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Zions Bancorporation N.A. (ZION) do?
Zions Bancorporation, National Association is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City with roughly $89 billion in total assets at the end of 2025. It runs a collection of locally managed and separately branded banks, including California Bank & Trust, Amegy Bank in Texas, National Bank of Arizona, Nevada State Bank, and Vectra Bank Colorado, serving small and mid-sized businesses, commercial clients, and retail customers across 11 western states. Its core business is gathering deposits (about $73.8 billion) and lending them out, with roughly $59.6 billion of loans spread across commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and consumer credit.
The investment picture is that of a traditional spread-lending regional bank rather than a growth story. Earnings are driven by net interest income (the gap between what the bank earns on loans and securities and what it pays on deposits), fee income, expense discipline, and credit costs. Q1 2026 showed improved profitability, with net interest income of about $662 million, a wider net interest margin near 3.27%, and diluted EPS of $1.56, up sharply from a year earlier. The stock carries a low valuation multiple, reflecting both the market's caution on regional-bank credit and interest-rate sensitivity and the franchise's steady, deposit-funded model.
What's driving Zions Bancorporation N.A. (ZION)?
1. Net interest margin recovery
Net interest income rose about 6% year over year in Q1 2026 as the net interest margin widened to roughly 3.27% from 3.10% a year earlier. As older, lower-yielding fixed-rate assets reprice higher and deposit costs stabilize, the spread that drives the bulk of Zions' revenue has room to keep improving.
2. Western small-business and commercial franchise
Zions concentrates on small and mid-sized business banking across fast-growing western states through separately branded local banks. That mix leans on relationship deposits and commercial lending, which supports fee income and a large base of noninterest-bearing operating accounts that lower funding costs.
3. Capital return and operating leverage
The bank generated pre-provision net revenue growth of roughly 11% with expenses up only about 4% in Q1 2026, producing positive operating leverage. Buybacks and a steady dividend give shareholders a direct return channel while the company works to grow book value.
4. Rate normalization tailwind
As a spread lender, Zions benefits when the rate environment steadies and the deposit-cost pressure of prior years eases. Management uses its investment securities portfolio to balance the duration gap between longer deposits and loans, which can smooth earnings as rates move.
What are the risks to Zions Bancorporation N.A. (ZION)?
The largest risks are credit and interest-rate related. Commercial real estate is about 22% of loans, and while the portfolio is described as granular with low loan-to-value ratios, the office segment and criticized-loan levels bear watching as CRE loans mature into 2026. A renewed rise in funding costs or deposit flight, as the sector experienced during the 2023 regional-bank stress, would compress margins and pressure the stock. Concentration in western commercial and small-business borrowers ties results to regional economic health. Rising loan losses or a recession would increase provisions and reduce earnings, and the low valuation multiple reflects the market pricing these tail risks.
How is Zions Bancorporation N.A. (ZION) valued? (approximate, APRIL 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Zions Bancorporation N.A.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (2025 net revenue): ~$3.4B
- Net interest income (Q1 2026): ~$662M
- Diluted EPS (Q1 2026): ~$1.56
- Market cap: ~$9.2B
- Trailing P/E: ~9.5x
- Total assets: ~$89B
Zions trades at a low-single-digit-multiple valuation typical of regional banks, with a trailing P/E near 9.5x and return on equity around 14%. Q1 2026 net earnings of about $232 million were up roughly 37% year over year, helped by a wider margin and higher fee income. Analyst price targets in 2026 clustered in the high-$60s to mid-$70s, reflecting a mix of optimism on operating leverage and caution on credit.
Who competes with Zions Bancorporation N.A. (ZION)?
Western and mid-cap regional banks
Peers such as Comerica, Western Alliance, East West Bancorp, KeyCorp, and Regions Financial compete for commercial and small-business deposits and loans in overlapping western and national markets, and are the most direct comparables for valuation and credit.
Large national and money-center banks
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bancorp pursue the same commercial and retail customers with broader product sets, larger balance sheets, and heavier technology spending, pressuring smaller regionals on scale.
Community banks and nonbank lenders
Local community banks, credit unions, and nonbank commercial and fintech lenders compete for the small-business and CRE borrowers that are central to Zions' franchise, often on price or speed.
How to invest in Zions Bancorporation N.A. (ZION)
There are three common ways to get ZION exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so ZION sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where ZION fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
The bottom line on Zions Bancorporation N.A. (ZION)
ZION is a mid-cap western regional bank whose returns hinge on loan growth, deposit costs, and commercial-real-estate credit, priced at a low-single-digit-multiple value profile.
More on Zions Bancorporation N.A. (ZION)
Whether ZION is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is ZION a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the ZION stock forecast.
For income investors, whether ZION pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does ZION pay a dividend?
Build a basket around ZION with Walnut
Use Zions Bancorporation N.A. as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What does Zions Bancorporation do?
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Zions is a regional bank holding company that takes deposits and makes loans across 11 western states. It operates through locally branded banks like California Bank & Trust, Amegy Bank, and Nevada State Bank, focusing on small and mid-sized business and commercial banking.
Is ZION a good investment?
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That depends on your goals and risk tolerance, and Walnut is not an investment adviser, so this is descriptive rather than a recommendation. ZION offers a low valuation multiple, a dividend, and margin-recovery upside, balanced against commercial-real-estate credit exposure and interest-rate sensitivity that can move the stock sharply.
How does Zions make money?
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Most of its profit comes from net interest income, the spread between what it earns on loans and securities and what it pays on deposits. It also earns fee income from treasury management, wealth services, and other banking activities, offset by operating expenses and credit provisions.
Does ZION pay a dividend?
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Yes. Zions pays a quarterly common dividend and has historically returned capital through both dividends and share buybacks. Like all bank dividends, it depends on earnings, capital levels, and regulatory considerations, so it can change over time.
What are the main risks of owning ZION?
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Key risks include commercial-real-estate credit losses, deposit outflows or rising funding costs, and interest-rate swings that compress the net interest margin. Its concentration in western commercial and small-business borrowers also ties results to regional economic conditions.
How did Zions perform in Q1 2026?
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Zions reported net earnings of about $232 million and diluted EPS of roughly $1.56, up around 37% from a year earlier. Net interest income rose about 6% to roughly $662 million and the net interest margin widened to about 3.27%.
How big is Zions Bancorporation?
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Zions had roughly $89 billion in total assets, about $73.8 billion in deposits, and about $59.6 billion in loans at the end of 2025. Its market capitalization was around $9 billion in 2026, placing it among mid-cap regional banks.
Who are Zions' main competitors?
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It competes with other western and mid-cap regionals like Comerica, Western Alliance, and East West Bancorp, with large national banks such as JPMorgan Chase and U.S. Bancorp, and with community banks, credit unions, and nonbank lenders for small-business and commercial-real-estate borrowers.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Zions Bancorporation N.A.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.