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Pathward Financial, Inc.: Q2 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q2 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 22 April 2026: press release. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Net income and diluted EPS: Net income attributable to parent was $72.9 million, or $3.35 diluted EPS, against $75.0 million, or $3.14, in the year-earlier quarter. Source
  • Revenue rose on noninterest income: Total revenue was $276.3 million. Noninterest income rose 9% and made up 55% of total revenue. Source
  • Net interest income fell 8%: Net interest income was $125.1 million. Lower consumer finance interest income of $12.8 million and $4.2 million less cash and fed funds interest drove the decline. Source
  • Consumer loan sale cut margin: Reported NIM was 6.63% against 7.12%. Management attributed the drop primarily to the October 2025 sale of a consumer finance portfolio that had been accounted for on a gross basis. Source
  • Tax product income rose 30%: Tax product income after losses and direct product expenses rose to $62.0 million from $47.6 million. Management tied this to market share growth and an evolved underwriting model. Source
  • Provision rose to $45.6 million: Provision for credit losses was $45.6 million, against $35.3 million a year earlier. Commercial finance accounted for a $19.0 million increase in the year-over-year comparison. Source
  • Nonperforming assets rose to 1.68%: Nonperforming assets were $119.8 million, or 1.68% of total assets, against $111.5 million, or 1.47%, at December 31, 2025. Nonperforming loans were 2.39% of gross loans. Source

“At the midpoint of our fiscal year, we continue to make good progress on our goals and execute on our long-term strategy”

CEO Brett Pharr

Results and growth drivers

  • Net income and diluted EPS: Net income attributable to parent was $72.9 million, or $3.35 diluted EPS, against $75.0 million, or $3.14, in the year-earlier quarter. Source
  • Revenue rose on noninterest income: Total revenue was $276.3 million. Noninterest income rose 9% and made up 55% of total revenue. Source
  • Fee lines drove the increase: Card and deposit fees rose 22%, refund advance and other tax fee income 18%, and refund transfer product fees 7%, year over year. Source
  • Return on assets and equity: Annualized return on average assets was 3.56% and return on average tangible equity 54.41% for the quarter. Source

Net interest income and margin

  • Net interest income fell 8%: Net interest income was $125.1 million. Lower consumer finance interest income of $12.8 million and $4.2 million less cash and fed funds interest drove the decline. Source
  • Consumer loan sale cut margin: Reported NIM was 6.63% against 7.12%. Management attributed the drop primarily to the October 2025 sale of a consumer finance portfolio that had been accounted for on a gross basis. Source
  • Adjusted margin rose year over year: Adjusted for contractual rate-related processing expense and excluding gross consumer finance interest, a non-GAAP measure, NIM was 5.32% against 5.09%. Source
  • Commercial interest partly offset decline: Interest income from commercial finance loans and leases rose $8.4 million over the same period, partly offsetting the consumer finance decline. Source
  • Earning assets fell on lower cash: Average interest-earning assets fell $107.4 million to $7.65 billion, on lower cash, fed funds and securities balances, partly offset by higher average loans and leases. Source
  • Loan yield fell to 8.43%: Loan and lease yield was 8.43% against 9.54%. Total yield on interest-earning assets was 6.95%, down 48 basis points. Source

“Our tax season is going very well with tax-related products leading the way in revenue growth for the quarter.”

CEO Brett Pharr

Loans and product volumes

  • Commercial finance is most of loans: Commercial finance loans totaled $4.11 billion at March 31, 2026, down 1% from December 31, 2025 and up 17% from a year earlier. They made up 84% of the loan and lease portfolio. Source
  • Term lending drove commercial growth: Year over year, term lending rose $735.4 million and asset-based lending rose $117.7 million. SBA/USDA and other commercial finance declined. Source
  • Consumer finance shrank after loan sale: The consumer finance portfolio decreased after the October 2025 loan sale, and warehouse finance also declined. Source
  • Non-tax originations rose: New loan originations excluding tax services rose from $902 million to $1.31 billion, mainly from the new consumer finance contract announced in fiscal 2025. Source

Tax services and fee income

  • Tax product revenue up 13%: Six-month tax services product revenue was $95.7 million. Fee income rose $10.6 million, driven by more refund advances, higher origination volumes and more refund transfers. Source
  • Tax product income rose 30%: Tax product income after losses and direct product expenses rose to $62.0 million from $47.6 million. Management tied this to market share growth and an evolved underwriting model. Source
  • Refund advances reached $1.87 billion: Refund advance loans originated through March 31, 2026 totaled $1.87 billion, compared with $1.66 billion in the 2025 tax season. Source

“new and existing partnerships announced last year are developing nicely and the Partner Solutions pipeline remains robust.”

