First Bank (6UT) Q3 2026 Earnings Report
DE:6UT Q3 2026 EPS Results
- Actual EPS
- EUR 0.44
- Consensus EPS
- EUR 0.39
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +EUR 0.04
- One Year Ago EPS
- EUR 0.42
DE:6UT Q3 2026 Revenue Results
- Actual Revenue
- EUR 55.65M
- Expected Revenue
- EUR 33.75M
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +EUR 21.91M
- YoY Revenue Growth
- -2.24%
Earnings Announcement Details
- Quarter
- Q3 2026
- Date
- 10/22/2026
- Time
- After Close
- Conference Call
- Thursday, October 22, 2026
DE:6UT Upcoming Earnings
First Bank's next earnings date is estimated for January 27, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
DE:6UT Q3 2026 Earnings Call
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Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call was predominantly positive. The bank reported stronger earnings, net interest income, margin, efficiency, capital generation, loan growth and deposit growth, while management raised its 2027 loan-growth target and increased the dividend. The principal challenges were deposit-pricing pressure, a point-to-point decline in noninterest-bearing deposits, Business Express charge-offs, slightly higher nonperforming assets and limited noninterest income. Management nevertheless described credit trends as improving and expressed optimism about finishing 2026 strongly and achieving better profitability in 2027.
Company Guidance
First Bank said it expects future losses in the Business Express portfolio to moderate from recent quarters and, if credit costs return to “a more reasonable sort of 2%, even 3% annualized,” the segment could generate profitability; it continues to anticipate keeping its effective tax rate “at or below 25%,” expects a “stable margin with some upside” and “some slight improvement in the margin going forward,” and said loan yields should see “nice improvement” into the fourth quarter. For 2027, it is targeting total loan growth “closer to $300 million,” versus the “$200 million annual number” targeted in the past couple of years, aims to get the noninterest expense to average assets ratio to “1.90%” during the middle of 2027, and said living “between the 180 and the 190” could be the longer-term objective; it also said the prospects for “even better profitability in 2027 look good.”
- Healthy Balance Sheet GrowthLoans increased by $50 million during the quarter, including growth of $50.2 million, or approximately 6% annualized, led by C&I, owner-occupied commercial real estate and construction lending. Deposits increased by $43 million, or approximately 5% annualized, leaving the bank ahead of its deposit-growth plan for the year.
- Improved Net Interest Margin and ProfitabilityThe tax-equivalent net interest margin expanded 6 basis points to 3.74%, while return on average assets increased to 1.18%. Pre-provision return on average assets was 1.79%, up 8 basis points from the prior quarter.
- Net Income and EPS GrowthNet income was $12.2 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, for the third quarter. Diluted earnings per share increased by $0.06, or approximately 12.5%, on a linked-quarter basis.
- Net Interest Income GrowthNet interest income increased by $2 million, or 5.6%, from the linked quarter and by $1.2 million, or 3.4%, from the third quarter of the prior year. The linked-quarter improvement was primarily attributed to growth in average earning assets, higher loan yields, disciplined deposit pricing and balance-sheet optimization.
- Higher Loan Yields and Commercial MixLoan yields increased 15 basis points on a linked-quarter basis to 6.48%. The high-yielding C&I portfolio represented 22.5% of total loans at the end of the third quarter, compared with 21.9% a year earlier.
- Balance Sheet and Funding OptimizationThe bank used excess liquidity to repay $90 million in wholesale borrowings, reduced brokered deposits by $44 million and purchased approximately $57 million of low-risk investment securities offering higher yields than cash. Management said the resulting asset and liability position remained well balanced.
- Strong New Lending and PipelineNew loans closed and funded during the quarter totaled $124 million, while probable funding in the pipeline stood at $363 million at September 30, up approximately 12% from the average of the March and June quarter-end levels of $326 million and $323 million. Management said the pipeline could support a solid fourth quarter and a good beginning to 2027.
- Expanded 2027 Loan Growth TargetBased on opportunities across its banking units, management is targeting total loan growth closer to $300 million in 2027, up from the $200 million annual target used during the past couple of years.
- Commercial Lending Strategy and CapacityC&I loans, including owner-occupied real estate loans, accounted for 65% of new business through September 30, while investor real estate represented around 30% and the balance was consumer lending. Management said the investor real estate-to-capital ratio is well below prior-year levels, creating an opportunity to accelerate loan growth.
