{"id":927227,"date":"2026-01-14T07:34:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T12:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/united-community-banks-inc-reports-fourth-quarter-earnings\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T07:34:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T12:34:34","slug":"united-community-banks-inc-reports-fourth-quarter-earnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/united-community-banks-inc-reports-fourth-quarter-earnings\/","title":{"rendered":"United Community Banks, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter Earnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nFurther Margin Expansion Drove Revenue Growth
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GREENVILLE, S.C., Jan. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE: UCB) (United) today announced net income for the fourth quarter of 2025 of $86.5 million and pre-tax, pre-provision income of $126.3 million. Diluted earnings per share of $0.70 for the quarter represented an increase of $0.09 from the fourth quarter a year ago and was flat to the third quarter. For the year of 2025, net income was $328 million and pre-tax, pre-provision income was $471 million compared with $252 million and $374 million, respectively, for 2024. Diluted earnings per share of $2.62 for 2025 increased $0.58 from $2.04 for 2024, driven by growth in revenue and the absence of a one-time loss on the sale of United\u2019s manufactured housing loan portfolio.<\/p>\n

On an operating basis, United\u2019s diluted earnings per share of $0.71 increased 13% from the year-ago quarter. Strong revenue growth and positive operating leverage drove the year-over-year results. For the full year of 2025, diluted operating earnings per share were $2.71, an increase of $0.41, or 18%, from the $2.30 reported in 2024.<\/p>\n

United\u2019s return on assets was 1.21%, or 1.22% on an operating basis, up from 1.06% and 1.08%, respectively for the fourth quarter of 2024. Return on common equity was 9.5% and return on tangible common equity on an operating basis was 13.3%. On a pre-tax, pre-provision basis, operating return on assets was 1.78% for the quarter. At year-end, tangible common equity to tangible assets was 9.92%, up 21 basis points from the third quarter.<\/p>\n

Chairman and CEO Lynn Harton stated, \u201cThe fourth quarter marks a great ending to a rewarding year. Our teams delivered healthy loan growth for all of 2025, leading to improvement in our earning asset mix. That improvement, combined with our focus on deposit pricing, drove a 36 basis points expansion in our net interest margin year over year, with four basis points of improvement coming in the fourth quarter. All our key performance metrics improved significantly when compared to 2024. Believing this performance will continue, we took the opportunity to repurchase one million common shares at an average price of $29.84 per share and redeem $35 million of senior debt in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

Harton continued, \u201cUnited is well-positioned for another great year in 2026. Economic conditions in our markets remain strong and our team continues to execute well in all our lines of business. I want to congratulate and thank them for outstanding results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Net charge-offs were $16.4 million or 0.34% annualized of average loans, compared with 0.21% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 0.16% for the third quarter. Nonperforming assets were 0.33% of total assets, improved slightly from 0.35% for the third quarter. Provision for credit losses was $13.7 million for the fourth quarter, up from $11.4 million a year ago and $7.9 million for the third quarter. As of December 31, the allowance for credit losses represents 1.16% of loans, down slightly from 1.19% at September 30, reflecting the release of the remaining Hurricane Helene reserve.<\/p>\n

\n Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights:<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n