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PFBC

Preferred BankB
Nasdaq / Banks
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2026-06-18
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2026-04-28
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Earnings documents stored for PFBC.

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Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-28

How Investors Are Reacting To Preferred Bank (PFBC) Earnings Growth Amid Rising Net Charge-Offs and Buybacks

Simply Wall St.

In the first quarter of 2026, Preferred Bank reported net interest income of US$65.31 million and net income of US$31.14 million, with basic earnings per share rising to US$2.57 and diluted earnings per share to US$2.53 from continuing operations, while recording net charge-offs of US$5.46 million. Over the same period, the bank repurchased 402,299 shares for US$35.8 million, completing a total buyback of 660,192 shares for US$58.63 million since May 2025, underscoring management’s continued use of capital returns alongside higher earnings per share despite emerging credit quality pressures. Against this backdrop of higher earnings alongside increased net charge-offs, we’ll examine how these credit developments affect Preferred Bank’s investment narrative. Find 54 companies with promising cash flow potential yet trading below their fair value. To own Preferred Bank, you need to be comfortable with a regional lender that leans on relationship banking, disciplined costs and ongoing capital returns to generate steady earnings. The latest quarter supports that thesis on profitability, but the jump in net charge offs brings credit quality into sharper focus as the key short term swing factor, while competition for deposits remains a central risk. Overall, this update does not appear to alter the underlying long term narrative in a material way. The most relevant development here is the accelerated share repurchase in Q1 2026, with 402,299 shares bought back for US$35.8 million and 660,192 shares retired in total since May 2025. That sits alongside higher earnings per share and reinforces the existing catalyst of capital returns, but investors now have to weigh this EPS support against emerging credit pressures and the bank’s already high level of bad loans as part of the case for owning the stock. Yet behind the higher earnings and buybacks, investors should be aware of the rising bad loan ratio and what it could mean for... Read the full narrative on Preferred Bank (it's free!) Preferred Bank's narrative projects $336.1 million revenue and $138.7 million earnings by 2029. This requires 6.1% yearly revenue growth and about a $5.1 million earnings increase from $133.6 million today. Uncover how Preferred Bank's forecasts yield a $100.50 fair value, a 7% upside to its current price. Two fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community span roughly US$100 to U...

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-24

Preferred Bank Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

MarketBeat

Preferred Bank reported Q1 net income of $31.3 million ($2.53/share), but results were “negatively impacted” by placing a large borrower relationship of about $77 million on non‑accrual, helping push net interest margin down to 3.57% from 3.74%. Management has reduced that relationship by roughly 50% through loan sales—including two loans sold at par totaling $48.5 million plus a $9.4 million loan—and said remaining remediation will rely on further note sales, foreclosures and bankruptcy proceedings. The bank saw moderate sequential loan and deposit growth (1.1% and 1.2%), with deposit costs easing (March cost 3.10%) but facing intense pricing competition and $1.35 billion of deposits maturing in Q2 at an average 3.89%; buybacks also continued (~400,000 shares at ~$89–90). Interested in Preferred Bank? Here are five stocks we like better. Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) reported first-quarter net income of $31.3 million, or $2.53 per share, but management said results were “negatively impacted” by the move of a large borrower relationship to non-performing status. Chairman and CEO Li Yu said the bank placed a nine-loan relationship on non-accrual status during February and March, noting it included “two C&I loans of a small $2 million” with the remainder in commercial real estate loans. Yu said the non-accrual total was “only $77 million” at the time it was placed on non-accrual. → Credo Stock Flashes Strong Bullish Signal—Upswing Just Starting Yu added the bank has already reduced exposure through loan sales. “Shortly after the announcement, we’re able to sell one loan at par of $9.4 million,” he said. “On April the 1st, we have sold another two loans at par for $48.5 million.” Yu said that, as of the call, the bank had “effectively reduced the relationship by roughly 50%,” and it planned to continue working through the issue into the second and third quarters with the goal of achieving “substantial resolution.” Net interest margin was 3.57% for the quarter, down from 3.74% in the prior quarter. Yu attributed the decline primarily to a reversal of interest income tied to the non-accrual move, which he characterized as non-recurring, and said management is “very hopeful that our net interest margin will rebound” in coming quarters. → Allbirds Exits Shoes, Pivots to AI With NewBird Rebrand During the Q&A, CFO Edward Czajka confirmed that the move in loans held f...

