"SouthState opened the year with strong momentum, posting solid balance sheet growth, record pipeline activity, and healthy profitability," said John C. Corbett, SouthState's Chief Executive Officer. "On an annualized basis, loans increased 7% and deposits grew 5%, and we continue to attract talented commercial bankers who are helping drive future growth. Asset quality remains strong, with annualized net charge-offs of just 9 basis points. In terms of profitability, we delivered a return on average assets of 1.37%. Over the past year, tangible book value per share increased 14%, even as we repurchased nearly 4% of our shares, underscoring our confidence in SouthState's performance and our commitment to creating long-term value for shareholders."
Highlights of the first quarter of 2026 include:
Returns
Reported diluted Earnings per Share ("EPS") and Adjusted Diluted EPS (Non-GAAP) of $2.28, up 162% year over year on a reported basis and 6% year over year on an adjusted basis
Net Income of $225.8 million
Return on Average Common Equity of 10.1%; Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (Non-GAAP) of 17.6%*
Return on Average Assets ("ROAA") of 1.37%*
Book Value per Share of $92.21
Tangible Book Value ("TBV") per Share (Non-GAAP) of $56.90, an increase of 14% year over year, after raising the dividend by 11%, and repurchasing nearly 4% of the Company's shares
Performance
Net Interest Income of $562 million, an increase of $17 million, or 3%, year over year and a decrease of $20 million, or 3%, compared to the prior quarter
Noninterest Income of $100 million, an increase of $14 million year over year and a decrease of $6 million compared to the prior quarter, driven primarily by correspondent banking and capital markets income; Noninterest Income represented 0.61% of average assets for the first quarter of 2026*
Net Interest Margin ("NIM"), non-tax equivalent and tax equivalent (Non-GAAP), of 3.78% and 3.79%, respectively
Net charge-offs totaled $10.5 million, or 0.09%* of average loans
$10.8 million of Provision for Credit Losses ("PCL"); total Allowance for Credit Losses ("ACL") plus reserve for unfunded commitments of 1.32% of loans
Efficiency Ratio of 51%
Balance Sheet
Loans increased by $898 million, or 7%*, and deposits increased by $730 million, or 5%*; ending loan to deposit ratio of 89%
Total loan yield of 5.96%, down 0.17% from prior quarter
Total deposit cost of 1.76%, down 0.06% from prior quarter
Strong capital position with Tangible Common Equity, Total Risk-Based Capital, Tier 1 Leverage, and Tier 1 Common Equity ratios of 8.6%, 13.7%, 9.4%, and 11.3%, respectively†
Subsequent Events
The Board of Directors of the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.60 per share, payable on May 15, 2026 to shareholders of record as of May 8, 2026
∗ Annualized percentages† Preliminary
Financial Performance
Three Months Ended
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Mar. 31,
Dec. 31,
Sep. 30,
Jun. 30,
Mar. 31,
INCOME STATEMENT
2026
2025
2025
2025
2025
Interest Income
Loans, including fees (1)
$
721,571
$
748,106
$
782,382
$
746,448
$
724,640
Investment securities, trading securities, federal funds sold and securities
purchased under agreements to resell
95,258
100,640
99,300
94,056
83,926
Total interest income
816,829
848,746
881,682
840,504
808,566
Interest Expense
Deposits
238,522
250,189
257,271
241,593
245,957
Federal funds purchased, securities sold under agreements
to repurchase, and other borrowings
