Equity Bank(US:EQBK) Businesswire·2026-01-21 21:45Core Insights - Equity Bancshares, Inc. reported a net income of $22.1 million or $1.15 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, a significant recovery from a net loss of $29.7 million or $(1.55) per diluted share in the previous quarter [1][4]. Financial Performance - Net interest income for the quarter was $63.5 million, up from $62.5 million in the previous quarter, with loan purchase accounting contributing 16 basis points to margin [5][9]. - Average interest-earning assets increased by 1.20% to $5.6 billion, while the yield on these assets decreased by 9 basis points [6]. - The net interest margin expanded by 2 basis points to 4.47%, with a core margin of 4.36% after normalizing for acquisition accounting [9]. - Total non-interest income rose to $9.5 million, a 7.4% increase from the previous quarter, driven by higher mortgage production [11]. - Total non-interest expense decreased to $46.6 million from $49.1 million in the previous quarter, with a notable increase attributed to litigation reserves [12]. Asset Quality - Nonperforming assets decreased to $46.7 million, or 0.7% of total assets, down from $52.6 million or 0.8% in the previous quarter [16]. - Net charge-offs for the quarter were $697 thousand, with an annualized ratio of charge-offs to average loans at 7 basis points [8]. Capital and Dividends - Book value per share increased to $38.64 from $37.25, while tangible book value per share rose to $32.86 from $31.69 [9]. - The company announced a dividend of $0.18 on outstanding common shares as of December 31, 2025 [9]. Acquisitions and Growth - The company completed its acquisition of Frontier Holdings LLC on January 1, 2026, which is expected to add approximately $1.34 billion in loan balances and $1.1 billion in deposit balances [9]. - Total loan and deposit balances increased year-over-year by $697.4 million and $763.5 million, respectively, largely due to the addition of NBC assets [9].