Executive Summary

Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.01, beating Wall Street consensus ($0.922) and up from $0.45 YoY; GAAP diluted EPS was $0.49, depressed by a pre-tax securities loss of $27.9M (–$0.52 per share after-tax) from a “loss-earnback” portfolio repositioning . EPS estimates from S&P Global: Primary EPS Consensus Mean $0.922 vs actual $1.01*.
Net interest margin expanded 14 bps QoQ to 3.46% as loan yields rose to 5.69% and securities yields improved; deposit costs were well-controlled (total cost of deposits 1.46%) .
Loans grew $193.6M (+9.3% annualized QoQ) to $8.42B with stable mix and limited office CRE exposure; customer deposits increased $55.7M to $10.88B (33% noninterest-bearing) .
Credit quality remained strong (annualized NCOs 0.14%, NPAs/Assets 0.31%); hurricane-related reserves were reduced by $4.0M pre-tax (+$0.07 per share after-tax) as impacts moderated .
Potential stock reaction catalyst: continued NIM expansion and deposit beta discipline, plus visibility on earnback of securities losses and sustained loan growth trajectory .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

“We grew loans over 9% annualized in the quarter and benefited from the increases in asset yields... Our liquidity position, capital levels and credit quality remain strong.” — Richard H. Moore, Chairman & CEO .
Net interest income rose to $102.5M (+6.0% QoQ; +23.4% YoY) on higher loan yields and improved securities yield post-repositioning; NIM expanded to 3.46% (+14 bps QoQ; +58 bps YoY) .
Deposit franchise durability: noninterest-bearing demand deposits were 33% of total; total deposits rose $50.8M QoQ with total cost of deposits at 1.46% (+3 bps QoQ, –30 bps YoY) .

What Went Wrong

Significant non-GAAP adjustment: a $27.9M pre-tax securities loss (–$21.4M after-tax; –$0.52 per share) from July’s loss-earnback transaction drove GAAP EPS down to $0.49, requiring adjusted presentation to reflect underlying performance .
Slight uptick in noninterest expense to $60.2M (+$1.2M QoQ), driven by personnel costs; efficiency requires vigilance even as margin improves .
Provision for credit losses rose to $3.4M (vs $2.2M QoQ) amid loan growth and modestly weaker macro projections; ACL/Loans eased to 1.44% from 1.47% QoQ .

Financial Results

Metric	Q3 2024	Q2 2025	Q3 2025
Net Interest Income ($USD Thousands)	$83,043	$96,676	$102,489
Noninterest Income ($USD Thousands)	$13,579	$14,341	$(12,879)
Net Income ($USD Thousands)	$18,680	$38,566	$20,363
Diluted EPS (GAAP) ($)	$0.45	$0.93	$0.49
Adjusted Diluted EPS ($)	$0.45	$0.87	$1.01
Net Interest Margin (%)	2.88%	3.32%	3.46%
Loan Yield (%)	5.51%	5.53%	5.69%
Total Cost of Deposits (%)	1.76%	1.43%	1.46%

Loan Portfolio Mix	Q3 2024 Amount	Q3 2024 %	Q2 2025 Amount	Q2 2025 %	Q3 2025 Amount	Q3 2025 %
C&I	$847,284	11%	$911,227	11%	$904,226	11%
Construction/Development	$760,949	9%	$633,529	8%	$688,302	8%
CRE Owner-Occupied	$1,226,050	15%	$1,254,596	15%	$1,337,345	16%
CRE Non-Owner-Occupied	$2,572,901	32%	$2,758,629	34%	$2,773,349	33%
Multi-Family	$460,565	6%	$509,419	6%	$535,681	6%
Residential 1–4	$1,737,133	22%	$1,731,397	21%	$1,743,884	21%
HELOCs	$331,072	4%	$355,876	4%	$365,488	4%
Consumer	$76,787	1%	$70,137	1%	$70,031	1%
Total Loans (Gross)	$8,012,741	100%	$8,224,810	100%	$8,418,306	100%

KPIs	Q3 2024	Q2 2025	Q3 2025
Total Deposits ($USD Thousands)	$10,504,929	$10,830,380	$10,881,170
Noninterest-Bearing Deposits (% of Total)	32%	33%	33%
Annualized NCOs (%)	0.11%	0.06%	0.14%
NPAs/Assets (%)	0.29%	0.28%	0.31%
ACL/Loans (%)	1.53%	1.47%	1.44%
On-Balance Sheet Liquidity Ratio (%)	—	20.0%	18.2%