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-23

Preferred Bank Q1 2026 Earnings Call Summary

Moby

Net income was significantly impacted by the placement of a 177 million dollar commercial real estate and C&I relationship into nonaccrual status. Management is aggressively resolving the nonperforming relationship, having already sold approximately 50% of the associated loans at par by early April. Net interest margin compression to 3.57% was primarily driven by a nonrecurring reversal of interest income related to the nonperforming loan relationship. Loan and deposit growth remained moderate as the bank prioritized pricing discipline over volume in a highly competitive market where competitors are pricing fixed-rate loans below 6%. Operating overhead remains stable, while management simultaneously navigates severe market competition in pricing. The bank's credit culture remains conservative, with management noting that the current nonperforming issue is an isolated 'inflection point' rather than a systemic portfolio trend. Management expects a substantial resolution of the remaining nonperforming loan relationship by the third quarter. Net interest margin is projected to rebound toward the 3.70% range as interest reversals normalize and some interest is recouped from note sales. Internal growth guidance has been tempered from high single-digits to a more cautious stance due to geopolitical risks and potential impacts of rising oil prices on loan demand. The bank is maintaining a near-neutral asset sensitivity profile to remain flexible regardless of whether the Federal Reserve's next move is a cut or a pause. Capital allocation will prioritize security and long-term shareholder value over aggressive buybacks, reflecting a cautious view of the future macro economy. The bank repurchased approximately 400 thousand shares of common stock at an average price of roughly 89.90 dollars per share during the quarter. A 3.4 million dollar interest reversal related to the nonaccrual relationship created a 19 to 20 basis point headwind for the first quarter margin. Noninterest expense included over 1 million dollars in seasonal costs related to heightened payroll taxes, bonus payouts, and stock vesting. Management noted that conflict in the Middle East appears to be trending toward a more stabilized basis, allowing the bank to focus on economic affairs in the coming months. Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you i...

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-23

Preferred Bank (PFBC) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript

Motley Fool

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 2 p.m. ET Chairman and Chief Executive Officer — Li Yu President and Chief Operating Officer — Wellington Chen Chief Financial Officer — Edward Czajka Deputy Chief Operating Officer — Johnny Hsu Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Evan New: Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss Preferred Bank's financial results for the first quarter ended 03/31/2026. With me today from management are Chairman and CEO, Li Yu; President and Chief Operating Officer, Wellington Chen; Chief Financial Officer, Edward Czajka; and Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Johnny Hsu. Management will provide a brief summary of the results, and then we will open the call to your questions. During the course of this conference call, statements made by management may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on specific assumptions that may or may not prove correct. Forward-looking statements are also subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors relating to Preferred Bank's operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Preferred Bank. For a detailed description of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to the SEC-required documents the Bank files with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. If any of these uncertainties materialize or any of these assumptions prove incorrect, Preferred Bank's results could differ materially from its expectations set forth in these statements. Preferred Bank assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Li Yu. Please go ahead. Li Yu: Thank you very much. I am very pleased to report first quarter net income of 31.3 million dollars, or 2.53 dollars per share. This quarter's net income was negatively impacted by the placement of a large relationship into non-performing status. If you recall, in February and March, we issued a press release informing all of you that we placed a nine-loan relationship on a nonaccrual basis. This relationship consists of two C&I loans of a small 2 million dollars, and the rest are all commercial real estate loans in a total amount of 177 mil...

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-23

Preferred Bank (PFBC) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges with Strategic Moves

