Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (CBSH) Business Profile

What it does

Commerce Bancshares is a Missouri-headquartered bank holding company that owns Commerce Bank. Its principal offices are in Kansas City and St. Louis. Through the bank and other subsidiaries, it provides financial services to individuals, businesses and municipalities.

For individuals, Commerce offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, debit and credit cards, brokerage services, and trust and estate planning. Business customers can use its lending, deposit, cash management, leasing and payment services. Its wealth business manages investment portfolios and provides services to personal and institutional customers.

Commerce also has nonbank subsidiaries involved in private equity investment, securities brokerage, underwriting, specialty lending and leasing. Its commercial payments business has sales representatives covering the continental United States.

The company organizes its activities into Commercial, Retail Banking and Wealth segments. It serves customers through branches and ATMs, online and mobile banking, and a centralized contact center. Local bankers and industry specialists serve its markets, with support from centralized teams and regional advisory boards.

At December 31, 2025, Commerce had consolidated assets of $32.9 billion, loans of $17.8 billion and deposits of $25.6 billion. It employed 4,737 people in FY2025.

How it makes money

Commerce’s revenue consists of net interest income and non-interest income. Net interest income reflects interest earned on assets such as loans and investment securities, less interest expense on funding such as deposits and borrowings. Non-interest income includes trust fees, deposit account fees and bank card fees.

The Commercial segment provides corporate loans, merchant and commercial card products, payment solutions, leasing and international services. It also offers deposits, investments, institutional brokerage and cash management to businesses and governments. The Retail Banking segment includes branches, consumer installment loans, personal mortgages, and consumer debit and credit cards. Wealth provides trust and estate planning, brokerage, and investment management for personal and institutional customers.

In 2025, Commercial, Retail Banking and Wealth contributed 48%, 28% and 24% of total segment pre-tax income, respectively. The company assigns a value to funds used and provided by each segment, including loans, deposits and borrowings, as part of its internal measurement of segment profitability.

Revenue in 2025 increased $108.3 million, or 6.5%, from 2024. Net interest income grew $71.6 million and non-interest income increased $36.7 million. Higher interest income from investment securities and lower interest expense on borrowings and deposits were principal contributors to the net interest income increase. Higher trust and deposit account fees contributed to non-interest income growth, partly offset by lower bank card fees.

Net income attributable to Commerce Bancshares in 2025 was $566.3 million. The amounts customers pay for loans and deposits can change as interest rates change; fees also depend on the services customers use.

Customers and how it sells

Commerce serves individual consumers, businesses, municipalities and institutional customers. Its services range from everyday deposit accounts and personal mortgages to corporate cash management, commercial payments, trust services and investment management. The company assigns bankers to local markets and also uses industry specialists and regional advisory boards made up of local business leaders, professionals and community representatives.

Its principal branch markets are primarily in Missouri, Kansas and central Illinois, as well as Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Denver, Colorado. St. Louis and Kansas City are its two largest markets and serve as central hubs. Personal real estate lending is predominantly centered in the principal markets.

Commerce also has commercial or wealth offices in Dallas, Houston, Cincinnati, Nashville, Des Moines, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids and Naples. Its commercial payments sales representatives cover the continental United States. Customers can use branches and ATMs, online banking, a mobile application and a contact center.

On January 1, 2026, Commerce completed its acquisition of FineMark Holdings, Inc. FineMark had 13 banking offices in Florida, Arizona and South Carolina. At December 31, 2025, FineMark had $8.7 billion in assets under administration.

Suppliers and costs

Commerce funds its activities with customer deposits and borrowings. Core customer deposits—non-interest-bearing, interest checking, savings and money market accounts—totaled $23.3 billion and represented 90.7% of total deposits at December 31, 2025. The company also obtains unsecured overnight funds from correspondent banks and uses customer repurchase agreements, which are collateralized by investment securities. It has access to borrowing capacity from the Federal Home Loan Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank.

