HBT Financial, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results

Quarterly Cash Dividend Increased to $0.25 per Share

Second Quarter Highlights

• Net income of $27.8 million, or $0.76 per diluted share; return on average assets ("ROAA") of 1.66%; return on average stockholders' equity ("ROAE") of 14.73%; and return on average tangible common equity ("ROATCE")(1) of 17.69%

• Adjusted net income(1) of $28.5 million, or $0.78 per diluted share; adjusted ROAA(1) of 1.70%; adjusted ROAE(1) of 15.09%; and adjusted ROATCE(1) of 18.13%

• Asset quality remained strong with nonperforming assets to total assets of 0.15% and net recoveries to average loans of 0.01%, on an annualized basis

• Net interest margin increased 12 basis points to 4.32% and net interest margin (tax-equivalent basis)(1) increased 13 basis points to 4.38%

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., July 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: HBT) (the "Company", "HBT Financial" or "HBT"), the holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company, today reported net income of $27.8 million, or $0.76 diluted earnings per share, for the second quarter of 2026. This compares to net income of $11.2 million, or $0.34 diluted earnings per share, for the first quarter of 2026, and net income of $19.2 million, or $0.61 diluted earnings per share, for the second quarter of 2025.

J. Lance Carter, President and Chief Executive Officer of HBT Financial, said, "Our first full quarter after the closing of our acquisition of CNB Bank Shares, Inc. ("CNB") and its wholly owned subsidiary, CNB Bank & Trust, N.A. ("CNB Bank") delivered strong results. For the second quarter, we reported adjusted net income(1) of $28.5 million, or $0.78 per diluted share, adjusted ROAA(1) of 1.70% and adjusted ROATCE(1) of 18.13%. Our net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis(1) increased 13 basis points to 4.38% compared to the first quarter of 2026. While some of that increase was driven by higher than expected loan accretion income, net interest margin also increased as maturing fixed rate loans repriced higher and securities cash flows were reinvested at higher rates, which offset an increase in cost of funds related to the deposit base acquired from CNB Bank. Noninterest income and noninterest expense were both in line with expectations as we are now realizing the full benefit of our acquisition and all material cost savings.

Our tangible book value per share(1) increased 3.5% for the quarter to $17.60 while our balance sheet remains strong with good liquidity, solid capital ratios, and no material credit issues. That gives us confidence that we are prepared for a variety of economic environments. Our capital levels and operational structure support continued organic growth and attractive acquisition opportunities should the right opportunity arise."

(1)   See "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most closely comparable GAAP financial measures.


Adjusted Net Income

In addition to reporting GAAP results, the Company believes non-GAAP measures such as adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share, which adjust for acquisition expenses, branch closure expenses, net earnings (losses) on closed or sold operations, losses on extinguishment of debt, gains (losses) on closed branch premises, realized gains (losses) on sales of securities, mortgage servicing rights ("MSR") fair value adjustments, and the tax effect of these pre-tax adjustments, provide investors with additional insight into its operational performance. The Company reported adjusted net income of $28.5 million, or $0.78 adjusted diluted earnings per share, for the second quarter of 2026. This compares to adjusted net income of $22.6 million, or $0.68 adjusted diluted earnings per share, for the first quarter of 2026, and adjusted net income of $19.8 million, or $0.63 adjusted diluted earnings per share, for the second quarter of 2025. See "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" tables below for reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most closely comparable GAAP financial measures.

Cash Dividend

On July 24, 2026, the Company's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share on the Company's common stock (the "Dividend"). The Dividend is payable on August 18, 2026 to shareholders of record as of August 11, 2026. This represents an increase of $0.02 from the previous quarterly cash dividend of $0.23 per share.

Mr. Carter noted, "We are very pleased to announce that our strong financial performance and capital ratios have enabled us to further increase our quarterly cash dividend by $0.02 per share. This increased dividend reflects the increase in earnings from the successful acquisition and integration of CNB in the first quarter of 2026 while ensuring that capital levels remain strong and comfortably support our balance sheet and strategic objectives."

