Central Bancompany, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results

Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights

• GAAP net income of $107.6 million, or $0.47 per fully diluted share, compared to $97.1 million and $0.44 in the prior quarter

• GAAP net interest margin ¹ (“NIM”) of 4.38%, quarterly increase of 2 basis points

• End-of-period total loans held for investment of $11.4 billion, quarterly increase of $0.1 billion, or 1.0% growth from the prior quarter

• Return on average assets (“ROAA”) of 2.17%, compared to 2.02% in the prior quarter

• Efficiency ratio ² of 47.6%, compared to 49.6% in the prior quarter
  
  

Full-Year 2025 Financial Highlights:

• GAAP net income of $390.9 million, or $1.75 per fully diluted share, compared to $305.8 million and $1.39 in the prior year

• Adjusted net income ² of $402.6 million, or $1.81 per fully diluted share, compared to $333.7 million and $1.51 per fully diluted share in the prior year

• End-of-period total deposits of $15.9 billion, an increase of approximately $0.9 billion or 5.9% growth from the prior year

• ROAA of 2.03%; Adjusted ROAA ² of 2.09%, compared to ROAA of 1.63% and Adjusted ROAA ² of 1.78% in the prior year

• Efficiency ratio ² of 49.5%; Adjusted efficiency ratio ² of 47.9%, compared to 54.5% and 51.7% respectively in the prior year
  
  

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Jan. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Central Bancompany, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBC) (“Central Bancompany”, “the Company”, or “CBC”), the bank holding company for The Central Trust Bank (the “Bank”), today announced preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025.

John “JR” Ross, President and Chief Executive Officer of Central Bancompany, commented "We are pleased to announce record profitability in 2025, as our employees continued to deliver for our customers, our communities and our shareholders. Our retail net promoter score rose to 74 and our wealth net promoter score to 83, reflecting the quality of the service we deliver to our customers. Our employees spent over 28 thousand hours volunteering in the communities we serve. The drivers of our financial performance were broad-based, reflecting efforts across our organizations and in all our markets. I want to thank our teammates for their outstanding efforts in delivering these outcomes.”

“We have a lot to accomplish in 2026, including delivering on the expectations set by our shareholders on the heels of a successful 2025,” Ross continued. “As we look to 2026, we remain focused on prudently growing the business, continuing our technology build out, and thoughtfully deploying our excess capital. We feel ready to meet those challenges and will continue to dedicate ourselves to our customers, communities and shareholders.”

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin ¹

The Company reported net interest income of $206.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, reflecting a GAAP net interest margin of 4.38% (4.41% on an FTE basis ^{1, 2}). Earning assets averaged $18.7 billion during the quarter. The increase of $7.6 million in net interest income from the third quarter 2025 reflected the investment of $403.1 million of net IPO proceeds and a 2 basis point increase in net interest margin from last quarter.

Average earning assets for the quarter totaled $18.7 billion, an increase of $0.6 billion, or 3.4% from the prior quarter’s average earning assets, driven by $0.5 billion of higher short-term earning assets primarily resulting from the net IPO proceeds. Earning assets ended the quarter at $19.7 billion, $1.0 billion higher than the average during the quarter as we saw seasonally driven deposit growth the end of the year and loan growth across several loan categories.

The increase in FTE net interest margin to 4.41% from 4.39% reflects an FTE loan yield of 6.27% this quarter, relatively flat from the prior quarter despite a full quarter of the September rate cut and two further rate cuts during the quarter. The cost of deposits fell 5 basis points to 1.14% for the fourth quarter 2025.

For the full year of 2025, net interest income was $789.7 million, an increase of $102.3 million from the prior year. Earning assets averaged $18.4 billion in 2025, an increase of $0.5 billion from 2024, driven by higher investment securities. Average deposits grew $0.2 billion, or 1.2%, while average loans declined slightly by $0.1 billion, or 1.1%. Full year net interest margin was 4.30% for 2025, up 46 basis points from the 3.84% net interest margin in 2024.

Total loans held for investment were $11.4 billion at December 31, 2025, an increase of $0.1 billion or 1.0% from September 30, 2025. Loan growth in the quarter was driven by increases in construction and development, commercial, financial & agricultural, residential mortgage and home equity lines of credit partially offset by declines in commercial real estate and other consumer loans.

