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2026-07-31
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Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-31

Earnings Beat And Higher Dividend Could Be A Game Changer For Mercantile Bank (MBWM)

Simply Wall St.
Mercantile Bank Corporation recently reported past second-quarter 2026 results showing higher net interest income of US$57.26 million and net income of US$25.93 million, alongside basic and diluted earnings per share of US$1.50 from continuing operations, all up from the same period a year earlier. Alongside this earnings improvement, the bank also declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.40 per share, signaling confidence in its ability to return more cash to shareholders while maintaining operational strength. Next, we’ll examine how this earnings growth and higher dividend fit into Mercantile Bank’s longer-term investment narrative and risk profile. The best AI stocks today may lie beyond giants like Nvidia and Microsoft. Find the next big opportunity with these 16 smaller AI-focused companies with strong growth potential through early-stage innovation in machine learning, automation, and data intelligence that could fund your retirement. To own Mercantile Bank, you need to believe it can keep translating disciplined lending, digital investment and regional expansion into resilient earnings and a sustainable dividend. The latest quarter’s higher net interest income and profit support that narrative, but the key near term catalyst remains execution on its digital and core banking upgrade, while the main risk is that any stumble in credit quality or integration efforts could pressure margins and returns; this news does not materially change that balance. The most relevant update here is the increased quarterly dividend of US$0.40 per share, which sits alongside rising earnings. For investors watching catalysts, a progressively higher dividend supported by high quality earnings can reinforce confidence in the bank’s ability to fund digital initiatives and potential market expansion while still returning cash, even as the relatively new board and ongoing systems transition keep execution risk in focus. Yet even with higher earnings and a bigger dividend, investors should be aware that the real test will come if credit quality or the core system transition were to... Read the full narrative on Mercantile Bank (it's free!) Mercantile Bank's narrative projects $332.2 million revenue and $108.9 million earnings by 2029. This requires 9.5% yearly revenue growth and an earnings increase of about $17 million from $91.9 million today. Uncover how Mercantile Bank's forec…Read full document

Mercantile Bank Corporation recently reported past second-quarter 2026 results showing higher net interest income of US$57.26 million and net income of US$25.93 million, alongside basic and diluted earnings per share of US$1.50 from continuing operations, all up from the same period a year earlier. Alongside this earnings improvement, the bank also declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.40 per share, signaling confidence in its ability to return more cash to shareholders while maintaining operational strength. Next, we’ll examine how this earnings growth and higher dividend fit into Mercantile Bank’s longer-term investment narrative and risk profile. The best AI stocks today may lie beyond giants like Nvidia and Microsoft. Find the next big opportunity with these 16 smaller AI-focused companies with strong growth potential through early-stage innovation in machine learning, automation, and data intelligence that could fund your retirement. To own Mercantile Bank, you need to believe it can keep translating disciplined lending, digital investment and regional expansion into resilient earnings and a sustainable dividend. The latest quarter’s higher net interest income and profit support that narrative, but the key near term catalyst remains execution on its digital and core banking upgrade, while the main risk is that any stumble in credit quality or integration efforts could pressure margins and returns; this news does not materially change that balance. The most relevant update here is the increased quarterly dividend of US$0.40 per share, which sits alongside rising earnings. For investors watching catalysts, a progressively higher dividend supported by high quality earnings can reinforce confidence in the bank’s ability to fund digital initiatives and potential market expansion while still returning cash, even as the relatively new board and ongoing systems transition keep execution risk in focus. Yet even with higher earnings and a bigger dividend, investors should be aware that the real test will come if credit quality or the core system transition were to... Read the full narrative on Mercantile Bank (it's free!) Mercantile Bank's narrative projects $332.2 million revenue and $108.9 million earnings by 2029. This requires 9.5% yearly revenue growth and an earnings increase of about $17 million from $91.9 million today. Uncover how Mercantile Bank's forecasts yield a $59.33 fair value, in line with its current price. The single fair value estimate from the Simply Wall St Community sits at US$59.33, highlighting how even one private view can differ from market pricing. You can weigh that against the current focus on digital transformation as a key catalyst and consider how execution on that shift might influence your own expectations for Mercantile Bank’s performance over time. Explore another fair value estimate on Mercantile Bank - why the stock might be worth as much as $59.33! Disagree with existing narratives? Extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd, so go with your instincts. A great starting point for your Mercantile Bank research is our analysis highlighting 4 key rewards that could impact your investment decision. Our free Mercantile Bank research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Mercantile Bank's overall financial health at a glance. The market won't wait. These fast-moving stocks are hot now. Grab the list before they run: Invest in the nuclear renaissance through our list of 90 elite nuclear energy infrastructure plays powering the global AI revolution. Capitalize on the AI infrastructure supercycle with our selection of the 56 best 'picks and shovels' of the AI gold rush converting record-breaking demand into massive cash flow. This technology could replace computers: discover 25 stocks that are working to make quantum computing a reality. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include MBWM. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-22

Mercantile Bank Corporation Q2 2026 Earnings Call Summary

Moby
Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management attributes top-quartile ROA performance to a durable net interest margin, which expanded by 11 basis points over five quarters despite a 71-basis-point drop in the SOFR 90-day average. The acquisition of Eastern Michigan on 12/31/2025 is cited as a primary driver for improved on-balance sheet liquidity, lowering the loan-to-deposit ratio to 93% from 110% in late 2023. Performance was bolstered by a 35% increase in treasury management service charges, driven by a strategic focus on commercial deposit relationships and C&I loan growth. Asset quality remains a core pillar of the narrative, with nonperforming assets at just 9 basis points of total assets, which management credits to long-standing underwriting discipline. Operational expenses increased primarily due to strategic investments in the Southeast Michigan market and a core banking system conversion aimed at long-term efficiency. Management refutes the notion of high asset sensitivity, explaining that match funding of assets and liabilities has successfully insulated the margin from interest rate volatility. Loan growth is projected to remain in the mid-single-digit range for 2026, supported by a strong commercial pipeline and an expected moderation in loan payoffs. Net interest margin is forecasted to improve in the second half of 2026 as the bank redeploys excess cash from the Federal Reserve into higher-yielding commercial loans. Management assumes no changes in the federal funds rate for the remainder of 2026 but maintains that the balance sheet is positioned to remain 'agnostic' to rate shifts. The core and digital banking system conversion is scheduled for February 2027, with significant contract-level cost savings expected to begin in the second quarter of 2027. The bank expects to exit the brokered CD market by the end of 2026, relying on local deposit growth and the Eastern Michigan integration to replace higher-cost funding. Adjusted earnings exclude $600,000 in nonrecurring costs during Q2 related to the Eastern Michigan acquisition and the ongoing core system conversion. A negative provision for credit losses of $1.8 million was recorded, primarily reflecting the resolution of a specific nonperforming commercial construction loan.…Read full document

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management attributes top-quartile ROA performance to a durable net interest margin, which expanded by 11 basis points over five quarters despite a 71-basis-point drop in the SOFR 90-day average. The acquisition of Eastern Michigan on 12/31/2025 is cited as a primary driver for improved on-balance sheet liquidity, lowering the loan-to-deposit ratio to 93% from 110% in late 2023. Performance was bolstered by a 35% increase in treasury management service charges, driven by a strategic focus on commercial deposit relationships and C&I loan growth. Asset quality remains a core pillar of the narrative, with nonperforming assets at just 9 basis points of total assets, which management credits to long-standing underwriting discipline. Operational expenses increased primarily due to strategic investments in the Southeast Michigan market and a core banking system conversion aimed at long-term efficiency. Management refutes the notion of high asset sensitivity, explaining that match funding of assets and liabilities has successfully insulated the margin from interest rate volatility. Loan growth is projected to remain in the mid-single-digit range for 2026, supported by a strong commercial pipeline and an expected moderation in loan payoffs. Net interest margin is forecasted to improve in the second half of 2026 as the bank redeploys excess cash from the Federal Reserve into higher-yielding commercial loans. Management assumes no changes in the federal funds rate for the remainder of 2026 but maintains that the balance sheet is positioned to remain 'agnostic' to rate shifts. The core and digital banking system conversion is scheduled for February 2027, with significant contract-level cost savings expected to begin in the second quarter of 2027. The bank expects to exit the brokered CD market by the end of 2026, relying on local deposit growth and the Eastern Michigan integration to replace higher-cost funding. Adjusted earnings exclude $600,000 in nonrecurring costs during Q2 related to the Eastern Michigan acquisition and the ongoing core system conversion. A negative provision for credit losses of $1.8 million was recorded, primarily reflecting the resolution of a specific nonperforming commercial construction loan. The effective tax rate increased to 16.9% due to higher pretax income and a lower level of transferable energy tax credit benefits compared to the prior year. Management highlighted a $1.4 million decrease in the reserve for unfunded loan commitments, resulting from a high volume of commercial loan fundings during the quarter. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management explained they are intentionally overstaffed in operational areas to ensure a smooth core system conversion and comprehensive employee training. The Southeast Michigan expansion is a major growth driver, with recent hires in commercial and treasury roles already contributing net growth that offsets payoffs in other markets. Management expects the reserve-to-loan ratio to stabilize in the mid-1.10% range, assuming a steady economic environment. They noted that the CECL model's focus on duration makes it difficult to build higher reserves for commercial loans, which typically have shorter contractual lives of around two years. Subordinated notes become callable and flip to a floating rate in January 2027; management is comfortable letting them float for at least a year given the favorable spread. Share repurchases remain an option, but the current priority is maintaining high capital ratios to fund organic loan growth and potential future acquisitions. Confidence in moderating payoffs stems from direct communication with borrowers who have indicated a slowdown in refinancing or exit activities. Management noted that while they cannot guarantee borrower behavior, the 'spate of payoffs' seen over the last four quarters appears to be subsiding.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-22

Mercantile Bank (MBWM) Looks Fully Valued Following Stronger 2026 Earnings

Simply Wall St.
Find your next quality investment with Simply Wall St's easy and powerful screener, trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Mercantile Bank (MBWM) shares are in focus after the company reported second quarter and first half 2026 results, with higher net interest income and net income compared with the same periods last year. See our latest analysis for Mercantile Bank. The latest earnings report appears to have been well received, with Mercantile Bank’s share price up 3.50% on the day and a 30 day share price return of 11.03%. Momentum looks strong in the context of a 25.35% year to date share price return and a 5 year total shareholder return of 127.88%, which points to investors gradually reassessing both growth prospects and risk around the stock. If Mercantile Bank’s recent move has you thinking about what else is working in financials, this could be a good moment to broaden your search with 18 top founder-led companies After this strong run and with Mercantile Bank trading only slightly below the latest analyst price target, the key issue now is whether most of the easy upside has already played out or if the current valuation still leaves meaningful room ahead. Mercantile Bank is trading at $59.68 against a narrative fair value of $59.33, so the current share price is slightly above that estimate. Read the complete narrative. Curious what kind of revenue path and margin profile could underpin that fair value, and how a higher future P/E fits into the story? The most followed narrative leans heavily on a specific growth glide path, a detailed earnings bridge and assumptions about how investors might price the stock a few years from now. Result: Fair Value of $59.33 (OVERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, Mercantile Bank’s story could still shift if planned digital upgrades deliver meaningful cost savings, or if the Eastern Michigan Bank partnership scales faster than expected. Find out about the key risks to this Mercantile Bank narrative. The fair value narrative suggests Mercantile Bank is slightly overvalued at $59.68 versus a $59.33 estimate, yet the current P/E of 10.8x screens as good value against a fair ratio of 11.4x, the US Banks industry on 12.3x and peers at 13.8x. Is the risk that the market has already closed most of that valuation gap, or that it could still…Read full document

