Name: WESTAMERICA BANCORPORATION Q1 2025 Earnings Call
Start: 2025-04-17T00:00:00.000Z

Executive Summary

Q1 2025 EPS of $1.16 and net income of $31.0M; EPS benefited by ~$0.01 from a $0.55M reversal of provision for credit losses; total revenue (FTE) was $66.7M, and NIM compressed to 3.90% vs 4.01% in Q4 2024 and 4.30% in Q1 2024 .
Results modestly beat Wall Street consensus: EPS $1.16 vs $1.11 consensus*, revenue $66.9M vs $66.5M consensus*; operating discipline supported an efficiency ratio of 37.7% .*
Credit quality remained strong with nonperforming loans at $0.277M (0.04% of loans) and ACLL at $13.9M (1.80% of loans) .
Capital return accelerated: Repurchase authorization up to 2.0M shares announced Feb 27 (≈7.5% of shares), and dividend increased to $0.46 on Apr 24 (from $0.44) .
Stock catalysts: disciplined cost of funds at 0.24%, visible capital return, and stable credit quality; offset by ongoing NIM pressure and lower average earning assets YoY .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

Low-cost funding remained a differentiator: cost of funds held at 0.24% and 46% of deposits were noninterest-bearing, helping preserve spread despite rate environment .
Expense control: efficiency ratio 37.7% and noninterest expense down 3.7% YoY; management cited fewer business days, lower occupancy/equipment, and reduced partnership operating losses .
Credit strength: NPLs fell to $0.277M; ACLL/loans at 1.80%; management emphasized “credit quality remained stable” .

NIM compression: 3.90% vs 4.01% in Q4 and 4.30% in Q1 2024 due to lower yields on earning assets and smaller average earning assets base YoY .
Net interest income declined: FTE NII $56.4M vs $59.2M in Q4 and $66.1M in Q1 2024; annualized yield on loans/bonds/cash fell to 4.14% from 4.25% in Q4 and 4.50% YoY .
Deposit balances and average loans decreased YoY (total deposits -7.8% YoY; average total loans -7.5% YoY), limiting asset growth potential .

Metric	Q1 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025
EPS (Diluted) ($)	$1.37	$1.19	$1.16
Net Income ($MM)	$36.4	$31.7	$31.0
Total Revenue (FTE) ($MM)	$76.2	$69.9	$66.7
Net Interest & Loan Fee Income (FTE) ($MM)	$66.1	$59.2	$56.4
Noninterest Income ($MM)	$10.1	$10.6	$10.3
NIM (FTE) (%)	4.30%	4.01%	3.90%
Efficiency Ratio (FTE) (%)	34.3%	37.0%	37.7%
ROA (%)	2.24%	2.02%	2.03%
ROE (%)	15.2%	12.1%	11.9%
Provision for Credit Losses ($MM)	$0.3	$0.0	$(0.55)

Estimates vs Actuals (S&P Global):

Metric	Consensus Q1 2025	Actual Q1 2025
EPS ($)	1.11*	1.16*
Revenue ($MM)	66.5*	66.9*
Values retrieved from S&P Global.*

Noninterest Income Components:

Component ($000)	Q1 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025
Service Charges on Deposit Accounts	3,470	3,501	3,381
Merchant Processing Services	2,507	2,735	2,733
Debit Card Fees	1,543	1,902	1,581
Trust Fees	794	867	899
ATM Processing Fees	591	506	463
Other Service Fees	438	428	429
Life Insurance Gains	0	0	102
Other Noninterest Income	754	694	733
Total Noninterest Income	10,097	10,633	10,321

KPIs and Balance Sheet Highlights:

KPI	Q1 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025
Average Earning Assets ($MM)	$6,119	$5,851	$5,795
Yield on Earning Assets (FTE) (%)	4.50%	4.25%	4.14%
Cost of Funds (%)	0.20%	0.24%	0.24%
Loans / Deposits (%)	15.9%	16.3%	15.9%
Avg Total Loans ($MM)	$853.6	$821.8	$789.9
Noninterest Demand / Total Deposits (%)	47.1%	46.6%	46.2%
NPLs ($000)	1,483	735	277
ACLL ($000)	15,879	14,780	13,914
ACLL / Loans (%)	1.88%	1.80%	1.80%
Cash and Due from Banks ($000)	434,250	601,494	727,336

