As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q4. Today, we are looking at regional banks stocks, starting with United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB).
Regional banks, financial institutions operating within specific geographic areas, serve as intermediaries between local depositors and borrowers. They benefit from rising interest rates that improve net interest margins (the difference between loan yields and deposit costs), digital transformation reducing operational expenses, and local economic growth driving loan demand. However, these banks face headwinds from fintech competition, deposit outflows to higher-yielding alternatives, credit deterioration (increasing loan defaults) during economic slowdowns, and regulatory compliance costs. Recent concerns about regional bank stability following high-profile failures and significant commercial real estate exposure present additional challenges.
The 95 regional banks stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4%.
In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 2.5% on average since the latest earnings results.
Starting as a small community bank in 1950 and expanding through strategic acquisitions across the Southeast, United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) is a regional bank holding company that provides financial services including loans, deposits, wealth management, and merchant services across the southeastern United States.
United Community Banks reported revenues of $279.5 million, up 10.9% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with a decent beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but EPS in line with analysts’ estimates.
Chairman and CEO Lynn Harton stated, “The fourth quarter marks a great ending to a rewarding year. Our teams delivered healthy loan growth for all of 2025, leading to improvement in our earning asset mix. That improvement, combined with our focus on deposit pricing, drove a 36 basis points expansion in our net interest margin year over year, with four basis points of improvement coming in the fourth quarter. All our key performance metrics improved significantly when compared to 2024. Believing this performance will continue, we took the opportunity to repurchase one million common shares at an average price of $29.84 per share and redeem $35 million of senior debt in the fourth quarter.
United Community Banks Total Revenue
Interestingly, the stock is up 9.1% since reporting and currently trades at $35.45.
With a strategic focus on low-risk, government-backed lending programs, Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQCM:MBIN) is an Indiana-based bank holding company specializing in multi-family mortgage banking, mortgage warehousing, and traditional banking services.
Merchants Bancorp reported revenues of $185.3 million, down 4.4% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 7.8%. The business had a stunning quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ net interest income estimates.
Merchants Bancorp Total Revenue
The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 21.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $42.60.
Operating behind the scenes of many popular fintech apps and prepaid cards you might use daily, The Bancorp (NASDAQ:TBBK) is a bank holding company that specializes in providing banking services to fintech companies and offering specialty lending products.
The Bancorp reported revenues of $172.7 million, up 8.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 11%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ tangible book value per share estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.
As expected, the stock is down 11% since the results and currently trades at $62.77.
Founded in 1800 and operating as Rhode Island’s oldest community bank, Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) is a regional bank holding company offering commercial banking, mortgage lending, personal banking, and wealth management services.
Washington Trust Bancorp reported revenues of $59.47 million, up 20.8% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 4.2%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also put up a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ net interest income estimates.
The stock is up 16.8% since reporting and currently trades at $35.27.
Formerly known as Meta Financial until its 2022 rebranding, Pathward Financial (NASDAQ:CASH) provides banking-as-a-service solutions and commercial finance products, enabling partners to offer financial services like prepaid cards, payment processing, and lending options.
Pathward Financial reported revenues of $173.1 million, flat year on year. This result came in 6.8% below analysts’ expectations. It was a slower quarter as it also recorded a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ net interest income estimates.
The stock is up 14.1% since reporting and currently trades at $91.14.
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