Find your next quality investment with Simply Wall St's easy and powerful screener, trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Mercantile Bank (MBWM) shares are in focus after the company reported second quarter and first half 2026 results, with higher net interest income and net income compared with the same periods last year. See our latest analysis for Mercantile Bank. The latest earnings report appears to have been well received, with Mercantile Bank’s share price up 3.50% on the day and a 30 day share price return of 11.03%. Momentum looks strong in the context of a 25.35% year to date share price return and a 5 year total shareholder return of 127.88%, which points to investors gradually reassessing both growth prospects and risk around the stock. If Mercantile Bank’s recent move has you thinking about what else is working in financials, this could be a good moment to broaden your search with 18 top founder-led companies After this strong run and with Mercantile Bank trading only slightly below the latest analyst price target, the key issue now is whether most of the easy upside has already played out or if the current valuation still leaves meaningful room ahead. Mercantile Bank is trading at $59.68 against a narrative fair value of $59.33, so the current share price is slightly above that estimate. Read the complete narrative. Curious what kind of revenue path and margin profile could underpin that fair value, and how a higher future P/E fits into the story? The most followed narrative leans heavily on a specific growth glide path, a detailed earnings bridge and assumptions about how investors might price the stock a few years from now. Result: Fair Value of $59.33 (OVERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, Mercantile Bank’s story could still shift if planned digital upgrades deliver meaningful cost savings, or if the Eastern Michigan Bank partnership scales faster than expected. Find out about the key risks to this Mercantile Bank narrative. The fair value narrative suggests Mercantile Bank is slightly overvalued at $59.68 versus a $59.33 estimate, yet the current P/E of 10.8x screens as good value against a fair ratio of 11.4x, the US Banks industry on 12.3x and peers at 13.8x. Is the risk that the market has already closed most of that valuation gap, or that it could still move closer to those higher reference points? See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown. The overall tone around Mercantile Bank is constructive, but the real edge comes from testing the numbers yourself and challenging the current narratives. If you want a quick way to see what the optimism is built on, start by reviewing the 5 key rewards. If Mercantile Bank has sharpened your focus, do not stop here. Widen your opportunity set with a few targeted ways to source fresh stocks. Start with quality by hunting for companies that pair prudent leverage with dependable fundamentals through the solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks screener (48 results). Target price dislocations by scanning for stocks where fundamentals and current pricing look out of sync using the 50 high quality undervalued stocks. Prioritize resilience by reviewing companies that score well on stability with the 81 resilient stocks with low risk scores. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include MBWM. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-21

Mercantile Bank: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Associated Press

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Mercantile Bank Corp. (MBWM) on Tuesday reported second-quarter earnings of $25.9 million. The bank, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said it had earnings of $1.50 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.53 per share. The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.34 per share. The holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan posted revenue of $98.2 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $68.8 million, falling short of Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $69.3 million. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MBWM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MBWM

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-21

Mercantile Bank Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

MarketBeat
Interested in Mercantile Bank Corporation? Here are five stocks we like better. Mercantile Bank reported higher Q2 2026 profit, with net income of $25.9 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, up from $22.6 million a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were also stronger after excluding acquisition and system-conversion costs. Net interest income rose as the Eastern Michigan acquisition boosted earning assets and helped lift the net interest margin to 3.59% from 3.48% a year ago. Management expects margin to stay relatively stable and improve modestly in the second half of 2026. Loan and deposit trends remained solid, with commercial loan growth of $115 million in the quarter and 12.4% deposit growth over the past year. Credit quality stayed strong, with non-performing assets at just 9 basis points of total assets and the bank recording a negative provision for credit losses. Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) reported higher second-quarter earnings and said its year-end 2025 acquisition of Eastern Michigan contributed to stronger deposits, improved liquidity and a stable net interest margin. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Chuck Christmas said the company earned net income of $25.9 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2026. That compared with net income of $22.6 million, or $1.39 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2025. For the first six months of 2026, net income totaled $48.6 million, or $2.82 per diluted share, compared with $42.2 million, or $2.60 per diluted share, in the same period last year. → Buyback Boom: These 3 Companies Are Betting Billions on Their Own Stocks Excluding non-recurring costs tied to the Eastern Michigan acquisition and the company’s previously announced core and digital banking system conversion, adjusted net income was $26.4 million, or $1.53 per diluted share, in the quarter. Adjusted net income for the first half of 2026 was $51.7 million, or $2.99 per diluted share. President and Chief Executive Officer Ray Reitsma said the quarter continued to reflect the company’s “commercial expertise generating a strong return profile.” He highlighted a 1.52% return on average assets, 14% return on average equity and 10% year-over-year earnings-per-share growth in the second quarter. → Cybersecurity Stocks Are Holding Up as the AI Trade Starts to Crack Christmas said net interest income increase…Read full document

Interested in Mercantile Bank Corporation? Here are five stocks we like better. Mercantile Bank reported higher Q2 2026 profit, with net income of $25.9 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, up from $22.6 million a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were also stronger after excluding acquisition and system-conversion costs. Net interest income rose as the Eastern Michigan acquisition boosted earning assets and helped lift the net interest margin to 3.59% from 3.48% a year ago. Management expects margin to stay relatively stable and improve modestly in the second half of 2026. Loan and deposit trends remained solid, with commercial loan growth of $115 million in the quarter and 12.4% deposit growth over the past year. Credit quality stayed strong, with non-performing assets at just 9 basis points of total assets and the bank recording a negative provision for credit losses. Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) reported higher second-quarter earnings and said its year-end 2025 acquisition of Eastern Michigan contributed to stronger deposits, improved liquidity and a stable net interest margin. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Chuck Christmas said the company earned net income of $25.9 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2026. That compared with net income of $22.6 million, or $1.39 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2025. For the first six months of 2026, net income totaled $48.6 million, or $2.82 per diluted share, compared with $42.2 million, or $2.60 per diluted share, in the same period last year. → Buyback Boom: These 3 Companies Are Betting Billions on Their Own Stocks Excluding non-recurring costs tied to the Eastern Michigan acquisition and the company’s previously announced core and digital banking system conversion, adjusted net income was $26.4 million, or $1.53 per diluted share, in the quarter. Adjusted net income for the first half of 2026 was $51.7 million, or $2.99 per diluted share. President and Chief Executive Officer Ray Reitsma said the quarter continued to reflect the company’s “commercial expertise generating a strong return profile.” He highlighted a 1.52% return on average assets, 14% return on average equity and 10% year-over-year earnings-per-share growth in the second quarter. → Cybersecurity Stocks Are Holding Up as the AI Trade Starts to Crack Christmas said net interest income increased by $7.8 million in the second quarter and $15.1 million in the first six months of 2026 compared with the respective prior-year periods. The increase primarily reflected growth in earning assets and a higher net interest margin. Average earning assets totaled $6.43 billion in the second quarter, up from $5.73 billion a year earlier. The net interest margin was 3.59%, compared with 3.48% in the second quarter of 2025. Christmas said the improvement was “largely due to the Eastern Michigan acquisition.” → Strait of Hormuz Tensions Spike Tanker Trade: These 2 Stocks Are Set to Benefit Reitsma said the company’s margin performance showed that Mercantile had effectively matched funding of assets and liabilities. He noted that over the last five quarters, the 90-day average SOFR rate fell 71 basis points while the company’s margin increased 11 basis points to 3.59%. Christmas said management expects a higher net interest margin in the second half of 2026 compared with the first half, citing expected commercial loan growth, lower balances at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the maturity of low-yielding fixed-rate commercial real estate loans and investments. Reitsma said commercial loan growth in the second quarter totaled $115 million, an annualized rate of 11.7%. He said loan payoffs moderated from the prior four quarters, falling by $60 million compared with the previous quarter. Commitments to make new commercial loans totaled $224 million at June 30, while commitments to fund existing commercial and residential construction loans totaled $283 million. Both were at or near five-quarter highs. The company expects loan growth for 2026 to fall within its prior guidance range of mid-single-digit percentages. Christmas later said the company is projecting annualized loan growth of 5% to 7% in each quarter for the remainder of 2026. Deposits also grew. Reitsma said deposit growth for the 12 months ended June 30 was 12.4%, with growth in non-interest-bearing accounts outpacing interest-bearing accounts. The loan-to-deposit ratio was 93% at the end of the second quarter, compared with 100% at June 30, 2025, and 110% at the end of 2023. Mercantile’s deposit mix at quarter-end included 27% non-interest-bearing deposits and 24% lower-cost deposits, up from 25% and 20%, respectively, a year earlier. Reitsma said the Eastern Michigan acquisition contributed positively to these measures. Management emphasized asset quality throughout the call. Reitsma said non-performing assets were nine basis points of total assets as of June 30, while non-performing loans to total loans had averaged 12 basis points over the last six and a half years. The allowance for credit losses stood at 1.13% of total loans and was nearly 10 times the dollar amount of non-performing loans. Christmas said Mercantile recorded negative provisions for credit losses of $1.8 million in the second quarter and $3.6 million in the first half of 2026. The second-quarter negative provision mainly reflected the elimination of a $2.7 million specific allocation after resolution of a non-performing commercial construction loan. That was partially offset by changes in the economic forecast, allocations tied to net loan growth and higher qualitative factor allocations. During the question-and-answer session, Christmas said the reserve ratio has generally been between the current 1.13% level and the low 120-basis-point range for some time. Barring a significant change in the economy, he said he would expect the coverage ratio to remain around the mid-teens to low-120s basis-point range. Reitsma said growth in commercial deposit relationships helped drive a 35% increase in service charges on accounts during the second quarter compared with the year-earlier period. Credit and debit card offerings grew 21% in the first six months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Non-interest expenses rose by $6.0 million in the quarter and $17.0 million in the first half compared with the prior-year periods. Excluding one-time costs related to the core and digital banking conversion and Eastern Michigan acquisition, non-interest expenses increased by $5.4 million in the quarter and $13.1 million in the first half. Christmas said the increase in core operating costs largely reflected higher salary and benefit costs, as well as inflation and a larger balance sheet. In response to an analyst question, he said the company had been hiring aggressively in operational areas to support the core conversion and training, while also investing in Southeast Michigan commercial and treasury management personnel. Christmas said both Mercantile Bank and Eastern Michigan Bank remained well-capitalized. Mercantile Bank’s total risk-based capital ratio was 13.5% at June 30, while Eastern Michigan Bank’s ratio was 23.1%. The company did not repurchase shares during the quarter and had $6.8 million remaining under its current repurchase plan. Management’s outlook assumes no changes in the federal funds rate for the remainder of 2026, though Christmas said Mercantile expects its margin to remain relatively stable even in a changing rate environment. He said the company has used match funding and balance sheet management to reduce the impact of rate changes. In the Q&A, Christmas said Mercantile expects to exit the brokered CD market by the end of 2026, with only about $20 million remaining in two certificates of deposit that mature in December. He also said excess cash of roughly $100 million to $125 million could be redeployed into loans by early next year, if not by year-end, depending on net commercial loan growth. Reitsma said the Southeast Michigan market remains an important growth opportunity, but he added that loan originations are spread across the company’s footprint, including Grand Rapids, West Michigan, Central Michigan and Northern Michigan. Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: MBWM) is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through its state-chartered subsidiary, the company provides a broad range of financial products and services to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and consumers across West and Central Michigan. The bank's core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside commercial and consumer loan portfolios. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Mercantile Bank Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for July 2026.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-21

Mercantile Bank (MBWM) Surpasses Q2 Earnings Estimates

Zacks
Mercantile Bank (MBWM) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.53 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.34 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.39 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +14.18%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan would post earnings of $1.33 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.46, delivering a surprise of +9.77%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Mercantile Bank, which belongs to the Zacks Banks - Midwest industry, posted revenues of $68.76 million for the quarter ended June 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.74%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $60.94 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Mercantile Bank shares have added about 19.9% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.7%. While Mercantile Bank has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Mercantile Bank was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the co…Read full document

Mercantile Bank (MBWM) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.53 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.34 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.39 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +14.18%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan would post earnings of $1.33 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.46, delivering a surprise of +9.77%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Mercantile Bank, which belongs to the Zacks Banks - Midwest industry, posted revenues of $68.76 million for the quarter ended June 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.74%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $60.94 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Mercantile Bank shares have added about 19.9% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.7%. While Mercantile Bank has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Mercantile Bank was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.41 on $71.27 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $5.63 on $280.17 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Banks - Midwest is currently in the top 31% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Another stock from the same industry, German American Bancorp (GABC), has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. This financial services holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.92 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +7%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.4% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. German American Bancorp's revenues are expected to be $98.43 million, up 9.5% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Mercantile Bank Corporation (MBWM) : Free Stock Analysis Report German American Bancorp, Inc. (GABC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-21

Compared to Estimates, Mercantile Bank (MBWM) Q2 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics

