Capitol Federal Financial, Inc.® Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results

Capitol Federal Financial, Inc.^® (NASDAQ:CFFN) (the "Company," "we" or "our"), the parent company of Capitol Federal Savings Bank (the "Bank"), announced preliminary results today for the quarter ended December 31, 2025. For best viewing results, please view this release in Portable Document Format (PDF) on our website, https://ir.capfed.com.

Capitol Federal Financial, Inc., ended the current quarter with total assets of $9.78 billion, stockholders' equity of $1.04 billion and net income of $20.3 million. The continued growth in assets and improvement in net income is a direct result of the strategic operational changes that the Board and management continue to execute on. Stockholders' equity decreased during the current quarter due to strategic share repurchases and dividend payments, continuing our enhancement of stockholder value.

During the current quarter, executing on our strategic initiatives resulted in our commercial loan portfolio and commercial deposits growing by $162.6 million to $2.28 billion and $19.5 million to $527.7 million, respectively. We continue to grow our commercial loan portfolio through redeploying funds received from the repayment of correspondent loans. We expect that growth in the commercial deposit base will continue to lower our cost of funds.

John B. Dicus, Chairman and CEO, stated, "We are focused on our commitment to deliver long-term value to stockholders through the disciplined execution of our strategic changes. This is reflected in a more diversified loan portfolio, and a growing and diversified deposit base, both of which provide expanded income streams. We expect these benefits to continue as we implement technology and processes that enable us to deliver more commercial products and services through our seasoned team of professionals focused on our commercial business lines. We are building on our disciplined capital management approach which has returned $2.03 billion to stockholders through share repurchases and dividends since 2010. We continue to focus on all areas of the Bank's operations that drive long-term value for stockholders."

Highlights for the current quarter include:

• net income of $20.3 million, up from $18.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2025 (the "prior quarter");
• net interest margin increased ten basis points to 2.19% from 2.09% the prior quarter;
• basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.16;
• an efficiency ratio of 53.66%, an improvement from 56.84% the prior quarter;
• an operating expense ratio of 1.24%, an improvement from 1.27% the prior quarter;
• paid dividends of $0.085 per share; and
• repurchased 2,376,633 shares of common stock at an average price of $6.86 per share.

Balance sheet highlights include:

• total assets of $9.78 billion at quarter-end;
• tangible book value per share of $7.95 at quarter-end;
• commercial loan growth of $162.6 million, or 30.7% annualized, during the current quarter;
• commercial deposits growth of $19.5 million, or 15.3% annualized, since September 30, 2025;
• distributed $25.0 million from the Bank to the Company;
• on December 17, 2025, the Company announced a special cash dividend of $0.04 per share, which was paid on January 23, 2026;
• on January 27, 2026, the Company announced a cash dividend of $0.085 per share, payable on February 20, 2026 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 6, 2026.

Strategic Banking Initiatives

The Company continues its progression to a full-service commercial bank by investing in technology, people, products, and services. Our investments in technology have allowed us to launch new services and products, while our seasoned and well-connected commercial bankers, and our trust and wealth advisors deliver access to new customer groups. Our expanded product suite of treasury management services enables us to service these new customers. Increased marketing and business development efforts have increased the depth of customer relationships. As we move through the third year of our digital transformation, we are seeing our efforts bear fruit and expect progress to continue.

Strategic Actions. The long-term success of our transition to a full-service bank is predicated on management's continued focus on deepening relationships with consumer and commercial customers. Management and the Board have committed resources to support the growth of talented, skilled, and experienced bankers, investments in technology, expanded marketing and outreach, as well as the development and increased internal monitoring of performance metrics intended to ensure we are on the path to achieve our performance objectives. Through our experienced relationship managers, we deliver customized solutions using advanced digital platforms and sophisticated cash management tools. We are leveraging our centralized organizational structure to respond quickly to customers. We are actively pursuing opportunities to expand our non-interest-bearing commercial deposit base and diversify fee-based revenue streams through strategic growth in treasury management services, trust and wealth management services, insurance, and small business banking.

Commercial Lending. During the first quarter of the current fiscal year, we closed on $364.6 million in commercial loans compared to $263.1 million during the prior quarter. Commercial loans continue to grow as a percentage of our overall loan portfolio, comprising 28% of our loan portfolio at December 31, 2025, compared to 26% and 21% at September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. To maintain strong credit quality, in addition to disciplined underwriting and ongoing credit administration, we monitor concentration levels by collateral type, geographic location and borrowing relationship. The Bank utilizes commercial loan pricing and profitability software that provides insights on new lending opportunities based on the full customer banking relationship. We utilize software that provides market intelligence regarding competitor pricing to assist loan officers when preparing a loan offering. This enhances our ability to profitably compete with other financial institutions in our markets as well as those outside our markets.

