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                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                               450 Fifth Street NW
                             Washington, D.C. 29549

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                                    Form 8-K

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                       PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
                       THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):          January 22, 2004
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                                  First Bancorp
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             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

       North Carolina                  0-15572                  56-1421916
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(State or Other Jurisdiction         (Commission             (I.R.S. Employer
     of Incorporation)               File Number)         Identification Number)

341 North Main Street, Troy, North Carolina                        27371
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices)                        (Zip Code)

                                 (910) 576-6171
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              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

                                 Not Applicable
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          (Former Name or Former Address, if changed since last report)

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                                  First Bancorp
                                      INDEX

                                                                       Page
                                                                       ----
Item 7 - Exhibits                                                        3

Item 12 - Results of Operations and Financial Condition                  3

Signatures                                                               4

Exhibit 99 (a) News Release dated January 22, 2004                       5


                                       2

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Item 7 -- Exhibits

      99(a) Additional Exhibits - News Release dated January 22, 2004

Item 12 - Results of Operations and Financial Condition

      On January 22, 2004, the Registrant issued a news release to announce its
earnings for the quarter-to-date and year-to-date periods ended December 31,
2003. The news release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99(a) and is incorporated
by reference. The news release includes disclosure of net interest income on a
tax-equivalent basis, which is a non-GAAP performance measure used by management
in operating its business, which management believes provides investors with a
more accurate picture of net interest income and net interest margins for
comparative purposes.

As of December 31, 2003, the Company had 9,435,294 shares outstanding.

Disclosures About Forward Looking Statements

      The discussions included in this document and its exhibits may contain
forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Act of 1995, including Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933. Such statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual
results to differ materially. For the purposes of these discussions, any
statements that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be
forward looking statements. Such statements are often characterized by the use
of qualifying words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates,"
"plans," "projects," or other statements concerning opinions or judgments of the
Company and its management about future events. The accuracy of such forward
looking statements could be affected by such factors as, including but not
limited to, the financial success or changing conditions or strategies of the
Company's customers or vendors, fluctuations in interest rates, actions of
government regulators, the availability of capital and personnel or general
economic conditions.


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                                   Signatures

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                                         First Bancorp

      January 22, 2004               By: /s/ James H. Garner
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                                         James H. Garner
                                         President and Chief Executive Officer


                                        4

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