SmartFinancial (SMBK) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 net income was $18.6M, up 36% YoY; diluted operating EPS was $1.10, and operating revenue reached a quarterly record $57.5M.

• Organic loans and leases grew $174M and core deposits $163M QoQ, equivalent to annualized growth of 15% and 12%; period-end balances were $4.81B and $5.58B, respectively.

Financial highlights

• Net interest income was $49.4M, up $1.3M QoQ and $7.0M YoY; FTE net interest margin was 3.45%, down from 3.52% QoQ and up from 3.25% YoY.

• Operating noninterest income was $8.1M, up $245K QoQ; noninterest expense was $36.4M, up $2.4M QoQ. Operating PPNR was $21.2M, down 3% QoQ and up 16% YoY.

• Provision for credit losses was $0.7M, versus $1.5M in Q2 and $0.2M in Q3’25; net interest income after provision rose $6.5M YoY.

• Operating expense included ~$1M in Fountain equipment-sale losses and valuation write-downs, plus ~$300K in tax-credit costs; excluding these items, expenses were in line with guidance.

• Income tax expense was $1.9M; a $2.6M benefit from purchasing $36M of transferable energy tax credits at a discount lowered the effective tax rate to 9.1%.

Outlook and guidance

• High-single-digits-plus growth guidance was reaffirmed; Q4 loan growth is expected to be similar to or slightly above Q3, with NII growth near 3% QoQ.

• Q4 NIM is expected near 3.45%; modest expansion over time is anticipated as asset yields improve, partly offset by near-term deposit-cost pressure. Outlook includes a December rate hike.

• Q4 operating noninterest income is projected at $7.5M; operating noninterest expense at $35M-$35.5M, including salaries and benefits of $21M-$21.5M.

• Forward effective tax rate is expected at 19.5%-20.5%; management said it remains on trajectory for a $1 EPS run rate.

• Priorities include commercial sales, relationship generation, client profitability, product enhancement and leveraging infrastructure; $453M of fixed-rate loans yielding 4.98% mature by year-end 2027.