Executive Summary

Q4 2024 net income was $17.5M ($1.75 EPS), up 6% q/q and down sharply y/y due to a one-time $38.9M gain in Q4 2023; adjusted EPS was $1.74 vs $1.44 y/y, reflecting strong core performance .
Net interest margin compressed to 3.61% from 3.76% q/q, driven by seasonal buildup in higher-rate deposits, though cost of funds fell 6 bps q/q; NII was stable at $35.6M (-$0.3M q/q) .
Credit trends favorable: negative provision of $1.0M in Q4 on improving Hometown-acquired relationships; nonperforming assets down to 0.21% of assets (from 0.28% in Q3), with recoveries exceeding charge-offs in 2024 .
Deposits rose strongly q/q (annualized +20.2%) and loans grew (annualized +5.3%); tangible book per share increased to $44.28 (+3% q/q, +10% y/y) .
Dividend maintained at $0.45 per share (payable Apr 9, 2025), 28.6% above the prior-year Q4 level; potential near-term catalyst is NIM rebound as seasonal deposits roll off and cost of funds trends improve .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Core earnings momentum: adjusted net income of $17.4M ($1.74 EPS), up from $14.8M ($1.44 EPS) in Q4 2023, with adjusted ROA 1.60% .
Asset quality and provision: negative $1.0M provision driven by improved trends in two Hometown relationships; nonperforming assets ratio fell to 0.21% .
Capital and book value: stockholders’ equity rose to $639.7M; tangible book per share up to $44.28, with buybacks of $31.2M in 2024 supporting per-share metrics .
Quote: “We are pleased with the financial results for 2024… return on assets… 1.56%, marking the second consecutive year this metric exceeded 1.50%.” — CEO Mike Molepske .

What Went Wrong

NIM compression: Q4 NIM fell to 3.61% from 3.76% due to seasonal high-rate deposits; purchase accounting accretion declined to $0.8M from $1.7M in Q3 .
Noninterest income soft seasonally: fell to $4.5M (from $4.9M in Q3); Ansay contribution declined $1.0M q/q, and MSR valuation only slightly positive .
Elevated data processing costs: continued project-related expense (+$0.4M) tied to digital banking platform upgrades, keeping OpEx above optimal levels .

Financial Results

Metric	Q4 2023	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Interest Income ($USD Thousands)	$48,663	$49,347	$54,032	$53,754
Interest Expense ($USD Thousands)	$15,747	$16,340	$18,149	$18,193
Net Interest Income ($USD Thousands)	$32,916	$33,007	$35,883	$35,561
Provision for Credit Losses ($USD Thousands)	$500	$0	$0	$(1,000)
Noninterest Income ($USD Thousands)	$42,458	$5,877	$4,893	$4,513
Noninterest Expense ($USD Thousands)	$28,862	$19,057	$20,100	$19,286
Net Income ($USD Thousands)	$34,898	$16,059	$16,552	$17,540
Diluted EPS ($USD)	$3.39	$1.59	$1.65	$1.75
Net Interest Margin (%)	3.53%	3.63%	3.76%	3.61%
Cost of Funds (%)	2.57%	2.66%	2.79%	2.73%
Loan Yield (%)	5.33%	5.51%	5.73%	5.56%
ROA (%)	3.34%	1.58%	1.56%	1.60%
ROE (%)	22.58%	10.57%	10.61%	11.00%

Noninterest income breakdown:

Component ($USD Thousands)	Q4 2023	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Service Charges	$1,847	$2,189	$2,119
Income from Ansay	$110	$1,062	$82
Loan Servicing Income	$741	$733	$744
Valuation Adjustment on MSR	$(65)	$(344)	$18
Net Gain on Sales of Mortgage Loans	$273	$377	$424
Gain on Sale of UFS	$38,904	$0	$0
Other Noninterest Income	$827	$876	$1,126
Total Noninterest Income	$42,458	$4,893	$4,513

Balance sheet and KPIs:

KPI	Q4 2023	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Total Assets ($USD Thousands)	$4,221,842	$4,145,820	$4,294,498	$4,495,060
Loans ($USD Thousands)	$3,342,974	$3,428,635	$3,470,920	$3,517,168
Deposits – Interest-Bearing ($USD Thousands)	$2,382,185	$2,424,096	$2,463,083	$2,636,193
Deposits – Noninterest-Bearing ($USD Thousands)	$1,050,735	$975,845	$1,021,658	$1,024,880
Borrowings ($USD Thousands)	$51,394	$102,321	$147,346	$147,372
Nonperforming Assets / Total Assets (%)	0.21%	0.27%	0.28%	0.21%
NPLs / Total Loans (%)	0.20%	0.31%	0.32%	0.24%
ACL – Loans / Total Loans (%)	1.30%	1.32%	1.30%	1.26%
Book Value per Share ($)	$59.80	$61.27	$62.82	$63.89
Tangible Book Value per Share ($)	$40.30	$41.42	$43.07	$44.28

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Quarterly Cash Dividend per Share	Q1 2025 (payable Apr 9, 2025)	$0.45 (Q3 2024)	$0.45	Maintained (y/y +28.6%)
Net Interest Margin	FY25 / Near-term	Not provided	Not provided	N/A
OpEx / Data Processing	FY25 / Near-term	Not provided	Not provided	N/A
Tax Rate	FY25	Not provided	Not provided	N/A
Loan Growth	FY25	Not provided	Not provided	N/A

Note: The company did not issue formal quantitative guidance beyond the dividend declaration .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

No earnings call transcript was available for Q4 2024 despite targeted searches; analysis below leverages management commentary from quarterly releases [Search: no transcript found; see IR site press release listing https://ir.bankfirst.com/news/press-releases/default.aspx].