Treasury Management. The Bank services commercial customers through a competitive suite of treasury management products and an experienced team of treasury management officers. This team is focused on the deposit and cash management needs of commercial customers and growing this line of business through the acquisition of new customers located both in our immediate market areas, and those who we lend to outside of our local market areas. In fiscal year 2026, a team of business development officers is also tasked with growing the deposit base within the small business customer segment, focused on serving small businesses in our market areas with a dedicated line of products specifically designed for these customers. Our treasury management officers and business development officers often land depository relationships independent of a lending relationship. This will be a focus area for our sales teams as well as the Bank continues to diversify funding sources and seeks to increase fee revenue tied to depository accounts. During the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, the Bank expects to introduce digital onboarding for small business customers using industry-leading risk management and screening tools, which will replace many manual verification tasks. We are evaluating additional technology in order to capture a larger share of their business with even more products and services. Within calendar year 2026, we expect to implement new technology for lockbox services, integrated accounts receivables, purchase cards, and corporate cards.

Digital Banking. We are advancing towards a seamless digital banking experience for all customers, enhancing the Bank's ability to attract and retain deposits and lower the cost to service our customers. This strategy includes a new deposit account onboarding platform and digital banking enhancements for debit cardholders, which will allow customers to begin using their card immediately online and in digital wallets without waiting for the delivery of a physical card. These enhancements are on track to be implemented in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. The Bank is taking advantage of add-on technologies that will integrate into our digital banking experience for consumers, small businesses, and commercial customers.

Private Banking, Trust and Wealth Management. We have begun to implement private wealth management products and services, with some customers on-boarded during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. We are continuing to expand our comprehensive suite of private banking products and services which is a new line of business for the Bank. Private banking relationships are defined as customers with $5.0 million or more in personal relationships with the Bank by way of loans, deposits, or assets under management. We believe that our private banking line of business will be a gateway to driving off-balance sheet revenue and bridge the gap between high-net-worth depository customers, small business owners and key commercial customers, and corporate trustee opportunities for the Bank.

Stockholder Value. Delivering long-term sustainable stockholder value continues to be our North Star while also maintaining a strong capital position. As part of our historically robust and disciplined approach to capital management, we continue to generate returns to stockholders through dividend payments and share repurchases. Total dividends declared and paid during fiscal year 2025 were $44.3 million. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, the Company repurchased 2,376,633 shares for $16.3 million. Since completing our second-step conversion in December 2010, we have returned $2.03 billion to stockholders through $1.58 billion in cash dividends and $456.2 million in share repurchases. For the remainder of fiscal year 2026, it is the intention of the Board of Directors to continue the regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.085 per share and to seek further opportunities for value-enhancing share repurchases.

Comparison of Operating Results for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2025 and September 30, 2025

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, the Company recognized net income of $20.3 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to net income of $18.8 million, or $0.14 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The increase in net income was due primarily to higher net interest income, partially offset by higher income tax expense. The net interest margin increased ten basis points, from 2.09% for the prior quarter to 2.19% for the current quarter due mainly to growth in the higher yielding commercial loan portfolio.

Interest and Dividend Income

The following table presents the components of interest and dividend income for the time periods presented, along with the change measured in dollars and percent.

The increase in interest income on loans receivable was due mainly to increases in the average balance and yield of the commercial loan portfolio compared to the prior quarter. The decrease in interest income on MBS and investment securities was due primarily to a decrease in the average balance of each portfolio compared to the prior quarter, as cash flows from those portfolios were used to fund commercial loan growth. The increase in interest income on cash and cash equivalents was due to an increase in the average balance.

Interest Expense

The following table presents the components of interest expense for the time periods presented, along with the change measured in dollars and percent.

The decrease in borrowings expense was due to a decrease in the average balance, due mainly to FHLB borrowings that matured between periods and were not replaced. Deposit growth was used to repay these borrowings.

Provision for Credit Losses

The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $1.1 million during the current quarter compared to a provision for credit losses of $519 thousand for the prior quarter. The provision for credit losses in the current quarter was due primarily to commercial loan growth.

