Provident Financial Services, Inc. Announces First Quarter Earnings
PFS
Published on 04/29/2026 at 04:31 pm EDT
ISELIN, N.J., April 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) (the “Company”) reported net income of $79.4 million, or $0.61 per basic and diluted share for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to $83.4 million, or $0.64 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2025 and $64.0 million, or $0.49 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was positively impacted by pre-provision, net revenue growth of 13.5%, or $12.9 million, when compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025, driven primarily by expanding net interest income and higher insurance agency income. Net income in the current quarter also benefited from a $2.1 million recapture of previous provisions for credit losses.
Anthony J. Labozzetta, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, “Provident delivered another strong quarter of financial performance, demonstrating the continued momentum in our business and the effectiveness of our strategic initiatives. Pre-provision, net revenue grew 13.5% year-over-year, driven by strong loan growth, modest margin expansion, and notable growth in insurance agency income. The bank’s loan pipeline of $3.1 billion sits at record levels, and we remain optimistic about continued earnings per share growth and compounding of tangible book value moving forward.”
Performance Highlights for the First Quarter of 2026
Results of Operations
Three months ended March 31, 2026 compared to the three months ended December 31, 2025
For the three months ended March 31, 2026, net income was $79.4 million, or $0.61 per basic and diluted share, compared to net income of $83.4 million, or $0.64 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2025.
Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin
Net interest income was $193.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to $197.4 million for the trailing quarter. The decrease in net interest income reflected two fewer calendar days in the first quarter, combined with a decrease in accelerated accretion related to pay-offs and pay-downs of loans acquired in the Lakeland merger, partially offset by favorable repricing of deposits.
The Company’s net interest margin decreased four basis points to 3.40% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, from 3.44% for the trailing quarter. The weighted average yield on interest-earning assets for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 decreased 13 basis points to 5.53%, compared to the trailing quarter. The weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 decreased 12 basis points from the trailing quarter to 2.71%. The average cost of interest-bearing deposits for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 decreased 21 basis points to 2.39%, compared to 2.60% for the trailing quarter. The average cost of total deposits, including non-interest-bearing deposits, was 1.94% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to 2.10% for the trailing quarter. The average cost of borrowed funds for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 was 3.90%, compared to 3.94% for the quarter ended December 31, 2025.
Provision for Credit Losses
For the quarter ended March 31, 2026, the Company recorded a $2.1 million recapture of previous provisions for credit losses compared to a $1.2 million recapture of previous provisions for credit losses for the trailing quarter. The recapture of provision in the current quarter consisted of a $4.7 million recapture of provision related to loans, partially offset by a $2.5 million provision related to off-balance sheet credit exposures, compared with a provision for credit losses on loans of $2.0 million and a $3.2 million recapture of provision related to off-balance sheet credit exposures, respectively, for the quarter ended December 31, 2025. The recapture of the provision for credit losses on loans in the quarter was primarily due to a reduction in specific reserves on individually evaluated loans. For the three months ended March 31, 2026, net charge-offs totaled $3.1 million, or an annualized 6 basis points of average loans, compared with net charge-offs of $4.2 million, or an annualized 9 basis points of average loans, for the trailing quarter.
Non-Interest Income and Expense
For the three months ended March 31, 2026, non-interest income totaled $31.5 million, an increase of $3.1 million, compared to the trailing quarter. Insurance agency income increased $3.0 million to $6.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the trailing quarter, mainly due to the receipt of contingent commissions and additional business in the current quarter. BOLI income increased $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the trailing quarter, primarily due to an increase in benefit claims, partially offset by a decrease in equity valuations. Additionally, other income increased $453,000 to $2.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the trailing quarter, primarily due to an increase in profit on fixed asset sales, partially offset by a decrease in net fees on loan-level interest rate swap transactions. Partially offsetting these increases to non-interest income, net gains on securities transactions decreased $690,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the trailing quarter, primarily due to prior quarter gains on calls of corporate securities, while fee income decreased $636,000 to $10.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the trailing quarter.
Non-interest expense totaled $117.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, an increase of $2.5 million, compared to $114.7 million for the trailing quarter. Compensation and benefits expense increased $1.9 million to $66.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to $64.3 million for the trailing quarter. The increase in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to increases in salary expense related to company-wide annual merit increases and employer payroll tax expense, partially offset by decreases in the accrual for performance-based incentive and stock-based compensation. Additionally, net occupancy expense increased $1.9 million to $15.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the trailing quarter, largely due to seasonal increases in snow removal, utilities and other maintenance costs. Partially offsetting these increases in non-interest expense, other operating expenses decreased $1.5 million to $14.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to $15.4 million for the trailing quarter, primarily due to decreases in legal and professional expenses.
