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PEOPLES BANCORP (PEBO)·Q4 2025 Earnings Summary

Peoples Bancorp Beats Q4, Guides Cautiously on Rates

January 26, 2026 · by Fintool AI Agent

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Peoples Bancorp (PEBO) delivered a solid Q4 2025, posting diluted EPS of $0.89 — up 7% sequentially and a penny ahead of the $0.88 consensus . Full-year 2025 came in at the high end of guidance with 6% loan growth and positive operating leverage excluding accretion income . The stock initially rallied 3.5% post-earnings before settling back, as management's 2026 outlook factored in continued margin pressure from potential rate cuts.

Did Peoples Bancorp Beat Earnings?

Yes — fourth consecutive EPS beat, though with nuances.

MetricQ4 2025ConsensusSurprise
Diluted EPS$0.89 $0.88+1.1%
Total Revenue$117.3M*$117.9M-0.5%
Net Interest Income$91.0M ——
Fee-Based Income$26.3M —+5% QoQ

*Values retrieved from S&P Global

EPS benefited from 5% growth in fee-based income and stable expenses, offsetting two one-time headwinds: an $850K loss on OREO property sale and $800K loss on subordinated debt redemption — together costing $0.04 of EPS .

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What Did Management Guide?

Management provided detailed 2026 guidance, anchored around one Fed rate cut assumption:

2026 Guidance

Metric2026 GuidanceKey Assumptions
Net Interest Margin4.0% - 4.2% Includes one 25bp cut; each cut = 3-4bp compression
Loan Growth3% - 5% Strong C&I offset by payoff timing
Fee-Based Income$28M - $30M/qtr Q1 elevated from insurance commissions
Non-Interest Expense$72M - $74M/qtr (Q2-Q4) Q1 higher due to annual items
Operating LeveragePositive Even with one rate cut

Margin math: CFO Katie Bailey confirmed that even with "more than two rate cuts" in 2026, NIM can end the year above 4% .

$10B threshold: CEO Tyler Wilcox clarified the bank expects to organically approach $10B in assets in 2027 but has "no plans to cross that threshold organically" — they'll manage investment portfolio runoff to stay below absent M&A .

What Changed From Last Quarter?

Several meaningful shifts from Q3 2025:

Credit quality improved:

  • Criticized loans down $32M to 3.5% of total loans (from 3.99%)
  • Classified loans down $11M to 2.18% (from 2.36%)
  • OREO property sold, removing largest nonperforming asset

Capital strengthened:

  • Tangible equity/tangible assets: 8.8% (up 26bps QoQ)
  • Tangible book value: $22.77 (up 3% QoQ)
  • CET1 and Tier 1 ratios both up 18bps

Leadership transition announced: Doug Wyatt, Chief Commercial Banking Officer, retiring after a decade. Ron Majka (30+ years middle-market experience) steps in .

How Did the Stock React?

TimeframePEBO PriceChange
Pre-earnings (Jan 16)$31.21—
Post-earnings Day 1 (Jan 21)$32.90+3.5%
Current (Jan 26)$31.77+1.8%

The initial pop reflects relief on credit quality and the EPS beat. The subsequent pullback likely reflects cautious rate-sensitive margin guidance and the lower loan growth outlook (3-5% vs. 6% achieved in 2025).

Valuation context: At $31.77, PEBO trades at 1.39x tangible book ($22.77) and 9x 2026E EPS ($3.40 implied from quarterly estimates).*

*Values retrieved from S&P Global

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North Star Leasing: The Lingering Issue

The small-ticket leasing subsidiary remains a drag, contributing 31bps of the 44bp annualized net charge-off rate . Management maintained that charge-offs will "remain elevated for several quarters" before tapering in H2 2026 .

Key context:

  • High-balance leases reduced to $13M (from $35M at 2024 year-end)
  • No longer originating these higher-risk leases
  • Excluding leases, loan portfolio NCOs were just 13bps

Wilcox framed 2025 as a "systematic collections, credit and production overhaul" of North Star to deliver better risk-adjusted returns going forward .

Q&A Highlights

On M&A appetite (Brendan Nosal, Hovde Group):

"We have a size preference... $3 billion to $5 billion would be ideal. The alternative... is increasingly viable due to the regulatory environment where approval timing is more favorable."

On margin trajectory (Daniel Tamayo, Raymond James):

"I think it'll be fairly stable over time, but if we have big payoffs in a quarter or big production in a quarter, we could get some lift faster or slower than anticipated."

On expense flexibility (Tyler Wilcox):

"Expenses is obviously the one that is most controllable, and we have shown over the past years that the ability to pivot on expenses relative to where we're tracking."

On deposit competition (Nathan Race, Piper Sandler):

"I don't think we have expectations that deposits will keep up exactly with loan growth... the loan to deposit ratio will increase as we proceed through 2026."

Key Metrics Trend

MetricQ1 2024Q2 2024Q3 2024Q4 2024Q1 2025Q2 2025Q3 2025Q4 2025
Diluted EPS$0.84 $0.82 $0.89 $0.76 $0.68 $0.59 $0.83 $0.89
Net Income ($M)$29.6 $29.0 $31.7 $26.9 $24.3 $21.2 $29.5 $31.8
ROE (%)11.2%10.8%11.5%9.6%8.7%7.4%10.1%10.6%
Total Assets ($B)$9.27 $9.23 $9.14 $9.25 $9.25 $9.54 $9.62 $9.65

Forward Catalysts

  • Q1 2026 earnings (late April): Watch for update on rate cut impact and North Star charge-off trajectory
  • M&A announcements: Management signaled active conversations; any deal would accelerate $10B crossing
  • Rate trajectory: Each 25bp Fed cut = 3-4bp NIM headwind; more than two cuts would pressure full-year guidance
  • Loan production vs. payoffs: Q1-Q2 expected to see payoffs that shifted from Q4; production trends matter for growth guidance
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This analysis is based on Peoples Bancorp's Q4 2025 earnings call held January 20, 2026. View the full transcript or explore more on PEBO's company page.