GuruFocus.com

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Net Income: $31.3 million or $2.53 per share for the first quarter. Loan Growth: Moderate growth of 1.1% sequentially. Deposit Growth: Moderate growth of 1.2% sequentially. Net Interest Margin: 3.457%, down from 3.74% in the previous quarter. Non-Interest Expense: Operating overhead has been stable. Share Repurchase: Approximately 400,000 shares repurchased at roughly $89-$90 per share. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 10 Warning Signs with TXN. Is PFBC fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: April 22, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) reported a net income of $31.3 million or $2.53 per share for the first quarter. The bank successfully sold loans at par, reducing a non-performing loan relationship by approximately 50%. Operating overhead or non-interest expense has been stable, with expectations to maintain this stability. The bank repurchased approximately 400,000 shares of its own common stock, indicating confidence in its valuation. Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) is hopeful for a rebound in net interest margin in the ensuing quarters as interest income reversals are nonrecurring. Net income was negatively impacted by the placement of a large relationship on non-performing status. The net interest margin decreased to 3.457% from 3.74% in the previous quarter due to interest income reversals. Market competition, especially in pricing, has been severe, affecting loan and deposit growth. Deposit costs are not decreasing as rapidly as in previous quarters, indicating potential pressure on margins. The bank faces challenges in resolving non-performing loans, with some loans still undergoing foreclosure and bankruptcy processes. Q: Can you confirm the details of the loans held for sale, specifically the $48.5 million sold on April 1? A: Yes, $48.5 million of the $76 million in loans held for sale were sold at par on April 1. We are actively marketing two other notes for sale. - Edward Czajka, CFO Q: What are your thoughts on deposit costs and the competition in the market? A: Deposit costs are decreasing but at a slower pace than in Q4. In March, deposit costs were $3.10 billion. We have $1.35 billion maturing this quarter at a $389 billion rate, likely to be renewed at similar rates. - E...

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-22

Preferred Bank (PFBC) Q1 Earnings: How Key Metrics Compare to Wall Street Estimates

Zacks

Preferred Bank (PFBC) reported $69.62 million in revenue for the quarter ended March 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 4.4%. EPS of $2.53 for the same period compares to $2.23 a year ago. The reported revenue represents a surprise of -1.02% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $70.34 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $2.48, the EPS surprise was +2.22%. 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. As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately. Here is how Preferred Bank performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Efficiency Ratio: 33.8% versus the three-analyst average estimate of 32.4%. Net Interest Margin: 3.6% compared to the 3.6% average estimate based on three analysts. Net charge-offs to average loans: 0.4% versus 0.2% estimated by two analysts on average. Average Interest - Earning Assets: $7.44 billion versus the two-analyst average estimate of $7.57 billion. Total noninterest income: $4.31 million compared to the $4.15 million average estimate based on three analysts. Net interest income before provision for credit losses: $65.31 million versus $66.22 million estimated by three analysts on average. View all Key Company Metrics for Preferred Bank here>>> Shares of Preferred Bank have returned +5.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +8.6% 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 Preferred Bank (PFBC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-22

Preferred Bank (PFBC) Q1 Earnings Surpass Estimates

Zacks

Preferred Bank (PFBC) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.53 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.48 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.23 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +2.22%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this independent commercial bank would post earnings of $2.78 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.79, delivering a surprise of +0.36%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Preferred Bank, which belongs to the Zacks Banks - West industry, posted revenues of $69.62 million for the quarter ended March 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.02%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $66.66 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. Preferred Bank shares have lost about 0.4% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 3.2%. While Preferred Bank has underperformed 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 Preferred 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...

TranscriptFY2026 Q12026-04-22

FY2026 Q1 earnings call transcript

Earnings source - 66 paragraphs
Operator

Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Evan New. Please go ahead.

Evan New

Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss Preferred Bank's financial results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2026. With me today from management are Chairman and CEO Li Yu, President and Chief Operating Officer Wellington Chen, Chief Financial Officer Edward Czajka, and Deputy Chief Operating Officer Johnny Hsu. Management will provide a brief summary of the results, and then we will open up the call to your questions. During the course of this conference call, statements made by management may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on specific assumptions that may or may not prove correct.

Evan New

Forward-looking statements are also subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors relating to Preferred Bank's operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Preferred Bank. For a detailed description of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to the SEC required documents the bank files with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or FDIC. If any of these uncertainties materialize or any of these assumptions prove incorrect, Preferred Bank's results could differ materially from its expectations as set forth in these statements. Preferred Bank assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Mr. Li Yu. Please go ahead.

Li Yu

Thank you very much. I'm very pleased to report the first quarter net income of $31.3 million or $2.53 a share. This quarter's net income was negatively impacted by the placement of a large relationship onto the non-performing status. If you recall, probably February and March, we have issued a press release informing all of you that we have placed a nine-loan relationship on a non-accrual basis. This relationship consists of two C&I loans of a small $2 million, and the rest are all in commercial real estate loans in the total amount of only $77 million on the non-accrual basis. Shortly after the announcement, we're able to sell one loan at par of $9.4 million. On April the 1st, we have sold another two loans at par for $48.5 million.