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income for the second quarter of 2026 was $69.1 million, an increase of 22.5% from $56.4 million for the first quarter of 2026. The increase was primarily attributable to higher average interest-earning asset balances following the CNB merger completed on March 1, 2026 and higher yields on interest-earning assets. Additionally, acquired loan discount accretion was $2.1 million during the second quarter of 2026 compared to $1.0 million during the first quarter of 2026. Partially offsetting these increases were higher funding costs and a $0.3 million decrease in loan fees.

Relative to the second quarter of 2025, net interest income increased 39.1% from $49.7 million. The increase was primarily attributable to higher average interest-earning asset balances following the CNB merger and improved yields on debt securities. Additionally, a $1.1 million increase in acquired loan discount accretion contributed to the improvement and was partially offset by a $0.2 million decrease in loan fees.

Net interest margin for the second quarter of 2026 was 4.32%, compared to 4.20% for the first quarter of 2026, while net interest margin (tax-equivalent basis)(1) for the second quarter of 2026 was 4.38%, compared to 4.25% for the first quarter of 2026. These increases were primarily attributable to improved yields on loans, which increased 10 basis points to 6.38%, including an 8 basis point increase in acquired loan discount accretion, and improved yields on debt securities. Additionally, a more favorable interest-earning asset mix further contributed to the overall improvement. These increases were partially offset by higher funding costs, which increased 7 basis points to 1.32%, driven primarily by the first full quarter of interest expense on the subordinated notes and the higher cost deposit base acquired from CNB Bank.

Relative to the second quarter of 2025, net interest margin increased 18 basis points from 4.14% and net interest margin (tax-equivalent basis)(1) increased 19 basis points from 4.19%. These increases were primarily attributable to improved yields on debt securities and a more favorable interest-earning asset mix, which were partially offset by higher funding costs.

(1)   See "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most closely comparable GAAP financial measures.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the second quarter of 2026 was $11.8 million, an increase from $10.9 million for the first quarter of 2026. The increase was primarily attributable to a $0.7 million increase in card income, a $0.3 million increase in service charges on deposit accounts, and a $0.2 million increase in wealth management fees, all primarily driven by a larger customer base following the CNB merger. These increases were partially offset by changes in the MSR fair value adjustment, with a $0.8 million negative MSR fair value adjustment included in the second quarter of 2026 results compared to a $0.2 million positive MSR fair value adjustment included in the first quarter of 2026 results.

Relative to the second quarter of 2025, noninterest income increased 29.6% from $9.1 million. The increase was primarily attributable to a $1.1 million increase in wealth management fees, a $0.6 million increase in card income, and a $0.6 million increase in service charges on deposit accounts, all primarily driven by a larger customer base following the CNB merger.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense for the second quarter of 2026 was $42.4 million, a 19.1% decrease from the first quarter of 2026. Acquisition-related noninterest expenses totaled $0.3 million during the second quarter of 2026, compared to $15.7 million during the first quarter of 2026. Excluding acquisition-related expenses, the $5.4 million increase in noninterest expense was primarily attributable to higher base costs following the CNB merger, which primarily drove a $3.2 million increase in salaries and employee benefits as well as increases in data processing, occupancy, and marketing expenses.

Relative to the second quarter of 2025, noninterest expense increased 33.0% from $31.9 million. Excluding acquisition-related expenses, the $10.3 million increase in noninterest expense was primarily attributable to higher base costs following the CNB merger, including a $6.2 million increase in salaries and employee benefits, which were also driven higher by annual merit increases and higher medical benefits costs, as well as increases in occupancy, data processing, and marketing expenses.

Acquisition-related expenses during the first and second quarter of 2026 and during the six months ended June 30, 2026 are summarized below. There were no acquisition-related expenses during the second quarter of 2025 or during the six months ended June 30, 2025. We do not expect material acquisition-related expenses related to the CNB merger in subsequent quarters.

Loan Portfolio

Total loans outstanding, before allowance for credit losses, were $4.75 billion at June 30, 2026, compared with $4.69 billion at March 31, 2026, and $3.35 billion at June 30, 2025. The $65.5 million increase from March 31, 2026 was primarily due to increases in multi-family loans and loans to nondepository institutions, included within the municipal, consumer, and other category. These increases were offset by seasonal reductions on grain elevator lines of $27.3 million and several large payoffs due to refinancings across multiple categories, including one condominium loan for $26.1 million within the one-to-four family residential category. In addition, $50.6 million in completed construction projects were transferred from the construction and land development to other categories, primarily in the commercial real estate – non-owner occupied category.

