Improved net interest margin 22 basis points year-over-year; advanced organic growth with expansion into South Florida

WHEELING, W.Va., April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- WesBanco, Inc. ("WesBanco" or "Company") (Nasdaq: WSBC), a diversified, multi-state bank holding company, today announced net income and related earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2026. Net income available to common shareholders for the first quarter of 2026 was $84.4 million, with diluted earnings per share of $0.88, compared to a loss of $11.5 million and $(0.15) per diluted share, respectively, for the first quarter of 2025. The first quarter of 2025 includes the impact of a day one provision for credit losses and other expenses related to the closing of the Premier Financial Corp. ("PFC") acquisition on February 28, 2025.

As noted below, WesBanco reported $0.91 of earnings per diluted share, in the first quarter, as compared to $0.66 in the prior year period, when excluding after-tax restructuring and merger-related expenses and after-tax day one provision for credit losses on acquired loans (non-GAAP measures).

Financial and operational highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2026:

• Achieved or exceeded year one financial targets outlined in the PFC acquisition model, including a 1.3% return on average assets, 10.7% CET1 ratio, and tangible book value per share of $22.45 (non-GAAP measures)
• Advanced organic growth model with commercial banking expansion into high-growth South Florida markets 
• Increased net interest margin 22 basis points year-over-year to 3.57%, driven by lower funding costs and higher earning asset yields
• Improved efficiency ratio nearly 4 percentage points year-over-year to 52.5%, primarily due to expense synergies from the PFC acquisition and the focus on positive operating leverage
• Executed next phase of financial center optimization with planned closure of 10 financial centers in May 2026
• Built record commercial loan pipeline totaling $1.6 billion as of March 31, 2026
• Increased total deposits 1.8% year-over-year on an organic basis to $21.7 billion; flat compared to the fourth quarter
• Increased total loans 2.2% year-over-year as organic growth more than offset higher commercial real estate ("CRE") payoffs of $340 million
  • CRE payoffs impacted year-over-year loan growth by 1.4%

"Our first quarter results demonstrate sound fundamentals and the benefits of our disciplined approach to growth and expense management," said Jeff Jackson, President and Chief Executive Officer, WesBanco. "We continued to drive organic loan and deposit growth, improved our net interest margin and efficiency ratio year-over-year, and exceeded our year one financial targets for the Premier acquisition – underscoring the strength of our operating model and our ability to deliver on strategic commitments. During the quarter, we took additional steps to position the Company for long-term success – expanding our commercial banking presence to high-growth South Florida markets and further optimizing our financial center network to align with customer behavior and drive operating efficiency. We remain focused on disciplined investment and execution to deliver consistent, sustainable value for our shareholders."

Balance Sheet
WesBanco's balance sheet, as of March 31, 2026, reflects organic growth and the impact of elevated CRE payoffs. Total assets increased 0.3% year-over-year to $27.5 billion, including total portfolio loans of $19.1 billion and total securities of $4.4 billion. Total portfolio loans increased 2.2% year-over-year due to organic growth of $667 million offset by higher CRE payoffs of $258 million. As anticipated, CRE payoffs continued to remain elevated and totaled approximately $340 million during the first quarter of 2026, consistent with the elevated quarterly levels incurred during the second half of 2025. The commercial loan pipeline has grown 35% since year-end to a record $1.6 billion, as of March 31, 2026, and does not yet include the benefit of the South Florida expansion.

Deposits of $21.7 billion increased 1.8% year-over-year due to organic growth that more than offset the decline in higher cost certificates of deposit. On a sequential quarter basis, total deposits were essentially flat. Total demand deposits represented 50% of total deposits, with the non-interest bearing component representing 24%.

