WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) executives highlighted a sharp improvement in core profitability, stable credit metrics, and an early outlook for 2026 focused on mid-single-digit loan growth and continued margin strength during the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call.
Fourth-quarter and full-year performance
President and CEO Jeff Jackson said 2025 results reflected “successful execution on our growth-oriented business model while maintaining strong credit quality measures.” He pointed to full-year pre-tax, pre-provision earnings growth of 105% year-over-year and earnings per share growth of 45% to $3.40 when excluding merger-related charges.
Jackson also cited a fourth-quarter return on tangible common equity of 16%, non-performing assets to total assets of 0.33%, and a common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 10.3%.
Premier integration and growth initiatives
Management described the acquisition and integration of Premier Financial as a key milestone, saying it transformed WesBanco into a $28 billion-asset regional financial services partner and placed the company among the top 50 publicly traded U.S. financial institutions by assets.
Alongside the acquisition, WesBanco emphasized organic expansion. Jackson said the bank opened loan production offices (LPOs) in Northern Virginia and Knoxville, launched a new healthcare vertical, and continued optimizing its financial center network and digital banking capabilities. He added that WesBanco expects to open a new financial center in Chattanooga—its first in Tennessee—soon.
Jackson said relationship banking supported record treasury management revenue of $6 million and record total wealth management assets under management of $10.4 billion.
Balance sheet trends, payoffs, and the loan pipeline
Senior Executive Vice President and CFO Dan Weiss said total assets were $27.7 billion, up 48% year-over-year, including $19.2 billion in total portfolio loans and $4.5 billion in total securities. Portfolio loans rose 52% year-over-year, which Weiss attributed to $5.9 billion of acquired Premier loans plus more than $650 million of organic growth.
A recurring theme in the call was elevated commercial real estate (CRE) project payoffs. Jackson said CRE project payoffs were $415 million in the fourth quarter and more than $900 million for the year, about $100 million higher than the company expected last quarter. Weiss put full-year payoffs at $905 million and said the level was roughly 2.5 times the prior year.
Despite that headwind, management said organic growth remained positive. Jackson said total loans increased 6% annualized from the third quarter and 5% year-over-year, driven by commercial teams converting pipeline opportunities. He also noted a commercial pipeline of over $1.2 billion at year-end and mid-January, with more than 40% tied to new markets and LPOs.
For 2026, management expects CRE payoffs to stay elevated and currently estimates $600 million to $800 million of payoffs for the year, weighted toward the first half. Even so, Jackson said WesBanco continues to expect mid-single-digit year-over-year loan growth in 2026 based on the pipeline and market strength.
On deposits, Weiss said total deposits rose 53% year-over-year to $21.7 billion, including $6.9 billion of acquired Premier deposits and $662 million of organic growth, which management said fully funded loan growth. On a sequential basis, deposits increased $385 million, which Weiss attributed to a deposit campaign, offsetting intentional runoff of higher-cost CDs and a paydown of brokered deposits.
Margin, fees, expenses, and capital actions
WesBanco reported fourth-quarter net interest margin (NIM) of 3.61%. Weiss said that was up 58 basis points year-over-year and up 8 basis points from the third quarter, exceeding prior guidance of 3 to 5 basis points of improvement. He attributed the outperformance primarily to “exceptional deposit growth,” which allowed the bank to replace higher-cost Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings with lower-cost core deposits. Total deposit funding costs declined to 184 basis points.
Looking ahead, Weiss said the company is modeling two 25-basis-point Federal Reserve cuts in April and July. He guided to a first-quarter 2026 NIM roughly consistent with 3.61%, followed by 3 to 5 basis points of improvement in the second quarter, and “modest” growth into the high 3.60% range in the back half of 2026.
Weiss also discussed asset repricing dynamics, noting about $400 million of fixed-rate loans repricing over the next 12 months off a weighted average rate of about 4.5%, with expected replacement rates in the “low 6%, high 5% range.” He said the weighted average yield on new loans originated in the fourth quarter was about 6.15%, with December spot rates just above 6%. He added that the securities portfolio has about $250 million of cash flows per quarter, with yields of about 3.3% rolling into reinvestment rates around 4.7%.
Non-interest income in the fourth quarter was $43.3 million, up 19% year-over-year, driven primarily by the Premier acquisition, Weiss said. For the year, the company reported record non-interest income of $167 million. Management noted improvement in swap fees (gross swap fees of $3.4 million in the fourth quarter and $10 million for the year) and said trust fees were at record levels for the quarter and year.
On expenses, non-interest expense excluding restructuring and merger-related costs was $144.4 million in the fourth quarter, up 44% year-over-year, which Weiss said reflected Premier’s expense base, higher amortization created from the acquisition, and higher FDIC insurance expense due to larger assets. Management said operating expenses were down slightly from the third quarter, reflecting a focus on discretionary expense control. WesBanco posted a fourth-quarter efficiency ratio just under 52% and noted it updated its methodology to exclude net security gains/losses from the denominator and amortization of intangibles from the numerator.
For 2026 expense planning, Weiss said the company expects the first-quarter expense run rate to be roughly consistent with the fourth quarter, increase in the second quarter due to merit increases, revenue-producing hires and marketing initiatives, and then grow modestly in the back half of the year. Management also said it closed 27 financial centers on Jan. 23, 2026, with anticipated annual savings of about $6 million beginning to be realized midway through the first quarter. Jackson added further branch optimization is not included in the current expense commentary, though the bank will continue evaluating its network.
On capital actions, Weiss said WesBanco redeemed $150 million of Series A preferred stock in November and $50 million of subdebt acquired with Premier in December, using proceeds from a Series B preferred offering. He said preferred dividends reduced earnings available to common shareholders by $13 million in the quarter due to overlapping dividends and the Series A redemption premium. CET1 improved 24 basis points to 10.34%, and Weiss said management anticipates CET1 will build 15 to 20 basis points per quarter.
When asked about capital deployment priorities, Jackson said the order is dividends first, then supporting loan growth, then buybacks, with M&A “a far distant fourth.” He said the bank does not see M&A happening in 2026 and reiterated prior commentary that buybacks would be considered around a 10.5% to 11% CET1 range.
Credit quality and profitability targets
Credit quality remained stable in management’s view. Weiss said criticized and classified loans decreased to 3.15% and net charge-offs declined to 6 basis points of total loans. The allowance for credit losses was 1.14% of total portfolio loans, or $219 million, consistent with the third quarter.
In discussing broader profitability, management pointed to an ROA around 1.30 and return on average tangible common equity in the high teens as key targets it is modeling.
Closing the call, Jackson said 2025 was “another year of disciplined growth and strong execution,” adding that WesBanco strengthened its financial metrics and advanced strategic priorities heading into 2026.
About WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)
WesBanco, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, offering a full range of community banking services through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc The company serves individual consumers, small? to mid?sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with a relationship?driven approach and an emphasis on local decision?making. Through its diversified platform, WesBanco provides core banking functions such as deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and electronic banking services.
In addition to traditional banking products, WesBanco offers specialized services including trust and wealth management, investment advisory and insurance solutions.
