Home BancShares raises share buyback authorization to 20,000,000 shares
Key Facts
Home BancShares announced on October 21, 2026, that it had expanded its share repurchase program, increasing the number of shares authorized for repurchase to 20,000,000, according to a company statement. The board approved the expansion on October 16, adding 6,549,877 shares to the amount available for repurchase under the program. The statement combined the expanded buyback authorization with the announcement of a fourth-quarter cash dividend, keeping the payout unchanged from the amount paid in the third quarter. The announcement followed quarterly results in which the company posted record net income and diluted earnings per share. The capital return decisions coincided with a higher net interest margin, alongside a contraction in loans and an increase in the nonperforming loan ratio at the end of September.
The company had released its third-quarter results on October 14, 2026, ahead of the buyback and cash dividend announcement. Quarterly net income reached $129.5 million, a record according to its earnings disclosure. That compared with net income of $119.3 million in the second quarter of the same year, reflecting an increase in profit from the immediately preceding period. On a year-over-year basis, net income exceeded the $123.6 million recorded in the third quarter of 2025, while the quarterly sequence in the disclosure showed $118.2 million in each of the two intervening quarters. Diluted earnings per share were $0.65 in the third quarter of 2026, which the company said was also a record, alongside net income.
On revenue, Home BancShares reported third-quarter net revenue of $288.4 million. Revenue fell short of analysts' average forecast of $294.44 million, according to Investing, despite the record earnings reported by the company. On costs, noninterest expense totaled $121.5 million for the quarter, down from the previous quarter. The company attributed the decline primarily to the absence of acquisition expenses recorded in the second quarter, citing that factor to explain the quarterly reduction in those expenses. At the same time, net interest margin rose to 4.53% in the third quarter from 4.51% in the second quarter, according to the earnings statement.
On the balance sheet, loans declined by $216.6 million during the third quarter of 2026, according to the company. Total deposits stood at $18.76 billion at the end of September, as the loan portfolio contracted during the period. The ratio of nonperforming loans to total loans rose to 1.19% at the end of September from 1.08% at the end of June of the same year. In another measure of credit quality, net charge-offs fell to $2.1 million in the third quarter. Net charge-offs had totaled $5.8 million in the second quarter, with the period showing a decline in charge-offs alongside an increase in the ratio of nonperforming loans to the total portfolio.
The company has a history of share repurchases, having bought a total of 33,057,384 shares of its common stock from the program's inception through the latest announcement. The total cost of those purchases was $701.8 million, according to its statement on the program expansion and cash dividend. The latest dividend marks the company's 82nd consecutive quarterly cash payout since its initial public offering, according to Investing. In comments accompanying the earnings results, Chairman John Allison said: "At Home BancShares, we focus on stability." Describing the company's approach, he added: "Strength is no accident, it is our culture."
Under the board's decision, shareholders will receive a quarterly cash dividend of $0.23 a share for the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the company's statement published via GlobeNewswire. The amount remains equal to the cash dividend paid in the third quarter, held steady as the number of shares available for repurchase increased. The company set November 11, 2026, as the record date for shareholders eligible for the cash payout. The dividend is scheduled to be paid on December 2, 2026, to shareholders of record on that date, according to the schedule announced by the company. Allison said the board would review the dividend amount again next year, according to Investing.