Hancock Whitney (HWC) Q4 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Fourth quarter 2025 net income was $125.6 million ($1.49 per share), nearly flat sequentially and up year-over-year, with full-year 2025 net income of $486.1 million ($5.67 per share), and adjusted EPS up 8%.

• Adjusted Pre-Provision Net Revenue (PPNR) for Q4 2025 was $174.0 million, with full-year PPNR up 6% year-over-year.

• Loans grew 3% year-over-year to $24.0 billion, with strong production in CRE, ICRE, healthcare, and equipment finance.

• Deposits ended the year at $29.3 billion, up $620 million linked-quarter, with DDA at 35% of total deposits.

• Asset quality remained strong, with criticized and nonaccrual loans declining and ACL coverage at 1.43%.

Financial highlights

• Net interest income (TE) for Q4 2025 was $284.7 million, up 1% sequentially; NIM was 3.48%, down 1 bp from Q3.

• Noninterest income for Q4 2025 was $107.1 million, up 1% linked-quarter; noninterest expense was $217.9 million, up 2%.

• Efficiency ratio for Q4 2025 was 54.93%, compared to 54.10% in Q3 and 54.78% for the year.

• Return on average assets was 1.41% for Q4; ROTCE was 14.49% for 2025.

• Allowance for credit losses (ACL) coverage was 1.43% of loans; annualized net charge-offs were 0.22%.

Outlook and guidance

• 2026 guidance includes mid-single-digit loan growth and low single-digit deposit growth.

• Net interest income projected to rise 5-6% in 2026, with modest NIM expansion and adjusted PPNR up 4.5-5.5%.

• Fee income projected to grow 4-5% in 2026; expenses expected to increase 5-6%.

• Net charge-offs forecasted at 0.15-0.25% of loans for 2026.

• Efficiency ratio targeted within 54-55% for FY26.