Investar (US:ISTR)2026-01-22 22:23Financial Performance - Investar reported net income of $5.4 million, or $0.51 per diluted common share, for Q4 2025, a decrease from $5.7 million, or $0.54 per share in Q3 2025, and $6.1 million, or $0.61 per share in Q4 2024[2]. - Core earnings per diluted common share for Q4 2025 were $0.58, compared to $0.54 in Q3 2025 and $0.65 in Q4 2024[3]. - Net income available to common shareholders was $5.410 million, a decrease of 4.3% from $5.651 million in the previous quarter and down 11.4% from $6.107 million year-over-year[49]. - Basic and diluted earnings per common share for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, were $0.55 and $0.51, respectively, down from $0.57 and $0.54 for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, and $0.62 and $0.61 for the quarter ended December 31, 2024[40]. - Core basic earnings per common share increased to $0.63, up 8.6% from $0.58 in the previous quarter, but down 4.5% from $0.66 year-over-year[49]. Interest Income and Margin - Net interest income for Q4 2025 was $21.6 million, an increase of $0.5 million or 2.3% from Q3 2025, and an increase of $4.1 million or 23.7% from Q4 2024[25]. - Total interest income for the quarter was $37.128 million, a slight increase of 0.1% from $37.095 million in the previous quarter and a 4.6% increase from $35.505 million year-over-year[49]. - The net interest margin improved to 3.20% in Q4 2025, a 4 basis point increase from Q3 2025 and a 55 basis point increase from Q4 2024[4]. - The yield on interest-earning assets was 5.49% for Q4 2025, compared to 5.53% in Q3 2025 and 5.38% in Q4 2024[27]. - For the twelve months ended December 31, 2025, the net interest margin improved to 3.07% from 2.63% in the previous year[62]. Loans and Deposits - Total loans increased by $25.5 million, or 1.2% (4.8% annualized), to $2.18 billion at December 31, 2025, compared to $2.15 billion at September 30, 2025[10]. - The business lending portfolio increased by $31.8 million, or 3.1%, to $1.06 billion at December 31, 2025, compared to $1.02 billion at September 30, 2025[11]. - Total deposits decreased by $22.4 million, or 0.9%, to $2.35 billion at December 31, 2025, compared to $2.37 billion at September 30, 2025[20]. - Total deposits as of December 31, 2025, were $2,350,249 million, a decrease of $22,429 million or 0.9% from September 30, 2025, and an increase of $4,305 million or 0.2% from December 31, 2024[22]. - Loans increased to $2,175,973 thousand, compared to $2,125,084 thousand a year ago, reflecting a growth of 2.4%[56]. Noninterest Income and Expenses - Noninterest income for Q4 2025 totaled $1.8 million, a decrease of $1.1 million or 38.3% from Q3 2025, and a decrease of $3.3 million or 64.3% from Q4 2024[32]. - Noninterest expense for Q4 2025 was $16.3 million, a decrease of $0.2 million or 1.5% from Q3 2025, and an increase of $0.2 million or 1.2% from Q4 2024[35]. - Total noninterest income decreased to $1,842 million, down 38.3% from $2,984 million in the previous quarter and down 64.3% from $5,163 million year-over-year[49]. - Total noninterest expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2025, was $65,741 million, up from $63,032 million in 2024, marking an increase of 4.30%[58]. Capital and Equity - Stockholders' equity increased to $301.1 million as of December 31, 2025, a rise of $5.8 million or 2.0% from September 30, 2025, and an increase of $59.8 million or 24.8% from December 31, 2024[24]. - Total stockholders' equity increased to $301,073 thousand, compared to $241,296 thousand a year ago, reflecting a growth of 24.8%[56]. - Tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio improved to 8.22% as of December 31, 2025, up from 8.10% in the previous quarter[66]. - The company reported a total stockholders' equity of $301,594 thousand as of December 31, 2025, compared to $291,173 thousand in the previous quarter[61]. Credit Quality - Nonperforming loans increased to $9.3 million, or 0.43% of total loans, at December 31, 2025, compared to $7.7 million, or 0.36% at September 30, 2025[16]. - Nonperforming assets to total assets improved to 0.45% from 0.52% year-over-year, a decrease of 13.5%[52]. - The allowance for credit losses to total loans decreased to 1.21% from 1.26% year-over-year, a decline of 4.0%[52]. - Provision for credit losses for the three months ended December 31, 2025, was $(75) million, a significant improvement from $(701) million in the same quarter of 2024[58]. Operational Highlights - The bank operates 36 branch locations across Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama, with a total of 323 full-time equivalent employees[41]. - The company emphasizes the importance of non-GAAP financial measures to provide a more complete understanding of its financial results and trends affecting its business[42]. - Investar completed the acquisition of Wichita Falls Bancshares, Inc. for approximately $112.9 million, consisting of $7.2 million in cash and 3,955,334 shares of common stock[8]. - Investar repurchased 28,470 shares at an average price of $23.94 per share during Q4 2025, with a total of 114,249 shares repurchased throughout the year at an average price of $19.84[7].