The Company’s annualized adjusted non-interest expense as a percentage of average assets(5) totaled 1.90% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to 1.84% for the trailing quarter. The efficiency ratio (adjusted non-interest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income)(6) was 52.02% for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to 50.97% for the trailing quarter.
Income Tax Expense
For the three months ended March 31, 2026, the Company's income tax expense was $30.8 million with an effective tax rate of 27.9%, compared with income tax expense of $28.8 million with an effective tax rate of 25.7% for the trailing quarter. The increase in tax expense and the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared with the trailing quarter, was largely due to the purchase of tax credits recognized in the prior quarter which reduced tax expense by $3.4 million, partially offset by a discrete item related to stock-based compensation in the current quarter.
Three months ended March 31, 2026 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025
For the three months ended March 31, 2026, net income was $79.4 million, or $0.61 per basic and diluted share, compared to net income of $64.0 million, or $0.49 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin
Net interest income increased $12.0 million to $193.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, from $181.7 million for same period in 2025. The increase in net interest income was primarily due to originations of new loans, combined with favorable repricing of deposits, partially offset by a decrease in lower-costing deposits.
The Company’s net interest margin increased six basis points to 3.40% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, from 3.34% for the same period last year. The weighted average yield on interest-earning assets for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 decreased 10 basis points to 5.53%, compared to 5.63% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. The weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities decreased 19 basis points for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 to 2.71%, compared to 2.90% for the first quarter of 2025. The average cost of interest-bearing deposits for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 was 2.39%, compared to 2.64% for the same period last year. Average non-interest-bearing demand deposits decreased $74.6 million to $3.64 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to $3.72 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. The average cost of total deposits, including non-interest-bearing deposits, was 1.94% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared with 2.11% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. The average cost of borrowed funds for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 was 3.90%, compared to 3.76% for the same period last year.
Provision for Credit Losses
For the quarter ended March 31, 2026, the Company recorded a $2.1 million recapture of previous provisions for credit losses compared to a $635,000 provision for credit losses for the first quarter of 2025. The recapture of provision consisted of a $4.7 million recapture of provision related to loans, partially offset by a $2.5 million provision related to off-balance sheet credit exposures, compared with provisions for credit losses on loans and off-balance sheet credit exposures of $325,000 and $310,000, respectively, for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. The recapture of the provision for credit losses on loans in the current quarter was primarily due to a reduction in specific reserves on individually evaluated loans. For the three months ended March 31, 2026, net charge-offs totaled $3.1 million, or an annualized 6 basis points of average loans, compared with net charge-offs of $2.0 million, or an annualized 4 basis points of average loans, for the same period last year.
Non-Interest Income and Expense
Non-interest income totaled $31.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, an increase of $4.4 million, compared to the same period in 2025. BOLI income increased $1.9 million to $4.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the prior year quarter, primarily due to an increase in benefit claims. Insurance agency income increased $1.2 million to $6.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2025, largely due to an increase in contingency income and business activity. Fee income increased $809,000 to $10.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the prior year quarter, primarily due to increases in deposit fee income and commercial loan prepayment fees. Additionally, other income increased $486,000 to $2.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2025, primarily due to an increase in net gains on the sale of SBA loans, combined with an increase in gain on fixed asset sales, partially offset by a decrease in net fees on loan-level interest rate swap transactions.
For the three months ended March 31, 2026, non-interest expense totaled $117.1 million, an increase of $874,000, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025. Compensation and benefits expense increased $3.8 million to $66.2 million for three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to $62.4 million for the same period in 2025. The increase was primarily due to an increase in salary expense associated with Company-wide annual merit increases, combined with increases in employee medical benefits and stock-based compensation expenses. Net occupancy expense increased $1.1 million to $15.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the same period in 2025, largely due to increases in snow removal, utilities and other maintenance costs. Partially offsetting these increases to non-interest expense, other operating expense decreased $2.5 million to $14.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to $16.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, largely due to a $2.7 million write-down on a foreclosed property in the prior year. Additionally, amortization of intangibles decreased $938,000 to $8.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $9.5 million for 2025, primarily due to a scheduled reduction in the rate of core deposit intangible amortization related to Lakeland, while FDIC insurance expense decreased $544,000 to $2.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to the same period in 2025, primarily due to a decrease in the assessment rate.
The Company’s annualized adjusted non-interest expense as a percentage of average assets(5) was 1.90% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to 1.92% for the same period in 2025. The efficiency ratio (adjusted non-interest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income)(6) was 52.02% for the three months ended March 31, 2026 compared to 54.43% for the same respective period in 2025.
