Fulton Financial Corp
Q1 2026 Earnings
Market Reaction
S&P 500 over the same 30 days: +5.95%.
Did FULT Beat Earnings? Q1 2026 Results
Fulton Financial delivered a stronger-than-expected first quarter, posting operating earnings of $0.55 per diluted share against a consensus estimate of $0.49, a beat of 12.24% that underscored the company's grip on expense discipline even as revenue came in at $331.86 million, fractionally below the $334.08 million analysts had penciled in and down 28.9% year over year. The most meaningful driver behind the earnings outperformance was a sharp pullback in non-interest expense to $200.29 million, largely reflecting an $11.30 million reduction in incentive compensation from the prior quarter, which helped absorb a surge in the provision for credit losses to $14.44 million amid higher net charge-offs. The quarter also carried the final pre-close costs of the Blue Foundry Bancorp acquisition, which completed April 1 and added roughly $2.10 billion in assets, expanding Fulton's reach into northern New Jersey and expected to be immediately accretive to earnings. Looking ahead, management reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance calling for net interest income of $1.12 billion to $1.14 billion, with mid single-digit organic loan growth and one Fed rate cut in July underpinning the outlook.
- Net interest margin of 3.58% supported by deposit cost reduction of 8 bps to 1.78%
- Non-interest expense decreased $12.7 million driven by $11.3 million reduction in incentive compensation
- Operating efficiency ratio improved to 56.7% from 60.0% in prior quarter
- Loan portfolio grew $121.5 million including opportunistic in-market commercial loan portfolio purchase
- Deposits grew $178.9 million with strong savings and noninterest-bearing demand growth
- Purchase loan mark accretion from Republic Acquisition contributed $10.3 million
“Our first quarter results reflect steady, solid profitability driven by disciplined execution of our strategy. The Blue Foundry Bancorp acquisition expands our presence in northern New Jersey and meaningfully advances our business objectives. We are pleased to welcome Blue Foundry Bank's team members and customers to Fulton. Our focus now turns to a seamless integration, a smooth customer transition, and the continued delivery of positive operating leverage and successful strategic outcomes.”
Fulton Financial CEO, on the earnings call
Forward Guidance & Outlook
Full-year 2026 operating guidance (assuming Blue Foundry Bank systems conversion in Q3 2026 and a 25 bps Fed rate cut in July 2026): Non-FTE net interest income of $1.120–$1.140 billion (reflecting mid single-digit organic loan growth plus Blue Foundry acquisition; FTE adjustment of $16–$18 million; purchase accounting accretion of $50–$55 million). Provision for credit losses of $55–$75 million. Non-interest income of $285–$300 million. Non-interest expense (excluding non-operating items and CDI amortization) of $800–$835 million, with Blue Foundry operating non-interest expense of approximately $27 million and estimated acquisition-related/FultonFirst implementation expense of approximately $38.4 million. Effective tax rate of 18.5%–19.5%.
FULT YoY Financials
FULT Revenue by Segment
Figures from SEC filings and company reports. Not investment advice.