Finance

First Community's Core Earnings Rise After Bearing Gain

The Tip Desk · November 10, 2026 · 4 min read

Net interest margin reached 4.46% as tax-equivalent net interest income rose 14.72% and adjusted net income was $14.74 million.

First Community Bankshares, Inc. (FCBC), a Bluefield, Virginia financial holding company, reported net income of $15.42 million, or $0.81 a share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, up $3.16 million, or 25.74%, from $12.27 million a year earlier.

That year-over-year gain was smaller than the second-quarter lift, when net income of $22.51 million had been $10.27 million, or 83.84%, above the year-ago period. The second-quarter figure included a $10.38 million pre-tax gain on the sale of the company’s stake in Bearing Insurance. Excluding merger-related and other non-recurring items, adjusted net income for the third quarter was $14.74 million, up $1.84 million, or 14.23%, from the same period in 2025. The company declared a $0.33 quarterly cash dividend, matching the second-quarter rate after a $0.02 increase from the first-quarter $0.31.

Net interest margin expanded 3 basis points to 4.46% in the third quarter, after a 1 basis point rise to 4.38% in the second quarter and a 3 basis point rise to 4.37% in the first quarter. Tax-equivalent net interest income rose $4.62 million, or 14.72%, following a $4.27 million, or 13.87%, increase in the second quarter and a $3.05 million, or 10.02%, increase in the first quarter. Average earning assets increased $390.91 million, or 13.89%, contributing $4.56 million of additional interest income, while the cost of interest-bearing deposits declined 15 basis points. Average interest-bearing deposit cost was 0.84%, with savings at 1.25%, time deposits at 1.54%, and demand deposits at 0.14%; average noninterest-bearing demand deposits were $965.55 million. Net interest income after provision for loan losses increased $3.89 million, or 12.42%, compared with September 30, 2025, which the company attributed primarily to growth in average earning assets associated with the January 2026 Hometown Bancshares acquisition.

Noninterest income was $12.65 million, up $1.76 million, or 16.14%, from the same quarter of 2025, after a $12.00 million, or 116.06%, year-over-year increase in the second quarter that included the Bearing gain. Third-quarter growth reflected a combined $1.61 million increase in other operating income and other service charges and fees. Noninterest expense was $27.94 million, up $1.66 million, or 6.32%, from the same period of 2025, after an 8.29% year-over-year increase in the second quarter. The third-quarter rise included salaries and benefits of $15.31 million, other operating expense of $3.85 million, and intangible amortization of $834 thousand, with no merger expense in the quarter.

Annualized return on average assets was 1.69% and return on average common equity 11.23%, versus 2.49% and 16.90% in the second quarter, which included the Bearing gain. Adjusted ROA was 1.62% and adjusted ROE 10.73%. Adjusted return on average tangible common equity was 15.32%.

The loan portfolio increased $162.66 million, or 7.03%, from year-end 2025 to $2.48 billion at September 30, 2026. Excluding the Hometown acquisition, loans decreased approximately $8.38 million, or 0.36%. Loan production was $125.59 million in the third quarter, up 41.37% from $88.84 million a year earlier. Total deposits were $3.03 billion, including $974.26 million of noninterest-bearing deposits and $2.05 billion of interest-bearing deposits, versus $2.69 billion at year-end 2025. Consolidated assets totaled $3.63 billion.

Net charge-offs were $696 thousand, or 0.11% of annualized average loans, after $1.30 million, or 0.21%, in the second quarter and $731 thousand, or 0.12%, in the first quarter. The year-over-year improvement versus $1.42 million, or 0.24%, was attributed to $2.01 million of significant charge-offs in the third quarter of 2025. Nonperforming assets declined $1.03 million, or 6.09%, versus the same period of 2025, a second consecutive quarterly decline, to $15.87 million; nonperforming loans were 0.64% of total loans, down 7 basis points from 0.71% a year earlier. The allowance for credit losses to total loans was 1.32% at September 30, 2026, compared with 1.33% at year-end 2025 and 1.36% at September 30, 2025; the allowance increased $1.88 million from year-end 2025, primarily from the Hometown transaction. Book value per share was $28.83. The company repurchased no common shares in the third quarter.

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