Income Tax Expense
For the three months ended March 31, 2026, the Company's income tax expense was $30.8 million with an effective tax rate of 27.9%, compared with $27.8 million with an effective tax rate of 30.3% for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The increase in tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared with the same period last year, was largely due to an increase in pre-tax income, partially offset by a discrete item related to stock-based compensation. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily related to ongoing benefits from tax credits recognized in the current quarter, combined with the aforementioned discrete item related to stock-based compensation.
Asset Quality
The Company’s total non-performing loans as of March 31, 2026 were $142.9 million, or 0.73% of total loans, compared $78.4 million, or 0.40% of total loans as of December 31, 2025 and $103.2 million, or 0.54% of total loans as of March 31, 2025. The $64.5 million increase in non-performing loans as of March 31, 2026, compared to the trailing quarter, was primarily driven by the addition of four commercial loans on senior housing properties totaling $82.1 million that are the subject of related bankruptcy filings, partially offset by payoffs. These loans have no prior charge-off history and require no specific reserve allocations due to strong collateral values. Appraisals received in 2026 reflect loan-to-value ratios for the collateral properties of 32.9%, 51.7%, 61.3%, and 81.9%. As of March 31, 2026, impaired loans totaled $128.4 million with related specific reserves of $1.6 million, compared with impaired loans totaling $63.3 million with related specific reserves of $5.9 million as of December 31, 2025. As of March 31, 2025, impaired loans totaled $86.1 million with related specific reserves of $7.9 million.
As of March 31, 2026, the Company’s allowance for credit losses related to loans held for investment was 0.90% of total loans, compared to 0.95% and 1.02% as of December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2025, respectively. The allowance for credit losses decreased $7.8 million to $177.0 million as of March 31, 2026, from $184.8 million as of December 31, 2025. The decrease in the allowance for credit losses on loans at March 31, 2026 compared to December 31, 2025 was due to a $4.7 million recapture of previous provisions for credit losses, combined with net charge-offs of $3.1 million, of which $2.5 million had been previously reserved for.
The following table shows accruing past due loans and non-accrual loans on the dates indicated, as well as certain asset quality ratios.
There were no non-accrual or past due loans held for sale as of March 31, 2026. As of March 31, 2025, total non-accrual loans held for sale, which are not in the tables above, totaled $3.9 million. Additionally, as of March 31, 2025, total past due loans held for sale, including non-accrual loans held for sale, totaled $5.8 million.
As of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the Company held foreclosed assets of $2.0 million. Foreclosed assets as of March 31, 2026 were comprised of commercial real estate. Total non-performing assets as of March 31, 2026 increased $64.5 million to $144.9 million, or 0.58% of total assets, from $80.4 million, or 0.32% of total assets as of December 31, 2025.
Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets as of March 31, 2026 were $25.20 billion, a $221.0 million increase from December 31, 2025. The increase in total assets was primarily due to a $143.6 million increase in total loans and a $60.9 million increase in total investments.
The Company’s loans held for investment portfolio totaled $19.65 billion as of March 31, 2026 and $19.50 billion as of December 31, 2025. The portfolio consisted of the following:
During the three months ended March 31, 2026, the loans held for investment portfolio had net increases of $123.1 million of commercial loans, $56.9 million of multi-family loans and $24.9 million of commercial mortgage loans, partially offset by net decreases of $22.5 million of mortgage warehouse lines, $21.2 million of construction loans and $13.5 million of residential mortgage loans. Total commercial loans, consisting of commercial real estate, multi-family, commercial and construction loans, as well as mortgage warehouse lines, represented 86.9% of the loan portfolio as of March 31, 2026, compared to 86.7% as of December 31, 2025.
For the three months ended March 31, 2026, loan funding, including advances on lines of credit, totaled $2.42 billion, compared with $1.93 billion for the same period in 2025.
As of March 31, 2026, the Company’s unfunded loan commitments totaled $3.96 billion, including commitments of $2.49 billion in commercial loans, $599.4 million in construction loans and $147.8 million in commercial mortgage loans. Unfunded loan commitments as of December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2025 were $3.71 billion and $2.88 billion, respectively.
The loan pipeline, consisting of work-in-process and loans approved pending closing, totaled $3.11 billion as of March 31, 2026, compared to $2.74 billion and $2.77 billion as of December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2025, respectively.
Total investment securities were $3.53 billion as of March 31, 2026, a $60.9 million increase from December 31, 2025. This increase was primarily due to purchases of mortgage-backed securities and a decrease in unrealized losses on available for sale debt securities.