Non-Interest Income

The following table presents the components of non-interest income for the time periods presented, along with the change measured in dollars and percent.

Insurance commissions were higher in the prior quarter, due primarily to the receipt of commissions that exceeded accruals, with no similar activity in the current quarter, along with insurance industry changes that reduced commissions on certain lines of business in the current quarter. Due to these industry changes, we are broadening our focus on commercial insurance lines during fiscal year 2026, which aligns with our strategy of expanding our commercial banking services.

Non-Interest Expense

The following table presents the components of non-interest expense for the time periods presented, along with the change measured in dollars and percent.

The increase in regulatory and outside services was due primarily to an increase in new relationships with outside service providers and additional services provided by current providers, of which approximately $325 thousand is not expected to recur in future periods. The decrease in advertising and promotional expense was due primarily to the timing of campaigns and seasonal sponsorships compared to the prior quarter.

The Company's efficiency ratio was 53.66% for the current quarter compared to 56.84% for the prior quarter. The improvement in the efficiency ratio was due to higher net interest income during the current quarter, supported by lower non-interest expense. The efficiency ratio is a measure of a financial institution's total non-interest expense as a percentage of the sum of net interest income (pre-provision for credit losses) and non-interest income. A lower value generally indicates that it is costing the financial institution less money to generate revenue. The Company's operating expense ratio (annualized) for the current quarter was 1.24% compared to 1.27% for the prior quarter. The operating expense ratio was lower in the current quarter due to lower non-interest expense. The operating expense ratio is a measure of a financial institution's total non-interest expense as a percentage of average assets, providing insight into how efficiently the Company is managing its expenses in relation to its assets and does not take into consideration changes in interest rates.

Income Tax Expense

The following table presents pretax income, income tax expense, and net income for the time periods presented, along with the change measured in dollars and percent and the effective tax rate.

Income tax expense was higher in the current quarter due to a higher effective tax rate and higher pretax income compared to the prior quarter. The effective tax rate was higher in the current quarter than the prior quarter due primarily to a slightly higher projected state tax rate in the current fiscal year.

Comparison of Operating Results for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024

The Company recognized net income of $20.3 million, or $0.16 per share, for the current quarter, compared to net income of $15.4 million, or $0.12 per share, for the prior year quarter. The increase in net income was due mainly to higher net interest income, partially offset by higher non-interest expense and income tax expense. The net interest margin increased 33 basis points, from 1.86% for the prior year quarter to 2.19% for the current quarter. The increase was due mainly to growth in the higher yielding commercial loan portfolio.

Interest and Dividend Income

The following table presents the components of interest and dividend income for the time periods presented, along with the change measured in dollars and percent.

The increase in interest income on loans receivable was due primarily to the continued shift of loan balances from the one- to four-family loan portfolio to higher yielding commercial loans, along with growth in the commercial loan portfolio funded with cash flows from the deposit portfolio and partially from the investment securities portfolio. Interest income on cash and cash equivalents increased due largely to an increase in the average balance compared to the prior year quarter. The decrease in interest income on investment securities was due to a decrease in average balance, due primarily to securities that were called or matured between periods and were not replaced in their entirety.

Interest Expense

The following table presents the components of interest expense for the time periods presented, along with the change measured in dollars and percent.

The decrease in interest expense on borrowings was due to a decrease in the average balance, which was partially offset by a higher weighted average interest rate. The decrease in the average balance of borrowings was due mainly to FHLB borrowings that matured between periods and were not renewed. Cash flows from the deposit portfolio were used, in part, to pay off maturing FHLB borrowings. The increase in the weighted average interest rate was due primarily to higher market interest rates on FHLB borrowings that matured and were renewed between periods, along with lower rate advances that were not renewed, which increased the overall rate of the remaining advances.

Provision for Credit Losses

The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $1.1 million during the current quarter compared to a provision for credit losses of $677 thousand for the prior year quarter. See additional details in the "Comparison of Operating Results for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2025 and September 30, 2025" above for additional information regarding the provision for credit losses during the current quarter.

Non-Interest Income

The following table presents the components of non-interest income for the time periods presented, along with the change measured in dollars and percent.

Other non-interest income was higher in the current quarter due mainly to an increase in bank-owned life insurance ("BOLI") income due to a change in rates and an increase in the crediting rate as a result of updates to certain policies that were executed in the second half of the prior fiscal year.

Non-Interest Expense

The following table presents the components of non-interest expense for the time periods presented, along with the change measured in dollars and percent.