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Quarterly Cash Dividend	Payable Oct 25, 2025	$0.23/share (increased effective Jun 30, 2025)	$0.23/share declared Sep 12, 2025	Maintained

No formal quantitative guidance was issued on revenue, NIM, OpEx, tax rate, or segment targets in the Q3 materials . Management emphasized ongoing margin expansion efforts and expense discipline .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

No Q3 2025 earnings call transcript for FBNC was available in our document catalog or investor site; themes are inferred from Q1/Q2/Q3 earnings releases and the Q3 investor presentation .

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q1 & Q2 2025)	Current Period (Q3 2025)	Trend
Net interest margin	NIM-T/E rose to 3.27% in Q1; 3.32% in Q2 on higher securities yield and stable deposit costs	NIM 3.46% (+14 bps QoQ) with loan yield 5.69% and securities yield 2.55%	Improving
Deposit costs/betas	Total cost of deposits fell to 1.46% in Q1 and 1.43% in Q2 as Fed cuts flowed through	Total cost of deposits 1.46% (+3 bps QoQ; –30 bps YoY)	Stabilizing
Securities loss-earnback	Q4’24 repositioning lifted securities yield; no new losses in Q1/Q2	July loss-earnback drove $27.9M pre-tax loss, boosting forward yields (new purchases 4.83%)	One-time loss; future yield tailwind
Hurricane Helene reserves	Incremental reserve $11.0M at Q1; reduced by $3.5M in Q2	Reduced by $4.0M; remaining incremental reserve $3.5M (adds 5 bps to ACL)	Improving/normalizing
Loan growth	Modest Q1 growth; +6% annualized in Q2	+9.3% annualized; total loans $8.42B	Accelerating
Capital	CET1 ~14.5% in Q1/Q2; TCE ratio rising	CET1 14.35%; TCE/TA 9.12% (prelim)	Strong; slightly lower on RWA growth

Management Commentary

“First Bancorp continues to improve financial results in 2025 with substantial margin expansion of 14 basis points and continued expense discipline. We grew loans over 9% annualized... Our liquidity position, capital levels and credit quality remain strong.” — Richard H. Moore, Chairman & CEO .
Margin drivers were “focused efforts to manage deposit costs after the rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, while increasing loan yields through originations as well as increased securities yields resulting from the securities loss-earnback transactions” .

Q&A Highlights

No Q3 2025 call transcript was available for FBNC; therefore, specific Q&A themes, guidance clarifications, and tone changes cannot be reliably summarized for this quarter.

Estimates Context

Metric	Q3 2025 Consensus	Q3 2025 Actual	# of Estimates
Primary EPS ($)	0.922*	1.01*	5*
Revenue ($USD Millions)	113.81*	86.17*	4*

Values retrieved from S&P Global. EPS reflects “Primary EPS Consensus Mean”; revenue is S&P Global’s revenue metric (includes net interest income and noninterest income as defined by SPGI). Actual adjusted EPS equals $1.01 per company disclosure .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Underlying earnings strength: adjusted EPS of $1.01 reflects solid core profitability despite the one-time securities loss; NIM expansion plus loan growth should support near-term earnings momentum .
Deposit franchise resilience: 33% noninterest-bearing deposits and controlled total deposit costs (1.46%) provide a durable funding edge in a falling-rate environment .
Credit risk manageable: low NCOs (0.14%), NPAs at 0.31% of assets, and hurricane reserve normalization reduce tail-risk in credit costs .
Balance sheet optimization: the “loss-earnback” trade raises forward asset yields; monitoring earnback timing is key for valuation and reported GAAP vs. adjusted results .
Capital levels remain strong (CET1 14.35%; TCE/TA 9.12%), enabling continued dividend ($0.23/share) and strategic flexibility amid loan growth .
Near-term trading implications: positive estimate beat on adjusted EPS versus S&P Global consensus and visible NIM trajectory can support shares; watch for any incremental deposit pricing pressure and macro-driven provision changes .
Medium-term thesis: community-bank model with granular deposits, disciplined expense control, and improving asset yields positions FBNC to compound book value/tangible book; sustained loan growth and normalization of AOCI could further bolster TCE metrics .

FIRST BANCORP /NC/ (FBNC)·Q3 2025 Earnings Summary