Li Yu

As of today, we have effectively reduced the relationship by roughly 50%, and we continue our progress in the second quarter and in the third quarter. Hopefully by that time we should have substantial resolution on this situation. Loan growth is moderate 1.1% sequentially, and deposit growth was moderate 1.2% sequentially. Market competition, especially in the pricing end of it, has been very severe. It seems to me that the war in the Middle East is trending toward a more stable basis. I hope our country can soon concentrate on our economic affairs in the ensuing months. Our net interest margin was 3.57% for this quarter, which is down from 3.74% in the previous quarter. Again, the reversal of interest income is the main reason. Since this reversal of interest income is non-recurring, we're very hopeful, especially when there seems to be no imminent rate movements.

Li Yu

We're very hopeful that our net interest margin will rebound in the ensuing quarters. Our operating overhead, our non-interest expense has been stable, and we'll continue to keep it on a stable basis in the future. For your information, that the bank has repurchased roughly 400,000 shares of our own common stock for the total consideration of roughly $89-$90 a share. Thank you very much. I'm ready for your questions.

Operator

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, please press star then one on your touch-tone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star then two. At this time, we'll pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question will come from Matthew Clark with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead.

Matthew Clark

Hey, good morning, everyone.

Edward Czajka

Hi.

Matthew Clark

Just on the loans held for sale, the move there. I'm assuming $48.5 of that is the two loans that you sold on April 1st at par. Just want to confirm that and also what else is in there.

Edward Czajka

Yes. You're correct. Part of that $76 million, $48.5 million, is the two notes sold at par on April 1st. There's two other notes in there that we are actively marketing at this point as well to sell the notes. That's why they're placed in held for sale.

Matthew Clark

Okay. Any pricing thoughts there on the other two?

Li Yu

Well, we feel that they would like to get as close to the par as possible, and we have been writing down some of the loans. Okay, so this is our goal.

Matthew Clark

Got it. Okay, great. On deposit costs, want to get a sense for where your deposit costs were, either at the end of March or in March, and your thoughts on the competition going forward. Along those lines, just remind us how much you have in CDs coming due in 2Q, and the rate it's rolling off on, and the renewal rate that you expect to come on.

Edward Czajka

Okay. Well, that's a lot of questions in one, Matthew, but I'll take a stab at it. The deposit costs are coming down, but not in the same velocity they were in Q4. That is starting to slow in terms of the lowering of deposit costs as we go forward. For your record, March deposit cost was 3.10% overall. In terms of maturities, we have $1.35 billion maturing in the quarter at a 3.89% rate. Those will likely be put on at similar rates, maybe a little bit lower, but we're getting close to the point where we're reaching stagnation in terms of the rolling off of CDs to newer, lower priced CDs.

Matthew Clark

Okay, great. Last one for me, just on the expense run rate going forward. How should we think about non-interest expense?

Edward Czajka

We're at roughly 23.5 for the quarter. Over $1 million of that was heightened levels of payroll tax related to bonus payout and related to stock vesting, which both occurred in the first quarter. As we go forward into Q2, I'm looking for something in the high 22s to low 23s.

Matthew Clark

Great. Thanks again.

Edward Czajka

Mm-hmm.

Operator

The next question will come from Gary Tenner with D.A. Davidson. Please go ahead.

Gary Tenner

Thanks. Good morning.

Edward Czajka

Hey, Gary.

Gary Tenner

Just wanted to ask on loan growth. The production, I think, must have been pretty decent this quarter just to have kind of the line growth of LHI and loans held for sale. Could you talk about production, competition, and pricing in terms of Bolomba?

Li Yu

Well, pricing is all over the place. We're still facing a lot of people. It's pricing below 6% on a fixed rate basis. We can't afford to do that. Okay. Especially when the movement of our interest rate is unclear at this point in time. We have not been getting the rate cuts that we previously forecasted. Okay. Most people have been having, let's say, frankly speaking, they're doing rates a little bit less than I expected.

Gary Tenner

Okay. They're doing long-term fixed rate loans lower than you want to do them. In terms of just the activity levels and quality of credit that you're seeing come through, how does that look today?

Li Yu

Well, we see the quality pretty much the same situation. I don't think the industry has been loosened on the quality.

Gary Tenner

No.

Li Yu

Based on our colleague has been very much controlling themselves in that aspect. Likewise, obviously, we try to do that too.

Gary Tenner

All right. Thank you.