Zacks
Mercantile Bank (MBWM) reported $68.76 million in revenue for the quarter ended June 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 12.8%. EPS of $1.53 for the same period compares to $1.39 a year ago. The reported revenue represents a surprise of -0.74% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $69.27 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.34, the EPS surprise was +14.18%. While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how Mercantile Bank performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Efficiency Ratio: 57.3% versus 56.9% estimated by three analysts on average. Net interest margin (fully tax-equivalent): 3.6% compared to the 3.6% average estimate based on three analysts. Net loan charge-offs (recoveries) to average loans: -0% compared to the 0.1% average estimate based on two analysts. Average Balances - Total earning assets (before allowance): $6.43 billion versus $6.49 billion estimated by two analysts on average. Total Noninterest Income: $11.5 million compared to the $11.82 million average estimate based on three analysts. Net Interest Income: $57.26 million versus $57.44 million estimated by three analysts on average. Payroll services: $0.85 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $0.93 million. Interest rate swap income: $0.44 million versus $0.54 million estimated by two analysts on average. Credit and debit card income: $2.92 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $2.61 million. Earnings on bank owned life insurance: $0.78 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $0.69 million. Mortgage banking income: $3.19 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $3.5 million. Other income: $0.65 million compared to the $1.05 million average estimate based on two analysts. View all Key Company Metrics for Mercantile Bank here>>> Shares of Mercantile Bank have returned +6.9% over the…Read full document

Mercantile Bank (MBWM) reported $68.76 million in revenue for the quarter ended June 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 12.8%. EPS of $1.53 for the same period compares to $1.39 a year ago. The reported revenue represents a surprise of -0.74% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $69.27 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $1.34, the EPS surprise was +14.18%. While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how Mercantile Bank performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Efficiency Ratio: 57.3% versus 56.9% estimated by three analysts on average. Net interest margin (fully tax-equivalent): 3.6% compared to the 3.6% average estimate based on three analysts. Net loan charge-offs (recoveries) to average loans: -0% compared to the 0.1% average estimate based on two analysts. Average Balances - Total earning assets (before allowance): $6.43 billion versus $6.49 billion estimated by two analysts on average. Total Noninterest Income: $11.5 million compared to the $11.82 million average estimate based on three analysts. Net Interest Income: $57.26 million versus $57.44 million estimated by three analysts on average. Payroll services: $0.85 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $0.93 million. Interest rate swap income: $0.44 million versus $0.54 million estimated by two analysts on average. Credit and debit card income: $2.92 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $2.61 million. Earnings on bank owned life insurance: $0.78 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $0.69 million. Mortgage banking income: $3.19 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $3.5 million. Other income: $0.65 million compared to the $1.05 million average estimate based on two analysts. View all Key Company Metrics for Mercantile Bank here>>> Shares of Mercantile Bank have returned +6.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -0.6% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Mercantile Bank Corporation (MBWM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-21

Mercantile Bank Corp (MBWM) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Financial Performance and ...

GuruFocus.com
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Net Income: $25.9 million or $1.50 per diluted share for Q2 2026, compared to $22.6 million or $1.39 per diluted share for Q2 2025. Adjusted Net Income: $26.4 million or $1.53 per diluted share for Q2 2026. Net Interest Margin: Increased by 11 basis points to 3.59% in Q2 2026. Loan-to-Deposit Ratio: 93% as of June 30, 2026, compared to 100% on June 30, 2025. Commercial Loan Growth: $115 million in Q2 2026, an annualized growth rate of 11.7%. Deposit Growth: 12.4% during the 12 months ended June 30, 2026. Net Revenue Growth: 15.3% to $136.3 million during the first six months of 2026. Return on Average Assets: 1.52% in Q2 2026. Return on Average Equity: 14% in Q2 2026. Tangible Book Value Per Share Growth: Annualized 11.6% increase in Q2 2026 compared to Q1 2026. Non-Performing Assets: 9 basis points of total assets as of June 30, 2026. Allowance for Credit Losses: 1.13% of total loans as of June 30, 2026. Service Charges Growth: 35% increase in Q2 2026 compared to Q2 2025. Credit and Debit Card Growth: 21% in the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Effective Tax Rate: 16.9% during Q2 2026. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Signs with MBWM. Is MBWM fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: July 21, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Mercantile Bank Corp (NASDAQ:MBWM) reported a strong return on assets (ROA) of 1.52% and a return on equity (ROE) of 14% for the second quarter of 2026. The acquisition of Eastern Michigan contributed positively to deposit growth, with a 12.4% increase in deposits over the past year. Commercial loan growth was robust, with an annualized growth rate of 11.7% in the second quarter of 2026. Net interest margin improved to 3.59% during the second quarter of 2026, up from 3.48% in the same period of 2025. The company demonstrated strong asset quality, with non-performing assets at only 9 basis points of total assets as of June 30, 2026. Interest income on loans was relatively unchanged due to a lower yield on loans, despite loan growth. Non-interest expenses increased by $6.0 million during the second quarter of 2026 compared to the prior year, partly due to costs associated with the acquisition of Eastern Michigan. The cost of interest-bearing deposits incr…Read full document

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Net Income: $25.9 million or $1.50 per diluted share for Q2 2026, compared to $22.6 million or $1.39 per diluted share for Q2 2025. Adjusted Net Income: $26.4 million or $1.53 per diluted share for Q2 2026. Net Interest Margin: Increased by 11 basis points to 3.59% in Q2 2026. Loan-to-Deposit Ratio: 93% as of June 30, 2026, compared to 100% on June 30, 2025. Commercial Loan Growth: $115 million in Q2 2026, an annualized growth rate of 11.7%. Deposit Growth: 12.4% during the 12 months ended June 30, 2026. Net Revenue Growth: 15.3% to $136.3 million during the first six months of 2026. Return on Average Assets: 1.52% in Q2 2026. Return on Average Equity: 14% in Q2 2026. Tangible Book Value Per Share Growth: Annualized 11.6% increase in Q2 2026 compared to Q1 2026. Non-Performing Assets: 9 basis points of total assets as of June 30, 2026. Allowance for Credit Losses: 1.13% of total loans as of June 30, 2026. Service Charges Growth: 35% increase in Q2 2026 compared to Q2 2025. Credit and Debit Card Growth: 21% in the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Effective Tax Rate: 16.9% during Q2 2026. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Signs with MBWM. Is MBWM fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: July 21, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Mercantile Bank Corp (NASDAQ:MBWM) reported a strong return on assets (ROA) of 1.52% and a return on equity (ROE) of 14% for the second quarter of 2026. The acquisition of Eastern Michigan contributed positively to deposit growth, with a 12.4% increase in deposits over the past year. Commercial loan growth was robust, with an annualized growth rate of 11.7% in the second quarter of 2026. Net interest margin improved to 3.59% during the second quarter of 2026, up from 3.48% in the same period of 2025. The company demonstrated strong asset quality, with non-performing assets at only 9 basis points of total assets as of June 30, 2026. Interest income on loans was relatively unchanged due to a lower yield on loans, despite loan growth. Non-interest expenses increased by $6.0 million during the second quarter of 2026 compared to the prior year, partly due to costs associated with the acquisition of Eastern Michigan. The cost of interest-bearing deposits increased, reflecting growth in interest-bearing deposit balances. The company faced challenges with significant levels of commercial loan payoffs and partial paydowns, which mitigated loan growth. Federal income tax expenses increased by $1.9 million during the second quarter of 2026 compared to the prior year, impacting net income. Q: Can you elaborate on the expense increase related to personnel investments and the core conversion in Southeast Michigan? A: Charles Christmas, CFO, explained that the costs associated with the core conversion are significant, and they have been aggressive in hiring to ensure effective training and implementation. The expansion in Southeast Michigan has been a focus, with exceptional personnel hired to support growth in that market. The additional expenses are primarily due to these strategic investments. Q: What are the expected savings post-core conversion, and when will they materialize? A: Charles Christmas noted that savings from the core conversion are expected to start in the second quarter of next year. While it's difficult to specify exact savings due to various moving parts, the core contract itself offers significant savings. However, it will take time to fully realize these savings. Q: How do you see the loan loss reserves stabilizing, and when might the loan loss provision turn positive? A: Charles Christmas mentioned that the current low level of specific reserves reflects strong loan underwriting and collateral. The reserve balance is expected to remain stable, around the current range of 1.13% to low 120s, unless significant economic changes occur. Q: Can you update us on the competitive landscape for core funding and deposit growth expectations? A: Charles Christmas stated that the competitive landscape for core funding has been stable, with no significant changes in deposit rates. They expect solid local deposit growth in the third quarter due to seasonality and strong commercial lending activities, particularly in non-interest-bearing accounts. Q: What are the main drivers for the expected net interest margin (NIM) expansion in the coming quarters? A: Charles Christmas highlighted that the NIM expansion will be driven by the repricing of fixed-rate commercial real estate loans and agency bonds, as well as the reduction of excess funds at the Federal Reserve, which will be redirected to higher-yielding loans. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-21

Mercantile Bank Q2 Earnings, Revenue Increase

MT Newswires

Mercantile Bank (MBWM) reported Q2 earnings Tuesday of $1.50 per diluted share, up from $1.39 a year

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-21

Mercantile Bank Corporation Announces Strong Second Quarter 2026 Results

PR Newswire
Net interest income expansion, strong commercial loan growth, and sustained strength in asset quality metrics and capital levels highlight the quarter GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: MBWM) ("Mercantile") reported net income of $25.9 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2026, compared with net income of $22.6 million, or $1.39 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2025. Net income during the first six months of 2026 totaled $48.6 million, or $2.82 per diluted share, compared with net income of $42.2 million, or $2.60 per diluted share, during the first six months of 2025. Excluding non-recurring costs associated with the acquisition of Eastern Michigan Financial Corporation and the previously announced core and digital banking system conversion (a non-GAAP measurement), adjusted net income was $26.4 million, or $1.53 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2026, and $51.7 million, or $2.99 per diluted share, for the first six months of 2026. Using these non-GAAP measures, adjusted earnings per diluted share increased $0.14, or 10 percent, in the second quarter of 2026, and $0.39, or 15 percent, in the first six months of 2026, compared to the respective 2025 periods. "We are very pleased to report another quarter of strong financial performance as we continue to successfully navigate our way through the extended and ongoing period of uncertain global economic conditions and heightened geopolitical concerns," said Ray Reitsma, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercantile. "Our robust operating results were driven by increased net interest income, reflecting strong commercial loan growth and a higher net interest margin, a negative provision for credit losses, a significant increase in treasury management fees, a reduction in wholesale funds, and continuing strength in asset quality metrics. As evidenced by the ongoing expansion of local deposits, we remain committed to funding earning asset growth with local deposit generation." Second quarter highlights include: Return on average assets of 1.5 percent and return on average equity of 14.0 percent Tangible book value per common share of $38.42 as of June 30, 2026, up 9 percent (annualized) and over 7 percent since December 31, 2025, and June 30, 2025, respectively Net revenue growth of nearly 13 percent compared…Read full document