Credit Quality
As of March 31, 2026, credit quality measures have remained low, from a historical perspective, and favorable to all banks with assets between $20 and $50 billion for at least the last 5 quarters. Criticized and classified loans as a percent of total portfolio loans decreased $49 million, or 24 basis points, from the sequential quarter to 2.91%. Non-performing loans increased $53 million sequentially primarily due to three CRE loans across different markets and property types, none of which were office. Net charge-offs for the first quarter were 0.16% of total loans.

The allowance for credit losses to total portfolio loans at March 31, 2026 was 1.10% of total loans, or $210.0 million. The first quarter provision for credit losses was negative primarily due to lower loan balances and higher prepayment speeds. Excluded from the allowance for credit losses and the related coverage ratio is a remaining unaccreted discount on purchased loans from acquisitions representing 1.51% of total portfolio loans.

Net Interest Margin and Income
The first quarter margin of 3.57% improved 22 basis points year-over-year through a combination of lower funding costs and higher securities yields but declined 4 basis points sequentially. This decrease resulted from lower net loan growth, as well as modestly higher seasonal deposit contraction in the first two months of the quarter which fully recovered by March 31, 2026. Deposit funding costs of 235 basis points for the first quarter of 2026 decreased 20 basis points from the prior year period. When including non-interest bearing deposits, deposit funding costs for the first quarter were 177 basis points.

Net interest income for the first quarter of 2026 was $215.4 million, an increase of $56.9 million, or 35.9% year-over-year, reflecting the impact of the benefits from the PFC acquisition, loan growth, higher securities yields, and lower deposit and FHLB borrowing costs.

Non-Interest Income
For the first quarter of 2026, non-interest income of $41.8 million increased $7.2 million, or 20.7%, from the first quarter of 2025 due primarily to the acquisition of PFC on February 28 of last year. Service charges on deposits increased $2.4 million and digital banking fees increased $1.2 million year-over-year due to increased general spending and higher transaction volumes from our larger customer base, as well as organic growth from our treasury management products and services. Reflecting record asset levels, trust fees and net securities brokerage revenue increased $1.7 million and $0.8 million, respectively, due to the addition of PFC wealth clients, market value appreciation, and organic growth. Gross swap fees were $1.2 million in the first quarter, compared to $2.0 million in the prior year period, while fair value adjustments were losses of $0.1 million and $1.0 million, respectively.

Non-Interest Expense
Non-interest expense, excluding restructuring and merger-related costs, for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was $143.0 million, a $29.0 million, or 25.5%, increase year-over-year primarily due to the addition of the PFC expense base, which was only in the WesBanco expense base for one month in the prior year period, but were down as compared to the fourth quarter, reflecting expense management. Salaries and wages of $64.0 million and employee benefits expense of $17.6 million increased due to a full quarter of salaries as compared to the prior year. Amortization of intangible assets of $7.2 million increased $2.9 million year-over-year due to the core deposit intangible asset that was created from the acquisition of PFC. Equipment and software of $15.7 million, consistent with the last several quarters, increased $2.6 million due to the acquisition of PFC. Restructuring and merger-related expenses of $3.7 million are primarily related to costs associated with the 10 financial centers that are planned to close during May.

Capital
WesBanco continues to maintain what we believe are strong regulatory capital ratios, as both consolidated and bank-level regulatory capital ratios are well above the applicable "well-capitalized" standards promulgated by bank regulators and the BASEL III capital standards. At March 31, 2026, Tier I leverage was 9.63%, Tier I risk-based capital ratio was 11.72%, common equity Tier 1 capital ratio ("CET 1") was 10.67%, and total risk-based capital was 14.19%. In addition, the tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio was 8.37%.

Conference Call and Webcast
WesBanco will host a conference call to discuss the Company's financial results for the first quarter of 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Interested parties can access the live webcast of the conference call through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website, www.wesbanco.com. Participants can also listen to the conference call by dialing 888-347-6607, or 1-412-902-4290 for international callers, and asking to be joined into the WesBanco call. Please log in or dial in at least 10 minutes prior to the start time to ensure a connection.