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Dividend per Share	Q2 2025	$0.44 (Q1 declared Jan 23)	$0.46 (declared Apr 24, payable May 16)	Raised
Share Repurchase Authorization	Through Mar 31, 2026	None disclosed	Up to 2,000,000 shares (≈7.5% of shares as of Dec 31, 2024)	New
Revenue/Margins/OpEx/Tax Rate	Q2/Q3 2025	Not provided	Not provided	Maintained (no guidance)

Note: A Q1 2025 earnings call transcript was not available in our document catalog; themes are derived from company earnings materials.

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q3 2024)	Previous Mentions (Q4 2024)	Current Period (Q1 2025)	Trend
Deposit Mix & Funding Cost	Noninterest-bearing 48%; cost 0.37%	Noninterest-bearing 47%; cost 0.24%	Noninterest-bearing 46%; cost 0.24%	Slight decline in NIB mix; very low funding cost sustained
Net Interest Margin	4.08%	4.01%	3.90%	Gradual compression
Credit Quality	NPAs $0.9M; ACLL $15.3M	NPAs $0.7M; ACLL $14.8M	NPLs $0.277M; ACLL $13.9M	Strong/improving NPAs; ACLL stable vs loans
Operating Efficiency	Efficiency 35.4%	37.0%	37.7%	Elevated vs Q3; stable QoQ
Capital Return	Dividend $0.44	Dividend $0.44	Dividend increased to $0.46 (Apr 24); buyback plan (Feb 27)	Accelerating capital return
Liquidity	Cash $503M; broad collateral capacity	Cash $601M; FRB access $767M	Cash $727M; FRB access $725M	Higher cash; robust contingent liquidity

“Westamerica’s first quarter 2025 results benefited from the Company’s valuable low-cost deposit base… Operating expenses remained well controlled… credit quality remained stable with nonperforming assets of $277 thousand at March 31, 2025.” — Chairman, President & CEO David Payne .
“First quarter 2025 results generated an annualized 11.9 percent return on average common equity. Shareholders were paid a $0.44 per common share dividend during the first quarter 2025.” — David Payne .
“This increase in the quarterly dividend recognizes Westamerica’s reliable earnings stream, financial strength and conservative risk profile.” — David Payne (dividend increase to $0.46) .
“This stock repurchase plan recognizes Westamerica’s financial strength, conservative risk profile and reliable earnings stream.” — David Payne (authorization up to 2,000,000 shares) .

A Q1 2025 earnings call transcript was not available via our document tools; no Q&A excerpts to report. We searched SEC 8-Ks, press releases, and transcript repositories but did not locate a transcript for WABC within the specified period [SearchDocuments results showing only press releases and 8-K] [ListDocuments earnings-call-transcript returned 0].

EPS beat: $1.16 vs $1.11 consensus*, aided ~1c by a $0.55M provision reversal; efficiency ratio 37.7% supported profitability despite NIM pressure .*
Revenue (FTE) slight beat: $66.9M actual* vs $66.5M consensus*, given lower YoY earning asset base and yields; supports an intact low-cost funding advantage .*
Estimate revisions likely to reflect persistent NIM compression and modest declines in average earning assets; offset by tight OpEx and stable credit quality .* Values retrieved from S&P Global.*

Funding advantage is intact: cost of funds at 0.24% with 46% noninterest-bearing deposits provides resilience against NIM headwinds .
Margin pressure continues: NIM of 3.90% reflects lower yields and smaller earning asset base; watch forward asset mix and reinvestment yields .
Credit remains pristine: NPLs at $0.277M and ACLL/loans at 1.80% underpin stable risk profile and low expected credit costs .
Capital return accelerating: new buyback authorization (up to 2M shares) and dividend increase to $0.46 signal confidence in earnings durability .
Operating discipline: efficiency ratio at 37.7% and lower noninterest expense YoY provide downside protection to earnings .
Trading setup: modest estimates beat, strong credit, and capital return are positives; monitor NIM trajectory and deposit trends for multiple expansion .
Liquidity buffer is ample: $727M cash and FRB borrowing capacity with pledged collateral ($725M) provide contingency funding optionality .