16,702
17,442
24,714
20,963
18,062
Total interest expense
255,224
267,631
281,985
262,556
264,019
Net Interest Income
561,605
581,115
599,697
577,948
544,547
Provision for credit losses
10,808
6,605
5,085
7,505
100,562
Net Interest Income after Provision for Credit Losses
550,797
574,510
594,612
570,443
443,985
Noninterest Income
Operating income
100,098
105,753
99,086
86,817
85,620
Securities losses, net
—
—
—
—
(228,811)
Gain on sale leaseback, net of transaction costs
—
—
—
—
229,279
Total noninterest income
100,098
105,753
99,086
86,817
86,088
Noninterest Expense
Operating expense
359,524
364,196
351,453
350,682
340,820
Merger, branch consolidation, severance related, and other expense (8)
—
4,494
20,889
24,379
68,006
FDIC special assessment
—
(3,835)
—
—
—
Total noninterest expense
359,524
364,855
372,342
375,061
408,826
Income before Income Tax Provision
291,371
315,408
321,356
282,199
121,247
Income tax provision
65,551
67,686
74,715
66,975
32,167
Net Income
$
225,820
$
247,722
$
246,641
$
215,224
$
89,080
Adjusted Net Income (non-GAAP) (2)
Net Income (GAAP)
$
225,820
$
247,722
$
246,641
$
215,224
$
89,080
Securities losses, net of tax
—
—
—
—
178,639
Gain on sale leaseback, net of transaction costs and tax
—
—
—
—
(179,004)
Initial provision for credit losses - Non-PCD loans and UFC from Independent, net of tax
—
—
—
—
71,892
Merger, branch consolidation, severance related, and other
expense, net of tax (8)
—
3,529
16,032
18,593
53,094
Deferred tax asset remeasurement
—
—
—
—
5,581
FDIC special assessment, net of tax
—
(3,012)
—
—
—
Adjusted Net Income (non-GAAP)
$
225,820
$
248,239
$
262,673
$
233,817
$
219,282
Basic earnings per common share
$
2.29
$
2.48
$
2.44
$
2.12
$
0.88
Diluted earnings per common share
$
2.28
$
2.46
$
2.42
$
2.11
$
0.87
Adjusted net income per common share - Basic (non-GAAP) (2)
$
2.29
$
2.48
$
2.60
$
2.30
$
2.16
Adjusted net income per common share - Diluted (non-GAAP) (2)
$
2.28
$
2.47
$
2.58
$
2.30
$
2.15
Dividends per common share
$
0.60
$
0.60
$
0.60
$
0.54
$
0.54
Basic weighted-average common shares outstanding
98,544,242
100,063,315
101,218,431
101,495,456
101,409,624
Diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding
98,922,258
100,618,796
101,735,095
101,845,360
101,828,600
Effective tax rate
22.50 %
21.46 %
23.25 %
23.73 %
26.53 %
Adjusted effective tax rate
22.50 %
21.46 %
23.25 %
23.73 %
21.93 %
Performance and Capital Ratios
Three Months Ended
Mar. 31,
Dec. 31,
Sep. 30,
Jun. 30,
Mar. 31,
2026
2025
2025
2025
2025
PERFORMANCE RATIOS
Return on average assets (annualized)
1.37
%
1.47
%
1.49
%
1.34
%
0.56
%
Adjusted return on average assets (annualized) (non-GAAP) (2)
1.37
%
1.48
%
1.59
%
1.45
%
1.38
%
Return on average common equity (annualized)
10.11
%
10.90
%
11.04
%
9.93
%
4.29
%
Adjusted return on average common equity (annualized) (non-GAAP) (2)
10.11
%
10.92
%
11.75
%
10.79
%
10.56
%
Return on average tangible common equity (annualized) (non-GAAP) (3)
17.59
%
19.10
%
19.62
%
18.17
%
8.99
%
Adjusted return on average tangible common equity (annualized) (non-GAAP) (2) (3)
17.59
%
19.14
%
20.81
%
19.61
%
19.85
%
Efficiency ratio (tax equivalent)
51.05
%
49.65
%
49.88
%
52.75
%
60.97
%
Adjusted efficiency ratio (non-GAAP) (4)
51.05
%
49.56
%
46.89
%
49.09
%
50.24
%
Dividend payout ratio (5)
26.12
%
24.23
%
24.59
%
25.47
%
61.45
%
Book value per common share
$
92.21
$
91.38
$
89.14
$
86.71
$
84.99
Tangible book value per common share (non-GAAP) (3)
$
56.90
