Peoples Bancorp | 8-K: FY2026 Q1 EPS Beats Estimate at USD 0.81

EPS: As of FY2026 Q1, the actual value is USD 0.81, beating the estimate of USD 0.7957.Operational MetricsTotal non-interest expense was $71,635 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $71,294 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $70,787 thousand for March 31, 2025.Amortization of other intangible assets was $1,697 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $2,210 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $2,213 thousand for March 31, 2025.Adjusted total non-interest expense was $69,938 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $69,084 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $68,574 thousand for March 31, 2025.Total non-interest income was $28,254 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $26,272 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $27,099 thousand for March 31, 2025.Net (loss) gain on investment securities was $0 for the three months ended March 31, 2026, -$77 thousand for December 31, 2025, and -$2 thousand for March 31, 2025.Net loss on asset disposals and other transactions was -$410 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, -$1,908 thousand for December 31, 2025, and -$361 thousand for March 31, 2025.Total non-interest income, excluding net gains and losses was $28,664 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $28,257 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $27,462 thousand for March 31, 2025.Net interest income was $90,420 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $91,049 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $85,255 thousand for March 31, 2025.Fully tax-equivalent adjustment was $245 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $266 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $283 thousand for March 31, 2025.Net interest income on a fully tax-equivalent basis was $90,665 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $91,315 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $85,538 thousand for March 31, 2025.Adjusted revenue was $119,329 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $119,572 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $113,000 thousand for March 31, 2025.Efficiency ratio was 58.61% for the three months ended March 31, 2026, 57.78% for December 31, 2025, and 60.68% for March 31, 2025. The reported efficiency ratio for the first quarter was 58.6 percent, up from 57.8 percent in the linked quarter, due to one-time expenses and lower accretion income.Income before income taxes was $37,345 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $37,977 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $31,377 thousand for March 31, 2025.Provision for credit losses was $9,694 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $8,050 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $10,190 thousand for March 31, 2025. Totaled $9.7 million for the first quarter, increasing the allowance for credit losses as a percent of total loans to 1.16 percent from 1.12 percent at year-end.Net loss on OREO was $26 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $851 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $0 for March 31, 2025.Net loss on investment securities was $0 for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $77 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $2 thousand for March 31, 2025.Net loss on other assets was $384 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $210 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $330 thousand for March 31, 2025.Net loss on other transactions was $0 for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $847 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $51 thousand for March 31, 2025.Pre-provision net revenue was $47,449 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $48,012 thousand for December 31, 2025, and $41,930 thousand for March 31, 2025.Net income was $29,006 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $31,754 thousand for September 30, 2026, and $24,336 thousand for March 31, 2025.Net income adjusted for non-core items was $29,330 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $33,322 thousand for September 30, 2026, and $24,623 thousand for March 31, 2025.Annualized net income was $117,635 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $125,981 thousand for September 30, 2026, and $98,696 thousand for March 31, 2025.Annualized net income adjusted for non-core items was $118,949 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $132,201 thousand for September 30, 2026, and $99,860 thousand for March 31, 2025.Annualized net income excluding amortization of other intangible assets was $123,074 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $132,908 thousand for September 30, 2026, and $105,785 thousand for March 31, 2025.Total average assets were $9,601,108 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $9,630,774 thousand for September 30, 2026, and $9,195,467 thousand for March 31, 2025.Return on average assets was 1.23% for the three months ended March 31, 2026, 1.31% for September 30, 2026, and 1.07% for March 31, 2025.Return on average assets adjusted for non-core items was 1.24% for the three months ended March 31, 2026, 1.37% for September 30, 2026, and 1.09% for March 31, 2025.Total average stockholders’ equity was $1,218,368 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $1,196,505 thousand for September 30, 2026, and $1,122,860 thousand for March 31, 2025.Return on average stockholders’ equity was 9.66% for the three months ended March 31, 2026, 10.53% for September 30, 2026, and 8.79% for March 31, 2025.Average tangible equity was $825,878 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2026, $802,096 thousand for September 30, 2026, and $721,516 thousand for March 31, 2025.Return on average tangible equity was 14.90% for the three months ended March 31, 2026, 16.57% for September 30, 2026, and 14.66% for March 31, 2025.Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter was $0.81, impacted by $0.04 per share from one-time expenses.Net Interest Margin (NIM) expanded 4 basis points for the first quarter due to lower deposit costs, although net interest income declined $629,000 compared to the linked quarter.Fee-based income grew $400,000 compared to the linked quarter, including $1.2 million from annual performance-based insurance commission.Non-interest expenses increased $341,000 compared to the linked quarter, driven by additional employee-related one-time expenses.Loan growth for the first quarter was $13 million, with commercial and industrial loan growth of over $111 million, partially offset by reductions in other loan categories.Annualized quarterly net charge-off rate improved to 40 basis points, compared to 44 basis points for the linked quarter.Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) declined over $3 million compared to the linked quarter.Criticized loans were down $12 million and classified loans were down $5 million compared to the linked quarter end, improving criticized loan balances to 3.31 percent and classified loans to 2.1 percent of total loans at March 31.Delinquency levels improved, with 98.9 percent of the loan portfolio considered current at March 31, up from 98.6 percent at year-end.Non-interest bearing deposits grew over $41 million, or 3 percent.Core deposit balances (excluding brokered CDs) increased $192 million compared to the linked quarter end, while brokered CDs declined by $154 million.Demand deposits as a percent of total deposits were flat at 35 percent, and non-interest bearing deposits to total deposits grew to 21 percent at March 31.Loan-to-Deposit Ratio improved to 88.5 percent from 88.8 percent at year-end.Investment Portfolio as a percent of total assets declined slightly to 20.3 percent at March 31.All regulatory capital ratios improved compared to the linked quarter end.Book value per share grew to $33.85, a 1 percent annualized increase, and tangible book value per share improved to $22.95, a 3 percent annualized increase.The quarterly dividend rate increased to $0.42 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.84 percent.Unique MetricsTotal stockholders’ equity was $1,216,040 thousand at March 31, 2026, $1,206,602 thousand at December 31, 2025, and $1,137,821 thousand at March 31, 2025.Goodwill and other intangible assets were $391,601 thousand at March 31, 2026, $393,319 thousand at December 31, 2025, and $400,099 thousand at March 31, 2025.Tangible equity was $824,439 thousand at March 31, 2026, $813,283 thousand at December 31, 2025, and $737,722 thousand at March 31, 2025.Total assets were $9,648,087 thousand at March 31, 2026, $9,649,630 thousand at December 31, 2025, and $9,246,000 thousand at March 31, 2025.Tangible assets were $9,256,486 thousand at March 31, 2026, $9,256,311 thousand at December 31, 2025, and $8,845,901 thousand at March 31, 2025.Common shares outstanding were 35,925,945 at March 31, 2026, 35,714,484 at December 31, 2025, and 35,669,100 at March 31, 2025.Tangible book value per common share was $22.95 at March 31, 2026, $22.77 at December 31, 2025, and $20.68 at March 31, 2025.Tangible equity to tangible assets was 8.91% at March 31, 2026, 8.79% at December 31, 2025, and 8.34% at March 31, 2025. The Tangible Equity-to-Tangible Assets Ratio increased 12 basis points to 8.91 percent at quarter-end, compared to 8.8 percent at year-end.The investment portfolio generates $15 million to $20 million per month in cash flow, with a yield on cash flows estimated around 350 basis points.New loans are coming onto the portfolio at rates between 7 and 7.25 percent, with approximately 55 percent of the loan portfolio being variable rate and 45 percent fixed rate.The current Durbin-related revenue risk upon crossing $10 billion in assets is about $10 million pre-tax, with the Citizens merger adding approximately $1 million to this impact.Peoples Bancorp Inc. entered into an agreement to merge with Citizens National Corporation ($700 million in assets), expected to close in the second half of 2026, likely near the end of Q3/beginning of Q4, with conversion in Q2 2027. The transaction is valued at approximately $77 million, is expected to be accretive to 2027 EPS by $0.20, and has an expected tangible book value earn-back period of less than one year. Peoples Bancorp Inc. anticipates realizing 40 percent cost savings, with 50 percent effectuated in 2026 and the remainder in early 2027, and expects regulatory capital ratios to improve post-merger.Outlook / GuidancePeoples Bancorp Inc. expects to achieve positive operating leverage for 2026 compared to 2025, excluding non-core expenses and the proposed merger impact. The net interest margin is anticipated to be between 4 and 4.2 percent for the full year, assuming one 25 basis point rate cut, with quarterly fee-based income projected to range between $28 million and $30 million, and quarterly total non-interest expense expected to be between $73 million and $75 million for the remaining quarters of 2026. Loan growth is guided towards the low end of the 3 to 5 percent range, and a slight reduction in net charge-offs compared to 2025 is anticipated, positively impacting provision for credit losses.