Key Highlights

  • WaFd's 172nd consecutive quarterly Dividend of $0.27 has an ex-date of August 21, 2026, payable September 4.
  • The corrected annualized Yield is approximately 2.93%, below an earlier estimate of 3.8% to 4%.
  • The active Loan portfolio grew 12% sequentially in the latest quarter, following a period of weaker growth.
  • Second-quarter Net Income reached approximately $65.5 million, with EPS of $0.82, up from $0.65 a year earlier.

A Remarkable Consistency Record

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) pays a regular quarterly common dividend of $0.27 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 21, 2026, payable September 4 to shareholders of record. This particular payment marks the company's 172nd consecutive quarterly cash dividend, an unusually long streak that speaks to the bank's historical consistency through multiple economic and rate cycles. On an annualized basis, the dividend equals $1.08 per share, implying a corrected yield of approximately 2.93%, somewhat below an earlier estimate of 3.8% to 4%.

WaFd also carries preferred-stock dividend obligations that rank ahead of common dividends, a structural detail common stock investors should keep in mind when assessing the security of the payout.

About the Company

WaFd is a regional banking company providing residential and commercial lending, deposits, and treasury services across the western United States. The bank earns most of its Revenue from net interest income, making its performance sensitive to local economic conditions, housing markets, and interest-rate movements.

Loan Growth Returns After a Soft Patch

The bank's latest development centers on a return to meaningful loan growth. The active loan portfolio reportedly increased 12% from the prior quarter, a notable rebound after a period of relative weakness. This growth supported net interest income and overall profitability, with second-quarter net income reaching approximately $65.5 million and net income available to common shareholders of approximately $61.9 million, or $0.82 diluted EPS, up from $0.65 in the year-ago quarter.

Net interest Margin was 2.81%, while deposits stood at approximately $21.1 billion and Liquidity was reported at about $5.8 billion.

Balancing Growth With Credit Discipline

Management continued share repurchases during the period, buying back approximately 4.7 million shares during the first half of fiscal 2026 at an average price near $30.98. While the combination of loan growth, improving credit metrics, and continued Buybacks is broadly positive, renewed loan growth can also introduce risk if concentrated in stressed sectors. Investors should monitor deposit costs, commercial real-estate exposure, and nonperforming loan trends as the portfolio expands.

Outlook

WaFd's 172-quarter dividend streak reflects a deeply embedded commitment to consistent Shareholder distributions, and the recent return of loan growth provides a positive underlying signal. The primary considerations going forward are whether credit quality holds up as the loan portfolio expands and how deposit competition affects net interest margin in coming quarters.