Topic	Q2 2024 (Previous Mentions)	Q3 2024 (Previous Mentions)	Q4 2024 (Current Period)	Trend
NIM and Deposit Costs	NIM 3.63%; cost of funds 2.66%; momentum of deposit rate increases slowing; noninterest-bearing deposits supported NIM (+89 bps) .	NIM 3.76%; cost of funds 2.79% with slowing monthly increases; loan yield improved to 5.73% .	NIM 3.61%; seasonal high-rate deposits pressured margin; cost of funds declined 6 bps q/q .	Near-term NIM headwind in Q4; potential relief post-seasonal period.
Purchase Accounting Accretion	$1.2M impact; steady vs Q1 .	Elevated $1.7M due to early payoff of purchased loan .	$0.8M impact, normalized lower vs Q3 .	Volatile; normalizing lower.
Technology / Data Processing	Project-related expenses for platform upgrades; outside service fees elevated due to vendor negotiations .	$0.4M project-related expenses continue .	Another $0.4M project-related expense; elevated trend persists .	Ongoing investment, temporary OpEx elevation.
MSR Valuation Volatility	+$0.3M positive adjustment .	$(0.3)M negative adjustment .	Slightly positive ($0.018M) .	Volatility moderating.
Asset Quality / Provision	No provision; recoveries exceeded charge-offs; NPA 0.27% .	No provision; NPA 0.28%; minor single-relationship charge-off .	Negative provision ($1.0M) on improved Hometown relationships; NPA 0.21% .	Improving.
Balance Sheet Growth	Loans +$85.7M YTD; deposits down ytd, borrowings added $55M FHLB .	Loans +$127.9M YTD; deposits +$51.8M YTD .	Loans +$174.2M y/y; deposits +$228.2M y/y; seasonal deposit surge .	Strengthening volumes with seasonal mix.

Management Commentary

“We are pleased with the financial results for 2024… The Bank delivered a return on assets… of 1.56%, marking the second consecutive year this metric exceeded 1.50%. Our consistently strong financial performance is directly related to the tireless efforts of our team…” — CEO Mike Molepske .
Commentary highlights: seasonal high-rate deposits required added collateral (temporary $100M 30-day UST purchase), pressuring NIM; cost of funds down 6 bps q/q; purchase accounting accretion normalized; OpEx well contained aside from ongoing digital upgrade spend .

Q&A Highlights

An earnings call transcript for Q4 2024 was not available in our document system or public sources reviewed; no Q&A highlights could be extracted [Search: no transcript found; IR press release listing https://ir.bankfirst.com/news/press-releases/default.aspx].

Estimates Context

Wall Street consensus estimates (S&P Global) for Q4 2024 could not be retrieved due to data access limitations; as such, we cannot present a formal EPS or revenue vs. consensus comparison. Values retrieved from S&P Global were unavailable at time of access.
Implications: Given the negative provision, resilient NII, and seasonal NIM headwinds, sell-side models may revisit near-term NIM and OpEx (data processing) assumptions while acknowledging stronger adjusted core earnings vs prior year .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Core earnings strength: adjusted EPS $1.74 (+21% y/y), adjusted ROA 1.60%, demonstrating sustained profitability despite NIM pressure .
NIM recovery setup: seasonal deposit mix drove Q4 margin compression; cost of funds fell 6 bps q/q and seasonal balances are expected to normalize post-January, supporting margin stabilization .
Credit quality tailwinds: negative $1.0M provision and lower NPAs (0.21% of assets) reduce earnings drag risk; recoveries exceeded charge-offs for 2024 .
Balance sheet momentum: loans +5.2% y/y to $3.52B; deposits +6.7% y/y to $3.66B, with limited reliance on non-core funding .
Capital deployment: $31.2M of buybacks and $15.6M dividends in 2024, while book value per share rose to $63.89; tangible book per share at $44.28 .
Operating leverage focus: OpEx largely contained across five quarters, but continued digital platform upgrades add temporary data processing costs; watch for normalization post-projects .
Dividend consistency: $0.45/share maintained (28.6% y/y increase), signaling confidence in earnings durability .

Search and document coverage notes:

Q4 2024 earnings release and full 8-K 2.02 press release read (Exhibit 99.1) .
Prior quarters 8-K 2.02 (Q3 and Q2 2024) read for trend analysis .
Additional press releases identified but none materially changed Q4 financial narrative beyond earnings release; dividend details included in the earnings press release .
Earnings call transcript for Q4 2024 not found; S&P Global consensus estimates unavailable at time of access (API limit).

Bank First Corp (BFC)·Q4 2024 Earnings Summary