Executive Summary

Q4 2024 delivered improved profitability: net income $6.107M and diluted EPS $0.61 vs. $0.54 in Q3 and $0.36 in Q4 2023; core diluted EPS $0.65 aided by $3.1M nontaxable BOLI income .
Margin dynamics mixed: net interest margin edged down to 2.65% (2.67% in Q3; 2.72% in Q4 2023) as loan yields fell 17 bps Q/Q, partially offset by 12 bps lower cost of funds (to 3.49%) following BTFP repayment and sub-debt redemption .
Balance sheet optimization continued: loans decreased 1.4% Q/Q to $2.125B, deposits grew 2.6% Q/Q to $2.346B; CET1 rose to 10.85% (company level) .
Key watch items: nonperforming loans increased to 0.42% of loans (from 0.19% in Q3) on a handful of CRE and 1–4 family relationships; efficiency ratio improved to 71.00% on controlled expenses and BOLI uplift .
Estimates context: S&P Global Wall Street consensus data unavailable during retrieval; comparisons to estimates are not presented. Other third-party outlets reported an EPS and revenue beat, but we do not anchor on those sources for formal comparisons .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Efficiency and ROA improved: efficiency ratio 71.00% (75.61% in Q3), ROAA 0.88% (0.77% in Q3); core efficiency 69.41% and core ROAA 0.93% with BOLI proceeds .
Funding costs fell: overall cost of funds down 12 bps Q/Q to 3.49%, cost of deposits down 5 bps to 3.40%, aided by repayment of remaining $109M BTFP borrowing and redemption of $20M sub-notes .
Management execution and focus: “Our net interest margin has begun to stabilize as our cost of funds has decreased…we originated and renewed loans, 84% variable-rate, at an 8.2% blended rate” — CEO John D’Angelo .

What Went Wrong

NIM pressure: net interest margin decreased to 2.65% (2.67% in Q3), driven by 13 bps lower yield on interest-earning assets despite lower funding costs .
Asset quality normalization: nonperforming loans increased to 0.42% of loans (from 0.19% in Q3), tied to specific nonowner-occupied and owner-occupied CRE relationships and multiple 1–4 family loans .
Revenue mix reliance on noninterest uplift: noninterest income rose to $5.163M largely due to $3.1M BOLI income; underlying core (ex-BOLI) metrics would be weaker (core EPS ex-BOLI $0.39; core efficiency 80.35%) .

Financial Results

Metric	Q4 2023	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Diluted EPS (GAAP)	$0.36	$0.54	$0.61
Core Diluted EPS	$0.39	$0.45	$0.65
Net Interest Income ($USD Millions)	$18.491	$17.856	$17.483
Noninterest Income ($USD Millions)	$1.755	$3.544	$5.163
Net Interest Margin (%)	2.72%	2.67%	2.65%
Efficiency Ratio (%)	76.26%	75.61%	71.00%
ROAA (%)	0.50%	0.77%	0.88%

Balance Sheet	Q4 2023	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Total Loans ($USD Billions)	$2.211	$2.156	$2.125
Total Deposits ($USD Billions)	$2.256	$2.287	$2.346
Stockholders’ Equity ($USD Millions)	$226.8	$245.5	$241.3

KPIs	Q4 2023	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Yield on Interest-Earning Assets (%)	5.40%	5.51%	5.38%
Cost of Deposits (%)	3.17%	3.45%	3.40%
Overall Cost of Funds (%)	3.40%	3.61%	3.49%
NPLs / Total Loans (%)	0.26%	0.19%	0.42%
ACL / Total Loans (%)	1.38%	1.30%	1.26%
CET1 (Holding Co., %)	9.51%	10.33%	10.85%

Segment/Portfolio snapshot (selected Q4 2024 data):

Loan mix: Owner-occupied CRE $449.3M (21.1%), Nonowner-occupied CRE $495.3M (23.3%), C&I $526.9M (24.8%), 1–4 family $396.8M (18.7%), Construction & Development $154.6M (7.3%), Multifamily $84.6M (4.0%) .
Deposit mix: Noninterest-bearing $432.1M (18.4%), Interest-bearing demand $554.8M (23.7%), Savings $134.9M (5.7%), Money market $191.5M (8.2%), Time $739.8M (31.5%), Brokered time $245.5M (10.5%), Brokered demand $47.3M (2.0%) .

Estimates comparison

S&P Global consensus estimates for EPS and revenue were unavailable at time of retrieval; estimates comparisons are not presented. Values retrieved from S&P Global were not available due to rate limit.

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Formal financial guidance (Revenue/EPS/Margins)	FY25/Q1–Q2 2025	Not provided	Not provided	Maintained: no formal numeric guidance
Deposit repricing cadence (retail CDs)	Next two quarters	Not previously specified	~80% of retail CD portfolio will mature	Informational update
Liquidity coverage of uninsured deposits	12/31/2024	Not previously specified	Cash + available funding ≈ 111% of uninsured deposits	Informational update
Capital actions	Q4 2024	Repurchased/partially redeemed sub debt earlier in 2024	Redeemed remaining $20M 2029 notes; repaid $109M BTFP	Deleveraging; funding cost reduced
Dividend	Q4 2024	Ongoing quarterly dividends	$0.105/share in Q4; 2024 total $0.41 (+4% YoY)	Maintained/increased

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Note: No Q4 2024 call transcript found in the document set; themes drawn from the Q4 investor presentation and press release.

