Want to see OCFC full AI Analyst Report?
Oceanfirst Financial (OCFC) Q3 2026 Earnings Report
OCFC Q3 2026 EPS Results
- Actual EPS
- $0.48
- Consensus EPS
- $0.40
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +$0.08
- One Year Ago EPS
- $0.36
OCFC Q3 2026 Revenue Results
- Actual Revenue
- $313.85M
- Expected Revenue
- $177.79M
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +$136.06M
- YoY Revenue Growth
- +79.86%
Earnings Announcement Details
- Quarter
- Q3 2026
- Date
- 10/27/2026
- Time
- After Close
- Conference Call
- Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Oceanfirst Financial's next earnings date is estimated for January 28, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
The call was predominantly positive. Management reported strong core earnings growth, successful Flushing integration, loan and deposit expansion, improved efficiency, strong asset quality, and maintained 2027 profitability targets. The main challenges were merger-related costs, higher deposit costs, acquired PCD loans increasing reported nonperforming loans, competitive pricing pressure, residential runoff, and a remaining earnings gap to the 2027 EPS goal.
For the fourth quarter, OceanFirst expects modest growth in both loans and deposits of 1% to 2% quarterly, net interest margin to be stable to modestly higher, assuming 1 additional 25-basis point increase in short term rates in December, other income of $13 million per quarter, and core operating expenses to decline to $110 million, with the full run rate of cost saves reflected in the first quarter of 2027; expected tax rate is 28% to 29%, absent any impact of tax credit benefits. Management expects about a billion dollars a quarter of fixed-rate assets to reprice, including 1.2 billion in Q4 and Over 3 billion across 2027 split evenly per quarter, expects the Premier Bank deposit target of 2 billion to $3 billion by the end of 2027 could come a quarter or 2 later, and expects securities to decline by at least $1 billion over the next year or so, year and a half, while remaining at least about 15% of total assets. The $105 million expense level is a number to build off of, with stability expected from Q1 going forward and possibly a little bit lower, while 2027 targets remain unchanged, including 1% ROA and expenses as a percent of assets somewhere in the range of 1.75%.
- Core Earnings GrowthThird-quarter core earnings per share were $0.48, up 54% from the prior quarter and up 131% from the prior year. Core return on average assets improved 20 basis points to 80 basis points, and the core efficiency ratio improved more than 8 percentage points to 62%.
- Successful Flushing IntegrationThe acquisition of Flushing Financial Corporation closed on June 1, the balance sheet was restructured on June 26, and the operational integration and rebranding of 30 branches across New York City and Long Island were completed on September 21, all on schedule. Management said it remains on track to achieve the transaction's stated cost savings and returns.
- Loan Growth and Commercial Origination MomentumTotal loans grew $216 million during the quarter to $16.5 billion, or approximately 5% annualized growth. Commercial real estate grew $2 million, C&I grew $123 million, commercial loan originations increased 15% to $735 million from $642 million, and C&I loans grew approximately 13% on an annualized basis.
- Expansion of the C&I Banking TeamOceanFirst recruited 11 C&I bankers during 2026 and said it continues to be opportunistic with hiring as it works to diversify its commercial loan portfolio across its markets.
- Deposit Growth and Premier Bank PerformanceTotal deposits grew $319 million, or 1.8%, during the quarter to $18.1 billion. Excluding brokered CDs, deposits grew $156 million, led by interest-bearing checking and money-market balances. Premier Bank deposits grew $181 million to $674 million, with a 2.49% cost of deposits; the teams managed 490 client relationships and 202,000 accounts and generated $42 million of loan originations.
- Premier Bank Leadership and Growth OpportunityEric Howell was hired as President of Premier Bank after serving as a consultant for 24 months. Management said the business remains a long-term part of the portfolio, expects continued growth, and is still targeting $2 billion to $3 billion of deposits by the end of 2027, although achievement could occur a quarter or two later.
- Customer Retention and New York Franchise OpportunityManagement said customer retention through the Flushing conversion was in line with or better than expectations and that calling activity continues to generate meaningful C&I and CRE loan and deposit opportunities. Flushing's approximately $1.4 billion Asian banking deposit base was identified as an opportunity for future growth, supported by multilingual and multicultural branch teams.
- Net Interest Income and Margin ExpansionNet interest income grew for the ninth consecutive quarter to $172 million, up $51 million, or 43%, from the prior quarter and 90% from the prior year. Third-quarter net interest margin expanded 13 basis points to 3.18%, while loan yields increased 27 basis points to 5.82%. Excluding the nonrecurring recovery, net interest margin was 3.08%.
- Strong Core Operating EarningsPretax, pre-provision core earnings were $71 million, up 59% from the prior quarter. The increase in net interest income was driven by a full quarter of Flushing's earning-asset growth and included a $5.5 million nonrecurring benefit from the payoff of a nonperforming loan acquired from Flushing.
