Bank OZK (OZK) Q3 2026 Earnings Report

The call was broadly optimistic. Management highlighted strong CIB growth, improving credit indicators, meaningful balance-sheet diversification, capital flexibility, deposit and fee-income initiatives, and continued opportunities in the securities portfolio. The main challenges were near-term RESG payoffs and loan-balance retracement, elevated foreclosed assets and net charge-offs, early-stage deposit-mix progress, and ongoing commercial real estate leasing work. Highlights significantly outweighed the lowlights.

Bank OZK expects full-year 2026 loan growth of 3%-5%, with “a little bit of retracement in balances in Q4,” and “near record RESG payoffs and perhaps record RESG payoffs in Q4,” including $690 million or so of RESG payoffs and pay downs in the first 19 days of October; it expects loan growth of 10%-12% in 2027, with the loan growth number expected to “accelerate further in 2028,” while RESG balances are expected to “inflect at some point in 2028.” The 2027 net interest income guidance is for low single-digit growth relative to 2026, assuming no further Fed increases; a 100 basis point increase would imply about a 4% increase in NII over that time period. Non-interest income in 2027 is expected to be up high single digits versus 2026, Q4 is expected to be another record quarter of non-interest income, securities cash flow is expected to be about $100 million a quarter over the next five quarters through the end of next year, with a range of maybe $90 million to maybe $110 million in a particular quarter and an average roll-off rate of about 3.5%, and the efficiency ratio is expected to remain in the 30-something range. Net charge-offs will likely remain elevated in 2026 and 2027, then see an improving trend in 2027; the CRE guideline is below 300%, and the bank expects to be below the 100% guideline in the next quarter or two, probably three at the most.