Operator

The next question will come from Andrew Terrell with Stephens. Please go ahead.

Andrew Terrell

Hey, good afternoon.

Edward Czajka

Andrew.

Andrew Terrell

Hey. I wanted to start on just the margin, the $3.4 million interest reversal. It seems like that's 19-20 basis points of margin or so. Just as that normalizes in 2Q, I guess if we add that back in, it gets closer to like a 375 type margin. Similar to your fourth quarter. Just wanted to verify that's how you're kind of thinking about margin for 2Q or how else should we think about trends of the NIM going into 2Q and then kind of throughout the year?

Edward Czajka

Yeah, I think directionally you're correct, but probably about five basis points high there. The margin for March came in at 371, just so you know that. We're looking for something in that area as we go forward. Now with the sale of the note on April 1st, we are going to recoup some interest that we reversed out. That's going to be a little bit of a tailwind for Q2, so it might be a little higher than that, but right around the 370 number, I think, is probably good for us.

Andrew Terrell

Great. Okay. Then just on the note sales, good to see you guys get out of them in April at a pretty good price. Should we expect that when you talk about resolution of some of the remainder of these credits by third quarter timeframe, note sales the primary avenue in which you're seeking to remediate or any other planned actions on the non-performers?

Li Yu

Obviously, note sale is the quickest and best for us if we can get the price that we want to get, okay? That is really also a pricing issue for us. Actually, each loan has its different nature. The clearest situation is the loan-to-value ratio based on appraisal. Normally speaking, obviously, when the situation is narrow, you don't get as good a pricing as the others, as the so-called loan with a bigger margin in the situation. In the meantime, the other resolution process, which is foreclosure process, is still going on. Right now, most of the loan has been filed bankruptcy filings. We have to go through the dealing with the bankruptcy too. It depends on what the bankruptcy judge is awarding. They might award, in certain cases, they have more time to selling it or to operate it, to reorganize it.

Li Yu

That's something out of our hands. To the extent we can get them immediately in our hands, then we will resell them. Therefore, each property has a different resolution nature. Not that it's very necessarily predictable.

Andrew Terrell

Yeah. Understood. Okay. I appreciate it. Just one more for me on some of the commentary around competition. Understand it's a tougher market here. Just wanted to maybe reframe expectations on loan and deposit growth for the year. If I add back in the HFS loans this quarter, looks like you were kind of tracking mid-single digits. Do you feel like in this competitive backdrop, that's a decent cadence through the year for loan growth or are we more likely to see some compression just given the competitive environment?

Li Yu

Yeah. I think about three months ago in the press conference, I was saying internally, we're guiding ourselves doing high single digit. However, internally, we didn't know there's a war in Iran. Whether how much the change on that issue alone, we do not know. Plus, we seem to have administration that is presenting more changes in every aspect of the situation that usually bank gets related to any of the changes they want to make. Our situation right now is that we're bouncing backwards and forwards in terms of our own internal expectation and so on. We have to be realistic. When there are wars going on, when there's no petroleum, when the price goes through the roof, you're not going to see the same loan demand as you are in a peacetime situation.

Li Yu

I guess all these kind of situation, all we can do is stay alert, but we still hope that this will be a growth year for Preferred Bank.

Andrew Terrell

Great. Thanks so much for taking the questions.

Operator

The next question will come from David Feaster with Raymond James. Please go ahead.

David Feaster

Hey, good morning, everybody.

Li Yu

Hey, David.

Edward Czajka

Good morning.

David Feaster

I just wanted to follow up on that growth discussion. I was hoping you could maybe help break down a bit of the dynamics behind the slower growth that we're seeing. It sounds like, to your point, that we may be seeing somewhat of a slowdown in demand. Is that a fair characterization if I'm reading between the lines? Just any commentary on how payoffs and pay downs have been playing into this and where you're seeing the most opportunity within the pipeline and to grow loans right now.

Li Yu

I think demand slowdown is a foregone conclusion. Just think about when the petroleum price is going to $100 a barrel. Not petroleum, oil. When the products are related, all the various product, they're related. The short-term, long-term effect is hard to measure. The supply nature also makes it immeasurable. Definitely that will affect. It's just we may not see it all yet at this point of time reflected in our economy. That is what we are pretty much convinced in-house at Preferred Bank.