Deposits

Total deposits were $5.76 billion at June 30, 2026, compared with $5.80 billion at March 31, 2026, and $4.31 billion at June 30, 2025. The $45.5 million decrease from March 31, 2026 was primarily attributable to higher outflows for tax payments by depositors and lower balances maintained in existing retail accounts, which were partially offset by higher public funds balances. Additionally, $48.6 million of wealth management customer reciprocal deposits were moved on-balance sheet during the second quarter of 2026.

Asset Quality

Nonperforming assets totaled $9.9 million, or 0.15% of total assets, at June 30, 2026, compared with $14.4 million, or 0.21% of total assets, at March 31, 2026, and $6.5 million, or 0.13% of total assets, at June 30, 2025. The $4.5 million decrease in nonperforming assets from March 31, 2026 was primarily attributable to paydowns and payoffs in the one-to-four family residential and construction and land development categories. Additionally, of the $9.1 million of nonperforming loans held as of June 30, 2026, $2.4 million were either wholly or partially guaranteed by the U.S. government.

The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $0.7 million for the second quarter of 2026. The provision for credit losses primarily reflects a $3.9 million increase in required reserves resulting from changes in qualitative factors; a $1.3 million decrease in specific reserves; a $1.0 million decrease in required reserves driven by changes in the economic forecast; and a $1.0 million decrease in required reserves driven by changes within the portfolio.

The Company had net recoveries of $0.1 million, or 0.01% of average loans on an annualized basis, for the second quarter of 2026, compared to net charge-offs of $0.8 million, or 0.08% of average loans on an annualized basis, for the first quarter of 2026, and net charge-offs of $1.0 million, or 0.12% of average loans on an annualized basis, for the second quarter of 2025.

The Company's allowance for credit losses was 1.27% of total loans and 666% of nonperforming loans at June 30, 2026, compared with 1.29% of total loans and 457% of nonperforming loans at March 31, 2026. In addition, the allowance for credit losses on unfunded lending-related commitments totaled $6.6 million as of June 30, 2026, compared with $5.9 million as of March 31, 2026.

Capital

As of June 30, 2026, the Company exceeded all regulatory capital requirements under Basel III as summarized in the following table:

The ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets(1) increased to 9.69% as of June 30, 2026, from 9.31% as of March 31, 2026, and tangible book value per share(1) increased by $0.59 to $17.60 as of June 30, 2026, when compared to March 31, 2026.

During the second quarter of 2026, the Company repurchased 15,466 shares of its common stock at a weighted average price of $27.53 under its stock repurchase program. The Company's Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $30.0 million of HBT Financial common stock under its stock repurchase program, which is in effect until January 1, 2027. As of June 30, 2026, the Company had $14.0 million remaining under the stock repurchase program.

(1)   See "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most closely comparable GAAP financial measures.

About HBT Financial, Inc.

HBT Financial, Inc., headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, is the holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company, and has banking roots that can be traced back to 1920. HBT Financial provides a comprehensive suite of financial products and services to consumers, businesses, and municipal entities throughout Illinois, eastern Iowa, and suburban St. Louis through 83 full-service branches. As of June 30, 2026, HBT Financial had total assets of $6.7 billion, total loans of $4.8 billion, and total deposits of $5.8 billion.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Some of the financial measures included in this press release are not measures of financial performance recognized in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures include adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share, adjusted ROAA, pre-provision net revenue, pre-provision net revenue less charge-offs (recoveries), adjusted pre-provision net revenue, adjusted pre-provision net revenue less charge-offs (recoveries), net interest income (tax-equivalent basis), net interest margin (tax-equivalent basis), efficiency ratio (tax-equivalent basis), adjusted efficiency ratio (tax-equivalent basis), the ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets, tangible book value per share, adjusted ROAE, ROATCE, and adjusted ROATCE. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures, together with the related GAAP financial measures, in its analysis of our performance and in making business decisions. Management believes that it is a standard practice in the banking industry to present these non-GAAP financial measures, and accordingly believes that providing these measures may be useful for peer comparison purposes. These disclosures should not be viewed as substitutes for the results determined to be in accordance with GAAP; nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP financial measures that may be presented by other companies. See our reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in the "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" tables.

