Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) Q1 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Net income for Q1 2026 was $110.5 million, or $1.63 per diluted share, with ROA at 1.62% and ROTCE at 14.75%.

• Revenue grew 10% year-over-year, with net interest margin expanding to 3.88%.

• Loan and deposit growth remained robust, with annualized increases of 5.9% and 4.7%, and earning assets up 9.7%.

• Efficiency ratio improved to 49.97% from 52.83% a year ago.

• Tangible book value per share rose to $44.79, up 5.6% annualized.

Financial highlights

• Net interest income (TE) was $245.4 million, up 10.2% year-over-year.

• Noninterest income increased $8.1 million, driven by mortgage and SBA revenue.

• Noninterest expense rose 9.8% sequentially to $157.1 million, mainly due to payroll taxes, incentives, and FDIC assessments.

• Effective tax rate decreased to 21.5% from 23.2% sequentially.

• Share repurchases totaled $74.9 million in Q1 2026.

Outlook and guidance

• Expect slight margin compression of 5-10 bps over the next few quarters due to deposit cost pressures.

• Project mid-single-digit loan and deposit growth for the remainder of the year.

• Anticipate efficiency ratio to be slightly above 50% for the rest of the year.

• Net charge-offs expected to remain in the 20-25 bps range for 2026.

• Asset sensitivity remains near neutral, preparing for potential FOMC rate changes.