Columbia Banking System’s 31.3% return over the past six months has outpaced the S&P 500 by 17.4%, and its stock price has climbed to $28.87 per share. This was partly thanks to its solid quarterly results, and the performance may have investors wondering how to approach the situation.

Is now the time to buy Columbia Banking System, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Check out our in-depth research report to see what our analysts have to say, it’s free for active Edge members.

Why Is Columbia Banking System Not Exciting?

Despite the momentum, we're sitting this one out for now. Here are three reasons we avoid COLB and a stock we'd rather own.

1. Lackluster Revenue Growth

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a stretched historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. Columbia Banking System’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed significantly as its annualized revenue growth of 5.7% over the last two years was well below its five-year trend. Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.

2. EPS Barely Growing

Analyzing the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) shows whether a company's incremental sales were profitable – for example, revenue could be inflated through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

Columbia Banking System’s EPS grew at an unimpressive 6.5% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, lower than its 28.6% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.

3. Growing TBVPS Reflects Strong Asset Base

For banks, tangible book value per share (TBVPS) is a crucial metric that measures the actual value of shareholders’ equity, stripping out goodwill and other intangible assets that may not be recoverable in a worst-case scenario.

Although Columbia Banking System’s TBVPS declined at a 1.2% annual clip over the last five years. the good news is that its growth inflected positive over the past two years as TBVPS grew at an impressive 14.3% annual clip (from $14.22 to $18.57 per share).

Final Judgment

Columbia Banking System’s business quality ultimately falls short of our standards. With its shares topping the market in recent months, the stock trades at 1.1× forward P/B (or $28.87 per share). While this valuation is fair, the upside isn’t great compared to the potential downside. We're fairly confident there are better investments elsewhere. Let us point you toward one of our top software and edge computing picks.

Stocks We Like More Than Columbia Banking System

Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.

The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).

Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.