FBNC · First Bancorp

First Bancorp delivered a materially stronger first quarter 2026, reversing the significant earnings pressure seen in Q4 2025 — which had been weighed down by a $43.7 million pre-tax securities loss-earnback transaction and related tax benefits. Net income surged to $46.7 million ($1.13 diluted EPS), representing a 196% sequential increase and 15.5% year-over-year growth. This rebound was underpinned by disciplined balance sheet management: net interest margin expanded 9 basis points to 3.67%, driven by a 5-basis-point increase in securities yield (to 2.74%) and a 5-basis-point decline in total cost of funds (to 1.31%), while loan yield held steady at 5.58%. The Company actively shifted its earning asset mix — loans grew to 74.5% of average interest-earning assets (up from 72.4% in Q4), while securities and short-term investments contracted meaningfully. Expense control also rebounded sharply: noninterest expenses fell $1.8 million sequentially to $60.2 million, driving the efficiency ratio down to 49.05% — well below both the adjusted Q4 2025 level (48.53%) and the prior-year quarter (54.51%). Credit quality remained robust, with ACL coverage unchanged at 1.42% of loans, annualized net charge-offs at a low 0.06%, and NPAs stable at 0.32% of total assets. Management attributed the performance to strategic repositioning of lower-yielding assets into higher-yielding opportunities, sustained liquidity strength, and continued capital discipline — with preliminary CET1 and tangible common equity ratios holding at 14.11% and 9.63%, respectively. No forward guidance was disclosed in the filing or exhibits.