Total deposits were $15.9 billion at December 31, 2025, an increase of approximately $1.1 billion or 7.3% from September 30, 2025. The increase from the prior quarter was largely due to seasonality, as our public funds customers typically see significant inflows at the end of the year. Average non-public fund deposits increased by 1.7%. On a year-over-year basis, total deposits were up approximately $0.9 billion, or 5.9%. Noninterest-bearing demand deposits increased by $0.4 billion and savings and interest-bearing demand deposits grew by $0.6 billion, $0.3 billion of which are increases in public funds. Time deposits decreased slightly. Seven of our eleven primary markets grew deposits in 2025.
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1} All references to net interest income and net interest margin are presented on a fully-tax equivalent basis unless otherwise noted.
² This is a non-GAAP financial measure management believes is helpful to understanding trends in our business that may not be fully apparent based only on the most comparable GAAP financial measure. Further information on this financial measure and a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP financial measure is provided at the end of this release.

Provision for credit losses

The provision for credit losses was $3.0 million for the fourth quarter 2025, relatively flat to the prior quarter. The allowance for credit losses at the end of the quarter was $149.7 million, which was 1.31% of loans held for investment. The allowance for credit losses was $149.5 million (1.32% of loans held for investment) at the end of the prior quarter.

For the full year 2025, the provision for credit losses was $9.3 million, down $5.3 million from the prior year. The provision for 2025 included a $5.0 million release of allowance associated with the decision in Q2 of 2025 to sell the consumer leasing portfolio.

Noninterest income

Noninterest income was $65.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, higher by $8.7 million from the prior quarter. The prior quarter included $6.9 million of losses from the sales of investment securities, as we accelerated the reinvestment of nearer-term maturities in the securities portfolio to reduce our asset sensitivity to rates in the 2 to 5-year section of the yield curve. Excluding these losses in the prior quarter, current quarter noninterest income was $1.8 million higher than the prior quarter’s adjusted noninterest income². The increase was driven by our Wealth Management segment where both brokerage services and fees for fiduciary services increased by $0.4 million and $1.2 million, respectively. Fees for fiduciary services benefited from strong investment inflows and investment performance. Assets under advice grew approximately 3.5% from the prior quarter to $16.0 billion as of December 31, 2025. The fee income ratio for the quarter was 24.2%, relatively flat to the adjusted fee income ratio ² in the prior quarter, despite the higher levels of net interest income, reflecting that fee income continued to keep pace with growth in net interest income.

For the year, noninterest income was $231.7 million, up $21.3 million from the prior year. Net losses from the sales of investment securities in both years and the loss from the expected sale of the consumer leasing portfolio in Q2 of 2025 affected comparability between both periods. Adjusting for both items, adjusted noninterest income ² was $252.1 million in 2025, an increase of $5.1 million from the prior year. The higher level of noninterest income in 2025 reflects an increase in fees for fiduciary services of $6.1 million and an increase of $3.0 million in brokerage services, offset partially by a decline in mortgage banking revenues of $2.5 million and a gain on the sale of equipment totaling $3.6 million, included in the prior year’s other noninterest income which did not recur. The adjusted fee income ratio² for 2025 was 24.2%, down from the adjusted fee income ratio² for 2024 of 26.4%.

Noninterest expense

Noninterest expense for the fourth quarter 2025 was $129.5 million, a $2.6 million increase from the third quarter 2025. Salaries and benefits expense increased $1.5 million from the prior quarter due to higher incentives as a result of year-end performance and other expenses were higher by $1.9 million, spread across a number of categories. Our efficiency ratio (FTE) ² of 47.0% improved from the 47.7% efficiency ratio (FTE) of the prior quarter.

For the full year 2025, noninterest expense was $505.5 million, an increase of $16.1 million, or 3.3%. Higher salaries and benefits of $17.0 million drove this change. A decrease in legal and professional fees of $3.9 million partially offset this increase, due to anticipated progression in our core modernization project. Our efficiency ratio (FTE)² of 47.9% for 2025 improved from the 51.7% efficiency ratio (FTE) of the prior year.

