Key Highlights

  • Net income was USD 220 million, or USD 0.78 per diluted share.
  • Net interest Margin rose 18 basis points to 4.11%.
  • The board authorized a new USD 1.2 billion repurchase program.
  • Repurchases of USD 199 million completed the prior buyback plan.

Earnings

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) reported third-quarter 2026 results on Thursday. Net Income was USD 220 million, or USD 0.78 per diluted share, against USD 0.73 in the second quarter and USD 0.40 a year earlier. Operating net income, a non-GAAP measure, was USD 229 million, or USD 0.82 per share, against USD 0.76 in the second quarter and USD 0.85 a year earlier.

Return on average Assets was 1.34% and return on average tangible common Equity was 16.43%. The efficiency ratio was 53.08% against 55.15% in the second quarter and 67.29% a year earlier.

Margin and Income

Net interest income rose USD 26 million from the second quarter to USD 615 million, against USD 505 million a year earlier. The net interest margin was 4.11%, up 18 basis points from the prior quarter, on higher Loan and securities yields and a favorable funding mix as customer deposit growth repaid wholesale funding. A year earlier the margin was 3.84%.

Non-interest income fell USD 8 million to USD 80 million, including a USD 3 million death benefit recorded in the second quarter that did not recur. Non-interest expense fell USD 5 million to USD 370 million on lower Merger expense. Pre-provision net Revenue was USD 325 million against USD 302 million in the second quarter and USD 189 million a year earlier.

Balance Sheet and Credit

Total assets were USD 65.1 billion. Loans and leases were USD 46.9 billion against USD 47.2 billion in the second quarter. Deposits rose to USD 52.7 billion from USD 52.1 billion, helped by a second customer deposit campaign in 2026 that ran from June to mid-August and brought in more than USD 700 million.

Provision expense was USD 33 million against USD 27 million. Net charge-offs were 0.24% of average loans and leases against 0.25%. Non-Performing Assets were 0.39% of total assets against 0.42%. Book Value per share was USD 25.62 and tangible book value per share was USD 18.10, both lower than the second quarter.

Capital Return and Funding

Columbia repurchased USD 199 million of stock in the quarter, completing a plan under which it bought 23.3 million shares at an average of USD 29.88 between November 2025 and Sept. 30, or 7.8% of shares outstanding a year earlier. The board authorized a new USD 1.2 billion plan with no expiration date. Over the past year the company returned more than USD 1 billion through dividends and repurchases. The quarterly Dividend was USD 0.37 per share.

In September the bank issued USD 250 million of subordinated notes due 2036 at a fixed 6.721% for five years, then resetting to the five-year Treasury rate plus 195 basis points. The company plans to redeem about USD 240 million of junior subordinated debentures during the fourth quarter and early 2027. The estimated common equity tier 1 ratio was 11.5% and the total risk-based ratio was 13.8%.

Columbia opened a branch in Draper and a financial hub in Pleasant Grove, both in Utah, and closed four branches. Management guided to a fourth-quarter net interest margin of about 4.05% and non-interest expense of USD 330 million to USD 335 million.

Reference Points

Operating Earnings per share of USD 0.82 compare with USD 0.85 a year earlier, while reported Earnings Per Share doubled from USD 0.40 to USD 0.78. Items to follow include the margin against the guided 4.05%, the pace of repurchases under the new USD 1.2 billion plan, loan balances that fell USD 251 million, and tangible book value per share at USD 18.10.