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PEOPLES BANCORP INC (PEBO)·Q2 2025 Earnings Summary
Executive Summary
- Q2 2025 diluted EPS was $0.59, down sequentially (Q1: $0.68) and year-over-year (Q2’24: $0.82), as a larger provision for credit losses ($16.6M) offset higher net interest income and NIM expansion .
- Net interest income rose to $87.6M (+3% q/q) and NIM expanded 3 bps to 4.15%, driven by lower deposit and borrowing costs; core NIM (ex-accretion) continued to expand despite lower accretion income .
- Management guided FY25 NIM to 4.00–4.20% (assuming three 25 bp Fed cuts), non-interest expense of $69–$71M per quarter in Q3–Q4, loan growth of 4–6% y/y, and lower provisions in the next two quarters; small-ticket leasing charge-offs expected to plateau .
- Estimates context: PEBO missed Q2 2025 Wall Street EPS and revenue consensus; Q1 2025 was near-consensus, while Q4 2024 EPS was a beat (S&P Global values; see table and disclaimer).
- Asset quality remained stable overall (NPAs 0.49% of assets), ACL increased to 1.13% of loans; criticized loans rose due to one C&I downgrade, but classified loan ratio improved .
What Went Well and What Went Wrong
What Went Well
- Core earnings power: Net interest income increased $2.3M q/q; NIM expanded to 4.15% with deposit costs down 10 bps and borrowing costs down 18–23 bps; core NIM has expanded for four straight quarters .
- Balanced loan growth: Period-end loans rose $173.1M (+11% annualized q/q), led by C&I (+$63.6M), residential real estate (+$29.8M), construction (+$22.2M), CRE other (+$17.7M), premium finance (+$13.5M), and Vantage leases (+$18.5M) .
- Expense discipline: Non-interest expense declined $0.4M q/q and efficiency ratio improved to 59.3% (from 60.7%); declines driven by lower salaries/benefits as normal seasonal items rolled off .
Management quote: “This is the fourth straight quarter that we have had core net interest margin expansion, which excludes accretion income.” – Tyler Wilcox (CEO) .
What Went Wrong
- Provision surge: Provision for credit losses rose to $16.6M (from $10.2M in Q1), reducing EPS; drivers included net charge-offs ($7.0M), specific reserves ($3.8M) incl. one commercial relationship, higher small-ticket leasing reserves ($2.5M), refreshed CECL loss drivers ($2.3M), and macro deterioration .
- Insurance fee seasonality: Non-interest income fell modestly q/q as first-quarter performance-based insurance commissions did not repeat, partly offset by higher lease and electronic banking income .
- Criticized loans uptick: Criticized loans increased $17.9M (to 3.70% of loans) due to one C&I downgrade, though classified loans ratio improved (1.89% vs 1.93% in Q1) .
Analyst concern: Elevated small-ticket leasing net charge-offs (11.51% annualized) remain a headwind, though trending down from Q4 peak; management expects a plateau near current levels in 2H’25 .
Financial Results
Segment breakdown – Non-interest income detail:
KPIs and asset quality:
Balance sheet growth (period-end):
Guidance Changes
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
Management Commentary
- “Our pre-provision net revenue exceeded consensus estimates for the quarter, and our tangible equity to tangible assets ratio was stable at 8.3%.” – Tyler Wilcox (CEO) .
- “For the second quarter, our deposit costs were 1.76%. … Excluding accretion income, our core net interest margin has expanded for the last four consecutive quarters.” – Katie Bailey (CFO) .
- “We believe this is the peak, and we believe that we are going to be down from here and that we are appropriately reserved… particularly with the small-ticket leasing.” – Tyler Wilcox (CEO) .
- “Assuming three 25 basis point reductions in rates from the Federal Reserve in the second half of the year, we anticipate a full year net interest margin of between 4% and 4.20%.” – Tyler Wilcox (CEO) .
Q&A Highlights
- Small-ticket leasing credit outlook: Charge-offs expected to plateau in 2H’25; specific reserves split between leasing and one C&I relationship; refreshed CECL loss drivers added ~$2.3M to provision .
- Loan growth drivers: Strong pipelines; expect >$400M paydowns FY, with continued robust production; guidance maintained at 4–6% y/y .
- Funding costs: Active deposit repricing continues even without Fed cuts; seasonality expected to lift governmental deposits at 9/30 .
- Accretion outlook: Accretion impact mid-to-low teens bps for the year; modestly lower than Q1 .
- Capital allocation and M&A: Opportunistic repurchases; strategic preference for overlapping or adjacent markets to scale over $10B assets .
Estimates Context
Values retrieved from S&P Global.
- Q2 2025: EPS and revenue missed consensus; Q1 2025: near-consensus EPS; Q4 2024: EPS beat (S&P Global data; see table).
Key Takeaways for Investors
- Core profitability intact: NIM expansion and lower funding costs demonstrate earnings resilience; watch accretion normalization and core NIM trajectory .
- Provision normalization is the potential catalyst: Management expects lower provisions in Q3–Q4 barring macro deterioration; small-ticket leasing charge-offs should plateau .
- Balanced loan growth with stable asset quality: Broad-based loan growth and stable NPAs/ACL ratios support revenue momentum, with criticized loans uptick linked to a single C&I case .
- Expense discipline sustained: Quarterly non-interest expense guided to $69–$71M; efficiency ratio improvement in Q2 suggests operating leverage potential .
- Funding strategy: Continued deposit repricing and retail CD promotions, with known seasonality (gov deposits peak at 9/30), should aid NIM stability near guidance range .
- Capital and optionality: Strong CET1 (11.95%) and tangible equity position enable opportunistic buybacks and strategic M&A in overlapping/adjacent markets .
- Dividend support: Dividend raised to $0.41/share with ~5% implied annualized yield; payout at ~69% of Q2 earnings underscores shareholder returns focus .
Sourcing and cross-references:
- Q2 2025 press release and detailed financials .
- 8-K furnished items including the earnings release, slides, and conference call transcript .
- Earnings call transcript (themes, guidance, Q&A) .
- Prior quarter references (Q1 2025 and Q4 2024 press releases) .