Total deposits decreased $178.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2026, to $19.10 billion. Total savings and demand deposit accounts decreased $80.7 million to $15.91 billion as of March 31, 2026, while total time deposits decreased $97.7 million to $3.19 billion as of March 31, 2026. The decrease in savings and demand deposits consisted of a $147.2 decrease in municipal deposits and a $42.8 million decrease in interest bearing brokered deposits, partially offset a $53.4 million increase in money market deposits, a $12.4 million increase in savings deposits and a $2.3 million increase in non-interest-bearing demand deposits. The decrease in municipal deposits was mainly due to seasonal outflows. The decrease in time deposits consisted of an $82.5 million decrease in brokered time deposits, combined with a $15.2 million decrease in retail time deposits.
Borrowed funds increased $371.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2026, to $2.48 billion. The increase in borrowings was largely used to fund seasonal outflows in municipal deposits and replace maturing brokered deposits. Borrowed funds represented 9.9% of total assets as of March 31, 2026, an increase from 8.5% as of December 31, 2025.
Stockholders’ equity increased $29.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2026, to $2.86 billion, primarily due to net income earned for the period and a decrease in unrealized losses on available for sale debt securities, partially offset by cash dividends paid to stockholders and common stock repurchases. For the three months ended March 31, 2026, common stock repurchases totaled 588,923 shares at an average cost of $21.04 per share, of which 100,381 shares at an average cost of $21.29 were made in connection with withholding to cover income taxes on the vesting of stock-based compensation. As of March 31, 2026, approximately $2.2 million shares remained eligible for repurchase under the current authorization. Book value per share and tangible book value per share(3) as of March 31, 2026 were $21.97 and $16.03, respectively, compared with $21.69 and $15.70, respectively, as of December 31, 2025.
About the Company
Provident Financial Services, Inc. is the holding company for Provident Bank, a community-oriented bank offering "Commitment you can count on" since 1839. Provident Bank provides a comprehensive array of financial products and services through its network of branches throughout New Jersey, Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania, as well as Orange, Queens and Nassau Counties in New York. The Bank also provides fiduciary and wealth management services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Beacon Trust Company and insurance services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Provident Protection Plus, Inc.
Post Earnings Conference Call
Representatives of the Company will hold a conference call for investors on Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Company’s financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. The call may be accessed by dialing 1-888-412-4131 (United States Toll Free) and 1-646-960-0134 (United States Local). Speakers will need to enter conference ID code (3610756) before being met by a live operator. Internet access to the call is also available (listen only) at provident.bank by going to Investor Relations and clicking on "Webcast."
A supplemental 1st Quarter 2026 results investor presentation is also available on our investor relations website under “Presentations.”
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements contained herein are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period or periods, or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” "project," "intend," “anticipate,” “continue,” or similar terms or variations on those terms, or the negative of those terms. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those set forth in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as supplemented by its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and those related to the economic environment, particularly in the market areas in which the Company operates, inflation and unemployment, competitive products and pricing, real estate values, fiscal and monetary policies of the U.S. Government, tariffs, changes in accounting policies and practices that may be adopted by the regulatory agencies and the accounting standards setters, changes in government regulations affecting financial institutions, including regulatory fees and capital requirements, changes in prevailing interest rates, potential goodwill impairment, acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses, credit risk management, asset-liability management, the financial and securities markets and the availability of and costs associated with sources of liquidity.
The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company advises readers that the factors listed above could affect the Company's financial performance and could cause the Company's actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements. The Company does not assume any duty, and does not undertake, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement.
Footnotes
(1) Annualized adjusted pre-provision, net-revenue return on average assets, annualized return on average tangible equity, tangible common equity capital ratio, tangible book value per share, annualized adjusted non-interest expense as a percentage of average assets and the efficiency ratio are non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the Notes following the Consolidated Financial Highlights which contain the reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures and the associated calculations.
Notes and Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Financial Measures(Dollars in Thousands, except share data)
The Company has presented the following non-GAAP (U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial measures because it believes that these measures provide useful and comparative information to assess trends in the Company’s results of operations and financial condition. Presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is consistent with how the Company evaluates its performance internally and these non-GAAP financial measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in the Company’s industry. Investors should recognize that the Company’s presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures might not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a substitute for GAAP basis measures and the Company strongly encourages a review of its condensed consolidated financial statements in their entirety.
SOURCE: Provident Financial Services, Inc. CONTACT: Investor Relations, 1-732-590-9300 Web Site: http://www.Provident.Bank
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