ServisFirst reports earnings per share of $0.80 as loan loss provisions rise
Key Facts
ServisFirst Bancshares reported net income of $87,308 thousand in the third quarter of 2026, alongside higher loan loss provisions and a decline in period-end deposits from the previous quarter. Diluted earnings per share were $0.80, according to the company's earnings release, which also showed a steady net interest margin. The margin stood at 3.63% in the third quarter, unchanged from the second quarter of the same year. Noninterest income rose to $13.1 million from the same period a year earlier, the company said. The annual increase in noninterest income was accompanied by higher noninterest expenses on both a year-over-year and quarterly basis.
On lending, the company said loans at the end of the third quarter of 2026 increased by $1.43 billion from a year earlier. That represented annual growth of about 11%, according to the approximate percentage cited in its earnings release. On funding, period-end deposits stood at $14.09 billion, down from the end of the second quarter of the same year. The company increased loan loss provisions to $14.9 million in the third quarter from the previous quarter. The ratio of net charge-offs to average loans also rose from the previous quarter to an annualized 0.21%, according to the release.
Noninterest expenses totaled $52.2 million in the third quarter, up from both the same period a year earlier and the second quarter. In its breakdown of personnel costs, the company attributed the annual increase in salaries and benefits primarily to the full impact of its expansion into the Houston market. Its release cited "our expansion into the Houston market" as the main reason for the annual increase in salaries and benefits. The efficiency ratio was 30.20% in the third quarter, an improvement from the same period a year earlier, the company said. Compared with the second quarter, however, efficiency deteriorated as noninterest expenses rose.
Among capital measures, the consolidated common equity tier 1 capital ratio to risk-weighted assets rose to 11.98% at the end of the third quarter of 2026. The company said the ratio increased from a year earlier as part of its reported results for the period. Book value per share was $18.63 at the end of the third quarter, also up year over year, according to the earnings release. In a separate decision announced in October 2026, the board approved the first share repurchase program in the company's history. The authorization covers the repurchase of up to 2 million outstanding common shares, according to the company's announcement launching the program.
Before its third-quarter results, ServisFirst Bancshares announced a split of its common stock in August 2026, according to a separate company release. The company set the split ratio at two shares for each share in its announcement of the forthcoming change to its common stock. When announcing the split, the company expected shares to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis around 21 August 2026. The reported third-quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.80 form part of the results for the period that included August. The company also reported book value per share of $18.63 at the end of that period, alongside its capital and profitability measures.
For upcoming dates related to the results, the company set 31 October 2026 as the last day the third-quarter earnings call replay would be available. In its call announcement, it said "a replay of the call will be available until 31 October 2026." The share repurchase authorization announced in October runs through 31 December 2027, according to the program announcement. The release stated that the company "may repurchase up to 2 million shares of its outstanding common stock through 31 December 2027." The company's first repurchase program thus extends beyond the end of 2026, within the timeframe approved by the board.