Tompkins Financial raises diluted EPS 21.2% to $2 in third quarter
Key Facts
Tompkins Financial reported diluted earnings per share of $2.00 in the third quarter of 2026, up 21.2% from the same period a year earlier, according to its earnings release filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Net income was $28.7 million, up 21.0% year over year, but down $650,000, or 2.2%, from the second quarter. The financial statements also showed basic earnings per share of $2.01, compared with $1.66 a year earlier and $2.06 in the previous quarter. The contrast between the annual and quarterly comparisons highlights clear improvement from 2025, alongside a limited decline in earnings from the level recorded in the second quarter. The results came as net interest margin widened, a key measure of a bank’s income from lending and financing activities.
Net interest margin was 3.65% in the third quarter, up 7 basis points from the second quarter and 45 basis points from the third quarter of 2025. Net interest income rose to $77.301 million, from $73.983 million in the previous quarter and $63.878 million a year earlier. Management attributed the year-over-year margin improvement to growth in average loan balances, better yields on interest-earning assets and lower funding costs. Chief Executive Stephen Romaine said, "Stable levels of loan and deposit growth, coupled with further expansion in net interest margin, continue to provide momentum." These factors show how lending activity and improved asset yields supported interest income, even as net income declined from the previous quarter.
Loans outstanding at the end of September grew 1.9% from the end of June and 6.9% from the end of September 2025. Deposits totaled $7.4 billion on September 30, up 5.4% from the end of the previous quarter and 5.0% from a year earlier. These increases provide a larger base for the bank’s interest-earning activities, while management linked loan and deposit growth to continued margin expansion. In contrast, credit loss provision expense rose to $3.012 million, from $1.502 million in the second quarter and $2.490 million in the third quarter of 2025. The increase in provisions puts the cost of credit among the factors accompanying the bank’s business growth during the quarter.
Noninterest income fell to $12.6 million, down 46.7% year over year, after the company sold Tompkins Insurance Agencies in the fourth quarter of 2025. The decline reflects the impact of the insurance business exit on noninterest revenue, alongside rising interest income, which reached $77.301 million. For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, net income reached $84.0 million, up 29.6% from the same period a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share for the same period were $5.86, compared with $4.52 a year earlier, an increase of 29.6%. The company also repurchased 18,118 shares for $1.8 million during the quarter, bringing its total repurchases since the start of the year to 53,636 shares at a cost of $4.5 million.
The company said it maintained access to $1.5 billion in liquidity on September 30, equivalent to 17.1% of total assets. Management approved another increase in the cash dividend scheduled to be paid in the fourth quarter of 2026, making it 13.8% higher than the dividend paid in the fourth quarter of 2025. In the market, the stock closed at $101.20 on October 23, after closing at $100.78 on October 22. The closing price came after the third-quarter results, while margin, loan and deposit growth, along with developments in credit provisions, remain prominent elements of the bank’s performance. Romaine said loan and deposit growth and margin expansion "continue to provide momentum" as the company looks to the next stage.