BancFirst profit rises to $67.254 million in third quarter
Key Facts
BancFirst's net income rose to $67.254 million in the third quarter of 2026 from $62.654 million in the same period of 2025, according to the company's earnings release distributed via PR Newswire. Diluted earnings per share for the third quarter were $1.97, with interest income benefiting from expanded lending and growth in earning assets. The results follow earnings per share of $1.96 in the second quarter of 2026, according to a report published by Investing.com before the latest earnings announcement. Earnings per share in that quarter exceeded the average analyst estimate of $1.80, according to the same report. This places the third-quarter performance in the context of a preceding quarter in which earnings beat analyst estimates, while current net income rose from the corresponding period last year.
In its operating results, BancFirst reported net interest income of $135.999 million for the third quarter of 2026, according to its earnings release. The company attributed the growth primarily to "increased loan volume and overall growth in earning assets," linking the improvement to an expansion in the volume of business generating interest revenue. Net interest margin was 3.85% in the third quarter, compared with 3.84% in the second quarter of the same year, based on a comparison with figures reported by Investing.com. The second-quarter margin had itself risen from 3.75% in the corresponding period of 2025, according to the website. The margin reported in the latest results was thus above its level in the preceding quarter, which had also shown a year-on-year improvement.
Alongside net interest income, BancFirst recorded noninterest income of $51.386 million in the third quarter of 2026, according to the company's release. On the cost side, noninterest expenses totaled $98.209 million for the same financial period. In terms of credit quality, nonaccrual loans stood at $75.620 million on September 30, 2026. These loans represented 0.87% of the total loan portfolio on that date, according to figures the company disclosed in its results. These quarter-end credit balances coincided with the growth in lending volume that BancFirst identified as a primary driver of increased net interest income.
Against the backdrop of the results, BancFirst received Federal Reserve approval for its application to acquire Spirit Bancorp, according to the Board's statement dated September 22, 2026. The regulatory approval order concluded that the company and its bank were well capitalized and would remain so after completing the proposed transaction. The order estimated that the combined group's assets would total about $15.9 billion upon completion of the acquisition. It also estimated that the combined deposits BancFirst would control after completion would reach about $13.7 billion. These estimates relate to the group's size after the transaction, while the capital assessment covers both its current position and its position following the acquisition. Regarding the next operational step, BancFirst management said in the earnings release that the announced acquisition of SpiritBank in Tulsa was "on track to close in October."