- Operating Efficiency ImprovementThe efficiency ratio improved to 52.4% from 54.5% in the second quarter, marking the 29th consecutive quarter operating below 60%. The noninterest expense-to-average-assets ratio declined to 1.97%, moving toward the 1.90% goal.
- Expense Discipline and Future Efficiency TargetNoninterest expense was $20.3 million, and management said expense-containment initiatives and asset growth could help the company reach a 1.90% noninterest expense-to-average-assets ratio during the middle of 2027. Management also said returning to the 1.80% range longer term is possible.
- Strong Capital Generation and Tangible Book Value GrowthTangible book value per share increased to $16.59 from $16.27 at June 30, representing annual growth of nearly 8%. Management described capital ratios as strong and said the capital position provides significant flexibility.
- Dividend Increase and Share Repurchase AuthorizationThe quarterly dividend was increased to $0.12 per share, a 33% increase. The bank also received final regulatory approval for a share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to 1.2 million shares, with an aggregate value of up to $24 million, through September 2027.
- Stable Credit Costs and Strong Reserve CoverageProvision expense was $2.2 million, essentially unchanged from the linked quarter. The allowance for credit losses remained stable at 1.37% of total loans and represented approximately 132% of nonperforming loans, which management said reflected strong reserve coverage.
- Improving Business Express and Other Credit IndicatorsManagement said issues in the Business Express portfolio had slowed, with slightly lower delinquencies in October and expectations that future losses would moderate. A $5.5 million paydown on a problem real estate loan after quarter end would have reduced the criticized-classified ratio to approximately 2.24%, below the eight-quarter average of around 240 basis points. A separate $9.5 million senior-living-facility loan participation was expected to be paid in full later in the fourth quarter.
- Strong Performance Outside Business ExpressManagement stated that 95% of approximately $8.5 million in year-to-date charge-offs came from the Business Express portfolio, while non-Business Express charge-offs were close to zero. Management also said it was seeing strong performance across the remainder of the loan portfolio.
- Asset Sensitivity and Margin TailwindsThe bank is modestly asset sensitive, with more than 25% of assets repricing immediately when the Federal Reserve moves rates and a much smaller percentage of liabilities repricing automatically. Management said higher rates could provide a slight benefit and that the bank should be able to maintain a stable margin with some upside.
- Deposit Franchise and Funding OpportunitiesTotal deposits increased by $43 million, or $87 million excluding the $44 million decline in brokered deposits. Average noninterest-bearing deposits increased by $32 million during the quarter. Management said commercial deposit pipelines remained healthy and that select promotions were being used to attract new personal customers.
- Noninterest Income OpportunityThe bank reported a pipeline of SBA loan-sale activity that management said should lead to increased gains on loan sales, although noninterest income remains a small portion of revenue.
- Broad-Based Lending Opportunities and Leadership AdditionManagement cited opportunities in regional banking, SBA lending, private equity, asset-based lending and investor real estate. Dan Cuneo joined approximately 1.5 months before the call to lead the Southern New Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania market, and management expects his experience at community and regional banks to support growth.
DE:6UT Earnings History
| Report Date | Fiscal Quarter | Forecast / EPS | Last Year's EPS | EPS YoY Change | Press Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 27, 2027 | 2026 (Q4) | 0.42- | 0.44 | ― | ― |
| Oct 22, 2026 | 2026 (Q3) | 0.390.44 | 0.42 | 4.26% (+0.02) | |
| Jul 23, 2026 | 2026 (Q2) | 0.360.38 | 0.37 | 4.88% (+0.02) | |
| Apr 27, 2026 | 2026 (Q1) | 0.410.27 | 0.33 | -18.92% (-0.06) | |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 2025 (Q4) | 0.440.44 | 0.37 | 19.51% (+0.07) | |
| Oct 22, 2025 | 2025 (Q3) | 0.410.42 | 0.29 | 46.88% (+0.13) | |
| Jul 22, 2025 | 2025 (Q2) | 0.380.37 | 0.39 | -6.82% (-0.03) | |
| Apr 22, 2025 | 2025 (Q1) | 0.350.33 | 0.45 | -26.00% (-0.12) | |
| Jan 23, 2025 | 2024 (Q4) | 0.350.37 | 0.3 | 24.24% (+0.07) | |
| Oct 23, 2024 | 2024 (Q3) | 0.360.29 | -0.04 | 740.00% (+0.33) |
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
Beat Missed
