Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) used its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call to highlight strong loan growth, improving fee income trends, and the closing of its acquisition of Villages Bancorporation (VBI), which management described as a major contributor to the company’s balance sheet strength and 2026 outlook.
Fourth-quarter performance and profitability metrics
Chairman and CEO Charles Shaffer said the company delivered “another exceptional quarter,” pointing to the close of the Villages acquisition and an annualized 15% increase in loan outstandings. Shaffer said Seacoast’s strategy to improve shareholder returns remained on track, and that excluding the day-one credit provision and merger-related expenses tied to the acquisition, fourth-quarter return on assets (ROA) was 1.22% and return on tangible equity (ROTE) was 15.72%.
Dexter said Seacoast’s adjusted efficiency ratio improved and was below 55%, adding that the company’s efficiency ratio presentation now includes amortization of intangible assets, which added $10.4 million to expense in the quarter.
Loan growth, net interest margin, and deposits
Management emphasized momentum in core lending activity. Dexter said organic loan growth was 15% annualized (excluding the impact of the VBI acquisition), while commercial production rose 22% from the prior quarter. Shaffer attributed growth to Seacoast’s commercial banking team and additional mortgage volume from the Villages acquisition, adding that the Villages residential loans were “very high-quality credits with high FICOs, strong yields, and generally shorter expected lives” given borrower characteristics.
Net interest income was $174.6 million, up 31% from the prior quarter, according to Dexter. Net interest margin expanded, with margin excluding accretion on acquired loans increasing 12 basis points to 3.44%, in line with prior guidance. Loan yields increased to 6.02%, or 5.68% excluding accretion.
Deposit costs declined 14 basis points from the prior quarter to 1.67%, helped by the addition of VBI. Deposits increased to $16.3 billion, largely due to acquired balances, and the company exited the year with a deposit cost of 1.64%. Dexter said customer transaction accounts represented 48% of total deposits.
During Q&A, management noted that fourth-quarter average earning assets were affected by elevated public funds deposits and temporarily higher cash balances as it redeployed liquidity. Chief Strategy Officer Michael Young said Seacoast expected average earning assets to be down about $200 million in the first quarter of 2026, but anticipated margin expansion of roughly 10–15 basis points.
Non-interest income gains and wealth management growth
Seacoast reported broad-based improvement in fee income. Non-interest income was $28.6 million, up 20% from the prior quarter, with Dexter citing stronger fee revenue tied to commercial customer growth and higher service charges on deposits. Mortgage banking activity also expanded with the Villages acquisition, including portfolio and salable production and new servicing income.
Wealth management was another highlight. Dexter said wealth management income increased 21% from the prior quarter, driven largely by organic growth. For 2025, Shaffer said the business added $550 million in new assets under management (AUM). Dexter added that total AUM grew 37% year-over-year and reflected a 23% annual compound growth rate over the past five years.
In response to a question about early revenue synergies from the Villages transaction, Shaffer said Seacoast had built a wealth management team in that market and was “starting to see opportunities” and traction. He also said the mortgage business at The Villages was performing “really exceptionally well,” and noted potential future opportunities to expand insurance offerings over time.
Credit quality, capital strength, and securities repositioning
Management said credit performance remained solid. Dexter reported net charge-offs were $936,000 in the quarter, or 3 basis points annualized, bringing full-year 2025 net charge-offs to 12 basis points of average loans. The allowance for credit losses totaled $178.8 million, with coverage to total loans increasing to 1.42%. Loans acquired from VBI carried approximately 2% coverage, which Dexter said reflected a conservative posture during the transition to Seacoast’s monitoring practices.
Capital levels were described as exceptionally strong. Dexter said Seacoast’s Tier 1 capital ratio was 14.4% and tangible equity to tangible assets was 9.3%. Young said Seacoast materially outperformed its conservative assumptions for the Villages acquisition, citing lower marks on the acquired securities portfolio and lower credit marks on the loan portfolio. He said the company had about 90 basis points of additional total risk-based capital—approximately $92 million—relative to what was originally articulated at deal announcement.
Young also detailed securities portfolio actions. Following the merger close, Seacoast sold approximately $1.5 billion of the $2.5 billion securities portfolio at VBI, emphasizing risk reduction, including liquidation of more than $600 million in corporate debt. He said net unrealized losses in the available-for-sale portfolio improved by $18.5 million in the fourth quarter and by $137 million for full-year 2025, adding nearly $1 to tangible book value and reducing acquisition-related dilution.
As part of a securities restructuring executed during the week of the call, Young said Seacoast sold $317 million in book value of available-for-sale securities with projected book yields below 2%, received $277 million of proceeds, and reinvested at a taxable equivalent yield of 4.8%—a yield pickup of nearly 290 basis points. He added that the company did not expect additional securities restructurings in 2026 and had no plans to “pierce” the held-to-maturity portfolio.
2026 guidance and strategic priorities
Seacoast provided detailed guidance for 2026. Shaffer said the company expected full-year earnings per share of $2.48 to $2.52 and anticipated exiting 2026—after the planned July 2026 Villages technology conversion—with an ROA above 1.30% and ROTE of approximately 16%.
Young added that the guidance reflected adjusted performance metrics calibrated for merger-related charges. He said Seacoast expected adjusted revenue growth of 29% to 31% for full-year 2026 versus 2025, and an adjusted efficiency ratio of 53% to 55%, driven primarily by banker hiring. The company plans to increase banker count by approximately 15% in 2026, with benefits expected to be more fully realized in 2027 and 2028.
On balance sheet growth assumptions, Young said Seacoast expected high single-digit loan growth and low- to mid-single-digit deposit growth. Management also discussed capital flexibility, noting it continued to generate significant capital and would monitor options over time, including dividends and buybacks, while prioritizing execution on the Villages conversion.
About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF)
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida operates as a bank holding company through its principal subsidiary, Seacoast National Bank. Headquartered in Stuart, Florida, Seacoast National Bank provides a full range of commercial and retail banking services across the coastal region of Florida. Its network of branches serves customers from Martin County through Miami-Dade County, offering deposit accounts, lending solutions, cash management and payment services to individuals, small businesses and middle-market companies.
In addition to traditional banking, Seacoast offers specialized mortgage lending and wealth management services.
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