SEC FORM 4

SEC FORM 4 SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

Check this box to indicate that a transaction was made pursuant to a contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of equity securities of the issuer that is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c). See Instruction 10.

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

Strong Saundra

(Last)

(First)

(Middle)

500 LAUREL STREET, SUITE 101

(Street)

BATON ROUGE

70801

(City)

(State)

(Zip)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Business First Bancshares, Inc. [ BFST ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

	Director	10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)	Other (specify below)
	EVP & General Counsel

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
12/12/2025

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price		6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
COMMON STOCK	12/12/2025		M		1,272	A	⁽²⁾	7,269⁽¹⁾	D
COMMON STOCK	12/12/2025		F		561	D	$27.71	6,708⁽¹⁾	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares	8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)		10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
Restricted Stock Units	⁽²⁾	12/12/2025		M			1,272	⁽²⁾	⁽²⁾	Common Stock	1,272	⁽²⁾	6,636⁽³⁾	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. Includes 2,732 shares of unvested restricted stock granted on February 1, 2024, which will vest on March 31, 2026. Under the terms of the relevant restricted stock grants, the reported shares of unvested restricted stock are subject to forfeiture upon the occurrence of certain events.

2. The reporting person received an award of 3,856 time-based restricted stock units on December 12, 2024, vesting in three substantially equal installments on the first, second, and third anniversary of the issuance date.

3. Includes: (a) 2,584 time-based restricted stock units granted on December 12, 2024, of which 1,272 shares will vest on December 12, 2026 and the remaining 1,312 shares will vest on December 12, 2027; and (b) 4,052 time-based restricted stock units granted to the reporting person on March 1, 2025, of which 1,337 shares will vest on March 1, 2026, 1,337 shares will vest on March 1, 2027, and the remaining 1,378 shares will vest on March 1, 2028.

	/s/ Heather Roemer, as attorney-in-fact for Saundra Strong	12/16/2025
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number.

EVP & General Counsel Strong Saundra converted options into 1,272 shares and covered exercise/tax liability with 561 shares, increasing direct ownership by 12% to 6,708 units (SEC Form 4)