Net interest income expansion, strong commercial loan growth, and sustained strength in asset quality metrics and capital levels highlight the quarter GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: MBWM) ("Mercantile") reported net income of $25.9 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2026, compared with net income of $22.6 million, or $1.39 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2025. Net income during the first six months of 2026 totaled $48.6 million, or $2.82 per diluted share, compared with net income of $42.2 million, or $2.60 per diluted share, during the first six months of 2025. Excluding non-recurring costs associated with the acquisition of Eastern Michigan Financial Corporation and the previously announced core and digital banking system conversion (a non-GAAP measurement), adjusted net income was $26.4 million, or $1.53 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2026, and $51.7 million, or $2.99 per diluted share, for the first six months of 2026. Using these non-GAAP measures, adjusted earnings per diluted share increased $0.14, or 10 percent, in the second quarter of 2026, and $0.39, or 15 percent, in the first six months of 2026, compared to the respective 2025 periods. "We are very pleased to report another quarter of strong financial performance as we continue to successfully navigate our way through the extended and ongoing period of uncertain global economic conditions and heightened geopolitical concerns," said Ray Reitsma, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercantile. "Our robust operating results were driven by increased net interest income, reflecting strong commercial loan growth and a higher net interest margin, a negative provision for credit losses, a significant increase in treasury management fees, a reduction in wholesale funds, and continuing strength in asset quality metrics. As evidenced by the ongoing expansion of local deposits, we remain committed to funding earning asset growth with local deposit generation." Second quarter highlights include: Return on average assets of 1.5 percent and return on average equity of 14.0 percent Tangible book value per common share of $38.42 as of June 30, 2026, up 9 percent (annualized) and over 7 percent since December 31, 2025, and June 30, 2025, respectively Net revenue growth of nearly 13 percent compared to the prior-year second quarter, including net interest income expansion of nearly 16 percent Improved net interest margin, largely reflecting lower cost of funds, commercial loan growth, and continued upward repricing of matured fixed-rate loans and securities Noteworthy increases in treasury management fees and payroll services fees of approximately 29 percent and 9 percent, respectively Continued strength in commercial loan pipeline Ongoing low level of nonperforming assets and nominal past due loans and loan charge-offs Significant reduction in loan-to-deposit ratio from approximately 100 percent as of June 30, 2025, to approximately 93 percent as of June 30, 2026, primarily reflecting strong local deposit generation and the onboarding of Eastern Michigan Bank's deposit portfolio Notable decreases in brokered deposits of $110 million during the first six months of 2026, and $179 million during the twelve months ended June 30, 2026, leaving a balance of only $20.1 million that is scheduled to mature in late 2026 Robust tangible and regulatory capital positions Operating Results Net revenue, consisting of net interest income and noninterest income, was $68.8 million during the second quarter of 2026, up $7.8 million, or 12.8 percent, from $61.0 million during the prior-year second quarter. Net interest income during the current-year second quarter was $57.3 million, up $7.8 million, or 15.7 percent, from $49.5 million during the respective 2025 period mainly due to growth in earning assets and a higher net interest margin. Eastern Michigan Bank's net interest income totaled $5.9 million during the second quarter of 2026. Noninterest income totaled $11.5 million during the second quarter of 2026, virtually unchanged from the level recorded during the second quarter of 2025; increases in treasury management fees, bank owned life insurance income, and payroll services fees were offset by reductions in interest rate swap and mortgage banking income. Eastern Michigan Bank generated $0.6 million in noninterest income during the second quarter of 2026, primarily consisting of deposit service charges. The net interest margin was 3.59 percent in the second quarter of 2026, up from 3.48 percent in the prior-year second quarter. The yield on average earning assets was 5.42 percent during the current-year second quarter, a decline from 5.75 percent during the respective 2025 period. The decreased yield largely stemmed from a lower yield on loans and a change in earning asset mix, which more than offset an improved yield on securities resulting from the reinvestment of relatively low-yielding bonds and portfolio expansion activities, along with the positive impact resulting from the addition of Eastern Michigan Bank's securities portfolio. The yield on loans was 6.01 percent during the second quarter of 2026, down from 6.29 percent during the second quarter of 2025, mainly due to reduced interest rates on variable-rate commercial loans resulting from the Federal Open Market Committee ("FOMC") lowering the targeted federal funds rate. The FOMC decreased the targeted federal funds rate by 25 basis points in each of September, October, and December of 2025, during which time average variable-rate commercial loans represented approximately 77 percent of average total commercial loans. Reflecting a strategic initiative to lower the loan-to-deposit ratio and the impact of Eastern Michigan Bank's liquid balance sheet, relatively higher-yielding loans represented a decreased percentage of earning assets and relatively lower-yielding securities accounted for an increased percentage of earning assets in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the second quarter of 2025. The yield on securities equaled 3.36 percent during the second quarter of 2026, up from 2.82 percent during the prior-year second quarter. The yield on other interest-earning assets, primarily consisting of funds on deposit with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, declined from 4.91 percent during the second quarter of 2025 to 4.04 percent during the respective 2026 period, reflecting the decreased interest rate environment. During the second quarter of 2026, the cost of funds was 1.83 percent, down from 2.27 percent during the second quarter of 2025, mainly due to lower rates paid on money market accounts and time deposits, reflecting the decreased interest rate environment. An increase in low-cost deposit products as a percentage of total funding sources, primarily stemming from the addition of Eastern Michigan Bank's deposit base, and a reduction in brokered deposits also contributed to the reduced cost of funds. The latter reflects a strategy to refine the deposit base whereby the reliance on the brokered deposit market and other higher-priced deposit-only relationships is reduced. Mercantile recorded provisions for credit losses of negative $1.8 million and positive $1.6 million during the second quarters of 2026 and 2025, respectively. The negative provision expense recorded during the current-year second quarter mainly reflected the elimination of a $2.7 million specific allocation associated with the resolution of a nonperforming commercial construction loan, which was partially offset by changes in the economic forecast, allocations necessitated by net loan growth, and an increase in qualitative factor allocations. The recording of net loan recoveries and sustained strength in loan quality metrics during both periods positively impacted necessary provision levels. Noninterest income totaled $11.5 million during the second quarter of 2026, up slightly from the level recorded during the prior-year second quarter. Growth in treasury management fees, bank owned life insurance income, and payroll services fees was offset by lower levels of interest rate swap and mortgage banking income. The increases in treasury management and payroll services fees largely resulted from new commercial customer acquisitions and customers' expanded use of products and services, as well as a modified fee schedule. The reduction in interest rate swap income primarily reflected a lower volume of new swap transactions, while the decrease in mortgage banking income mainly resulted from accelerated mortgage servicing rights amortization resulting from an increased level of payoffs, a change in the quarter-end fair value of commitments to originate salable residential mortgage loans and a lower percentage of loans originated with the intent to sell. Noninterest expense totaled $39.4 million during the second quarter of 2026, compared to $33.4 million during the second quarter of 2025. Excluding non-recurring costs aggregating $0.5 million related to the core and digital banking system conversion and $0.1 million associated with the acquisition of Eastern Michigan Financial Corporation, noninterest expense increased $5.4 million during the current-year second quarter compared to the respective 2025 period. Eastern Michigan Bank's noninterest expense totaled $4.0 million during the second quarter of 2026, including salary and benefit costs of $1.8 million and core deposit intangible asset amortization of $0.9 million. The remaining increase in noninterest expense largely reflected higher salary and benefit costs, along with cost inflation and an expanded balance sheet and branch network. A $1.4 million decrease in allocations to the reserve for unfunded loan commitments, mainly reflecting a lower level of commercial loan commitments that have been accepted by customers, positively impacted noninterest expense during the second quarter of 2026. Federal income tax expense was $5.3 million during the second quarter of 2026, compared to $3.3 million during the prior-year second quarter. The increase in federal income tax expense primarily resulted from a higher level of income before federal income tax and a lower level of net benefits from transferable energy tax credits. Mercantile's effective tax rate, which equaled 16.9 percent and 12.9 percent during the second quarters of 2026 and 2025, respectively, has been positively impacted by tax benefits derived from the acquisition of transferable energy tax credits and low-income housing and historic tax credit investments. Mr. Reitsma commented, "The robust increase in net interest income during the second quarter of 2026 resulted from strong commercial loan growth and an improved net interest margin, which was largely driven by a reduced cost of funds and the upward repricing of matured fixed-rate loans and securities. As demonstrated by the solid growth in treasury management and payroll services fees, we continue to be successful in our efforts to cultivate new customer relationships and further develop existing clients' relationships. We remain focused on expanding our balance sheet in a cost-effective fashion while continuing to deliver excellent service and market-leading products and services to our clients. Total overhead expense, excluding costs associated with the core and digital banking system conversion and acquisition of Eastern Michigan Financial Corporation, as a percentage of net revenue during the second quarter of 2026 approximated the level during the prior-year second quarter." Balance Sheet Total assets were $6.82 billion as of June 30, 2026, down $15.7 million from December 31, 2025. Total loans increased $98.9 million, or an annualized 8.2 percent, during the second quarter of 2026, and $93.7 million, or an annualized 3.9 percent, during the first six months of 2026, primarily reflecting commercial loan portfolio expansion of $115 million, or an annualized 11.7 percent, and $132 million, or an annualized 6.8 percent, during the respective periods. Commercial loans grew in both 2026 periods despite the full payoffs and partial paydowns of certain larger relationships, which aggregated $121 million during the second quarter of 2026, and $301 million during the first six months of 2026. The payoffs and paydowns, which mainly resulted from sales of assets, secondary market refinancings, and customers using excess cash flows generated within their operations to make line of credit reductions, subsided as anticipated during the second quarter of 2026 compared to the first quarter of 2026, although remaining above the historical average of approximately $50 million per quarter. Payoffs and paydowns during 2025 were also well above historical levels, totaling approximately $363 million and averaging about $91 million per quarter. Commercial loan originations, consisting of loans to new customers and increases in existing credit relationships, remained strong across all segments during the first six months of 2026. Residential mortgage loans were down $17.7 million and $40.3 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, while other consumer loans increased $1.6 million and $2.3 million during the respective periods. During the first six months of 2026, interest-earning deposits declined $149 million, and securities available for sale were up $23.3 million. The reduction in interest-earning deposits primarily resulted from funds being used to originate loans, purchase securities, and payoff matured brokered deposits and Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis ("FHLBI") advances. As of June 30, 2026, unfunded commitments on commercial construction and development loans, which are expected to be funded over the next 12 to 18 months, and residential construction loans, which are expected to be largely funded over the next 12 months, totaled $236 million and $47.4 million, respectively. The unused balance on construction loans remains relatively stable as new construction loan opportunities are identified and as construction loans shift to term real estate loans upon completion of the projects. Commercial and industrial loans and owner-occupied commercial real estate loans combined represented approximately 58 percent of total commercial loans as of June 30, 2026, a level that has remained relatively consistent with prior periods and in line with our expectations. Total deposits equaled $5.30 billion as of June 30, 2026, compared to $5.28 billion as of December 31, 2025. Local deposits grew $122 million, or an annualized 4.8 percent, during the first six months of 2026, while brokered deposits decreased $110 million. The increase in local deposits, which occurred despite the normal level of seasonal noninterest-bearing deposit withdrawals by customers to make bonus and tax payments and partnership distributions, reflected successful client acquisition efforts and net growth in various existing deposit relationships. The loan-to-deposit ratio equaled 93 percent as of June 30, 2026, down from 100 percent as of June 30, 2025, largely due to an increase in local deposits. As of June 30, 2026, wholesale funds, consisting of FHLBI advances and brokered deposits, were $325 million, or approximately 6 percent of total funds, compared to approximately 8 percent and 10 percent as of December 31, 2025, and June 30, 2025, respectively. Noninterest-bearing checking accounts represented approximately 27 percent of total deposits as of June 30, 2026. Mr. Reitsma noted, "We are very pleased with the growth in the commercial loan portfolio during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, especially when factoring in the level of payoffs and line of credit paydowns during the periods. Our commercial loan pipeline remains robust, which combined with ongoing conversations with existing and potential borrowers, should provide us with meaningful opportunities to originate loans in forthcoming periods. We remain committed to funding lending opportunities with local deposit generation." Asset Quality Nonperforming assets totaled $5.8 million, or 0.1 percent of total assets, as of June 30, 2026, compared to $7.9 million, or 0.1 percent of total assets, as of December 31, 2025, and $9.7 million, or 0.2 percent of total assets, as of June 30, 2025. The decreases in nonperforming assets during the first six months of 2026 and twelve months ended June 30, 2026, mainly reflected the resolution of a nonperforming commercial construction loan, which had been placed on nonaccrual during the second quarter of 2025 and represented approximately 57 percent and 35 percent of total nonperforming assets as of June 30, 2025, and December 31, 2025, respectively. Specific allocations totaling $5.5 million and ultimately equaling the full loan balance were made during the second and third quarters of 2025, with the loan balance charged down by $2.