David Feaster

Okay. Maybe just shifting gears back to the credit side. Obviously, look, you guys have been very active managing credit. You've worked through a lot of issues. I assume that you've done a pretty deep dive into the book at this point. Do you think we're at or near an inflection here? Are you seeing continued migration or is some of this broader macro side, do you think credit is not at that point yet and it's just still pretty uncertain?

Li Yu

Okay. Well, number one issue is that I don't know in the past we have been this busy on credit or not, okay? It seems to be this transaction is really the inflection point on our current attention and so on. Even with that, it has been a group of loans that was performing pretty well until there's some irregular return was found by, I guess anybody knows that, by Western Alliance Bank. Western Alliance Bank, they published an announcement, and the whole thing just started to get sour from that point on, in the next several months, to the point we have to call it a non-accrual, okay? We had to resolve that immediately. Other than that, our total credit picture has been remaining generally stable. I can send you the FDIC statistic about our 10-year charge-off ratio.

Li Yu

We're probably lower than the average of the banking group. I do not know that we have been struggling about credit in the past, but we are struggling about this credit, this group of credit right now, okay?

David Feaster

Okay.

Li Yu

Yes.

David Feaster

Maybe just last one from me. You're still sitting on a lot of excess capital. You've been more active with the buyback. I'm just curious how you think about capital priorities today. The stock's moved a bit higher from where you've repurchased more recently. Just curious how you think about capital priorities today.

Li Yu

Well, there are two groups of thoughts. One group representing the more sort of the active trader investor type, okay? Their idea is that you have enough capital, you just go do the buyback, whatever you can, immediately, as much as you can, okay, so on. That's one group. We have another group of long-term investors, their position of the bank hardly moves at all in the past 10 years. Plus, we have also rating agency, okay? Both of them seem to say, "Well, you need to play it safe on your capital. What you need to do is look at the future economy, look at your earnings forecast and so on, and determine on a flexible basis what you can do year from year," okay? Our board decided the security is above all situation.

Li Yu

We're leaning a bit toward about our long-term shareholder viewpoint.

David Feaster

Okay. That makes sense. Maybe if I could just squeeze one more in. Just curious, with the rate backdrop today, you're obviously naturally asset sensitive, but given the market's kind of looking at this as the Fed on pause, maybe for now at least, has your thoughts on managing rate sensitivity shifted at all?

Li Yu

Well, I would say something, Ed and I have jointly done this matter all the time, okay? My feeling is that within the next few group of rates, for Preferred Bank particularly, we are sort of near neutral in assets sensitivity, particularly because of our large TCD portfolio, okay? Under the current status, where the rate is not moving, actually, our TCD rate we're paying is improving in each quarter, okay? At a very slow rate nowadays, okay? Because of market competition. We just are not clear about the economy yet. Again, likewise, with all the things that were happening to us, obviously, we can always name the war is one of them, okay? What would that do to our economy?

Li Yu

Would you be able telling me whether we're going to have recession ahead of us, or we have low growth ahead of us, or high growth ahead of us? Okay. This question is puzzling, generally, almost everyone at this point of time, yeah. Because a lot of uncertainty we're facing. This year, the challenge is, in my opinion, stay flexible.

David Feaster

Okay.

Li Yu

Alert. Flexible. I don't know, Ed, how you feel.

Edward Czajka

Yeah. Well, no, I think similarly. We haven't really changed much in terms of the balance sheet profile in probably the last 12 months since we, at the height of rates in 2023, started doing more fixed rate loans. That percentage between fixed and variable on the book is about the same as it's been, about 75/25 variable to fixed. Along with that, we try to get more and more of our large corporate deposit accounts, interest-bearing checking and money market, tied directly to Fed funds, the large corporate accounts. To the extent we can tie them to Fed funds, it makes our asset liability matching, as Mr. Yu said, more closer to neutral than the asset sensitivity we had, say, going into 2021, 2022, when we were highly asset sensitive and took advantage of all the rate hikes.

Edward Czajka

I think we're on a pause mode in terms of changing the balance sheet and want to keep it where it is right now. As Mr. Yu said, flexibility. If this war continues and we get into a point where inflation creeps up, we may not be looking at rate cuts as the next rate change from the FOMC. I think we want to stay flexible, and what we've always done is keep both sides of the balance sheet short, and that way we can react to anything.

David Feaster

Okay. That's helpful. Thank you.

Operator

This will conclude our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to management for any closing remarks.

