On an operating basis, United's diluted earnings per share of $0.70 increased 19% from the year-ago quarter. Strong revenue growth and positive operating leverage drove the year-over-year results.
United's return on assets was 1.22% on both a GAAP and operating basis in the first quarter of 2026, up from 1.02% and 1.04%, GAAP and operating, respectively, for the first quarter of 2025. Return on common equity was 9.4% and return on tangible common equity on an operating basis was 13.1%. On a pre-tax, pre-provision basis, operating return on assets was 1.73% for the quarter. At quarter-end, tangible common equity to tangible assets was 9.9%, equal to the fourth quarter.
Chairman and CEO Lynn Harton stated, "Our first quarter results mark the start of what we expect to be a great year for United. We continue to improve our earning asset mix by growing loans, funded by maturing investment securities and growth in customer deposits. This shift in earning asset composition and our strategic focus on deposit pricing helped to widen our net interest margin by three basis points in the first quarter. In fact, our net interest margin is up 29 basis points when compared to the first quarter of 2025. We entered the year with a small wholesale funding position, but deposit growth allowed that to be completely repaid by the end of the quarter. We took advantage of our strong capital position and repurchased 1.09 million shares of our common stock at an average price of $33.97 per share during the quarter. All our key performance metrics show significant improvement when compared to the first quarter of 2025. With strong capital and liquidity, we notified holders of our remaining $100 million in subordinated debentures of our intent to redeem those securities in the second quarter.
Harton continued, "I'm very proud of our first quarter financial results and also pleased to report that we were notified in March that United had earned its twelfth JD Power award for outstanding customer satisfaction in the Southeast. That is a tremendous accomplishment by our exceptional team of bankers and a testament to the enduring nature and consistency of our strong corporate culture throughout our organization. Congratulations to our entire team for this great recognition of your focus on customer care."
Net charge-offs were $10.4 million or 0.22% annualized of average loans, compared with 0.21% for the first quarter of 2025 and 0.34% for the fourth quarter of 2025. Nonperforming assets were 0.35% of total assets, up slightly from 0.33% for the fourth quarter. Provision for credit losses was $10.9 million for the first quarter, down from $15.4 million a year ago and $13.7 million for the fourth quarter. As of March 31, the allowance for credit losses represents 1.15% of loans, down slightly from 1.16% at December 31, 2025, reflecting more optimism in the economic forecast.
United also announced today the execution of a definitive merger agreement to acquire Peach State Bancshares, Inc. Details of the transaction are described in a separate presentation, filed with the SEC on April 21 and available within the Investor Relations section of United's website.
First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights:
EPS of $0.69 was up $0.11 on a GAAP basis compared to first quarter 2025, and EPS of $0.70 was up $0.11, or 19%, on an operating basis
Net income of $84.3 million and pre-tax, pre-provision income of $119.2 million, up $12.9 million and $12.6 million, respectively, from a year ago
Total revenue of $276.5 million improved $28.8 million, or 12%, from a year ago
Net interest margin of 3.65% increased by 29 basis points from a year ago and 3 basis points from the fourth quarter on a lower cost of funds and improving asset mix
Provision for credit losses was $10.9 million, down $4.6 million from a year ago and $2.8 million from the fourth quarter; allowance for credit losses coverage down slightly to 1.15% of total loans; net charge-offs were $10.4 million, or 0.22% of average loans, annualized
Noninterest expense was up $5.3 million compared to the fourth quarter on a GAAP basis and up $0.2 million on an operating basis
Efficiency ratio of 56.7% on a GAAP basis, or 55.7% on an operating basis, improved from a year ago
Strong loan production led to loan growth of $218 million, up 4.5% annualized, from the fourth quarter
Mortgage closings of $251 million compared to $187 million in first quarter 2025; mortgage rate locks of $408 million compared to $330 million in first quarter 2025
Customer deposits were up $237 million from the fourth quarter
Return on assets of 1.22% on both a GAAP and operating basis
Return on common equity and return on tangible common equity on an operating basis were 9.4% and 13.1%, respectively
Maintained strong capital ratios with preliminary Common Equity Tier 1 of 13.4%
Quarterly common dividend of $0.25 per share declared during the quarter, up 4% year-over-year
Repurchased 1.09 million shares of common stock in the first quarter at an average price of $33.97 per share
Conference CallUnited will hold a conference call on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. EST to discuss the contents of this press release and to share business highlights for the quarter. Participants can pre-register for the conference call by navigating to https://dpregister.com/sreg/10207568/103998c8460. Those without internet access or unable to pre-register may dial in by calling 1-844-676-1337. The conference call also will be webcast and can be accessed by selecting "Events and Presentations" under "News and Events" within the Investor Relations section of the company's website, ucbi.com
UNITED COMMUNITY BANKS, INC.