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2025. During the second quarter of 2026, the loan's remaining book balance of $2.7 million was paid off, eliminating the remaining specific allocation balance, and a recovery of $0.2 million was recorded. The level of past due loans remains minimal. During the second quarter of 2026, loan charge-offs were nominal, while recoveries of prior period loan charge-offs equaled $0.5 million, providing for net loan recoveries of $0.5 million, or an annualized 0.04 percent of average total loans. Mr. Reitsma remarked, "As reflected by ongoing low levels of nonperforming assets, past due loans, and loan charge-offs, our asset quality metrics remained robust during the second quarter of 2026. We remain committed to underwriting all loan types in a disciplined manner and identifying any deteriorating commercial loan relationships or emerging systemic or sector-specific credit problems as soon as possible to limit the impact of such on our overall financial health. Our sound collection and conservative charge-off practices were evident during the current-year second quarter with the full resolution of a significant nonperforming commercial construction loan, which represented our largest nonperforming loan as of March 31, 2026. The resiliency of our commercial loan clients during the extended and ongoing period of uncertain macro-economic conditions has been noteworthy." Capital Position Shareholders' equity totaled $755 million as of June 30, 2026, up $30.2 million from December 31, 2025. Mercantile Bank and Eastern Michigan Bank each maintained "well-capitalized" positions as of June 30, 2026, with total risk-based capital ratios of 13.5 percent and 23.1 percent, respectively. As of June 30, 2026, Mercantile Bank and Eastern Michigan Bank had approximately $205 million and $36.3 million, respectively, in excess of the 10 percent minimum regulatory threshold required to be categorized as a "well-capitalized" institution. Mercantile reported 17,285,911 total shares outstanding as of June 30, 2026. Mr. Reitsma concluded, "Our ongoing strong financial condition enabled us to continue our regular cash dividend program, and as demonstrated by our announcement of an increased third quarter 2026 cash dividend, we remain committed to building shareholder value through meaningful cash returns. Based on the continuing strength of our operating results, asset quality measures, capital levels and loan funding opportunities, along with the expected realization of solid financial performance in upcoming periods, we believe we are positioned to successfully address any challenges arising from the prolonged and ongoing period of unstable economic and operating conditions. Our steadfast focus on meeting customers' needs has been instrumental in retaining established relationships and fostering new relationships, and we believe a similar focus in future periods as planned should provide us with ample opportunities to originate loans and generate local deposits." Investor Presentation Mercantile has prepared presentation materials that management intends to use during its previously announced second quarter 2026 conference call on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and from time to time thereafter in presentations about the company's operations and performance. These materials, which are available for viewing in the Investor Relations section of Mercantile's website at www.mercbank.com, have been furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission concurrently with this press release. About Mercantile Bank Corporation Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mercantile Bank Corporation is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank and Eastern Michigan Bank. Mercantile Bank and Eastern Michigan Bank provide financial products and services in a professional and personalized manner designed to make banking easier for businesses, individuals, and governmental units. Distinguished by exceptional service, knowledgeable staff, and a commitment to the communities they serve, Mercantile Bank and Eastern Michigan Bank together comprise one of the largest Michigan-based banking organizations with total combined assets of approximately $6.8 billion. Mercantile Bank Corporation's common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "MBWM." For more information about Mercantile, visit www.mercbank.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) @MercBank, and LinkedIn @merc-bank. Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures This news release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, each of which excludes costs associated with (i) Mercantile's acquisition of Eastern Michigan Financial Corporation that was completed during the fourth quarter of 2025 ($0.1 million and $0.4 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively), and (ii) the previously announced core and digital banking system conversion ($0.5 million and $3.5 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively), on an after-tax basis. These non-GAAP financial measures are identified in this news release where they appear. We believe that presenting these non-GAAP financial measures provides investors, analysts, and other interested parties with meaningful supplementary information to assess Mercantile's underlying operational performance by removing the effect of costs we consider to be non-recurring in nature and not reflective of Mercantile's core operating results. These non-GAAP financial measures are used by management to evaluate Mercantile's ongoing operations, for internal planning and forecasting purposes, and to assess period-over-period comparability. Management believes it is useful for the reader to review these non-GAAP adjusted measures alongside the GAAP measures. Our definition of these adjusted financial measures may differ from similarly named measures used by others. These non-GAAP measures have limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our GAAP measures. Our net income and diluted earnings per share are presented on a GAAP-basis in the first paragraph of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements and information that may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "endeavor," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will," and similar references to future periods. Any such statements are based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results expressed in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include difficulties and delays in the ongoing integration of Mercantile Bank and Eastern Michigan Bank and achieving anticipated synergies, cost savings and other benefits from the transaction; changes in interest rates and interest rate relationships; increasing rates of inflation and slower growth rates or recession; significant declines in the value of commercial real estate; market volatility; demand for products and services; climate impacts; labor markets; the degree of competition by traditional and nontraditional financial services companies; changes in banking regulation or actions by bank regulators; changes in tax laws and other laws and regulations applicable to us; changes in prices, levies, and assessments; the impact of technological advances; potential cyber-attacks, information security breaches and other criminal activities; litigation liabilities; governmental and regulatory policy changes; the outcomes of existing or future contingencies; trends in customer behavior as well as their ability to repay loans; changes in local real estate values; damage to our reputation resulting from adverse publicity, regulatory actions, litigation, operational failures, and the failure to meet client expectations and other factors; changes in the national and local economies; unstable political and economic environments; disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or similar public health threats, and measures implemented to combat them; and other factors, including those expressed as risk factors, disclosed from time to time in filings made by Mercantile with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mercantile undertakes no obligation to update or clarify forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained herein. 2.24 % 1.76 %2.23 % Cost of borrowed funds3.57 %3.58 %3.56 %3.61 %3.61 %3.57 %3.62 % Cost of interest-bearing liabilities2.53 %2.54 %2.87 %3.06 %3.09 %2.54 %3.09 % Cost of funds (total earning assets)1.83 %1.87 %2.09 %2.25 %2.27 %1.85 %2.27 % Cost of funds (total assets)1.72 %1.75 %1.97 %2.12 %2.15 %1.74 %2.15 %MORTGAGE BANKING ACTIVITY Total mortgage loans originated$159,105127,939141,451136,840141,921287,044242,317 Purchase mortgage loans originated$126,79868,76985,973107,993111,247195,567192,741 Refinance mortgage loans originated$32,30759,17055,47828,84730,67491,47749,576 Mortgage loans originated with intent to sell$107,447105,873116,886111,334112,323213,320192,776 Income on sale of mortgage loans$3,1563,0493,3753,4823,2196,2055,674CAPITAL Tangible equity to tangible assets9.87 %9.41 %9.37 %9.72 %9.49 %9.87 %9.49 % Tier 1 leverage capital ratio11.04 %10.61 %11.30 %10.90 %10.93 %11.04 %10.93 % Common equity risk-based capital ratio11.44 %11.27 %11.01 %11.33 %10.90 %11.44 %10.90 % Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio12.25 %12.09 %11.83 %12.20 %11.75 %12.25 %11.75 % Total risk-based capital ratio14.65 %14.59 %14.35 %14.87 %14.37 %14.65 %14.37 % Tier 1 capital$749,048723,395704,776685,440666,068749,048666,068 Tier 1 plus tier 2 capital$896,267872,668854,876835,263814,796896,267814,796 Total risk-weighted assets$6,116,6155,981,4205,958,7635,617,0055,670,5716,116,6155,670,571 Book value per common share$43.6842.6642.1940.4638.8743.6838.87 Tangible book value per common share$38.4237.3436.7837.4135.8238.4235.82 Cash dividend per common share$0.390.390.380.380.370.780.74ASSET QUALITY Gross loan charge-offs$1052,8421723815101 Recoveries$514351206726147865322 Net loan charge-offs (recoveries)$(504)(346)2,636(554)(109)(850)(221) Net loan charge-offs to average loans(0.04 %)(0.03 %)0.23 %(0.05 %)(0.01 %)(0.04 %)(0.01 %) Allowance for credit losses$55,44156,73658,19159,12958,37555,44158,375 Allowance to loans1.13 %1.18 %1.21 %1.28 %1.24 %1.13 %1.24 % Nonperforming loans$5,8037,5437,8709,8449,7435,8039,743 Other real estate/repossessed assets$0000000 Nonperforming loans to total loans0.12 %0.16 %0.16 %0.21 %0.21 %0.12 %0.21 % Nonperforming assets to total assets0.09 %0.11 %0.12 %0.16 %0.16 %0.09 %0.16 %NONPERFORMING ASSETS - COMPOSITION Commercial: Commercial & industrial$9421,1221,3931,5091,7279421,727 Land development & construction$002010000 Owner occupied comm'l real estate$953494517009530 Nonowner occupied comm'l real estate$02,7322,7325,5325,53205,532 Multi-family & residential rental$0000000 Total commercial$1,8954,3484,8437,0417,2591,8957,259 Retail: 1-4 family mortgages$3,8113,1142,9712,7672,4843,8112,484 Other consumer$978156360970 Total retail$3,9083,1953,0272,8032,4843,9082,484 Total nonperforming assets$5,8037,5437,8709,8449,7435,8039,743NONPERFORMING ASSETS - RECON Beginning balance$7,5437,8709,8449,7435,3617,8705,743 Additions$1,2844101,2994265,7921,6946,215 Return to performing status$0(12)0(27)0(12)0 Principal payments$(3,016)(725)(466)(222)(1,385)(3,741)(2,129) Sale proceeds$0000000 Loan charge-offs$(8)0(2,807)(76)(25)(8)(86) Valuation write-downs$0000000 Ending balance$5,8037,5437,8709,8449,7435,8039,743LOAN PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION Commercial: Commercial & industrial$1,537,0291,429,8301,374,5221,337,7291,375,3681,537,0291,375,368 Land development & construction$119,386119,560117,37370,80667,520119,38667,520 Owner occupied comm'l real estate$803,884799,066778,869729,451725,106803,884725,106 Nonowner occupied comm'l real estate$1,091,8441,101,7581,110,6741,091,2101,134,0121,091,8441,134,012 Multi-family & residential rental$498,253485,175537,224521,111519,152498,253519,152 Total commercial$4,050,3963,935,3893,918,6623,750,3073,821,1584,050,3963,821,158 Retail: 1-4 family mortgages$750,526768,237790,857780,917799,426750,526799,426 Other consumer$114,631113,067112,36983,93677,435114,63177,435 Total retail$865,157881,304903,226864,853876,861865,157876,861Total loans$4,915,5534,816,6934,821,8884,615,1604,698,0194,915,5534,698,019END OF PERIOD BALANCES Loans$4,915,5534,816,6934,821,8884,615,1604,698,0194,915,5534,698,019 Securities$1,125,5291,125,4331,102,230855,138826,4151,125,529826,415 Other interest-earning assets$327,399577,619458,548457,373246,254327,399246,254 Total earning assets (before allowance)$6,368,4816,519,7456,382,6665,927,6715,770,6886,368,4815,770,688 Total assets$6,819,4906,945,0356,835,2196,308,4876,180,9886,819,4906,180,988 Noninterest-bearing deposits$1,420,5911,331,9471,339,6661,182,7751,180,8011,420,5911,180,801 Interest-bearing deposits$3,875,7974,087,5713,944,7863,629,0383,529,6713,875,7973,529,671 Total deposits$5,296,3885,419,5185,284,4524,811,8134,710,4725,296,3884,710,472 Total borrowed funds$690,554704,853730,778739,688740,685690,554740,685 Total interest-bearing liabilities$4,566,3514,792,4244,675,5644,368,7264,270,3564,566,3514,270,356 Shareholders' equity$755,124736,947724,884657,630631,519755,124631,519AVERAGE BALANCES Loans$4,891,8684,828,0314,627,5444,668,1734,695,3674,860,1264,662,415 Securities$1,128,0631,119,988880,619841,853803,2641,124,048783,291 Other interest-earning assets$413,729467,991426,758433,055235,965440,710269,956 Total earning assets (before allowance)$6,433,6606,416,0105,934,9215,943,0815,734,5966,424,8845,715,662 Total assets$6,851,0656,837,2396,296,3416,294,8416,061,8196,844,1906,040,109 Noninterest-bearing deposits$1,376,1081,318,5371,227,1001,215,9181,152,6311,347,4811,149,359 Interest-bearing deposits$3,956,0083,999,1413,599,0123,610,6003,463,0673,977,4563,452,840 Total deposits$5,332,1165,317,6784,826,1124,826,5184,615,6985,324,9374,602,199 Total borrowed funds$707,080712,240720,499749,679749,811709,645744,250 Total interest-bearing liabilities$4,663,0884,711,3814,319,5114,360,2794,212,8784,687,1014,197,090 Shareholders' equity$744,193733,366671,029640,495616,229738,809605,248 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mercantile-bank-corporation-announces-strong-second-quarter-2026-results-302829894.html

