Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) said its “momentum continued to build throughout the year,” as the company reported record earnings for 2025 and outlined mid-single-digit growth expectations across several key lines for 2026 during its fourth-quarter earnings call.
Fourth-quarter and full-year results
President and CEO Duane Dewey said Trustmark’s “traditional banking business drove continued loan and deposit growth, a strong net interest margin, and solid credit quality,” while mortgage banking production and profitability improved and wealth management revenue reached an all-time high.
Total revenue was $204 million in the fourth quarter and $800 million for the full year, which management called a record. Net interest income was $166 million in the fourth quarter, contributing to a net interest margin of 3.81%. For the year, net interest income totaled $647 million, up 8.4% from the prior year. Non-interest income rose to $41 million in the fourth quarter, up 3.3% sequentially; non-interest income totaled $164 million for 2025, representing 20.5% of total revenue.
Non-interest expense increased $1.2 million, or 0.9%, from the third quarter. For 2025, non-interest expense was $512 million, up 5.5% year over year. Management said expense management “continues to be a focus.”
Balance sheet and deposit trends
Loans held for investment increased $126 million, or 0.9%, from the third quarter and grew $584 million, or 4.5%, year over year. Dewey said the loan portfolio remains well diversified by loan type and geography.
Deposits declined $131 million, or 0.8%, linked quarter, which management attributed in part to a decline in public fund deposits. On a year-over-year basis, deposits increased $392 million, or 2.6%, driven by growth in commercial and personal balances of $568 million. The cost of total deposits in the fourth quarter was 1.72%, down 12 basis points from the prior quarter, which management highlighted as evidence of a “strong, cost-effective core deposit base.”
In response to a question about deposit success, CFO Tom Owens said Trustmark has increased internal emphasis on deposit growth, including changes to “CRM, bonus templates and the drivers in the templates.” He added that the company has been pleased with its ability to grow balances “cost effectively” while funding loan growth.
Margin discussion and 2026 outlook
Owens said the reported 2-basis-point linked-quarter decline in net interest margin—from 3.83% in the third quarter to 3.81% in the fourth—was “essentially a function of the accelerated recognition of capitalized costs” tied to a sub-debt refinancing. He quantified the impact at roughly $1.0 million to $1.1 million through net interest income; adjusted for that item, he said the margin would have been 3.83%, the second consecutive quarter at that level.
For 2026, management provided full-year guidance that included:
- Loans held for investment: expected to increase mid-single digits.
- Deposits (excluding brokered deposits): expected to increase mid-single digits.
- Securities balances: expected to remain stable as cash flows are reinvested.
- Net interest margin: expected to be 3.80% to 3.85%.
- Net interest income: expected to increase mid-single digits.
- Non-interest income: expected to increase mid-single digits.
- Non-interest expense: expected to increase mid-single digits.
- Provision for credit losses: expected to “normalize,” including off-balance-sheet exposure.
Owens also provided a near-term view on deposit costs, saying guidance calls for the cost of total deposits to decline from 1.72% in the fourth quarter to 1.61% in the first quarter of 2026. He added that month-to-date January deposit costs were about 1.63%, and that ongoing CD repricing could push the quarterly level “another basis point or two lower,” all else equal.
Credit quality and provisioning expectations
Chief Credit and Operations Officer Barry Harvey said fourth-quarter net charge-offs were $7.6 million, including one individually analyzed loan of $5.9 million that had been reserved in prior periods. Net charge-offs equated to 0.22% of average loans for the quarter. For 2025, net charge-offs were 13 basis points of average loans.
On credit normalization, Harvey said Trustmark would expect net charge-offs in the range of 13 to 15 basis points of average loans on an ongoing basis, noting that a few larger commercial credits were resolved during 2025 and that the company does not currently have similar credits of that size. On provisioning, Harvey said Trustmark has seen “substantial improvement” in credit quality during 2025, citing criticized loans down $181 million and classified loans down $57 million for the year. He said a range of 14 to 18 basis points of average loans “feels about right” for provisioning at this point, while acknowledging that continued positive migration could lead to lower provisioning than anticipated.
In prepared remarks, management said the fourth-quarter provision for credit losses totaled $1.2 billion, and that provisioning for loans held for investment and off-balance sheet exposure was influenced by positive credit migration, loan and unfunded commitment growth, and the macroeconomic forecast. For 2025, Trustmark reported $12.9 million in provision for credit losses and an allowance for credit losses equal to 1.15% of loans held for investment at year-end.
Capital actions, buybacks, and M&A posture
Trustmark said it repurchased $43 million of common stock in the fourth quarter (about 1.1 million shares) and $80 million for the full year (about 2.2 million shares), representing 3.5% of shares outstanding at year-end 2024. The company also announced authorization to repurchase up to $100 million of common shares during 2026, subject to market conditions and management discretion.
Owens told analysts that, assuming robust loan growth and no buybacks, internal projections would have CET1 ending 2026 “slightly above 12%.” If the company used the full $100 million authorization, he said CET1 would move to about 11.5%. He suggested a buyback range of roughly $60 million to $70 million would “essentially keep our capital ratios where they are” today.
On other capital actions, management said Trustmark issued $170 million of 6% fixed-to-floating subordinated debt in the fourth quarter and used proceeds to repay $125 million of existing sub-debt and for general corporate purposes. At year-end, the company reported a CET1 ratio of 11.72% and a total risk-based capital ratio of 14.41%.
The board approved a 4.2% increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share from $0.24, payable March 15, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 1. Management said tangible book value per share was $30.28, up 2.3% from the prior quarter and 13.5% from the prior year, and that the company returned approximately 61.8% of 2025 net income to shareholders through dividends and repurchases.
Executives also discussed a continued focus on organic expansion through hiring. Dewey said Trustmark added about 13 new production hires in the fourth quarter, following 29 total new hires in the third quarter (including 21 production-oriented). He said market disruption from industry transactions can create opportunities for recruiting talent and winning clients.
On M&A, Dewey said the company remains “opportunistic,” reiterating prior comments about markets of interest across a broad footprint and previously discussed size ranges of $1 billion to $10 billion, but emphasized Trustmark is not focused on doing a deal for its own sake. He added that given current market disruption, there is a scenario where Trustmark could choose to focus exclusively on organic opportunities rather than pursue acquisitions in 2026.
Closing the call, Dewey said 2025 was a record year and that the company is “committed to maintaining that momentum into 2026.”
About Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK)
Trustmark Corporation is a financial services holding company headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi. Through its principal subsidiary, Trustmark National Bank, the company provides a broad spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services. Trustmark’s offerings include deposit accounts, lending solutions, cash management services, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and credit card processing.
In addition to traditional banking, Trustmark offers trust and wealth management services designed to meet the needs of high-net-worth individuals, families and institutional clients.