$
56.27
$
54.48
$
51.96
$
50.07
CAPITAL RATIOS
Equity-to-assets
13.3
%
13.5
%
13.6
%
13.4
%
13.2
%
Tangible equity-to-tangible assets (non-GAAP) (3)
8.6
%
8.8
%
8.8
%
8.5
%
8.2
%
Tier 1 leverage (6)
9.4
%
9.3
%
9.4
%
9.2
%
8.9
%
Tier 1 common equity (6)
11.3
%
11.4
%
11.5
%
11.2
%
11.0
%
Tier 1 risk-based capital (6)
11.3
%
11.4
%
11.5
%
11.2
%
11.0
%
Total risk-based capital (6)
13.7
%
13.8
%
14.0
%
14.5
%
13.7
%
Balance Sheet
Ending Balance
(Dollars in thousands, except per share and share data)
Mar. 31,
Dec. 31,
Sep. 30,
Jun. 30,
Mar. 31,
BALANCE SHEET
2026
2025
2025
2025
2025
Assets
Cash and due from banks
$
598,218
$
583,375
$
582,792
$
755,798
$
688,153
Federal funds sold and interest-earning deposits with banks
2,268,864
2,589,108
2,561,663
2,708,308
2,611,537
Cash and cash equivalents
2,867,082
3,172,483
3,144,455
3,464,106
3,299,690
Trading securities, at fair value
117,590
110,183
107,519
95,306
107,401
Investment securities:
Securities held to maturity
2,007,249
2,048,030
2,096,727
2,145,991
2,195,980
Securities available for sale, at fair value
6,530,348
6,313,756
6,042,800
5,927,867
5,853,369
Other investments
370,924
353,428
366,218
357,487
345,695
Total investment securities
8,908,521
8,715,214
8,505,745
8,431,345
8,395,044
Loans held for sale
327,935
345,343
346,673
318,985
357,918
Loans:
Purchased credit deteriorated
2,818,360
2,977,499
3,160,359
3,409,186
3,634,490
Purchased non-credit deteriorated
10,714,489
11,232,414
11,877,828
12,492,553
13,084,853
Non-acquired
35,963,934
34,388,614
32,629,724
31,365,508
30,047,389
Less allowance for credit losses
(585,882)
(585,197)
(590,133)
(621,046)
(623,690)
Loans, net
48,910,901
48,013,330
47,077,778
46,646,201
46,143,042
Premises and equipment, net
993,584
994,176
961,510
964,878
946,334
Bank owned life insurance
1,302,382
1,293,574
1,285,532
1,280,632
1,273,472
Mortgage servicing rights
90,018
84,032
84,491
85,836
87,742
Core deposit and other intangibles
364,686
386,326
409,890
433,458
455,443
Goodwill
3,094,059
3,094,059
3,094,059
3,094,059
3,088,059
Other assets
1,002,465
988,692
1,030,558
1,078,516
981,309
Total assets
$
67,979,223
$
67,197,412
$
66,048,210
$
65,893,322
$
65,135,454
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Deposits:
Noninterest-bearing
$
13,650,799
$
13,375,697
$
13,430,459
$
13,719,030
$
13,757,255
Interest-bearing
42,224,864
41,770,100
40,642,810
39,977,931
39,580,360
Total deposits
55,875,663
55,145,797
54,073,269
53,696,961
53,337,615
Federal funds purchased and securities
sold under agreements to repurchase
643,386
618,215
594,092
630,558
679,337
Other borrowings
696,642
696,536
696,429
1,099,705
752,798
Reserve for unfunded commitments
69,229
69,619
68,538
64,693
62,253
Other liabilities
1,663,387
1,608,137
1,604,756
1,600,271
1,679,090
Total liabilities
58,948,307
58,138,304
57,037,084
57,092,188
56,511,093
Shareholders' equity:
Common stock - $2.50 par value; authorized 160,000,000 shares
244,844
247,845
252,723
253,745
253,698
Surplus
6,332,285
6,480,471
6,647,952
6,679,028
6,667,277
Retained earnings
2,779,896
2,614,173
2,426,463
2,240,470
2,080,053
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(326,109)
(283,381)
(316,012)
(372,109)
(376,667)
Total shareholders' equity
9,030,916
9,059,108
9,011,126
8,801,134
8,624,361
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity
$
67,979,223
$
67,197,412
$
66,048,210
$
65,893,322
$
65,135,454
Common shares issued and outstanding
97,937,653
99,138,204
101,089,231