The increase in salaries and employee benefits was mainly attributable to an increase in full-time equivalent employees between periods, merit increases and salary adjustments to remain market competitive. The increase in information technology and related expense was due mainly to an increase in software licensing expense. The increase in regulatory and outside services was due primarily to an increase in new relationships with outside service providers and additional services provided by current providers, of which approximately $325 thousand is not expected to recur in future periods. The increase in advertising and promotional expense was due to timing of campaigns compared to the prior year quarter.

The Company's efficiency ratio was 53.66% for the current quarter compared to 57.86% for the prior year quarter. The improvement in the efficiency ratio was due primarily to higher net interest income compared to the prior year quarter, partially offset by higher non-interest expense. The Company's operating expense ratio (annualized) for the current quarter was 1.24% compared to 1.14% for the prior year quarter. The operating expense ratio was higher in the current quarter due mainly to higher non-interest expense, partially offset by higher average assets compared to the prior year quarter.

Income Tax Expense

The following table presents pretax income, income tax expense, and net income for the time periods presented, along with the change measured in dollars and percent and effective tax rate.

Income tax expense was higher in the current quarter due mainly to higher pretax income.

Financial Condition as of December 31, 2025

The following table summarizes the Company's financial condition at the dates indicated.

The loan portfolio increased $64.8 million during the current quarter as cash flows from the securities portfolio were used to fund loan growth. Commercial loans grew $162.6 million mainly in the commercial real estate portfolio, partially offset by a $98.6 million decrease in one- to four-family loans. The Bank expects to fund approximately $60.0 million of undisbursed amounts on existing commercial real estate and commercial construction loans and approximately $5.0 million of commercial real estate and commercial construction commitments during the March 31, 2026 quarter. The near-term outlook for commercial loan balances is growth of approximately 1% in the quarter ending March 31, 2026, with overall loan growth of approximately 18% for the fiscal year. It is expected that repayments from our one- to four-family loan portfolio will continue to be directed toward supporting commercial loan growth, aligning with our ongoing commitment to expand commercial banking services. Maintaining strong credit quality remains a top priority as we expand our commercial loan portfolio. The weighted average debt service coverage ratio ("DSCR") for commercial loan originations and new participations during the current quarter was 2.52x and the weighted average loan-to-value ("LTV") for commercial real estate and construction loans originated and new participations was 72%. The weighted average DSCR and LTV for our commercial real estate and construction loan portfolios was 1.73x and 63%, respectively, at December 31, 2025.

Deposits increased $167.2 million during the current quarter, due mainly to the Bank's high yield savings account offering and retail checking accounts. Management has continued to focus on retaining and growing deposits through the Bank's high yield savings account product, which, as of December 31, 2025, had an annual percentage yield of 3.80% for accounts that meet the $10 thousand balance minimum. The annual percentage yield on the high yield savings account product was decreased to 3.70% mid-January 2026.

Borrowings decreased $120.9 million due to the maturity of $100.0 million in borrowings during the current quarter that were not replaced, along with principal payments made on the Bank's amortizing FHLB advances. Cash flows from the deposit portfolio were used to pay down the borrowings portfolio during the current quarter.

The following table summarizes loan originations and participations, deposit activity, and borrowing activity, along with certain related weighted average rates, during the periods indicated. The borrowings presented in the table have original contractual terms of one year or longer.

Stockholders' Equity

Stockholders' equity totaled $1.04 billion at December 31, 2025, a decrease of $6.4 million from September 30, 2025. Consistent with our goal to operate a sound and profitable financial organization that delivers long-term stockholder value, we actively seek to maintain a well-capitalized status for the Bank in accordance with regulatory standards. As of December 31, 2025, all of the Bank's capital ratios exceeded the well-capitalized requirements, and the Bank exceeded internal policy thresholds for sensitivity to changes in interest rates. As of December 31, 2025, the Bank's community bank leverage ratio was 9.5%.

During the quarter ended December 31, 2025, the Company repurchased 2,376,633 shares of common stock at an average price of $6.86 per share, or $16.3 million in total. The Company currently has $54.8 million remaining authorized under its existing stock repurchase plan. The Company intends to continue to opportunistically repurchase stock from time to time based upon market conditions, available liquidity and other factors. Although our existing repurchase plan has no expiration date we are required to annually seek the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's ("FRB") non-objection for the buyback amount. The FRB's current non-objection for the Company to repurchase up to $75 million of stock expires in February 2026. The Company is in the process of preparing the required documentation to seek the FRB's non-objection for the Company to continue to buy back its stock through the period when the current authorized amount is fully utilized. It is likely that the Company will then seek non-objection for additional stock repurchase authority.