TranscriptFY2026 Q22026-07-21

FY2026 Q2 earnings call transcript

Earnings source - 103 paragraphs
Operator

Good morning. Welcome to the Mercantile Bank Corporation 2026 second quarter earnings results conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Nichole Kladder, Chief Marketing Officer of Mercantile Bank. Please go ahead.

Nichole Kladder

Hello. Thank you for joining us. Today, we will cover the company's financial results for the second quarter of 2026. The team members joining me this morning include Ray Reitsma, President and Chief Executive Officer, as well as Chuck Christmas, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Our agenda will begin with prepared remarks by both Ray and Chuck and will include references to our presentation covering this quarter's results. You can access a copy of the presentation as well as the press release sent earlier today by visiting mercbank.com. After our prepared remarks, we will open the call to your questions. Before we begin, it is my responsibility to inform you that this call may involve certain forward-looking statements such as projections of revenue, earnings, and capital structure, as well as statements on the plans and objectives of the company's business.

Nichole Kladder

The company's actual results could differ materially from any forward-looking statements made today due to factors described in the company's latest Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during the call. Let's begin. Ray.

Ray Reitsma

Thank you, Nichole. Our results for the second quarter of 2026 continue to build on the theme of commercial expertise generating a strong return profile. The consummation of the purchase of Eastern Michigan on December 31, 2025, represents execution of our strategic objectives around deposit growth, loan growth, and margin stability, paired with strong asset quality and overall financial performance. We continue to demonstrate top-quartile ROA performance relative to our peers, built around the following traits. A strong and durable net interest margin. Over the last five quarters, the SOFR 90-day average rate has dropped 71 basis points while our margin increased by 11 basis points to 3.59%.

Ray Reitsma

This illustrates effective execution of our strategic objective to maintain a steady margin via match funding of our assets and liabilities and refutes the notion that we have an asset-sensitive balance sheet despite the relatively large portion of floating-rate assets. Very strong asset quality. Non-performing assets to total assets remain at the low levels typical of our company at nine basis points of total assets as of June 30, 2026. Non-performing loans to total loans over the last 6.5 Years averaged 12 basis points. The allowance for credit losses stands at 1.13% of total loans as of June 30, 2026, and on a dollar volume basis was nearly 10x the level of non-performing loans, providing a very strong coverage relative to past due non-performing loan levels. These numbers demonstrate our long-standing commitment to excellence in loan underwriting and administration.

Ray Reitsma

Improved on balance sheet liquidity and loans-to-deposit ratio. At the end of the second quarter of 2026, our loans-to-deposit ratio stood at 93% compared to 100% at June 30, 2025, and 91% on December 31, 2025, 98% on December 31, 2024, and 110% on December 31, 2023. As of June 30, 2026, our deposit mix included 27% non-interest-bearing deposits and 24% lower cost deposits, up from 25% and 20% respectively at the end of the second quarter of 2025, which has contributed to the stability of our net interest margin. Our acquisition of Eastern Michigan contributed positively to these measures. Deposit growth during the 12 months ended June 30, 2026, was 12.4%, with growth in the non-interest-bearing accounts outpacing the growth in interest-bearing accounts during that period.

Ray Reitsma

Our recent focus on deposit growth is not new to our bank. In fact, the last five year-end periods demonstrate a deposit compounded annual growth rate of 9.2%. Strong commercial loan growth. Commercial loan growth in the second quarter of 2026 was $115 million, an annualized growth rate of 11.7%. As foreshadowed in the prior quarter's commentary, loan payoffs did moderate from the prior four quarters' experience, reducing by $60 million compared to the prior quarter. June 30, 2026, commitments to make new commercial loans total $224 million, and commitments to fund existing commercial and residential construction loans total $283 million with each amount at or near five-quarter highs. We expect that loan growth for 2026 will fall within the range of previously defined expectations of mid-single digit percentages.

Ray Reitsma

Continued strong growth in key fee income categories. Growth in commercial deposit relationships has supported growth in treasury management services, resulting in a 35% increase in service charges on accounts during the second quarter of 2026 compared to the second quarter of 2025. Our credit and debit card offerings report growth of 21% in the first six months of 2026 compared to the respective 2025 period. Well-managed expenses. Net revenue, defined as net interest income plus non-interest income, grew 15.3% to $136.3 million during the first six months of 2026 from $118.2 million in the respective 2025 period. Efficiency costs plus data processing costs were virtually unchanged as a percentage of net revenue, and salaries and benefits increased from 34%-35% of net revenue, primarily reflecting our investment in the Southeast Michigan market.

Ray Reitsma

In sum, these traits have allowed us to report a quarter-over-quarter EPS growth of 10% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the prior year second quarter, a 1.52% return on average assets, and a 14% return on average equity in the second quarter of 2026, and an annualized 11.6% increase in the tangible book value per share in the current year second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2026. Additionally, our five-year tangible book value per share compounded annual growth rate of 9% and five-year earnings per share compounded annual growth rate of 15.1% historically place us in the top tier of our proxy group. We remain excited about the recently completed combination with Eastern Michigan. The integration of operations is well underway and the cultures have meshed very well. That concludes my remarks. I'll now turn the call over to Chuck.

Chuck Christmas

Thanks, Ray. This morning, we announced net income of $25.9 million or $1.50 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2026, compared with net income of $22.6 million or $1.39 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2025. Net income during the first six months of 2026 totaled $48.6 million or $2.82 per diluted share, compared to $42.2 million or $2.60 per diluted share during the first six months of 2025. Growth in net income during both time frames primarily reflected increased net interest income and lower provision expense that more than offset higher non-interest expense costs and federal income tax expense.

Chuck Christmas

Excluding non-recurring costs associated with the year-end 2025 acquisition of Eastern Michigan and previously announced core and digital banking system conversion, adjusted net income was $26.4 million or $1.53 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2026, and $51.7 million or $2.99 per diluted share for the first six months of 2026. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased $0.14 or approximately 10% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the second quarter of 2025, and increased $0.39 per diluted share or approximately 15% during the first six months of 2026 compared to the first six months of 2025. We believe using these Non-GAAP measurements reflects our core earnings performance and provides for more accurate current period versus prior period comparisons.

Chuck Christmas

Interest income on loans was relatively unchanged during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 compared to the prior year periods, reflecting loan growth that was offset by a lower yield on loans. Average loans totaled $4.89 billion during the second quarter of 2026 compared to $4.70 billion during the second quarter of 2025, an increase of $197 million. Mercantile Bank's robust commercial loan fundings of $535 million during the last 12 months were largely mitigated by significant levels of payoffs and partial pay downs on certain larger commercial loans during those periods, which aggregated $459 million. Our yield on loans during the second quarter of 2026 was 28 basis points lower than the second quarter of 2025, primarily reflecting the 75 basis point aggregate decline in the federal funds rate during the last four months of 2025.

Chuck Christmas

Interest income on securities increased during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 compared to the prior year periods, reflecting growth in the securities portfolio and a higher yield. The growth and higher yield reflect the acquisition of Eastern Michigan, along with ongoing portfolio growth and reinvestment of mature lower yielding investments at Mercantile Bank. Average balances were up $325 million, and the average yield increased 54 basis points quarter-over-quarter. Interest income on other earning assets, a large portion of which is comprised of funds on deposit with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, increased during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 compared to the prior year periods, reflecting a higher average balance that more than offset a lower average yield. The average balance was up $178 million, while the average yield declined 87 basis points quarter-over-quarter.

Chuck Christmas

The latter of which largely depicts the aggregate 75 basis point decrease the federal funds rate during the last four months of 2025. In total, interest income was $4.7 million and $9.8 million higher during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 compared to the respective prior year periods. Interest expense on deposits decreased during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 compared to the prior year periods, reflecting a lower cost of deposits that more than offset interest-bearing deposit growth. The growth in interest-bearing deposit balances and the lower costs of these funds reflect the acquisition of Eastern Michigan, along with growth and lower deposit costs at Mercantile Bank. Costs of interest-bearing deposits at both banks were positively impacted by the aforementioned decline in the fed funds rate in the latter part of 2025.

Chuck Christmas

Average interest-bearing deposits totaled $3.96 billion during the second quarter of 2026 compared to $3.46 billion during the second quarter of 2025, an increase of $493 million. The cost of all deposits was down 50 basis points during the second quarter of 2026 compared to the second quarter of 2025. Interest expense on Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis advances declined during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 compared to the prior year periods, largely reflecting a lower average balance. Interest expense on other borrowed funds increased during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 compared to the prior year periods, largely reflecting the impact of a term loan we obtained in late 2025 to assist in the cash portion of the Eastern Michigan acquisition.

Chuck Christmas

In total, interest expense was $3.0 million and $5.3 million lower during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 compared to the prior year periods. Net interest income increased $7.8 million and $15.1 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 respectively compared to the prior year periods, primarily reflecting growth in earning assets and a higher net interest margin. Average earning assets totaled $6.43 billion during the second quarter of 2026 compared to $5.73 billion during the second quarter of 2025, an increase of $699 million that largely reflects the acquisition of Eastern Michigan at year-end 2025, along with the securities and overnight funds growth at Mercantile Bank. The net interest margin was 3.59% during the second quarter of 2026 compared to 3.48% during the second quarter of 2025. The improvement is largely due to the Eastern Michigan acquisition.

Chuck Christmas

The yield on earning assets declined 33 basis points while the cost of funds declined 44 basis points during the second quarter of 2026 compared to the prior year second quarter. Impacting our net interest margin over the past couple of years was our strategic initiative to lower the loan-to-deposit ratio, which generally entailed deposit growth exceeding loan growth and using additional monies to purchase securities. A large portion of deposit growth was in higher cost in money market and time deposit products while the purchased securities provided a lower yield than loan products. Despite that strategic initiative and declines in the federal funds rate during the latter parts of 2025 and 2024, our quarterly net interest margin has remained relatively stable. Over the past eight quarters, our net interest margin has averaged 3.49%, with a high of 3.59% and a low of 3.41%.

Chuck Christmas

We remain committed to managing our balance sheet in a manner that minimizes the impact of changing interest rates environment on our net interest margin. Basic funds management practices such as match funding, combined with scheduled maturities of lower yielding fixed rate commercial loans and securities and higher rate time deposits, along with scheduled rate adjustments on residential mortgage loans, should provide for a relatively stable net interest margin in future periods. We recorded provisions for credit losses of -$1.8 million and -$3.6 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 respectively. The second quarter negative provision expense mainly reflected the elimination of a $2.7 million specific allocation associated with the resolution of a non-performing commercial construction loan, which was partially offset by changes in the economic forecast, general allocations necessitated by net loan growth, and an increase in certain qualitative factor allocations.

Chuck Christmas

The reserve balance decreased $1.3 million during the second quarter of 2026, reflecting the -$1.8 million provision expense and net loan recoveries of $0.5 million. The reserve balance equals 1.13% of total loans at June 30th, 2026. Our sustained strength in loan quality metrics continues to be impactful to our loan loss reserve calculations. The baseline allowance, largely determined from historical net loan charge-off activity, represents only 1/3 of our current reserve balance, reflecting a low level of net loan charge-offs activity during our look-back period from the beginning of 2011 through the end of the second quarter of 2026. Specific reserve allocations on non-performing loans totaled just $0.9 million, or about 2% of the reserve balance at the end of the second quarter.

Chuck Christmas

Non-interest expenses were $6.0 million and $17.0 million higher during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, compared to the prior year periods. Excluding one-time costs associated with the ongoing core and digital banking system conversion and year-end 2025 acquisition of Eastern Michigan that aggregated $0.6 million and $3.9 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, non-interest expenses increased $5.4 million and $13.1 million compared to the prior year-end periods. Eastern Michigan Bank's non-interest expenses totaled $4.0 million and $8.0 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively. The increase in core operating costs largely reflects higher salary and benefit costs, with the remaining growth generally depicting the impacts of inflation and a larger balance sheet.

Chuck Christmas

In addition, we recorded a $1.4 million decrease in allocations to the reserve for unfunded loan commitments, primarily reflecting a lower level of commercial loan commitments, largely stemming from the high level of commercial loan fundings that took place during the second quarter. Federal income tax was $1.9 million and $2.0 million higher during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, compared to the prior year periods, largely reflecting a higher level of pre-tax net income and a lower level of net benefits from transferable energy tax credits. The effective tax rate was 16.9% during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, compared to 12.9% and 15.7% during the respective time periods in 2025. The 2025 periods had higher levels of transferable energy tax credit activity, given carryback opportunities.