Selected Financial Information
(in thousands, except per share data)
2026
2025
First Quarter2026, 2025Change
FirstQuarter
FourthQuarter
ThirdQuarter
SecondQuarter
FirstQuarter
INCOME SUMMARY
Interest revenue
$
333,961
$
346,367
$
353,850
$
347,365
$
335,357
Interest expense
101,197
108,441
120,221
121,834
123,336
Net interest revenue
232,764
237,926
233,629
225,531
212,021
10
%
Noninterest income
43,746
40,462
43,219
34,708
35,656
23
Total revenue
276,510
278,388
276,848
260,239
247,677
12
Provision for credit losses
10,853
13,662
7,907
11,818
15,419
(30
)
Noninterest expense
157,302
152,048
150,868
147,919
141,099
11
Income before income tax expense
108,355
112,678
118,073
100,502
91,159
19
Income tax expense
24,066
26,223
26,579
21,769
19,746
22
Net income
84,289
86,455
91,494
78,733
71,413
18
Non-operating items
508
606
3,468
4,833
1,297
Income tax benefit of non-operating items
(113
)
(133
)
(751
)
(1,047
)
(281
)
Net income, operating (1)
$
84,684
$
86,928
$
94,211
$
82,519
$
72,429
17
Pre-tax pre-provision income (5)
$
119,208
$
126,340
$
125,980
$
112,320
$
106,578
12
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Per common share:
Diluted net income, GAAP
$
0.69
$
0.70
$
0.70
$
0.63
$
0.58
19
Diluted net income, operating (1)
0.70
0.71
0.75
0.66
0.59
19
Cash dividends declared
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.24
0.24
4
Book value
30.54
30.17
29.44
28.89
28.42
7
Tangible book value (3)
22.56
22.24
21.59
21.00
20.58
10
Key performance ratios:
Return on common equity, GAAP (2)(4)
9.35
%
9.48
%
9.20
%
8.45
%
7.89
%
Return on common equity, operating (1)(2)(4)
9.39
9.53
9.83
8.87
8.01
Return on tangible common equity - operating (1)(2)(3)(4)
13.05
13.31
13.56
12.34
11.21
Return on assets, GAAP (4)
1.22
1.21
1.29
1.11
1.02
Return on assets, operating (1)(4)
1.22
1.22
1.33
1.16
1.04
Return on assets, pre-tax pre-provision, excluding non-operating items (1)(4)(5)
1.73
1.78
1.83
1.66
1.55
Net interest margin (fully taxable equivalent) (4)
3.65
3.62
3.58
3.50
3.36
Efficiency ratio, GAAP
56.66
54.40
54.30
56.69
56.74
Efficiency ratio, operating (1)
55.65
54.19
53.05
54.84
56.22
Equity to total assets
12.97
12.99
12.78
12.86
12.56
Tangible common equity to tangible assets (3)
9.92
9.92
9.71
9.45
9.18
ASSET QUALITY
Nonperforming assets ("NPAs")
$
98,623
$
93,498
$
97,916
$
83,959
$
93,290
6
ACL, loans
208,396
210,429
215,791
216,500
211,974
(2
)
ACL, total
225,996
225,520
228,276
228,045
223,201
1
Net charge-offs
10,377
16,418
7,676
8,225
9,607
8
ACL, loans to loans
1.06
%
1.09
%
1.13
%
1.14
%
1.15
%
ACL, total to loans
1.15
1.16
1.19
1.21
1.21
Net charge-offs to average loans (4)
0.22
0.34
0.16
0.18
0.21
NPAs to total assets
0.35
0.33
0.35
0.30
0.33
AT PERIOD END ($ in millions)
Loans
$
19,602
$
19,384
$
19,175
$
18,921
$
18,425
6
Investment securities
5,889
5,988
6,163
6,382
6,661
(12
)
Total assets
28,177
28,003
28,143
28,086
27,874
1
Deposits
24,025
23,798
24,021
23,963
23,762
1
Shareholders' equity
3,655
3,639
3,597
3,613
3,501
4
Common shares outstanding (thousands)
119,684
120,598
121,553
121,431
119,514
—
(1) Excludes non-operating items as detailed on Non-GAAP Performance Measures Reconciliation. (2) Net income less preferred stock dividends, divided by average common equity. (3) Excludes effect of acquisition related intangibles and associated amortization. (4) Annualized. (5) Excludes income tax expense and provision for credit losses.
UNITED COMMUNITY BANKS, INC.
Loan Portfolio Composition at Period-End
2026
2025
Linked Quarter Change
Year over Year Change
(in millions)
First Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Third Quarter
Second Quarter
First Quarter
LOANS BY CATEGORY
Owner occupied commercial RE
$
4,041
$
3,950
$
3,678
$
3,563
$
3,419
$
91
$
622
Income producing commercial RE
4,984
5,032
4,534
4,548
4,416
(48
)
568
Commercial & industrial
2,771
2,696
2,593
2,516
2,506
75
265
Commercial construction & land
1,072
998
1,734
1,752
1,681
74
(609
)
Equipment financing
1,897
1,848
1,808
1,778
1,723
49
174
Total commercial
14,765
14,524
14,347
14,157
13,745
241
1,020
Residential mortgage
3,122
3,157
3,198
3,210
3,218
(35
)
(96
)
Home equity
1,344
1,319
1,252
1,180
1,099
25
245
Residential construction & land
185
191
178
174
171
(6
)
14
Consumer
187
188
192
191
183
(1
)
4
Other
(1
)
5
8
9
9
(6
)
(10
)
Total loans
$
19,602
$
19,384
$
19,175
$
18,921
$
18,425
$
218
$
1,177
LOANS BY MARKET
Georgia
$
4,617
$
4,635
$
4,584
$
4,551
$
4,484
$
(18
)
$
133
South Carolina
3,037
2,971
2,926
2,872
2,821
66
216
North Carolina
2,722