Topic	Q2 2024 (Jul 22)	Q3 2024 (Oct 21)	Q4 2024 (Jan 23–24)	Trend
Balance sheet optimization	Loans down 0.6% Q/Q; variable-rate origination 80%; sub-debt repurchase gain; exiting consumer mortgage; focus on mix	Loans down 0.5% Q/Q; variable-rate 77%; deposit growth; negative provision; mix optimization	Loans down 1.4% Q/Q; variable-rate 84%; BTFP fully repaid; 2029 notes redeemed; deposits up 2.6%	Continued optimization; more decisive funding actions
Rate environment/liability sensitivity	NIM up to 2.62%; liability sensitive positioning	NIM up to 2.67%; liability sensitive; expect benefit from rate cuts	NIM 2.65%; Fed cuts cited; positioning to benefit from further rate cuts	Stable to improving funding outlook
Credit quality/CRE de-risking	NPLs 0.23%; proactive exit of higher-risk relationships; minimal net charge-offs	NPLs 0.19%; continued strength	NPLs 0.42% on specific CRE and 1–4 family; ACL 1.26%	Normalize from very low NPLs; watch CRE
Expense control/digital	Core efficiency ~80%; branch closure impact; digital transformation remarks beginning	Efficiency 75.61%; evaluating branch/ATM footprint for efficiency	Efficiency 71.00%; executing digital transformation; core expense flat Q/Q	Improving efficiency; continued digital
Technology/AI and cyber risk (risk disclosures)	Ongoing cyber/AI risk highlighted in 8-K risk factors	Continued emphasis in risk factors	Continued emphasis; digital transformation noted	Persistent risk management theme
Capital	TCE/TA 6.85%; CET1 10.02%; sub-debt repurchased	CET1 10.33%; improved equity/AOCI; share repurchases	CET1 10.85%; capital build via earnings and deleveraging	Strengthening

Management Commentary

“Our net interest margin has begun to stabilize as our cost of funds has decreased. We remained focused on originating higher yielding loans and securing lower cost funding sources that are accretive to our margin…we originated and renewed loans, 84% of which were variable-rate loans, at an 8.2% blended interest rate.” — John D’Angelo, President & CEO .
“We also repaid $109 million in borrowings under the Bank Term Funding Program and redeemed $20 million in principal amount of subordinated debt, which contributed to the decrease in our cost of funds.” — John D’Angelo .
“Credit quality remained very solid as nonperforming loans represented 0.42% of total loans…we continued to allow higher risk commercial real estate relationships to run off.” — John D’Angelo .
Shareholder returns focus: quarterly dividends totaling $0.41 per share in 2024 (+4% YoY) .

Q&A Highlights

No Q4 2024 earnings call transcript was available in the document set; therefore, Q&A themes and any guidance clarifications cannot be summarized from a transcript. We searched for an “earnings-call-transcript” document for ISTR dated Dec 2024–Mar 2025 and found none.

Estimates Context

S&P Global Wall Street consensus data for Q4 2024 EPS and revenue was unavailable due to retrieval limits; we cannot present formal comparisons to consensus here. Values retrieved from S&P Global were not available due to rate limit.
Third-party sources (e.g., Nasdaq/Zacks) reported Investar beat EPS and revenue estimates in Q4 2024, but we do not anchor on those for formal comparisons in this report .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Earnings quality: GAAP diluted EPS improved to $0.61 and core diluted EPS to $0.65; note the $3.1M nontaxable BOLI income uplift that temporarily enhanced core metrics in Q4 .
Funding improvement is tangible: cost of funds fell 12 bps Q/Q to 3.49% and cost of deposits fell 5 bps to 3.40% after repaying BTFP and redeeming sub debt; this supports near-term margin stabilization if asset yields hold .
Margin watch: NIM dipped to 2.65% on lower loan yields; with ~80% of retail CDs maturing over the next two quarters, downward repricing should help funding, but loan yields need monitoring for further compression .
Balance sheet trajectory: deposits grew 2.6% Q/Q while loans shrank 1.4% Q/Q; continued remix toward variable-rate originations (84% of Q4 originations) provides rate sensitivity in a declining rate environment .
Asset quality risk: NPL ratio increased to 0.42% from 0.19%; ACL/loans eased to 1.26%—watch specific CRE exposure and any follow-through to net charge-offs in 2025 .
Capital strength: CET1 improved to 10.85% (holding company); TCE/TA of 7.44% provides flexibility for continued optimization and shareholder returns .
Trading implications: near-term narrative likely centers on lower funding costs and efficiency gains vs. NIM pressure and higher NPLs; any confirmation of sustained deposit repricing benefits could be a positive catalyst, while signs of broader credit normalization (CRE) would be a headwind .

Investar Holding Corp (ISTR)·Q4 2024 Earnings Summary