CEO Brett Pharr

Asset quality and provisions

  • Provision rose to $45.6 million: Provision for credit losses was $45.6 million, against $35.3 million a year earlier. Commercial finance accounted for a $19.0 million increase in the year-over-year comparison. Source
  • Net charge-offs of $5.8 million: Net charge-offs were $5.8 million, against $6.4 million a year earlier. Source
  • Commercial losses offset by tax recoveries: Commercial finance net charge-offs were $14.5 million and consumer finance $1.1 million, while tax services recorded $9.7 million of net recoveries. Source
  • Nonperforming assets rose to 1.68%: Nonperforming assets were $119.8 million, or 1.68% of total assets, against $111.5 million, or 1.47%, at December 31, 2025. Nonperforming loans were 2.39% of gross loans. Source
  • Allowance ratio rose to 2.02%: The allowance was 2.02% of total loans against 1.18% in December, driven mainly by tax seasonality and a commercial finance increase. Excluding tax services, it was 1.31%. Source

Costs and tax expense

  • Noninterest expense fell 3%: Noninterest expense was $143.5 million, down 3% from $148.2 million a year earlier. Source
  • Lower card processing and other expense: Management attributed the decrease mainly to lower card processing and other expense, partly offset by higher compensation and building and software costs. Source
  • Rate-linked processing expense rose: Contractual rate-related processing expense was $25.4 million, up from $23.8 million in the prior quarter and down from $28.4 million a year earlier. About 66% of deposits were subject to it. Source
  • Tax rate fell on research credits: Income tax expense was $14.2 million, a 16.2% effective rate against 17.7% a year earlier, mainly from research tax credits. Source
  • Renewable energy lease originations rose: Six-month renewable energy lease originations were $27.7 million against $11.2 million. The quarter's $8.0 million produced $2.0 million of net investment tax credits. Source

Deposits and funding

  • Period-end deposits up 1%: Period-end deposits were $5.85 billion, up 1% from a year earlier. Money market and interest-bearing checking rose, partly offset by a decline in noninterest-bearing deposits. Source
  • Average deposits fell on noninterest-bearing: Average deposits were $7.02 billion, down $160.3 million, as noninterest-bearing balances declined while wholesale and money market balances rose. Source
  • Deposit cost near 0.25%: Overall cost of deposits was 0.25% against 0.23%. Including contractual processing expense it was 1.63%, down from 1.75%, which management tied to a lower rate environment. Source
  • Custodial deposits and servicing fees: Custodial deposits at partner banks were $1.07 billion. Servicing fee income on them was $7.8 million, up from $3.4 million in the prior quarter. Source

Capital and shareholder returns

  • Buyback of 855,201 shares: The company repurchased 855,201 shares during the quarter at an average price of $84.15. Source
  • Remaining repurchase capacity: 3,430,811 shares remained available under the current repurchase program at March 31, 2026, against 4,286,012 at December 31, 2025. Source
  • Company CET1 ratio at 12.65%: The company common equity Tier 1 ratio was 12.65% against 12.02%. March 31 figures are preliminary pending regulatory filing. The Bank ratio was 13.24%. Source
  • Leverage ratio fell on seasonal assets: The company Tier 1 leverage ratio fell to 8.62% from 9.51%, which management attributed to higher average tax-season assets. The Bank period-end ratio was 10.35%. Source
  • Well-capitalized status maintained: The company and the Bank remained above federal minimum capital requirements and were classified as well-capitalized at March 31, 2026. Source

People and workplace

  • Great Place To Work certification: Pathward, N.A. was certified by Great Place To Work for the fourth year in a row. 88% of employees surveyed said it is a Great Place To Work. Source
  • Full-time staff rose to 1,181: Full-time equivalent employees were 1,181 at March 31, 2026, up from 1,170 at December 31, 2025 and 1,155 a year earlier. Source
  • Investing in people and systems: Management said it continues to manage expenses while investing in people, processes and systems for its long-term strategy. Source

In management's words

“All in all, our core businesses remain healthy and we are pleased with the results achieved in the quarter.”

CEO Brett Pharr

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Net interest margin Source6.63%
Net interest income Source$125.1 million
Loans and loan growth Source$4.87 billion total gross loans and leases
Deposits Source$5.85 billion
Deposit costs Source0.25%
Provision for credit losses Source$45.6 million
Net charge-offs Source$5.8 million
Nonperforming assets Source$119.8 million
CET1 ratio Source12.65%

Risks management discussed

  • Financial: Nonperforming assets rose on higher nonperforming loans in the commercial finance portfolio, which management cited as the driver. Source
  • External: Card processing expense under rate-linked agreements moves with the federal funds rate, which reprices immediately on a change in the EFFR. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: Management said the results are expected as the company continues to shift the balance sheet toward higher returning assets. Source
  • Not stated: Management tied the tax services provision decrease to continued work on underwriting models and analytics. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.