Nicolet Bankshares (NIC) Q1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Net income for Q1 2025 was $32.6 million, up 17% year-over-year, with adjusted net income of $32.9 million and diluted EPS of $2.08 (adjusted $2.10).

• Loans grew by $119 million (2%) to $6.75 billion, with annualized growth of 7.2%, primarily in commercial and industrial segments.

• Deposits increased by $169 million (2%) to $7.57 billion, with core deposits up 1% despite seasonal declines.

• Asset quality remained strong with NPAs/Assets at 0.33% and net charge-offs at 0.02% of loans.

• Share repurchases totaled approximately 233,000 shares for $26 million, with board authorization increased by $60 million in April 2025.

Financial highlights

• Net interest income was $71.2 million, up 13.4% year-over-year, with a net interest margin of 3.58%, up 25 bps year-over-year but down 3 bps sequentially.

• Noninterest income was $18.2 million, down 12.6% sequentially and 6.2% year-over-year, mainly due to lower wealth and mortgage revenues.

• Noninterest expense was $47.8 million, up 1% year-over-year, with personnel costs flat.

• Efficiency ratio improved to 52.94% in Q1 2025 from 54.97% in 2024.

• Provision for credit losses was $1.5 million, up from $0.8 million in Q1 2024.

Outlook and guidance

• Management expects continued benefit to loan yields from a predominantly fixed-rate portfolio and stable credit quality in a higher-for-longer rate environment.

• Deposit cost increases have largely subsided, with future changes expected to be driven by mix rather than pricing.

• Interest rate sensitivity modeling shows net interest income could vary by ±2.6% for a 200 bps rate change.

• Strategic capital deployment will focus on selective M&A, share repurchases, and quarterly dividends.

• No material changes in market risk or critical accounting estimates are anticipated for the remainder of 2025.