SFST · Southern First Bancshares, Inc.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has provided preliminary, unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, alongside the announcement of an underwritten public offering of its common stock. The preliminary results indicate an estimated net income of approximately $9.9 million, slightly above the $9.857 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2025. Net interest income is preliminarily estimated at approximately $30.3 million, which includes $543 thousand in interest recoveries, showing an improvement from $28.744 million in the prior quarter. The company attributes this improvement to continued balance sheet repricing and lower funding costs, noting an approximate 13 basis point decline in the cost of total deposits from the previous quarter. Noninterest expense is expected to increase to approximately $20.0 million, primarily due to seasonal increases in compensation and benefits expense. The preliminary balance sheet highlights include estimated total loans of approximately $3.94 billion and total deposits of approximately $3.87 billion as of March 31, 2026, representing continued balance sheet growth. The company expects net income for the quarter to be approximately 88% higher year-over-year compared to the $5.266 million reported for the first quarter of 2025. Concurrently, the company announced an underwritten public offering of its common stock, with Piper Sandler & Co. serving as the sole book-running manager and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods as co-manager. The net proceeds are intended for general corporate purposes, which may include supporting organic growth initiatives, providing capital to the bank subsidiary, redeeming or repurchasing outstanding indebtedness, and working capital. It is critical to note that these preliminary financial results are based solely on management estimates derived from internal reports and currently available information, remain subject to the completion of financial closing procedures and other quarter-end reviews, and have not been audited, reviewed, or assured by the company's independent registered public accounting firm. The final results may differ materially from these preliminary estimates.