First Merchants Management
Management criteria checks 4/4
First Merchants' CEO is Mark Hardwick, appointed in Jan 2021, has a tenure of 4.92 years. total yearly compensation is $2.08M, comprised of 36.7% salary and 63.3% bonuses, including company stock and options. directly owns 0.23% of the company’s shares, worth $5.00M. The average tenure of the management team and the board of directors is 5 years and 7.7 years respectively.
Key information
Mark Hardwick
Chief executive officer
US$2.1m
Total compensation
| CEO salary percentage | 36.67% |
| CEO tenure | 5yrs |
| CEO ownership | 0.2% |
| Management average tenure | 5yrs |
| Board average tenure | 7.7yrs |
Recent management updates
Recent updates
First Merchants: I Prefer The Common Over The Preferred Stock
Nov 08First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Is Increasing Its Dividend To $0.36
May 22
First Merchants Corporation's (NASDAQ:FRME) CEO Compensation Looks Acceptable To Us And Here's Why
May 09First Merchants Corporation: Earnings To Grow Thanks To Deposit Repricing, Strong Pipelines
Jan 20First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Is Paying Out A Dividend Of $0.35
Nov 16
Tech Investments And Expansion Strategy Fuel Growth And Enhance Shareholder Value In Midwest Banking Sector
Enhanced platforms for commercial clients and tech initiatives aim to improve operational efficiency and customer acquisition, boosting margins and revenue growth.First Merchants Corporation: Decent Return Potential With Earnings Likely To Recover Next Year
Sep 18First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Is Paying Out A Dividend Of $0.35
Aug 22First Merchants Corporation: An Attractive Way To Play The Banking Sector
Jun 21Here's Why We Think First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Is Well Worth Watching
Sep 24First Merchants' (NASDAQ:FRME) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's
May 31First Merchants' (NASDAQ:FRME) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's
May 14If EPS Growth Is Important To You, First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Presents An Opportunity
May 03CEO Compensation Analysis
| Date | Total Compensation | Salary | Company Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30 2025 | n/a | n/a | US$231m |
| Jun 30 2025 | n/a | n/a | US$224m |
| Mar 31 2025 | n/a | n/a | US$207m |
| Dec 31 2024 | US$2m | US$763k | US$200m |
| Sep 30 2024 | n/a | n/a | US$178m |
| Jun 30 2024 | n/a | n/a | US$185m |
| Mar 31 2024 | n/a | n/a | US$206m |
| Dec 31 2023 | US$2m | US$722k | US$222m |
| Sep 30 2023 | n/a | n/a | US$250m |
| Jun 30 2023 | n/a | n/a | US$258m |
| Mar 31 2023 | n/a | n/a | US$236m |
| Dec 31 2022 | US$2m | US$663k | US$221m |
| Sep 30 2022 | n/a | n/a | US$198m |
| Jun 30 2022 | n/a | n/a | US$188m |
| Mar 31 2022 | n/a | n/a | US$205m |
| Dec 31 2021 | US$1m | US$561k | US$206m |
| Sep 30 2021 | n/a | n/a | US$203m |
| Jun 30 2021 | n/a | n/a | US$186m |
| Mar 31 2021 | n/a | n/a | US$164m |
| Dec 31 2020 | US$828k | US$399k | US$149m |
| Sep 30 2020 | n/a | n/a | US$151m |
| Jun 30 2020 | n/a | n/a | US$152m |
| Mar 31 2020 | n/a | n/a | US$160m |
| Dec 31 2019 | US$994k | US$386k | US$164m |
Compensation vs Market: Mark's total compensation ($USD2.08M) is below average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD5.43M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Mark's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
CEO
Mark Hardwick (54 yo)
Mr. Mark K. Hardwick, C.P.A. serves as the Chief Executive Officer of First Merchants Corporation and First Merchants Bank since January 01, 2021. He serves as a Director of First Merchants Corporation and...
Leadership Team
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO & Director | 5yrs | US$2.08m | 0.23% $ 5.0m | |
| Advisor & Vice Chair | 20.1yrs | US$162.16k | 0.16% $ 3.5m | |
| President | 5yrs | US$1.62m | 0.19% $ 4.2m | |
| Executive VP | 5yrs | US$1.24m | 0.11% $ 2.4m | |
| Executive VP & Chief Credit Officer | 16.6yrs | US$968.38k | 0.12% $ 2.6m | |
| Executive VP & Chief Commercial Officer | no data | US$931.75k | 0.068% $ 1.5m | |
| Chief Investment Officer | 4.2yrs | no data | no data | |
| Senior VP & Chief Information Officer | 11.7yrs | US$696.71k | 0.054% $ 1.2m | |
| VP & Director of Corporate Administration | no data | no data | no data | |
| Secretary & Legal Counsel | 8yrs | no data | no data | |
| Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer | 9.2yrs | no data | 0.036% $ 773.1k | |
| Senior VP & Chief Risk Officer | 4.4yrs | no data | 0.031% $ 677.9k |
Experienced Management: FRME's management team is seasoned and experienced (5 years average tenure).
Board Members
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO & Director | 4.9yrs | US$2.08m | 0.23% $ 5.0m | |
| Advisor & Vice Chair | 20.1yrs | US$162.16k | 0.16% $ 3.5m | |
| Independent Chair of the Board | 22yrs | US$207.96k | 0.11% $ 2.4m | |
| Independent Director | 14.7yrs | US$164.25k | 0.091% $ 2.0m | |
| Independent Director | 3.6yrs | US$152.48k | 0.014% $ 293.2k | |
| Independent Director | 12.2yrs | US$167.57k | 0.047% $ 1.0m | |
| Independent Director | 13.6yrs | US$165.34k | 0.048% $ 1.0m | |
| Independent Director | 8.9yrs | US$149.25k | 0.030% $ 643.7k | |
| Independent Director | 3.6yrs | US$156.84k | 0.015% $ 329.6k | |
| Independent Director | 6.4yrs | US$156.00k | 0.027% $ 579.7k | |
| Independent Director | 4.9yrs | US$154.44k | 0.019% $ 403.3k | |
| Independent Director | 2.9yrs | US$150.42k | 0.012% $ 268.7k |
Experienced Board: FRME's board of directors are considered experienced (7.7 years average tenure).
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2026/01/02 15:11 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2026/01/02 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2025/09/30 |
| Annual Earnings | 2024/12/31 |
Data Sources
The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.
| Package | Data | Timeframe | Example US Source * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company Financials | 10 years |
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| Analyst Consensus Estimates | +3 years |
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| Market Prices | 30 years |
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| Ownership | 10 years |
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| Management | 10 years |
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| Key Developments | 10 years |
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* Example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more.
Analysis Model and Snowflake
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Industry and Sector Metrics
Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on Github.
Analyst Sources
First Merchants Corporation is covered by 12 analysts. 5 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.
| Analyst | Institution |
|---|---|
| Kevin Reevey | D.A. Davidson & Co. |
| Brendan Nosal | Hovde Group, LLC |
| Brian Martin | Janney Montgomery Scott LLC |