CFR (Cullen/Frost Bankers) Earnings Power Value (EPV): $120.28 (As of Mar26)


CFR Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc CFR
73 GF Score
Price $152.56
GF Value $136.21
Valuation Modestly Overvalued
! 5 Warning Signs
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What is Cullen/Frost Bankers Earnings Power Value (EPV)?

Cullen/Frost Bankers CFR +1.10% 73 Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $120.28 as of Mar26. GuruFocus rates CFR with a GF Score™ of 73/100 and a GF Value™ of $136.21 (Modestly Overvalued). The stock has 5 warning signs investors should review.

As of Mar26, Cullen/Frost Bankers's earnings power value is $120.28. *

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

Margin of Safety is -26.84

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future. Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.


Cullen/Frost Bankers  (NYSE:CFR) Earnings Power Value (EPV) Explanation

Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.

Earnings power value (EPV) uses a very basic equation which assumes no growth, although it does rely on an assumption about the cost of capital as well as the fact that current earnings are sustainable. It also involves several adjustments to clean up the underlying Earnings figures.


Be Aware

Though using today's earnings in calculating Earnings Power Value, GuruFocus is normalizing these earnings to the business cycle. This eliminates the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle. This means that we are considering the average earnings over 5 years.


Cullen/Frost Bankers Earnings Power Value (EPV) Related Terms


Cullen/Frost Bankers Earnings Power Value (EPV) Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Cullen/Frost Bankers's Earnings Power Value (EPV) can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Earnings Power Value (EPV) Chart

Cullen/Frost Bankers Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Earnings Power Value (EPV)
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 455.65 445.97 369.70 374.47 136.58

Cullen/Frost Bankers Quarterly Data
Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25 Jun25 Sep25 Dec25 Mar26
Earnings Power Value (EPV) Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 125.00 254.93 271.53 136.58 120.28

CFR vs COLB, WAL, ZION: Earnings Power Value (EPV) Comparison

For the Banks - Regional subindustry, Cullen/Frost Bankers's Earnings Power Value (EPV), along with its competitors' market caps and Earnings Power Value (EPV) data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Cullen/Frost Bankers Earnings Power Value (EPV) vs Banks Industry

For the Banks industry and Financial Services sector, Cullen/Frost Bankers's Earnings Power Value (EPV) distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Cullen/Frost Bankers's Earnings Power Value (EPV) falls into.


CFR
73GF Score
Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc CFR
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Cullen/Frost Bankers Earnings Power Value (EPV) Calculation

Earnings Power Value also known as just Earnings Power is a valuation technique popularised by Bruce Greenwald, an authority on value investing at Columbia University. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future.

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. This valuation tool excludes the potential growth that a company may have so that needs to be looked at separately. Since future growth is excluded from the analysis, only the maintenance capital expenditures are subtracted from after-tax EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) and growth capex is ignored.

Cullen/Frost Bankers's "Earning Power" Calculation:

Average of Last 20 Quarters Last Quarter
Revenue 1,919
DDA 79
Operating Margin % 0.00
SGA * 25% 189
Tax Rate % 14.65
Maintenance Capex 104
Cash and Cash Equivalents 8,904
Short-Term Debt 0
Long-Term Debt 223
Shares Outstanding (Diluted) 63

1. Start with "Earnings" not including accounting adjustments (one-time charges not excluded unless policy has changed). "Earnings" are "Operating Income.

2. Look at average margins over a business/Industry cycle: Average Operating Margin = 0.00%

To normalize margins and eliminate the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle, it is usually best to take a long-term average of operating margins. Ideally this would be as long as 10 years and include at least one economic downturn. However, since most of companies do not have as long as 10-year history, here GuruFocus uses the latest 5 years data to do the calculation. To smooth out unusual years but reflect recent developments, we take an average of the 5 year margin.

3. Multiply average margins by sustainable revenues and then adjust for maintenance SGA. This yields "normalized" EBIT:

To be conservative, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year revenues as the sustainable revenue.
EPV analysis recognises that part of SG&A expenditure is made to maintain and replace the existing assets, while part is made to grow sales. Since EPV is only interested in what it costs a going concern to maintain its existing asset base, it adds back a percentage of SG&A (between 15% and 50% - this is a matter of judgment and industry knowledge) to make up for the fact that some of this expenditure went to fund growth and shouldn't be accounted for. To start off, we assume 25% for the sake of prudence.
Sustainable Revenue = $1,919 Mil, Average Operating Margin = 0.00%, Average Adjusted SGA = 189,
therefore "Normalized" EBIT = Sustainable Revenue * Average Operating Margin + Average Adjusted SGA = 1,919 * 0.00% +189 = $ Mil.

