WesBanco Q3 2026 Earnings: Loan Growth Lifts Net Interest Income

WesBanco (NASDAQ: WSBC) reported Q3 2026 net interest income of $226.9 million, up 4.7% year over year, while diluted EPS increased to $0.88 from $0.84. Net income available to common shareholders rose 5.2% to $85.3 million, supported by loan growth, a wider net interest margin, and sharply lower merger-related costs, although adjusted EPS declined and credit costs increased.

Core Financial Results

Net interest and non-interest income both increased during the quarter. Lower funding costs helped the net interest margin expand, but the provision for credit losses rose to $8.7 million from $2.1 million.

Total non-interest expense declined because restructuring and merger-related costs fell substantially. Excluding those costs, however, non-interest expense increased 3.7% to $150.1 million, mainly because of higher salaries and wages.

Adjusted diluted EPS is a non-GAAP measure that excludes after-tax restructuring and merger-related expenses. Net interest margin is presented on a fully taxable-equivalent and annualized basis.

Lending and Fee Businesses

Total portfolio loans reached $19.9 billion, increasing 5.1% year over year and 2.2% from the previous quarter. That sequential increase represented 8.7% annualized growth. Organic loan growth of nearly $1 billion over the past year more than offset approximately $370 million of Q3 commercial real estate payoffs, which reduced loan growth by roughly one percentage point.

Nashville and South Florida generated more than $400 million of organic loan growth. The commercial loan pipeline reached $1.8 billion at quarter-end, more than 50% above its year-end level. By loan category, commercial and industrial balances rose 10.7% year over year, home equity loans increased 13.7%, and commercial real estate loans grew 5.2%. Consumer loans declined 28.9%.

Non-interest income rose 2.2% to $45.9 million. Service charges on deposits increased 9.9%, trust fees rose 7.6%, and net swap fee and valuation income increased 50.3%. These gains were partly offset by a 93.5% decline in mortgage banking income to $0.1 million as more mortgage volume was retained in the loan portfolio.

Lower Merger Costs Lifted GAAP EPS While Adjusted EPS Fell

WesBanco’s GAAP and adjusted earnings moved in opposite directions. After-tax restructuring and merger-related expenses declined to $0.6 million from $9.0 million, helping GAAP diluted EPS rise to $0.88. Once those costs were excluded, adjusted net income available to common shareholders fell to $85.8 million from $90.0 million, and adjusted diluted EPS declined to $0.89 from $0.94.

The higher credit-loss provision and underlying expense growth offset the benefit of increased net interest and fee income. Salaries and wages rose 14.0% to $69.1 million because of hiring in Florida and Nashville and midyear merit increases. Marketing expense increased by $2.0 million in support of the expansion markets. The adjusted efficiency ratio remained nearly unchanged at 52.16%, compared with 52.20% a year earlier.

Profitability, Funding, and Credit Quality

The net interest margin expanded seven basis points year over year to 3.60%, primarily because deposit funding costs declined to 2.39% from 2.56%. On a reported basis, the margin was three basis points below Q2, but management said it was unchanged after excluding three basis points of accelerated accretion recorded in the prior quarter.

Deposits increased 1.5% year over year to $21.6 billion. Excluding certificates of deposit, balances grew $752 million, or 4.1%, while certificates of deposit declined 14.5%. Sequentially, however, portfolio loans grew 2.2% while deposits increased only 0.1%. Total borrowings consequently rose 35.8% from Q2 to $2.37 billion, including $1.95 billion of Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings. The average loan-to-deposit ratio increased to 90.8% from 88.9% in the previous quarter.

Credit indicators were mixed. Criticized and classified loans declined by $93 million sequentially to 3.19% of portfolio loans, but nonperforming assets increased to 0.62% of total assets from 0.53% in Q2 and 0.35% a year earlier. The increase reflected two commercial credits, residential mortgages moved to non-accrual status, and a $19.2 million loan held for sale. The allowance for credit losses was $214.6 million, equal to 1.08% of portfolio loans.

WesBanco reported a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 10.61%, a total risk-based capital ratio of 13.97%, and a tangible common equity-to-tangible assets ratio of 8.15%.

Management Perspective

President and CEO Jeff Jackson attributed the quarter’s performance to organic loan growth and momentum in targeted expansion markets. Management emphasized that year-to-date adjusted diluted EPS reached $2.72, up 6.7%, even though the quarterly adjusted figure declined year over year. The company also pointed to its expanded commercial pipeline as support for continued lending activity.

Recent Insider Transactions

The supplied insider data shows 76,749 shares purchased across 29 transactions and 38,695 shares sold across seven transactions during the latest six-month period, resulting in net purchases of 38,054 shares. The 10 latest reported transactions were concentrated in July and August 2026 and included derivative exercises or conversions as well as sales.

The six-month figures are share counts, while the transaction table presents reported values. Individual transactions do not, by themselves, establish insiders’ views of the company’s prospects.

Risks Investors Need to Watch

• Credit costs and nonperforming assets: The credit-loss provision more than quadrupled year over year, while nonperforming assets rose sequentially. Further deterioration could reduce the benefit from loan and net interest income growth.
• Funding pressure: Quarterly loan growth materially exceeded deposit growth, contributing to a 35.8% sequential increase in borrowings. Deposit funding costs also rose four basis points from Q2 despite remaining lower year over year.
• Commercial real estate payoffs: Q3 CRE payoffs totaled approximately $370 million and reached nearly $1.5 billion over the last 12 months. Continued elevated payoffs could limit reported loan growth despite new originations.
• Underlying expense growth: Higher compensation and expansion-related marketing costs contributed to the decline in quarterly adjusted EPS, even as the GAAP expense total benefited from lower merger costs.

Summary

WesBanco’s Q3 2026 results reflected solid loan growth, higher net interest income, and a wider year-over-year margin. Lower merger expenses lifted GAAP earnings, but adjusted EPS declined as credit costs and underlying operating expenses increased. The main follow-up issues are whether expansion-market loan growth can be funded with stronger deposits, whether nonperforming assets stabilize, and whether the larger commercial pipeline translates into profitable growth.