Chuck Christmas

Additional acquisitions of transferable energy tax credits may be made from time to time, subject to our investment policy, tax credit availability, and tax credits derived from our low-income housing and historical tax credit activities. Both Mercantile Bank and Eastern Michigan Bank have strong and well-capitalized regulatory capital positions. Mercantile Bank's total risk-based capital ratio was 13.5% as of June 30, 2026, $205 million above the minimum threshold to be categorized as well-capitalized. Eastern Michigan Bank's total risk-based capital ratio was 23.1% as of June 30, 2026, $36 million above the minimum threshold to be categorized as well-capitalized. We did not repurchase shares during the second quarter of 2026. We have $6.8 million available in our current repurchase plan. Thoughts on the remainder of 2026.

Chuck Christmas

On slide number 23 in the investor presentation, we share our assumptions on the interest rate environment and key performance metrics for the remainder of 2026, with the caveat that market conditions remain volatile, making forecasting difficult. This forecast is predicated on no changes in the federal funds rate during the remainder of 2026, although we believe our net interest margin will remain relatively stable in a changing interest rate environment, as it has over the past eight quarters. We are projecting loan growth in the range of 5%-7% annualized during each quarter, which encompasses a strong commercial loan pipeline, as well as expected fewer commercial loan payoffs during the remainder of the year.

Chuck Christmas

We are forecasting a higher net interest margin during the last six months of 2026 compared to the first six months of 2026, as we benefit from commercial loan growth, lower levels of monies at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and maturing low-yielding fixed rate commercial real estate loans and investments. We are projecting a federal tax rate of 17%, which encompasses continued growth in net benefits from our low-income housing and historical tax credit activities, along with additional transferable energy tax credit investments. Expected quarterly results for non-interest income and non-interest expense are also provided for your reference.

Chuck Christmas

Non-interest expense projections reflect personnel investments that were made in the latter part of 2025 and first six months of 2026, and expected during the remainder of 2026 to support expansion in Southeast Michigan, as well as to support operational areas as we switch core and digital banking providers to enhance the durability, efficiency, and experience for our customers and employees. Costs associated with the core and digital banking system conversion are not included. In closing, we are very pleased with our operating results during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 and continued strong financial condition, and believe we remain well positioned to successfully navigate through the myriad of challenges and uncertainties faced by all financial institutions. That concludes my prepared remarks. I will now turn the call back over to Ray.

Ray Reitsma

Thank you, Chuck. That concludes the prepared remarks from management, and we will now move to the question and answer portion of the call.

Operator

We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touch tone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then one. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster.

Operator

The first question comes from Daniel Tamayo with Raymond James. Your line is now open.

Daniel Tamayo

All right. Thanks, guys. Morning. Maybe we can just start on the expense increase and the guidance there. I hear what you were saying there, Chuck, in the commentary about the increased personnel investments and the expansion in Michigan. Maybe you could just parse out what's related to the hirings in Southeast Michigan, what's related to the core conversion, and as much as you could help us find the settling point after the costs come out post core conversion, that would be helpful. Thanks.

Chuck Christmas

Yeah, good morning, Danny. This is Chuck. I'm glad to answer your questions. There's definitely a lot going on that impacts our overhead costs. The costs associated with our core conversion. We want to make sure that it's a big lift for our team, and we want to make sure that we do it effectively and accurately. We made the determination early on, is to make sure that we are, I would say, more than fully staffed, especially in certain operational areas, to help with not only the core conversion, but especially the training. Clearly, there's going to be a time period where we have to make sure that all of our employees are trained on their respective areas of the new system, both the core and the digital system.

Chuck Christmas

We have been very aggressive in hiring in those areas to make sure that we're fully staffed at least. We're very excited about our expansion into Southeast Michigan. That started quite a few years ago, but really within the last, I would say, 12 months, has really taken off. We've hired exceptional personnel, both on the commercial side as well as the treasury side in that market, and we continue to talk to additional folks to join our team. As Ray has said on several occasions, Southeast Michigan is 1/3 of Michigan, and we are but a tiny blip there. Given the size of that market and where we're at now, we've made huge strides already over the last 12 months. If you look at our net loan growth, obviously, Southeast Michigan doesn't have much in the way of payoffs.

Chuck Christmas

When you look at their growth, that equals about our net growth. Obviously, we've had a lot of payoffs here, notwithstanding the strong fundings we've had in this market. I can't give you a number specifically as we go forward in regards to the Southeast Michigan market. We think it's a strong market for us, and we expect to continue to build that market out as we have over the last 12 months into the future periods. That's where most of that additional expense is coming from. Obviously, we want to continue to build out our company in all of our markets as the opportunities present themselves. We're very pleased with the markets. I think when we look at the loan growth, all of our markets are showing growth.

Chuck Christmas

We want to continue to support that with additional people at all levels and all positions throughout the company.

Daniel Tamayo

Thanks, Chuck. Then just in terms of post core conversion, the savings still on pace for what you guys were talking about before. Maybe just remind us what type of expenses you expect to recoup.

Chuck Christmas

Yeah. The savings are really going to start in the second quarter of next year. When we do flip the switch in February, we get through all the testing and validations and exit our current providers in both those areas. It's kind of hard to put a specific number on the savings. We can look at different contracts, obviously there's growth in volume that has impacts. We are switching providers on both digital and core, which are different platforms. As we look to our teams and make sure that we are set up and our framework is designed to best fit that new framework, we've been making changes there as well. We do know that the savings on the core itself, just on the contract, is pretty significant.

Chuck Christmas

There's a lot of moving parts that make it very difficult to say, this is going to be our cost going forward. It'll be a while before we get to that point.

Daniel Tamayo

Okay. Fair enough. On the credit side, obviously really nice story. You talked about the puts and takes within the reserves. Sounds like you're getting down towards the end of the specific reserves, or at least those are much more modest at this point. You still have net recoveries. I guess if you have any thoughts on where you think reserves could stabilize or when you think the loan loss provision might turn positive or any guidance on that number would be helpful.

Chuck Christmas

Yeah. Certainly we enjoy negative provisions, especially when they're because of recoveries and the resolution of loan situations that as we like to remind everybody, we did have provision expense associated with building up those specific reserves as we felt appropriate. I think the relatively low level of specific reserves on non-performing loans that we have right now is really a reflection of two things. One and foremost is not very much at all Of non-performing loans that we have on the books. I think it's also reflective of the way that we underwrite loans, that There's always a risk of loss, but when we have a loan go sideways, that we go into collection mode. We've got quite a bit of collateral. We've got guarantees that we can rely on, which obviously then minimize the specific reserves that we need to establish.

Chuck Christmas

Overall, it's a reflection of the fact that we just don't have a lot of loans on non-performing. We haven't had for quite a while now, certainly past most of our look back period, which basically means that we have to rely on the qualitative factors, to support what we believe is an adequate level of the loan loss reserve. We're at 1.13%. I think if you look at us, we kind of been between where we are now and probably the low 120s for quite some time now. I would expect, notwithstanding any significant change in the economy, that we would stay somewhere within that range. Clearly, the economy has the biggest impact on the overall quality of our loan portfolio at any given time.

Chuck Christmas

If we did enter into a period of stress, our reserve, like all banks reserves, are designed to reflect that with increased reserve level requirements, which would lead to obviously bigger or potential sizable positive provision expenses. Overall, we feel very solid. We feel very good about the quality of our loan portfolio. It's been very consistent at its relative current level now, we don't see anything in the near term at least that is going to change that. We don't have a lot of charge-offs, we generally don't have a lot of recoveries.

Chuck Christmas

We do try to recover every dollar that we do charge off and have expectations that while on the accounting side, we've had to eliminate it, the borrower still owes us money, and we're going to work through any channels that we can, that we have available to us to maximize those recoveries.

Daniel Tamayo

All right. Terrific. Thanks for the color, sir. I appreciate it.

Chuck Christmas

You're welcome, Nate. Good.

Operator

The next question comes from Brendan Nosal with Hovde Group. Your line is now open.

Brendan Nosal

Hey, good morning, guys. Hope you're doing well.

Chuck Christmas

Hey, Brendan. Good morning.

Brendan Nosal

Maybe just starting off here on kind of funding and the kind of the environment. Can you just update us on the competitive landscape for core funding and how that has evolved across your footprint over the past couple of months?

Chuck Christmas

This is Chuck again. I would say it's been pretty consistent. We really haven't seen much in the way of deposit rates changing. We always have the credit union issue to deal with, especially on the CD side of things, but our CD portfolio has stayed pretty steady. We've had really solid growth. We grew very significantly on a net basis during the first quarter. I think we did see some deposit reductions in the second quarter on a local basis, but that was really seasonality, especially on the public unit side as well as obviously April 15th with tax payments being due with primarily our business, but also some consumer customers as well. The third quarter is usually pretty good, mostly because of the public units when they start getting their taxes in on the property tax side of things here in Michigan.

Chuck Christmas

We do expect some very solid local deposit growth here in the third quarter from that. We've also seen very significant growth, and Ray kind of touched on some of the numbers on our checking account products, especially our non-interest bearing, which is really a direct reflection of the very strong C&I loan growth that we've experienced so far this year. There's lots of reasons why we like C&I, but certainly one of them is the deposit balances that they bring, and then the myriad of different cash management, treasury management products that we have. You can see from the improvement or the growth, I should say, on service charges where that treasury management income gets recorded on our income statement.

Chuck Christmas

The solid growth there is really a reflection of the growth on the commercial side, with those loan balances coming over with the associated deposits, but also the expanded use as we continue to market our ever-growing suite of products to our existing customers as well. On an overall basis, the deposits growth, we're very pleased about that. I think that deposit growth, along with bringing Eastern Michigan on board, is letting us get out of the brokered CD market. We had significant levels of maturities here in the second quarter to the degree that we're down to only about $20 million left. There are two CDs there that both mature in December. We're hopeful that we will be out of the brokered CD market by the end of this year.

Chuck Christmas

Again, that's really strongly attributed to the local deposit growth that we've been experiencing and expect to continue to have.

Brendan Nosal

Okay. All right. Thanks for the color, Chuck. One more from me, just turning to capital. Ratios continued to build nicely this quarter, even with kind of a return in more robust loan growth. Is there a point at which kind of the capital build becomes something you want to more actively manage? Any kind of talk about the path through which you would do that and then kind of whether share repurchase is something you would be interested in if we continue to see ratios build?

Chuck Christmas

Yeah. Appreciate you noticing our capital ratios. Obviously, we're very pleased with that. Notwithstanding the strong growth that we do have on the asset side, we're able to grow our overall capital ratios. It makes us feel good to have strong capital ratios. You never know what's going to happen from an economic standpoint, but it allows you to take advantage of the opportunities that come, whether it's acquisitions, loan growth, expansions of the markets, all those things. A position of strong capital gives you the ability to take advantage of those opportunities as they come about. I think from a buyback standpoint, clearly, it's been quite a while since we bought back any shares. We do have a plan in place. Our board has always been supportive of management's recommendations with its buyback plans.

Chuck Christmas

I think a big part of that clearly is our stock price, and we're very pleased with the run that we've had, where we think that we're finally getting close to where we think we should be valued. We've been frustratingly low below some of the benchmarks that we look at, so we're obviously pleased with what we've seen over the last few months there. I think the other thing that we're looking at, making sure we have capital to take advantage of those opportunities again, we do have our subordinated notes that do flip to a floating rate and become callable in January. We're obviously looking at that. That is on our radar. We've made no decisions whatsoever in regards to that. Quite frankly, we would love to earn our way out of that position that we've got there.

Chuck Christmas

I think we're definitely going in the right direction from that potential opportunity there. I think the other thing that we had very favorable pricing. While we're not going to keep the 3.25% fixed rate that we have come January, our spread over 90-day LIBOR, I'll say, is only 212 basis points. Which if you did the math today, that's a rate that's still under 6%, which I think is very favorable compared to if we wanted to refinance that with a new sub-note. Not saying we will or won't, we're not at that point yet. If we do start looking at the capital haircut, doing some calculations, every year, losing 20% of the balance, that's about 30 basis points off our total risk-based capital ratio.

