Carter Bankshares’ $10 Million Program Has Been in Place Since February; Purchases Reach $5.1 Million
Key Facts
Carter Bankshares’ November 12 disclosure does not show a new share repurchase program; the latest available official filing says the board announced a program of up to $10.0 million on February 2, 2026. Its 12-month term began on February 11, after the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond raised no objection. The authorization therefore dates to February, while the filing reports purchases made during the third quarter and the nine months ended September 30. The program sets an aggregate purchase limit but does not require the company to buy a specific number of shares. The company says execution is at management’s discretion, making the announced cap a maximum rather than a commitment to spend the full amount.
The program’s terms allow shares to be purchased in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. They also permit purchases under a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 or Rule 10b-18. The company says management may buy shares from time to time at its discretion, so the authorization does not mean purchases will occur at a steady pace. According to the company’s disclosure, the program does not require Carter Bankshares to buy any specific number of shares, and the board may amend or terminate it at any time. These terms show that the authorization gives management execution options within the approved cap, without guaranteeing additional purchases for shareholders.
By the end of the third quarter, the company had repurchased 74,151 shares during the three months ended September 30, at a total cost of $2.2 million. The average cost per share was $29.85 in the quarter. Across the nine months ended on the same date, total purchases reached 182,752 shares, at a cost of $5.1 million. These completed purchases account for part of the program’s $10.0 million cap, but do not mean the company will use the remaining balance. On November 11, the stock closed at $29.22, according to EL7 daily data; this is the session’s closing price, while reliable data on its daily trading range are not available here.
The purchases came during a period in which Carter Bankshares reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $7.8 million, or $0.35 per diluted share. Net income in the second quarter was $28.9 million, or $1.31 per diluted share, while it was $5.4 million, or $0.24 per share, in the third quarter of 2025. For the nine months ended September 30, net income rose to $122.4 million, or $5.53 per diluted share, compared with $22.9 million and $1.00 per share in the same period of 2025. These figures combine a quarterly decline in third-quarter net income with a sharp year-over-year increase for the nine-month period. The results provide financial context for the period in which the company made its purchases, without the disclosure attributing the repurchase decision to these figures.
By contrast, net interest income rose to $41.2 million in the third quarter, an increase of $1.3 million, or 3.2%, from the previous quarter. Compared with the third quarter of 2025, it increased by $7.5 million, or 22.3%. Net interest margin was 3.51%, compared with 3.38% in the second quarter and 2.86% in the same period a year earlier. The company attributed the margin improvement to higher yields on earning assets and lower funding costs. On asset quality, nonperforming loans fell by $9.6 million from June 30 to September 30, reaching $27.9 million. The company said the year-over-year decline in nonperforming loans reflected the first-quarter loan sale transaction.
This was accompanied by a provision for credit losses of $10.5 million in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $2.9 million in the same period of 2025. The company also recorded about $100.9 million in nonrecurring gains during the first half of 2026, resulting from the loan sale and insurance transactions. It said these gains enabled it to improve the balance sheet and strengthen future earnings potential. These items put the period’s results in context, combining higher net interest income and an improved margin with nonrecurring gains and a higher year-over-year credit provision. That does not change the nature of the authorization: the disclosure sets the program’s cap and terms and does not tie purchases to a specific earnings level or share price movement.
In the third quarter, the company also established a dividend reinvestment and stock purchase plan under which it offers up to 1.0 million shares of its common stock to existing shareholders. The plan is mentioned alongside the repurchase program in the company’s disclosure, but is presented separately; the program announced in February has an aggregate dollar cap and a specified term, while the other plan sets a number of shares offered to existing shareholders. The available disclosure does not specify when subsequent purchases will take place or the additional volume management will execute. The authorization remains subject to amendment or termination at any time and does not require the company to buy a specific number of shares. The published data on program execution cover purchases through September 30 and provide no detail on purchases after that date.