A replay of the conference call will be available by dialing 855-669-9658, or 1-412-317-0088 for international callers, and providing the access code of 4494073. The replay will begin at approximately 11:00 a.m. ET on April 22, 2026, and end at 12 a.m. ET on May 6, 2026. An archive of the webcast will be available for one year on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website (www.wesbanco.com).

Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements in this report relating to WesBanco's plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions and adequacy of resources, are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The information contained in this report should be read in conjunction with WesBanco's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and documents subsequently filed by WesBanco with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which are available at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov or at WesBanco's website, www.WesBanco.com. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements, which are not historical fact, involve risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in WesBanco's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC under "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A. Such statements are subject to important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such statements, including, without limitation, changes in interest rates, spreads on earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, and associated interest rate sensitivity; sources of liquidity available to WesBanco and its related subsidiary operations; potential future credit losses and the credit risk of commercial, real estate, and consumer loan customers and their borrowing activities; actions of the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the SEC, the Financial Institution Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the Securities Investors Protection Corporation, and other regulatory bodies; potential legislative and federal and state regulatory actions and reform, including, without limitation, the impact of the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act; adverse decisions of federal and state courts; fraud, scams and schemes of third parties; cyber-security breaches; competitive conditions in the financial services industry; rapidly changing technology affecting financial services; marketability of debt instruments and corresponding impact on fair value adjustments; and/or other external developments materially impacting WesBanco's operational and financial performance. WesBanco does not assume any duty to update forward-looking statements.

While forward-looking statements reflect our good-faith beliefs, they are not guarantees of future performance. All forward-looking statements are necessarily only estimates of future results. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or contemplated by the particular forward-looking statement, and, therefore, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances, except as required by applicable law.

Statements in this presentation with respect to the benefits of the merger between WesBanco and Premier, the parties' plans, obligations, expectations, and intentions, and the statements with respect to accretion, earn back of tangible book value, tangible book value dilution and internal rate of return, constitute forward-looking statements as defined by federal securities laws. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those contained or implied by such statements for a variety of factors including: changes in economic conditions; movements in interest rates; competitive pressures on product pricing and services; success and timing of other business strategies; the nature, extent, and timing of governmental actions and reforms; extended disruption of vital infrastructure; and other factors described in WesBanco's 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K and documents subsequently filed by WesBanco with the SEC.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to the results of operations presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), WesBanco's management uses, and this presentation contains or references, certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as pre-tax pre-provision income, tangible common equity/tangible assets; net income excluding after-tax restructuring and merger-related expenses and excluding after-tax day one provision for credit losses on acquired loans; efficiency ratio; return on average assets; and return on average tangible equity. WesBanco believes these financial measures provide information useful to investors in understanding our operational performance and business and performance trends which facilitate comparisons with the performance of others in the financial services industry. Although WesBanco believes that these non-GAAP financial measures enhance investors' understanding of WesBanco's business and performance, these non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered an alternative to GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures contained therein should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and analysis as presented in the Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as the unaudited financial statements and analyses as presented in the Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q for WesBanco and its subsidiaries, as well as other filings that the company has made with the SEC.

About WesBanco, Inc.
With over 150 years as a community-focused, regional financial services partner, WesBanco Inc. (NASDAQ: WSBC) and its subsidiaries build lasting prosperity through relationships and solutions that empower our customers for success in their financial journeys. Customers across our ten-state footprint choose WesBanco for the comprehensive range and personalized delivery of our retail and commercial banking solutions, as well as trust, brokerage, wealth management and insurance services, all designed to advance their financial goals. Through the strength of our teams, we leverage large bank capabilities and local focus to help make every community we serve a better place for people and businesses to thrive. Headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, WesBanco has $27.5 billion in total assets, with our Trust and Investment Services holding $7.8 billion of assets under management and securities account values (including annuities) of $2.6 billion through our broker/dealer, as of March 31, 2026. Learn more at www.wesbanco.com and follow @WesBanco on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.