During the quarter ended December 31, 2025, the Company paid regular quarterly cash dividends totaling $11.0 million, or $0.085 per share. On December 17, 2025, the Company announced a special cash dividend of $0.04 per share, or approximately $5.1 million, which was paid on January 23, 2026 to stockholders of record on January 9, 2026. On January 27, 2026, the Company announced a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.085 per share, or approximately $10.8 million, payable on February 20, 2026 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 6, 2026. The special cash dividend, in addition to the Company's history of regular quarterly dividends and opportunistic share repurchases demonstrates Capitol Federal Financial, Inc.'s multi-channel focus on delivering stockholder value through disciplined capital allocation which balances investments in the future of the Company while simultaneously pursuing incremental opportunities to return capital to stockholders. For the remainder of fiscal year 2026, it is the intention of the Company's Board of Directors to pay out a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.085 per share, totaling $0.34 per share for the year.

Dividend payments depend upon a number of factors, including the Company's financial condition and results of operations, regulatory capital compliance, regulatory limitations on the Bank's ability to make capital distributions to the Company, the Bank's current tax earnings and accumulated earnings and profits, and the amount of cash at the holding company level.

The Board of Directors continue to evaluate various alternatives for capital allocation to enhance stockholder value, including the repurchase of stock, the payment of additional cash dividends, or retaining earnings to support future growth. Since our second-step conversion in December 2010, we have returned $2.03 billion in capital to stockholders through dividends totaling $1.58 billion and stock repurchases totaling $456.2 million. This is supported by our holistic approach to managing the balance sheet through continuous modeling of the Bank's performance, risk management, our commitment to credit quality and periodic stress testing.

At December 31, 2025, Capitol Federal Financial, Inc., at the holding company level, had $14.9 million in cash on deposit at the Bank. During the three months ended December 31, 2025, the Bank distributed $25.0 million from the Bank to the Company. The Bank is expected to continue to be in a positive tax accumulated earnings and profit balance during fiscal year 2026, so it is anticipated that the Bank will be in a position to make earnings distributions to the Company during fiscal year 2026. Earnings distributions from the Bank to the Company will be limited to the extent necessary to prevent the Bank from re-entering a negative accumulated earnings and profit position and be required to pay the pre-1988 bad debt recapture tax on earnings moved from the Bank to the Company.

The following table presents a reconciliation of total to net shares outstanding as of December 31, 2025.

Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. is the holding company for the Bank. As of December 31, 2025, the Bank had 46 branch locations in Kansas and Missouri and is one of the largest residential lenders in the State of Kansas. News and other information about the Company can be found at the Bank's website, http://www.capfed.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained in this press release, the matters discussed herein may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements about our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. The words "may," "could," "should," "would," "will," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including: changes in policies or the application or interpretation of laws and regulations by regulatory agencies and tax authorities; other governmental initiatives affecting the financial services industry; changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines; fluctuations in interest rates and the effects of inflation or a potential recession, whether caused by Federal Reserve action or otherwise; changes to existing trade policies that could affect economic activity or specific industry sectors; the impact of bank failures or adverse developments at other banks and related negative press about the banking industry in general on investor or depositor sentiment; demand for loans in the Company's market areas; the future earnings and capital levels of the Bank and the impact of potential pre-1988 bad debt recapture, which could affect the ability of the Company to pay dividends in accordance with its dividend policies; competition; and other risks detailed from time to time in documents filed or furnished by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those currently expected. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

Average Balance Sheets

The following tables present the average balances of our assets, liabilities, and stockholders' equity, and the related annualized weighted average yields and rates on our interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities for the periods indicated, as well as selected performance ratios and other information for the periods shown. Weighted average yields are derived by dividing annualized income by the average balance of the related assets, and weighted average rates are derived by dividing annualized expense by the average balance of the related liabilities, for the periods shown. Average outstanding balances are derived from average daily balances. The weighted average yields and rates include amortization of fees, costs, premiums and discounts, which are considered adjustments to yields/rates. Weighted average yields on tax-exempt securities are not calculated on a fully taxable equivalent basis.

Loan Portfolio

The following table presents information related to the composition of our loan portfolio in terms of dollar amounts, weighted average rates, and percentage of total as of the dates indicated.