Lakeland Financial Posts Record $28.9 Million in Third-Quarter Profit
Key Facts
Lakeland Financial reported record net income of $28.9 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, up 9% from $26.4 million in the same period last year. The company said in a statement issued via GlobeNewswire that the increase was $2.5 million. Diluted earnings per share rose to $1.14, up 11% from $1.03 a year earlier. Earnings per share also increased by one cent from the second quarter of 2026. The results came as revenue and loans grew and the net interest margin improved.
Total revenue reached $73.0 million, up 6% from $69.0 million in the third quarter of 2025 and 3% from the previous quarter, when it was $70.9 million. Net interest income rose to $60.7 million from $56.1 million a year earlier, an annual increase of 8%. The figure also rose 4% quarter over quarter. These figures reflect broader revenue alongside growth in lending activity. The company also posted gains in net income and earnings per share during the first nine months of the year.
Loans outstanding totaled $5.68 billion on September 30, up $431.4 million, or 8%, from $5.25 billion a year earlier. Average loans during the quarter rose 7% to $5.59 billion, an increase of $381.9 million. The company said lending growth included key commercial and consumer segments. Commercial and industrial loans increased $187.4 million, or 12%, year over year. Commercial real estate and multifamily loans rose $117.6 million, or 4%, while one-to-four-family residential mortgages increased $83.2 million, or 16%.
The net interest margin rose to 3.58% in the third quarter from 3.50% in the same period last year. The company attributed the improvement to lower deposit costs, which fell faster than yields on interest-earning assets. Funding costs declined 24 basis points, from 2.37% to 2.13% year over year. The wider margin contributed to net interest income growth, which rose 8% annually to $60.7 million. In the second quarter, the margin was 3.49%, compared with 3.42% a year earlier.
For the extended period, net income totaled $83.8 million in the first nine months of 2026, up 14% from $73.5 million in the same period of 2025. Diluted earnings per share for the period rose 16% to $3.31. In the second quarter, the company had reported record net income of $28.4 million, up 5% year over year. Revenue for that quarter was $70.9 million, an annual increase of 7%. In July, CEO David Findlay said strong operating results in the first half were driven by loan and revenue growth.
Some asset-quality measures improved, with nonperforming loans down 10% from the second quarter to $18 million on September 30. Their share of total loans fell to 0.32%, from 0.36% on the same date a year earlier. Meanwhile, net loan charge-offs totaled $3.0 million during the quarter. That included a partial charge-off of $2.8 million due to insufficient collateral on a nonperforming commercial credit. The company had fully provisioned for that credit, according to its statement.
The board approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.52 per share, up 4% from the dividend in the same period of 2025. It is payable on November 5, 2026, to shareholders of record on October 25, 2026. The company's shares, listed under the ticker LKFN, closed at $58.39 on October 23. In the second quarter, Findlay described annual organic loan growth of 7% as reflecting the efforts of the commercial and retail lending teams. He said the prospect and customer development program was beginning to produce "tangible results."