The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Lake City Bank (NASDAQ:LKFN) and the rest of the regional banks stocks fared in Q3.
Regional banks, financial institutions operating within specific geographic areas, serve as intermediaries between local depositors and borrowers. They benefit from rising interest rates that improve net interest margins (the difference between loan yields and deposit costs), digital transformation reducing operational expenses, and local economic growth driving loan demand. However, these banks face headwinds from fintech competition, deposit outflows to higher-yielding alternatives, credit deterioration (increasing loan defaults) during economic slowdowns, and regulatory compliance costs. Recent concerns about regional bank stability following high-profile failures and significant commercial real estate exposure present additional challenges.
The 101 regional banks stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.3%.
Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 8.4% on average since the latest earnings results.
Lake City Bank (NASDAQ:LKFN)
Dating back to 1872 and deeply rooted in Indiana's communities, Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) operates Lake City Bank, providing commercial and consumer banking services throughout Northern and Central Indiana.
Lake City Bank reported revenues of $70.13 million, up 12.5% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a slower quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ net interest income and EPS estimates.
“Healthy expansion in our net interest margin accompanied by great noninterest income growth and consistent loan growth delivered a strong quarter for the Lake City Bank team. We have had significant relationship growth in all areas of the business during 2025 with special emphasis on our commercial banking, treasury management services, and wealth advisory business units,” stated David M. Findlay, Chairman and CEO.
Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 9.6% since reporting and currently trades at $55.89.
Read our full report on Lake City Bank here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Best Q3: Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI)
Originally founded with a "high-tech, high-touch" branch-light banking strategy, Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI) is a bank holding company that provides commercial and consumer banking services through its Customers Bank subsidiary, with a focus on business lending and digital banking.
Customers Bancorp reported revenues of $231.8 million, up 38.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.9%. The business had a stunning quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ net interest income estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.
The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 19.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $78.19.
Is now the time to buy Customers Bancorp? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Weakest Q3: The Bancorp (NASDAQ:TBBK)
Operating behind the scenes of many popular fintech apps and prepaid cards you might use daily, The Bancorp (NASDAQ:TBBK) is a bank holding company that specializes in providing banking services to fintech companies and offering specialty lending products.
The Bancorp reported revenues of $174.7 million, up 38.8% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 9.9%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ net interest income estimates.
The Bancorp delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 9.4% since the results and currently trades at $69.96.
Read our full analysis of The Bancorp’s results here.
Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE)
With roots dating back to 1885 and a strategic focus on middle-market commercial lending, Cadence Bancorporation (NYSE:CADE) is a bank holding company that provides commercial banking, retail banking, and wealth management services to middle-market businesses and individuals.
Cadence Bank reported revenues of $519.3 million, up 15.1% year on year. This number came in 0.7% below analysts' expectations. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ tangible book value per share estimates but a slight miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.
The stock is up 20.9% since reporting and currently trades at $44.82.
Read our full, actionable report on Cadence Bank here, it’s free for active Edge members.
OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC)
Tracing its roots back to 1902 when it began serving coastal New Jersey communities, OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) operates as a regional bank holding company that provides commercial and consumer banking services primarily in New Jersey and surrounding metropolitan areas.
OceanFirst Financial reported revenues of $103 million, up 9.5% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. More broadly, it was a slower quarter as it recorded EPS in line with analysts’ estimates and a slight miss of analysts’ net interest income estimates.
The stock is down 10.7% since reporting and currently trades at $17.26.
Read our full, actionable report on OceanFirst Financial here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Market Update
Thanks to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been on a steady path downward, easing back toward that 2% sweet spot. Fortunately (miraculously to some), all this tightening didn’t send the economy tumbling into a recession, so here we are, cautiously celebrating a soft landing. The cherry on top? Recent rate cuts (half a point in September 2024, a quarter in November) have propped up markets, especially after Trump’s November win lit a fire under major indices and sent them to all-time highs. However, there’s still plenty to ponder — tariffs, corporate tax cuts, and what 2025 might hold for the economy.
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