4. Multiply by one minus Average Tax Rate (NOPAT):

Same as average operating margin calculation, GuruFocus takes an average of the 5 years tax rates.
Average Tax Rate = 14.65%, and "Normalized" EBIT = $ Mil,
therefore After-tax "Normalized" EBIT = "Normalized" EBIT * ( 1 - Average Tax Rate ) = * ( 1 - 14.65% ) = $0 Mil.

5. Add back Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate). This yields "normalized" Earnings:

Excess Depreciation = Average DDA * % of Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate) = 79 * 0.5 * 14.65% = $5.757365531 Mil.
"Normalized" Earnings = After-tax "Normalized" EBIT + Excess Depreciation = 0 + 5.757365531 = $5.757365531 Mil.

6. Adjusted for Maintenance Capital Expenditure:

First, calculate the revenue change regarding to the previous year. If the revenue decreased from the previous year, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
Second, if the revenue increased from the previous year, then calculate the percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue.
Third, calculate Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was negative, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was positive, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
Fourth, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year maintenance capital expenditures as maintenance CAPEX.
Cullen/Frost Bankers's Average Maintenance CAPEX = $104 Mil *.
* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

7. Investors require a return of "WACC" for the risk they are taking: WACC = 9%

8. Cullen/Frost Bankers's current cash and cash equivalent = $8,904 Mil.
Cullen/Frost Bankers's current interest bearing debt = Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation = 223 + 0 = $223.099 Mil.
Cullen/Frost Bankers's current Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) = 63 Mil.

Cullen/Frost Bankers's Earnings Power Value (EPV) for Mar26 is calculated as:

EPV = ( ( Norm. Earnings-Maint. CAPEX *) / WACC + CashandEquiv - Int. Bearing Debt ) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
= ( ( 5.757365531 - 104)/ 9%+8,904-223.099 )/63
=120.28

Margin of Safety (EPV)=( Earnings Power Value (EPV)-Current Price )/Earnings Power Value (EPV)
=( 120.27796628175-152.56 )/120.27796628175
= -26.84%

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

What does a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $120.28 mean?
Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR) has a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $120.28 as of Mar26. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Cullen/Frost Bankers and its competitors.
Is Cullen/Frost Bankers' Earnings Power Value (EPV) too high?
Cullen/Frost Bankers' current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $120.28. Overall, Cullen/Frost Bankers has a GF Score™ of 73/100 and is considered Modestly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Cullen/Frost Bankers' Earnings Power Value (EPV) compare to COLB and WAL?
Cullen/Frost Bankers' Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $120.28 can be compared against companies in the Banks industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Earnings Power Value (EPV) for a Banks company?
A good Earnings Power Value (EPV) depends on the Banks industry context. However, Earnings Power Value (EPV) should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Earnings Power Value (EPV) mean?
A high Earnings Power Value (EPV) can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Cullen/Frost Bankers and its competitors. Cullen/Frost Bankers's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $120.28. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Cullen/Frost Bankers stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR) is currently considered Modestly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $136.21, compared to a current price of $152.56 — trading 12% above its estimated fair value. The current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $120.28. Cullen/Frost Bankers' overall GF Score™ is 73/100 with 5 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Earnings Power Value (EPV) calculated?
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR), the current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $120.28 as of Mar26. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Cullen/Frost Bankers stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of $152.56 is trading 12% above its estimated GF Value™ of $136.21. GuruFocus considers Cullen/Frost Bankers to be Modestly Overvalued.

Key valuation signals for CFR:

  • Earnings Power Value (EPV): $120.28
  • GF Value™: $136.21 vs. price of $152.56 (12% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 73/100 with 5 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the CFR stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Cullen/Frost Bankers Business Description

Other Exchanges CFRpB.PFD:USACFZ:Germany
Address 111 W. Houston Street, San Antonio, TX, USA, 78205
Cullen/Frost is a regional US bank with around $52 billion in assets (as of March 2026), and it focuses exclusively on the Texas market. The bank has deep expertise in this market. It has implemented a relationship-based banking approach that has garnered a strong market share in San Antonio. Cullen/Frost is also expanding into Houston, Dallas, and Austin market regions through targeted branch openings rather than acquisitions. The bank's sweet spot is small to medium-sized Texas-based commercial clients.
73GF Score

Get the complete analysis for CFR

Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$152.56
Price
$136.21
GF Value