At a glance
Community Bank System Inc is worth $3.30B, about 16 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 9.7% to $823.0M in fiscal 2025, with 25.6% kept as profit. It pays a 3.03% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $581.6M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +12.9% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +0.5% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 29.4% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 21.3% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 10 months and 26 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Community Financial System, formerly Community Bank System, is a holding company based in Syracuse, New York. It owns Community Bank, N.A. and a benefits-administration business called BPAS. As of December 31, 2025, the bank had 192 full-service branches and 8 drive-thru-only locations in Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, Western Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. In November 2025 it acquired seven Santander branches around Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The bank takes deposits from households, businesses and local governments and lends that money out. Its main income is net interest income. That is the gap between the interest it earns on loans and securities and the interest it pays on deposits. Net interest income was $506.6 million in 2025. As of June 30, 2026, the bank held $14.7 billion of deposits and $11.2 billion of loans. Banking and Corporate produced 71.5% of the company's $823 million of 2025 revenue.
The other three segments earn fees rather than interest. Employee Benefit Services (16.7% of revenue) is a national practice that runs retirement plans, pooled investment funds and health savings accounts for clients across the US and Puerto Rico. It also keeps shareholder records for fund companies. Insurance Services (6.6%) runs the OneGroup agency for personal and commercial insurance. Wealth Management Services (4.5%) offers trust, investment and financial-planning services. Noninterest income (income other than interest) was $311.5 million in 2025.
Price history
The interactive chart needs JavaScript.
CBU +12.9% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Banking And Corporate Services | $588.8M | 71.5% |
| Employee Benefit Services | $137.5M | 16.7% |
| Insurance Services | $54.4M | 6.6% |
| Wealth Management Services | $37.2M | 4.5% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $219.8M, up 9.6% from a year earlier, and net income was $61.3M (+19.5%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $823.0M (+9.7% year over year) with a 25.6% net margin.
Financial health check
| Return on equity | 10.5% watch |
|---|---|
| Net income / revenue | 25.6% good |
| Deposits | $14.71B |
| Loans | $11.19B |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | — | $164.7M | — |
| FY2021 | — | $189.7M | — |
| FY2022 | $683.9M | $188.1M | — |
| FY2023 | $708.9M | $131.9M | — |
| FY2024 | $750.5M | $182.5M | — |
| FY2025 | $823.0M | $210.5M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $3.30B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 15.8 |
| Dividend yield | 3.03% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Community Bank System’s market value went from $2.74B at the end of 2016 to $3.30B on Oct 28, 2026, up 20%; since the end of 2025 it is up 9%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $3.30B | +9.2% |
| 2025 | $3.02B | -6.7% |
| 2024 | $3.24B | +16.5% |
| 2023 | $2.78B | -17.8% |
| 2022 | $3.38B | -15.8% |
| 2021 | $4.02B | +20.4% |
| 2020 | $3.34B | -9.0% |
| 2019 | $3.67B | +22.9% |
| 2018 | $2.98B | +9.7% |
| 2017 | $2.72B | -0.8% |
| 2016 | $2.74B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBU price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +11.9% | +12.9% | +21.5% | +0.5% | +6.0% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +11.9% |
| 2025 | -3.8% |
| 2024 | +22.6% |
| 2023 | -14.2% |
| 2022 | -13.2% |
| 2021 | +22.3% |
| 2020 | -9.7% |
| 2019 | +24.6% |
| 2018 | +11.1% |
| 2017 | -10.9% |
| 2016 | +59.0% |
| 2015 | +8.3% |
| 2014 | -0.8% |
| 2013 | +50.1% |
| 2012 | +2.3% |
| 2011 | +4.3% |
| 2010 | +49.6% |
| 2009 | -16.7% |
| 2008 | +27.5% |
| 2007 | -10.0% |
| 2006 | +5.7% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 29.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 53.4%, back to its old high 21.4 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 28.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 29.4%, back to its old high 9.5 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 17.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 21.3%, back to its old high 25.9 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 3 open-market purchases ($75K) and 2 sales ($945K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 2026 | Mark J. Bolus Director | sell | $817K |
| Jun 8, 2026 | Eric Stickels Director | sell | $128K |
| Aug 24, 2026 | Brenda M Hall Director | buy | $30K |
| Sep 9, 2026 | Savneet Singh Director | buy | $25K |
| Aug 27, 2026 | John A Vaccaro Director | buy | $20K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| FMR LLC | 7% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.76% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 6.1% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.27% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in CBU
| NBSM Neuberger Berman Small-Mid Cap ETF | 2.1% |
| SMCO Hilton Small-MidCap Opportunity ETF | 1.98% |
| FDIQ Invesco Bloomberg Financial Data Providers ETF | 1.98% |
| DGRS WisdomTree US Smallcap Quality Dividend Growth Fund | 1.36% |
| SMDV ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF | 1% |
| KBE SPDR S&P Bank ETF | 0.91% |
| PSCF Invesco S&P SmallCap Financials ETF | 0.88% |
| FYC First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund | 0.51% |
What could go wrong
- Tied to one Northeast region. Its branches are concentrated in Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania and parts of New England. A weak regional economy could hurt borrowers, slow loan and deposit growth, and raise losses.