Provision for income taxes

The fourth quarter 2025 provision for income taxes was $32.1 million, $3.6 million higher than the prior quarter. The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter 2025 was 23.0% compared to 22.7% in the prior quarter. The current quarter reflected a 40 bps impact of certain costs that are no longer deductible as a result of being a public company.

For the full year 2025, the provision for income taxes was $115.7 million, up $27.8 million from the prior year, driven by higher levels of pre-tax income. The effective tax rate for the current year was 22.8%, which was up from 22.3% in the prior year due primarily to a reduction year over year in the amount of state tax credits received from tax credit partnerships.

Asset quality

Asset quality remained strong. Nonperforming loans at December 31, 2025 were $46.0 million, or 40 bps of loans held for investment, down from 45 bps at the end of the prior quarter. Net charge-offs were $2.8 million for the quarter, 10 bps (annualized) of average total loans. Our allowance for credit losses of $149.7 million represented 131 bps of loans held for investment.

Compared to the prior year end, nonperforming loans at December 31, 2025 were up $6.5 million and the allowance was down 2 basis points as a percent of loans held for investment from the prior year.

Delinquent loans at December 31, 2025 were $36.4 million, or 32 bps of loans held for investment, as compared to 21 bps at the end of the prior quarter and 55 bps at the end of the prior year. Delinquency levels at December 31, 2025 remain aligned with historical, pre-COVID seasonal patterns. Delinquency increased on a linked quarter basis at the end of the fourth quarter, driven by increases in consumer installment and consumer credit card delinquency.

Capital

Capital levels at December 31, 2025 remained very strong. Our CET1 ratio was 28.1% and represented $1.8 billion of excess capital when compared to our long-term CET1 target of 13.5%. The Bank’s CET1 ratio was 12.9% at December 31, 2025. The difference in the consolidated capital ratio and the capital ratio at the Bank represents earnings that have already been upstreamed to the holding company.

Compared to the prior year end, our CET1 increased 443 bps, the result of the net IPO proceeds and earnings retention.

Our book value per share at December 31, 2025 was $15.69 per share, whereas our tangible book value was $14.24 per share.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

The Company will host a conference call and webcast at 9:00 a.m. CT on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. The call may include discussion of Company developments, forward-looking statements and other material information about business and financial matters. This press release and a related slide presentation will be accessible on the Company’s investor relations website https://investor.centralbank.net. The call can be accessed via this same website or by using the following link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/wujracdi. A recorded replay of the conference call will be available on the website after the call’s completion.

About Central Bancompany, Inc.

Central Bancompany, Inc. is headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri. Its banking subsidiary, The Central Trust Bank, has been serving businesses and customers since 1902. The bank is built on a strong foundation of people, community service, and technology. As of December 31, 2025, The Central Trust Bank is a $20.8 billion Missouri state-chartered trust company with banking powers and a Federal Reserve state member bank, serving consumers and businesses in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Florida. Divisions of The Central Trust Bank include Central Trust Company and Central Investment Advisors.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

In this release, we provide information about certain non-GAAP financial measures. This information supplements the results that are reported according to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) and should not be viewed in isolation from, or as a substitute for, GAAP results. The differences between the non-GAAP financial measures and the nearest comparable GAAP financial measures are reconciled later in this release. We are presenting these non-GAAP financial measures because we believe, when taken collectively, they may be helpful to investors because they provide consistency and comparability with past financial performance by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our business, results of operations or outlook. The non-GAAP measures as defined by the Company may not be comparable to similar non-GAAP measures presented by other companies.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of, and intended to be covered by, the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they are subject to numerous uncertainties and factors relating to our operations and business, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of our business strategy. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology and expressions. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. We have based the forward-looking statements contained herein on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” in our S-1/A Registration Statement. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. Our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions which are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence. Therefore, actual results and outcomes may materially differ from what is expected, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and you are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this prospectus to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

Media Contact:

Dan Westhues
EVP, Chief Customer Officer
Central Bancompany, Inc.
[email protected]
(573) 634-1281

Investor Relations Contact:
Charlie Martin
Corporate Development Officer
Central Bancompany, Inc.
[email protected]
(314) 686-7007

Current quarter, prior quarter and prior year quarter information is provided on pages 5-8 below.