Chuck Christmas

Looking at those numbers, looking at the environment today, all the forecasting that we're doing, we're comfortable with at least one year of letting that float. It's not even a year after that or who knows more as we look at our capital stack each quarter end and certainly at each year end. That's kind of our thoughts on capital is obviously we want to continue to augment it with a strong net income, pay a competitive and growing cash dividend, making sure that we've got lots and lots of capital to take advantage of the opportunities and continue to grow the company, which obviously is the foundation for additional net income growth.

Brendan Nosal

Awesome. Thanks for taking my questions, Chuck.

Chuck Christmas

You're welcome.

Operator

The next question comes from Nathan Race with Piper Sandler. Your line is now open.

Nathan Race

Hey, guys. Good morning. Thanks for taking the questions.

Chuck Christmas

You bet.

Chuck Christmas

Yes.

Nathan Race

Chuck, I was wondering if you can unpack some of the specific margin drivers for the expansion that you allude to over the next couple of quarters, specifically around what amount of loans you have repricing upwards that are currently fixed. Also just in terms of securities cash flow coming off and kind of what that repricing looks like as well, assuming that's reinvested.

Chuck Christmas

Yeah, I know I gave one of the slides in there has the amount. Oh, it's on slide nine. Yeah, there's definitely a few things that are going on that are having a positive impact on our net interest margin. On Slide nine, we give the volume of fixed rate CRE as well as our agency bonds that are scheduled not only to mature the rest of this year, but also into 2027. A lot of opportunity for continued yield enhancement from that activity. The other thing that happened, and it started really having a bigger impact in the back half of the second quarter than the first half of the second quarter, was our level of deposits at the Federal Reserve coming down. That's really a strong reflection of the net loan growth. Obviously we've been dealing with some pretty sizable payoffs.

Chuck Christmas

Quite frankly, we had some sizable payoffs again in the second quarter, especially with some line pay downs that came in with borrowers having excess cash in their operations. As we continue to grow our loan portfolio, especially on the commercial side, we'll be able to use our existing excess funds that we've got at the Federal Reserve to fund that. Going from a 3.65% that we get on our funds at the Federal Reserve to something probably in the sixes somewhere on the loan side. As we continue to forecast that transition happening, that certainly buoys the net interest margin along with the repricing that we talked about. I would say those are the main drivers for the expected improvement in the margin.

Nathan Race

Chuck, could you just help us in terms of kind of what that upward repricing looks like on the $100 million or so of loans that are expected to mature in the back half of this year? Are we talking about something north of 6% kind of where the blended rate on new loans are coming on the portfolio at? Or just any thoughts on kind of what the blended rate of new loan production is these days?

Chuck Christmas

I'd say we would probably be looking at about a 200 basis points, give or take, obviously, improvement on the existing average rate of about 4.6%. Somewhere in the mid-sixes is where we would think that we would reprice on an average basis. Then we've got $38 million in agency notes, agency bonds at just a little over 1%. Based on our strategy right now of buying that, yield is a little over 4%, so we'll pick up about 300 basis points on those dollars for the rest of the year.

Nathan Race

Gotcha. Then if I could just ask one more on kind of deposit growth expectations going forward. I appreciate the commentary earlier on some of the seasonality that impacted 2Q around tax payments and so forth. Any visibility into kind of the core deposit gathering pipeline? I know you guys have some excess liquidity you can use to fund loan growth, just any thoughts on kind of how deposit gathering can trend over the next few quarters as well?

Chuck Christmas

Like I mentioned, we'll definitely see some seasonality as we did in the second quarter. When you get to the end of the second quarter, I'm speaking for all banks basically, the public funds, especially here in Michigan. Public units in Michigan collect most of their taxes during the summertime, July, August, and September. You kind of get to the end of June, and it's kind of at the low point with deposit balances. Then you kind of get to September, and it's kind of the high point. Then obviously, it goes up and down from there. I would say on a core basis, on an average basis, if you will, like I said, June 30th is the low point. We would expect higher average balances from our public unit customers in the future quarters just from the seasonality.

Chuck Christmas

We continue to get very strong local deposit growth, especially on the non-interest-bearing checking. That's coming from our commercial activities, our commercial lending activities. Especially on the C&I side, and as we talked about, that was really the leader of the growth on the commercial lending side. Looking at borrowers funding 10-20% of their own loans with their deposit balances. Getting those obviously helps the cost of deposits, but also, again, allows us to cross-sell the treasury management products that we have, which helps the fee income side as well. We're also doing a really good job of just finding deposit-only customers and making sure that we've got, as we believe we do, a complete suite of products that is attractive to those types of customers as well. A lot of it's just blocking and tackling.

Chuck Christmas

Doing what Mercantile does, what a community bank does every day, is out there selling our products and services and our values. Driving relationships. We are a relationship bank on everything that we do. When we have a customer, we want the whole bundle of wax. Deposits has to be a big part of that. We don't have any secret sauce, magic bullets, or anything like that. We just do basic banking and making sure we're getting the entire relationship. When the customers come in, making sure that we're taking really good care of them.

Nathan Race

Got it. Appreciate all the color. Thank you.

Chuck Christmas

You're welcome.

Operator

The next question comes from Damon DelMonte with KBW. Your line is now open.

Damon DelMonte

Hey, good morning, guys. Hope everybody's doing well today. Most of my questions have been asked and answered, but just a few quick ones here. Chuck, appreciate the color and the outlook there for the margin. If we were to see a rate hike in 2027, how would you expect the margin to respond to that?

Chuck Christmas

Overall, we think that we're pretty well stable on our net interest margin. We work very hard to make ourselves agnostic. We use that term all the time to interest rate changes. We specifically manage the structure of our balance sheet that when rates go up, yields go up, we see costs go up. When rates go down, we see the opposite happening. It's basic banking. It's match funding and looking at the structure of your loan portfolio, looking at your deposit base, and then using your investment portfolio to kind of bridge any gaps you might have in there from a repricing perspective. I think if we have super aggressive cuts or increases, there'll be a little more change there, just as some things have to catch up.

Chuck Christmas

If we're looking at 25 basis points a quarter, 50 basis points a quarter, my expectation and our modeling supports the fact that we would expect our margin to stay relatively stable.

Damon DelMonte

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. Thanks.

Chuck Christmas

You bet.

Damon DelMonte

Then in your commentary around the kind of like the loan loss reserve outlook going forward. Did you say that in the last couple of years you've been kind of in the 120 basis point range or down to 113, so you'd expect it to kind of stay in that range? Would we expect a little bit of build towards the 120? Or do you think kind of in the mid one teens is probably acceptable?

Chuck Christmas

I would say that given the factors that we have on commercial loan growth compared to our mortgage factors. Our reserve factors for commercial loans is a little bit under 1%, while on residential mortgage loans it's a little over 2%. It really reflects a lot of things. One of the things it definitely reflects is duration. I won't get on my soapbox this morning, CECL is a duration-based model. We're a commercial lender. Commercial loans are short-term, and we have to take into account prepayments, and we definitely do that on the mortgage side. We're not allowed to look at ourselves as a relationship bank and make the assumption that we're going to renew loans. We're going to renew lines of credit when they mature in a year. We're not allowed to do that.

Chuck Christmas

That's the biggest hindrance that we have when we're trying to build a reserve under the CECL framework is this duration expectation. When your biggest asset has a duration of maybe two years, it's difficult to build a reserve. We do. We got the different allocations and different environmental things that we can work off of. I would say any significant growth in the reserve because I'm not expecting the allocations and our calculations to differ much going forward. The biggest thing is going to be the economy. If we get our independent third party economic forecast that show deterioration, that would drive a reserve build.

Chuck Christmas

Certainly if any of that downplay in the economy starts impacting specific customers, and we have to start having some loans, a higher volume of non-accruals and starting to do specific reserves, things like that would obviously result in a reserve build as well. I think all things being equal with a steady economy, our non-performers staying relatively stable, which they have, I would expect, using your question, probably mid-teens on a coverage ratio.

Damon DelMonte

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. Thanks for that color. I guess just lastly, when you think about the investments that you made in Southeast Michigan, and you think about the outlook for growth, is that becoming a more key component of the overall driver of the portfolio growth? Or are you still seeing good looks in the greater Grand Rapids area and other parts of your footprint as well?

Ray Reitsma

The answer is all of the above. The outlook in Southeast Michigan is good. We have a really strong team there, and they're early in their timeframe with us, so bringing over lots of customers, and they've been very successful at it. It's a huge market with lots of potential. Yet in markets like Grand Rapids and the rest of West Michigan, Central Michigan, Northern Michigan, we're more mature in those markets, but there's plenty of opportunity there. The originations are fairly well spread out across our footprint on an even basis.

Damon DelMonte

Okay, great. Thanks, Ray. I appreciate that. Okay, that's all that I had. Thanks a lot, guys.

Chuck Christmas

See you.

Operator

Reminder, if you have a question, please press star then one to be added to the queue. That's star then one if you have a question. Our next question comes from Matthew Breese with Stephens. Your line is now open.

Matthew Breese

Hey, good morning.

Ray Reitsma

Morning.

Matthew Breese

Curious, what was the spot cost of deposits in a spot NIM at the end of the quarter? Just curious how you feel about your ability to either maintain or further lower deposit costs from here.

Chuck Christmas

Matt, I would say that when you look at our yields for the quarter, I think that's real reflective of our deposit rates. We didn't change deposit rates, I don't think, at all during the quarter. There's some opportunity for some repricing on the CD side, but it's not a huge component, and I don't think the repricing is overly significant. I think if you look at the yields on our deposits for the quarter, I think that's reflective of where our rates are even today.

Matthew Breese

Okay. On commercial real estate, you'd mentioned you expect some slowdown in payoff prepayment activity. What gives you that confidence, and what is the expectation for commercial real estate growth in the coming quarters?

Ray Reitsma

The confidence comes from communication with our borrowers. We stay in close contact. In the prior spate of payoffs that we had over the previous four quarters, they told us what was coming and largely delivered on that. They're telling us that those will slow. Of course, they reserve the right to change their minds, so who knows exactly what the future will bring, but the communication has been that those should continue to moderate.

Matthew Breese

Okay. Just last one. You've spoken a couple of times about kind of the mix shift of cash into loans and how that's accretive to NIM. Just curious what your definition is of excess cash. From where we sit today at about 5% cash to assets, how much of that do you think is excess?

Chuck Christmas

Yeah. If you look at our balance sheet, I don't have it right in front of me. I think if you looked at interest earning assets that we have that we mark on our balance sheet, that number would be somewhere between $100 million-$125 million.

Matthew Breese

Do you have a time frame expectation to kind of mix shift that?

Chuck Christmas

We'd love to be able to do it by the end of this year. Of course, that's really net commercial loan growth is going to drive that based on our fundings and any of the payoffs that we do get. I would think that by early next year, we would be able to get there, if not by the end of this year.

Matthew Breese

Okay, great. I'll leave it there. I appreciate all the answers.

Chuck Christmas

You betcha.

Operator

This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Ray Reitsma for any closing remarks.

Ray Reitsma

Want to thank you for your participation in today's call and for your interest in Mercantile Bank Corporation. That concludes today's call.

Operator

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-15

Old Second Bancorp (OSBC) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth

Zacks
Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Old Second Bancorp (OSBC) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 22, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise. This financial holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +12.5%. Revenues are expected to be $95.1 million, up 26.6% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.75% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is si…Read full document

Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Old Second Bancorp (OSBC) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 22, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise. This financial holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +12.5%. Revenues are expected to be $95.1 million, up 26.6% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.75% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). For Old Second Bancorp, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -2.30%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2. So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Old Second Bancorp will beat the consensus EPS estimate. Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Old Second Bancorp would post earnings of $0.52 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.49, delivering a surprise of -5.77%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates two times. An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Old Second Bancorp doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Among the stocks in the Zacks Banks - Midwest industry, Mercantile Bank (MBWM), is soon expected to post earnings of $1.34 per share for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of -3.6%. This quarter's revenue is expected to be $69.27 million, up 13.7% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for Mercantile Bank has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. However, a lower Most Accurate Estimate has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -0.75%. This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Mercantile Bank will beat the consensus EPS estimate. The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Old Second Bancorp, Inc. (OSBC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Mercantile Bank Corporation (MBWM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

As of 2026-08-01 • Updated weeklySource: Earnings sourceIngestion runbook