Great Southern Bancorp (GSBC) Q3 2026 Earnings Report

The call was predominantly positive. Management reported resilient net interest margin, strong credit metrics, a robust lending pipeline, stable core deposits, capital strength, shareholder returns, and significant expected savings from completed branch and workforce reductions. These positives were partly offset by lower reported earnings, declining loan balances from payoffs and refinancing, lower non-interest income from the hedge accounting adjustment, expected margin moderation, and increases in non-performing assets and other real estate owned.

Management said the net interest margin could be in the “3.65% to 3.70% range,” with a “fairly modest” decrease from the securities purchase, partially offset by accretion income for “the next six quarters”; approximately $170,000 per month of accretion income is expected through April 2028, fully recovering the $3.5 million charge. The combined federal and state effective tax rate is expected to range generally from 18% to 19.5% in future periods. Banking center consolidations and workforce reductions are expected to produce approximately $4.4 million to $4.8 million in non-interest expense savings beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026 and approximately $2.3 million to $2.7 million in annual pre-tax income improvement beginning in the fourth quarter of this year, with some customer deposit attrition likely replaced by higher-cost alternative funding sources; fourth-quarter expenses are expected to be lower, generally speaking, although there could be some offset from additional technology-related expense.