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HOPE BANCORP INC (HOPE)·Q2 2025 Earnings Summary
Executive Summary
- Q2 2025 was transformative: HOPE closed the Territorial Bancorp acquisition and executed a $418M legacy AFS securities repositioning, producing a GAAP net loss of $27.9M (-$0.22 EPS) but non-GAAP net income of $24.5M ($0.19 EPS) with NIM up 15 bps QoQ to 2.69% .
- Deposits rose 10% QoQ to $15.94B with the average cost of total deposits falling 22 bps QoQ to 2.96%; brokered deposits dropped to 5% of total (from 7% in Q1 and 9% YoY), strengthening the funding mix .
- Management maintained 2025 guidance for high single-digit loan and NII growth, raised fee income growth to upper-20s%, and lowered the 2025 effective tax rate to ~21% (14% expected in Q3/Q4), framing positive exit-rate momentum into 2H25 .
- Key catalysts: continued deposit cost tailwinds (spot deposit rate 2.93% exiting June), securities repositioning expected to add
$12M annual interest income, and accretion from Territorial loans ($4M per quarter) .
What Went Well and What Went Wrong
What Went Well
- Net interest income increased 17% QoQ to $117.5M; NIM expanded 15 bps to 2.69% on deposit cost reductions and Territorial’s low-cost base: “meaningful reductions in our cost of deposits” and “NIM expanded 15 basis points” .
- Funding mix improved: brokered deposits fell to 5% of total, average cost of interest-bearing deposits declined 37 bps QoQ to 3.77%, and average total deposit cost fell 22 bps to 2.96% .
- Strategic repositioning of legacy AFS securities redeployed $418M from a 2.33% book yield to ~5.42% market yield, expected to add ~$12M annual interest income; non-GAAP fee lines (SBA gains, swap fees) showed momentum .
What Went Wrong
- GAAP noninterest income was -$23.0M due to a $38.9M pre-tax loss on legacy securities sales, driving GAAP net loss of $27.9M; nonperforming assets rose to 0.61% of assets on one CRE migration, and NCOs increased to 0.33% annualized .
- GAAP noninterest expense rose to $109.5M on merger-related costs; provision increased to $15.0M (incl. $4.5M merger-related), reflecting higher NCOs and unfunded commitments provisioning .
- California tax apportionment law change triggered a $4.9M discrete DTA remeasurement, depressing GAAP tax expense/benefit in the quarter (near-term headwind despite lowering the ongoing tax rate) .
Financial Results
Segment breakdown (Loans):
Deposit composition:
KPIs
Guidance Changes
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
Management Commentary
- “Quarter-over-quarter, our net interest income grew 17%… net interest margin expanded 15 basis points… With the inclusion of Territorial’s lower-cost deposit base, we saw meaningful reductions in our cost of deposits.” — Kevin S. Kim, CEO .
- “Accretion income from Territorial loans was $4 million in the second quarter… we are now expecting approximately $12 million of loan accretion income in 2025… In June, we sold… legacy AFS securities… expected to contribute approximately $12 million per year to interest income.” — Julianna Balicka, CFO .
- “We are increasing our year-over-year fee income growth expectations to be in the high 20% range… our outlook… assumes Fed funds cuts in October and December 2025.” — Kevin S. Kim and Julianna Balicka .
- “Spot rate at the end of June was 2.93%… for the coming cut… executing beta at a higher pace… 100% or better.” — Julianna Balicka .
Q&A Highlights
- Fee income trajectory: Raised full-year outlook to upper-20s% growth; SBA sales/gains stronger in Q2; swap fees accelerating with product push and CRE underwriting practices .
- Deposit costs/spot and betas: Spot deposit rate 2.93%; plan for ≥100% beta on next cut; ~42% of loans are truly floating, benefiting upon cuts .
- Territorial integration: System conversion by end of next year; cost saves largely tied to executive compensation rather than IT/core costs .
- One-time costs cadence: Expect “a couple million” more of one-time costs in each Q3 and Q4 2025 .
- Production yields/tax rate: New production average yield ~6.76%; 2026 tax rate expected ~20–21% given state apportionment and tax credits (subject to future law changes) .
Estimates Context
- EPS ex-notable items slightly missed consensus (0.19 vs 0.2075) as GAAP losses from securities repositioning masked core improvements; revenue under S&P’s definition missed, though company “Revenue excluding notable items” was $133.433M (closer to consensus), highlighting definitional differences for banks .
Values retrieved from S&P Global.*
Key Takeaways for Investors
- Core earnings power improved: NIM expansion, deposit cost tailwinds, and fee momentum should support 2H25 NII and revenue growth; securities repositioning provides a durable ~$12M annual interest income uplift .
- Territorial acquisition adds low-cost deposits and residential mortgages with pristine credit, reducing brokered reliance and diversifying loans; accretion ~$4M per quarter enhances NII visibility .
- Near-term GAAP optics are noisy (loss on AFS repositioning, merger/tax notable items), but non-GAAP profitability and efficiency improved QoQ, with efficiency ratio ex-notables at 69.1% .
- Asset quality manageable: criticized loans fell to 2.87% of loans; NPA uptick tied to one well-secured CRE; provisioning reflects NCOs and unfunded commitments .
- Guidance steady-to-better: loans/NII growth maintained, fees raised to upper-20s%, and tax rate guided down to ~21% (14% in Q3/Q4), supporting EPS trajectory into year-end .
- Watch list: pace of deposit repricing (spot 2.93%; ≥100% beta planned), competitive loan pricing pressuring new production yields, and integration/timing of cost saves .
- Dividend maintained at $0.14 per share, signaling capital strength (CET1 12.06%) post-merger and repositioning .
Estimates Comparison vs Results (detail)
- EPS: Consensus $0.2075 vs actual $0.19 (ex-notables) — modest miss driven by lower-than-initial accretion (~$12M vs ~$14M for 2025) and timing of fewer rate cuts (Oct/Dec), partly offset by securities repositioning uplift .
Values retrieved from S&P Global.* - Revenue: Under S&P’s definition, revenue missed; however, company “Revenue excluding notable items” ($133.433M) aligns more closely to consensus, indicating that the investment portfolio loss (notable) was the key delta to GAAP revenue .
Values retrieved from S&P Global.*
Additional Data Points and Disclosures
- Territorial’s deposits at close: $1.67B at 1.98% weighted average cost; loans receivable $1.07B after discounts .
- Dividend declaration: $0.14 per share payable ~Aug 15, 2025; record date Aug 1, 2025 .
Bolded highlights:
- GAAP loss driven by one-time repositioning/merger/tax items .
- Fee income growth outlook raised to upper-20s% .
- Brokered deposits cut to 5% .
- NIM expanded 15 bps QoQ to 2.69% .