Li Yu

Well, thank you so much for your interest in Preferred Bank, okay? We hope that what we have described today is our roadmap going into the next few quarters, and hopefully we can produce even better financial results in the next few periods of time, okay? Thank you. Thank you very much.

Operator

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

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-17

WaFd (WAFD) Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Zacks

WaFd (WAFD) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.83 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.74 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.65 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +11.66%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this holding company for Washington Federal Savings Bank would post earnings of $0.76 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.75, delivering a surprise of -1.32%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. WaFd, which belongs to the Zacks Banks - West industry, posted revenues of $197.38 million for the quarter ended March 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.53%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $179.79 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two 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. WaFd shares have added about 1.4% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 2.6%. While WaFd has underperformed 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 WaFd was unfavorable. 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 #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) st...

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-15

Preferred Bank (PFBC) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?

Zacks

Preferred Bank (PFBC) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended March 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on April 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 independent commercial bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.48 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +11.2%. Revenues are expected to be $70.34 million, up 5.5% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.79% higher 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...

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-04-09

Preferred Bank Announces 2026 First Quarter Earnings Release and Conference Call

GlobeNewswire

LOS ANGELES, April 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC), one of the larger independent commercial banks in California, today announced plans to release its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026 before the open of market on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. That same day, management will host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Eastern (11:00 a.m. Pacific). The call will be simultaneously broadcast over the Internet. Interested participants and investors may access the conference call by dialing 844-826-3037 (domestic) or 412-317-5182 (international) and referencing “Preferred Bank.” There will also be a live webcast of the call available at the Investor Relations section of Preferred Bank's website at www.preferredbank.com. Preferred Bank's Chairman and CEO Li Yu, President and Chief Operating Officer Wellington Chen, Chief Financial Officer Edward J. Czajka, Chief Risk Officer Nick Pi and Deputy Chief Operating Officer Johnny Hsu will discuss Preferred Bank's financial results, business highlights and outlook. After the live webcast, a replay will be available at the Investor Relations section of Preferred Bank's website. A replay of the call will also be available at 855-669-9658 (domestic) or 412-317-0088 (international) through May 6, 2026; the passcode is 8528963. About Preferred Bank Preferred Bank is one of the larger independent commercial banks headquartered in California. The Bank is chartered by the State of California, and its deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, to the maximum extent permitted by law. The Bank conducts its banking business from its main office in Los Angeles, California, and through twelve full-service branch banking offices in the California cities of Alhambra, Century City, City of Industry, Torrance, Arcadia, Irvine (2 branches), Diamond Bar, Pico Rivera, Tarzana and San Francisco (2 branches) and two branches in New York (Flushing and Manhattan) and one branch in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, Texas. Additionally, the Bank operates a Loan Production Office in Sunnyvale, California. Preferred Bank offers a broad range of deposit and loan products and services to both commercial and consumer customers. The Bank provides personalized deposit services as well as real estate finance, commercial loans and trade finance to small and mid-sized businesses, ent...

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-03-19

Preferred Bank Announces Quarterly Dividend

GlobeNewswire

LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC), one of the larger independent commercial banks in California, today reported that the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.80 per share, payable on April 21, 2026 to holders of record on April 7, 2026. About Preferred Bank Preferred Bank is one of the larger independent commercial banks headquartered in California. The Bank is chartered by the State of California, and its deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, to the maximum extent permitted by law. The Bank conducts its banking business from its main office in Los Angeles, California, and through twelve full-service branch banking offices in California (Alhambra, Century City, City of Industry, Torrance, Arcadia, Irvine (2), Diamond Bar, Pico Rivera, Tarzana and San Francisco (2)), two branches in New York (Manhattan and Flushing, Queens) and a branch office in the Houston, Texas suburb of Sugar Land. In addition, the Bank also operates a loan production office in Sunnyvale, California. Preferred Bank offers a broad range of deposit and loan products and services to both commercial and consumer customers. The Bank provides personalized deposit services as well as real estate finance, commercial loans and trade finance to small and mid-sized businesses, entrepreneurs, real estate developers, professionals and high net worth individuals. Although originally founded as a Chinese-American Bank, Preferred Bank now derives most of its customers from the diversified mainstream market but does continue to benefit from the significant migration to California of ethnic Chinese from China and other areas of East Asia.

As of 2026-05-18 • Updated weeklySource: Earnings sourceIngestion runbook