- Fee businesses depend on markets. Benefit administration, wealth management and insurance earn fees. A stock market slump could shrink assets under management and demand for these services. A weaker insurance market could hurt insurance earnings.
- Acquisitions and expansion may disappoint. The company grows partly by acquiring banks, branches and fee businesses, and by opening branches in bigger cities. Deals can underperform. Some acquired loans were approved under other lenders' standards.
- Commercial real estate and loan losses. Weaker commercial property markets could lead to more loan defaults. The reserve the bank sets aside for expected credit losses might prove too small, which would mean larger charges against earnings.
- Interest rate swings squeeze margins. Most income is the gap between what loans and bonds earn and what deposits cost. That gap shrinks if deposit costs rise faster than yields, or if yields fall faster than deposit costs.
- Dividend relies on subsidiary payouts. The holding company pays shareholders from dividends it receives from the bank and BPAS. Bank regulators and capital rules can limit those payments. That could restrict the company's dividend or share repurchases.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Community Financial System's SEC filings show at least 9 consecutive annual dividend increases through fiscal 2025, and the streak may be longer. Growth has been slow. Dividends per share rose from $1.66 in 2020 to $1.86 in 2025, about 2.3% a year. Earnings per share fell to $2.45 in 2023, but the dividend still rose, to $1.78. Dividends paid in 2025 equaled 46.4% of net income. The yield was 3.03% as of October 28, 2026. Share repurchases totaled $108.7 million over fiscal 2021–2025, against $472.9 million in dividends. The share count fell 2.4% from October 2021 to July 2026.
Downturns have hit the shares hard. They fell 53.4% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 21 months from the low to recover. They dropped 29.4% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about 9.5 months. In the 2022 bear market they fell 21.3% and took about 26 months to recover. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Community Financial System make money?
Mostly from banking. Its subsidiary Community Bank, N.A. earns net interest income: the gap between the interest it earns on loans and securities and the interest it pays on deposits. That was $506.6 million in 2025. Noninterest income, which includes fees from its benefits, insurance and wealth businesses, added $311.5 million. By segment, Banking and Corporate produced 71.5% of 2025 revenue, Employee Benefit Services 16.7%, Insurance Services 6.6% and Wealth Management Services 4.5%.
Does Community Financial System (CBU) raise its dividend every year?
Yes, so far. Its SEC filings show at least 9 consecutive annual increases through fiscal 2025, and the streak may be longer. The increases have been modest. Dividends per share rose from $1.66 in 2020 to $1.86 in 2025, about 2.3% a year. The dividend kept rising in 2023, even though earnings per share fell to $2.45 that year. Future increases depend on earnings and on regulatory limits on the dividends the bank can pay its parent company.
What is CBU's dividend yield and payout ratio?
The dividend yield was 3.03% as of October 28, 2026. Dividends paid in 2025 equaled 46.4% of net income, so a bit under half of profit went to shareholders as cash. Profit fell in 2023, but dividends per share of $1.78 were still below earnings per share of $2.45. On October 28, 2026, the stock traded at 15.8 times 2025 earnings per share.
Did Community Bank System change its name to Community Financial System?
Yes. Community Financial System, Inc. used to be called Community Bank System, Inc. Its shares trade on the NYSE under the ticker CBU. The bank itself still operates as Community Bank, N.A., and had 192 full-service branches as of December 31, 2025. The parent company was incorporated in Delaware in 1983 and is based in Syracuse, New York. It also owns the BPAS benefits-administration business, the OneGroup insurance agency and the Nottingham wealth management units.
How has CBU stock performed over the long run?
Unevenly. As of October 28, 2026, the stock's price-based return was about 6% a year over 10 years, 0.5% a year over 5 years and 21.5% a year over 3 years. Results swing widely from year to year. The stock fell 13.2% in 2022 and 14.2% in 2023, gained 22.6% in 2024 and slipped 3.8% in 2025. Its deepest drop, 53.4%, came during the 2008 financial crisis.