Forward-Looking Statements

Readers should note that in addition to the historical information contained herein, this press release contains, and future oral and written statements of the Company and its management may contain, "forward-looking statements" within the meanings of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will," "propose," "may," "plan," "seek," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "continue," or "should," or similar terminology and the negative forms of such words. Any forward-looking statements presented herein are made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) the strength of the local, state, national and international economies and financial markets (including effects of inflationary pressures, global energy market conditions, the threat or implementation of tariffs, immigration enforcement and changes in foreign policy); (2) policy changes in, and the interpretation and prioritization of, local, state and federal laws, regulations and governmental policies, including executive orders; (3) the economic impact of any future terrorist threats and attacks, widespread disease or pandemics, acts of war or other threats thereof (including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, and other international military conflicts that can increase levels of political and economic unpredictability, contribute to rising energy and commodity prices, affect global supply chains, increase the volatility of financial markets, and other matters beyond our control), and the response of the local, state and national governments to any such adverse external events; (4) new and revised accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by state and federal regulatory banking agencies, the Financial Accounting Standards Board or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; (5) the imposition of tariffs or other governmental policies impacting the value of products produced by the Company's commercial borrowers; (6) changes in interest rates and prepayment rates of the Company's assets; (7) increased competition in the financial services sector, including from non-bank competitors such as credit unions, private credit firms, fintech companies, and digital asset service providers, and the inability to attract new customers; (8) technological changes implemented by us and other parties, including our third-party vendors, which may have unforeseen consequences to us and our customers; (9) emerging issues related to the development and use of artificial intelligence that could give rise to legal or regulatory action, damage our reputation or otherwise materially harm our business or customers; (10) unexpected results of acquisitions, which may include failure to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and the possibility that transaction costs may be greater than anticipated, including the acquisition of CNB; (11) the loss of key executives and employees, talent shortages and employee turnover; (12) changes in consumer spending; (13) unexpected outcomes or costs of existing or new litigation or other legal proceedings and regulatory actions involving the Company; (14) the economic impact on the Company and its customers of climate change, natural disasters and of exceptional weather occurrences such as tornadoes, floods and blizzards; (15) fluctuations in the value of securities held in our securities portfolio, including as a result of changes in interest rates; (16) credit risks and risks from concentrations (by type of borrower, geographic area, collateral and industry) within our loan portfolio (including commercial real estate loans) and large loans to certain borrowers; (17) the overall health of the local and national real estate market; (18) the ability to maintain an adequate level of allowance for credit losses on loans; (19) the concentration of large deposits from certain clients who have balances above current FDIC insurance limits and who may withdraw deposits to diversify their exposure; (20) the availability of future equity and debt issuances and other capital raising opportunities on favorable terms; (21) the ability to successfully manage liquidity risk, which may increase dependence on non-core funding sources such as brokered deposits, and may negatively impact the Company's cost of funds; (22) the level of nonperforming assets on our balance sheet; (23) interruptions involving our information technology and communications systems or those of our third-party servicers; (24) the occurrence of fraudulent activity, breaches or failures of our third-party vendors' information security controls or cybersecurity-related incidents, including as a result of sophisticated attacks using artificial intelligence and similar tools or as a result of insider fraud; (25) the effectiveness of the Company's risk management framework; and (26) the ability of the Company to manage the risks associated with the foregoing as well as anticipated.

Readers should note that the forward-looking statements included in this press release are not a guarantee of future events, and that actual events may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning the Company and its business, including additional factors that could materially affect the Company's financial results, is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT:
Peter Chapman
HBTIR@hbtbank.com
(309) 664-4556

*Annualized measure.

(1)   See "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most closely comparable GAAP financial measures.
(2)   On a tax-equivalent basis assuming a federal income tax rate of 21% and a state income tax rate of 9.5%.