Interest paid on deposits and borrowings is a funding cost. In 2025, interest expense on deposits decreased $39.7 million, mainly because of lower average rates. Non-interest costs include salaries and employee benefits, data processing and software, and professional and other services. Non-interest expense increased $28.6 million in 2025 compared with 2024, mainly because of increases in those categories.

The bank also pays deposit insurance assessments. Deposit insurance expense for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $10.0 million. Commerce incurred merger-related expenses and expects to continue to incur them, including advisory, employee-related, regulatory and integration costs.

Competitive position

Commerce competes across banking, lending, payments, brokerage, trust, leasing and investment management. Its competitors include banks, credit unions, mortgage and insurance companies, private equity firms, financial technology companies, e-commerce companies and other financial services providers. Commerce does not name individual competitors.

Some competitors are not subject to the same regulatory restrictions as domestic banks and bank holding companies. Others are larger and have greater economies of scale, financial resources and lending limits, and may offer products Commerce does not. Commerce competes on its range of services, customer service, quality, innovation, convenience, reputation, industry knowledge and price.

Commerce has approximately 10% of deposit market share in Kansas City and approximately 7% in St. Louis. It combines local bankers and advisory boards with centralized support and a range of financial products. It also offers digital banking alongside its physical network.

Our reading: Its established presence in its two largest markets and local relationships provide a competitive base, although the cited market shares leave substantial room for competitors. Our reading: Its range of banking, payments and wealth services gives it several ways to serve customers, but larger institutions’ resources and the breadth of competing providers limit the protection that range offers.

Growth opportunities

Commerce targets core revenue growth by expanding new and existing customer relationships, pursuing controlled expansion into additional markets, improving technology and enhancing customer satisfaction. Its commercial payments business reaches beyond its principal branch markets through sales representatives covering the continental United States.

The company periodically evaluates acquisitions of financial institutions and considers purchases or dispositions of real estate and branch locations. It seeks acquisition partners with similar cultures and experienced management that have market presence or potential for improved profitability through financial management, economies of scale and expanded services.

On January 1, 2026, Commerce completed its all-stock acquisition of FineMark Holdings, Inc. and issued 9.9 million shares of common stock. FineMark’s bank merged into Commerce Bank. FineMark had 13 banking offices in Florida, Arizona and South Carolina, adding markets to Commerce’s wealth business. At December 31, 2025, FineMark had total loans of $2.7 billion, total deposits of $3.1 billion and $8.7 billion in assets under administration.

Commerce acquired municipal bond underwriter and advisor L.J. Hart & Company in the second quarter of 2023. In 2025, its revenue increased $108.3 million, or 6.5%, from 2024, with increases in both net interest and non-interest income.

Structural risks

• Economic and credit conditions: Commerce’s concentration in the United States exposes it to downturns in the U.S. economy. Its allowance for credit losses may be insufficient, or future credit losses could increase. Net loan charge-offs totaled $40.7 million in 2025.
• Interest rates and liquidity: The company is subject to interest rate and liquidity risk. Corporate deposits could decline if rates rise significantly and customers invest more, or if the economy deteriorates and their cash inflows fall.
• Regulation: Commerce faces extensive government regulation and supervision, including capital, liquidity, lending and consumer-protection requirements. Noncompliance can result in penalties or other regulatory action, and regulatory controls increase the cost of doing business.
• Technology and operations: A successful cyberattack or other computer system breach could harm Commerce, its reputation and its customers. Asset valuation also relies on methodologies, models, estimates and assumptions that can be interpreted differently.
• Acquisition and expansion: Commerce has incurred and expects to continue to incur expenses related to the FineMark merger, including integration and employee-related costs. New business lines, products or services may also subject it to additional risk.

Bottom line

Our reading

Commerce combines a regional deposit and lending bank with commercial payments and wealth services. Its local market presence and range of services support customer relationships, while interest rates, credit quality and deposit flows remain central to its results. The FineMark acquisition extends its wealth footprint but adds integration costs alongside the bank’s existing regulatory and technology exposures.