Ameris Bancorp (NYSE: ABCB) on Thursday announced record financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ending December 31, 2025. The company reported fourth-quarter net income of $108.4 million, or $1.59 per diluted share, a performance driven by significant net interest margin expansion and a disciplined reduction in funding costs. For the full fiscal year, the bank achieved record net income of $412.2 million, representing a 14.9% increase over the $358.7 million recorded in 2024.
The results underscore a year of balance sheet optimization, where the bank successfully navigated a high-payoff environment in commercial lending while achieving its lowest efficiency ratio in several years.
Net Interest Income and Margin Dynamics
The bank’s fourth-quarter performance was anchored by a surge in net interest income, which reached $246.3 million on a tax-equivalent basis. This represents a 10.6% increase from the same period in 2024. The growth was primarily facilitated by a 21-basis-point year-over-year expansion in the net interest margin (NIM), which climbed to 3.85%.
This margin expansion resulted from aggressive liability management. While asset yields saw a marginal decline of 5 basis points during the quarter, the bank reduced its cost of interest-bearing liabilities by 10 basis points to 2.87%. On a broader scale, the total cost of funds fell to 1.95%, a 27-basis-point improvement from the 2.22% reported in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Fourth Quarter 2025 Operating Metrics
| Metric | Q4 2025 | Q4 2024 |
| Net Income | $108.4M | $89.7M |
| Diluted EPS | $1.59 | $1.30 |
| Net Interest Margin | 3.85% | 3.64% |
| Efficiency Ratio | 46.59% | 52.26% |
| ROA | 1.58% | 1.34% |
Full-Year 2025 Performance and Asset Quality
For the full year 2025, Ameris reported diluted earnings per share of $6.00, compared with $5.20 in 2024. The bank’s return on average assets (ROA) improved to 1.54%, while the return on average tangible common equity rose to 14.51%.
Total earning assets grew by $1.32 billion, or 5.5%, during the year. This growth persisted despite substantial headwinds in the loan portfolio during the fourth quarter, where the bank processed $500.2 million in payoffs and paydowns, primarily within the commercial real estate and construction segments. To offset these exits, the bank produced $2.4 billion in new loans during the quarter, its highest production volume since the second quarter of 2022.
Asset Quality and Credit Reserve Stability
Provision for Credit Losses: The bank recorded a $17.1 million provision in Q4, maintaining a conservative stance.
Allowance for Credit Losses (ACL): The ACL stood at $353.1 million, representing 1.62% of total loans.
Net Charge-offs: Annualized net charge-offs were 0.20% for the quarter and 0.18% for the full year, indicating stable credit performance across the portfolio.
Non-performing Assets: Total non-performing assets remained low at 0.54% of total assets.
Noninterest Income and Operational Efficiency
Noninterest income for the fourth quarter was $61.8 million, down 18.9% from the third quarter’s $76.2 million. This decline was largely attributed to a decrease in mortgage banking activity, which is typically subject to seasonal cooling in the final months of the year. Service charges on deposit accounts and other noninterest fees remained relatively flat.
Despite the drop in fee-based income, the bank’s efficiency ratio improved to 46.59% in the fourth quarter. This metric reflects the bank’s success in controlling noninterest expenses, which totaled $143.2 million for the quarter, while scaling its revenue-generating assets.
Capital Management and 2026 Guidance
Ameris strengthened its capital position throughout 2025, ending the year with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio of 13.20%, up from 12.35% at the end of 2024. The bank also utilized its excess capital to repurchase $77.1 million in common stock over the year and retired all remaining subordinated debt, simplifying its capital structure.
Looking ahead to 2026, management provided a neutral outlook characterized by moderate growth and slight margin compression.
Key projections include:
Loan and Deposit Growth: Mid-single-digit increases.
Net Interest Margin: Expected to stabilize between 3.75% and 3.80%.
Credit Quality: Net charge-offs are projected to remain in the range of 20 to 25 basis points.
Expenses: Quarterly noninterest expenses are forecasted between $133 million and $136 million. The bank’s performance reflects a broader stabilization in the regional banking sector, as institutions shift focus from liquidity preservation to margin optimization. Ameris Bancorp’s ability to grow its tangible book value by 14.5% to $44.18 per share suggests a robust recovery in shareholder value following the volatility seen in previous fiscal cycles.