- Cost Savings and Expense DisciplineCore operating expenses were $114 million, below the previously guided range of $120 million to $125 million, reflecting higher cost savings than originally projected and continued expense discipline. Management expects core operating expenses to decline to $110 million, with the full run rate of cost savings reflected in the first quarter of 2027.
- Continued Automation and Efficiency InvestmentManagement said automation and efficiency efforts are underway, including efforts to offset producer investments such as relationship managers and deposit-gathering teams through reductions in other expense categories. The company is also renegotiating data-processing, software-as-a-service, and banking-as-a-service contracts.
- Strong Asset QualityExcluding purchased credit-deteriorated loans, nonperforming loans were 0.37% of total loans and nonperforming assets were 0.32% of total assets, both consistent with historically low levels. Early-stage delinquencies improved, criticized and classified loans were approximately 3.13% of total loans and essentially flat with the second quarter, and net charge-offs were approximately 4 basis points of average loans on an annualized basis.
- Capital Strength and Dividend ContinuityThe estimated common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 10.6%. The board approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per common and common-equivalent share, marking the company's 119th consecutive quarterly cash dividend. Management said capital is expected to continue building with earnings net of any opportunistic share repurchases.
- Future Share Repurchase FlexibilityOceanFirst did not repurchase shares during the third quarter while prioritizing capital flexibility during the Flushing integration, leaving 3.2 million shares available under its existing authorization. Management expects to be more active with repurchases and said repurchases at the current valuation are accretive to tangible book value and earnings per share if that remains the case.
- Positive Near-Term Margin and Growth OutlookManagement expects modest loan and deposit growth of 1% to 2% quarterly in the near term. Adjusted for the nonrecurring interest recovery, net interest margin is expected to be stable to modestly higher in the fourth quarter, with other income expected to remain at $13 million per quarter.
- Asset Repricing TailwindManagement expects relative margin stability with a modest positive tailwind from floating-rate assets and fixed-rate asset repricing. Approximately $1.2 billion of fixed-rate assets are expected to reprice in the fourth quarter and more than $3 billion across 2027, split approximately evenly by quarter.
- Consumer Deposit AcquisitionAfter OceanFirst began advertising under its unified New York brand in October, a promotional campaign accumulated more than $60 million of accounts in its first few weeks at a blended rate of 3.9%. Management said the campaign could provide an opportunity to replace brokered deposits with consumer deposits, although durability remains under evaluation.
- Commercial Deposit Self-FundingManagement said approximately 40% of C&I credit extensions are being self-funded through related deposit relationships. Approximately 75% of deposits are checking accounts of some type, and the company reported 21% non-interest-bearing deposits in the banking deposit base discussed during the call.
- Securities Portfolio Liquidity and Planned ReductionThe securities portfolio is approximately 80% fixed-rate and 20% floating-rate, with less than four years of duration for the most part and approximately $75 million of monthly cash flows. Management said it is unlikely to reinvest those cash flows and expects the securities book to decline by at least $1 billion over the next year or year and a half, while maintaining at least approximately 15% of total assets in securities.
- 2027 Profitability Targets MaintainedManagement reiterated that its 2027 profitability targets remain unchanged, including a 1% return on assets target. It also cited a target expense-to-assets level of approximately 1.75% for next year and said it would seek expense improvement if net interest margin takes longer to reach expectations.
OCFC Earnings History
| Report Date | Fiscal Quarter | Forecast / EPS | Last Year's EPS | EPS YoY Change | Press Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 28, 2027 | 2026 (Q4) | 0.50- | 0.41 | ― | ― |
| Oct 27, 2026 | 2026 (Q3) | 0.400.48 | 0.36 | 33.33% (+0.12) | |
| Jul 30, 2026 | 2026 (Q2) | 0.430.43 | 0.31 | 38.71% (+0.12) | |
| Apr 23, 2026 | 2026 (Q1) | 0.390.43 | 0.35 | 22.86% (+0.08) | |
| Jan 29, 2026 | 2025 (Q4) | 0.380.41 | 0.38 | 7.89% (+0.03) | |
| Oct 22, 2025 | 2025 (Q3) | 0.350.36 | 0.39 | -7.69% (-0.03) | |
| Jul 24, 2025 | 2025 (Q2) | 0.330.31 | 0.39 | -20.51% (-0.08) | |
| Apr 24, 2025 | 2025 (Q1) | 0.350.35 | 0.44 | -20.45% (-0.09) | |
| Jan 23, 2025 | 2024 (Q4) | 0.360.38 | 0.45 | -15.56% (-0.07) | |
| Oct 17, 2024 | 2024 (Q3) | 0.380.39 | 0.32 | 21.88% (+0.07) |
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.

