First Financial Posts Record NII in Q2

Key Points

• Q2 EPS rose to $1.57, exceeding analyst estimates and up 63.5% year over year.

• Net interest income reached a record $52.7 million, but missed expectations by 16.8%.

• The bank improved both asset quality and efficiency compared to the prior year, with the efficiency ratio falling to 59.37% and nonperforming loans decreased from $15.9 million to $9.8 million over the past year.

• These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires ›

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF), a regional bank serving the Midwest and Southeast, delivered fiscal 2025 second-quarter results on Tuesday, July 22, that topped analysts' consensus expectations. Earnings per share saw a sharp jump, hitting $1.57 and easily beating analyst estimates of $1.41. The company posted improved efficiency on multiple metrics compared to the prior year, making this a notable quarter for core profitability.

Source: First Financial. Note: Analysts' consensus estimates for the quarter provided by FactSet. YOY = Year over year.

First Financial’s Business and Focus Areas

First Financial operates as a community-focused regional bank. It provides a mix of commercial, residential, and consumer lending, as well as essential banking services such as deposit accounts, investment products, and trust and wealth advisory. The company serves a geographic footprint that includes Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and, following its recent acquisition, parts of Tennessee and Georgia.

The company’s most recent business strategy has centered on expansion into new markets. Managing capital adequacy is especially important, as the bank must comply with rigorous regulations imposed by both federal and local authorities. Its other critical business drivers are credit quality, efficiency in operations, and maintaining a competitive product offering amid a crowded space of banks, credit unions, and non-bank lenders.

Quarterly Highlights: Loans, Profitability, and Capital

During the period, the bank posted record net interest income of $52.7 million, compared to $39.3 million in Q2 2024, an increase of 34%. Net interest income measures the difference between the interest it earns on loans and investments and the interest it pays out to depositors. This improvement reflects the continued expansion and profitability of its lending activities. The company’s net interest margin, which is net interest income as a percentage of average earning assets, expanded to 4.15% from 3.57% (Q2 2025 versus Q2 2024, calculated on a tax equivalent basis).

Earnings strength was clear in the results: net income reached $18.6 million, rising 63% compared to the same period last year. The key driver behind this profitability was broad-based growth in loans, particularly after acquiring SimplyBank in July 2024. Average total loans reached $3.88 billion, up 21.3% year over year, with total outstanding loans at period end of $3.9 billion. Commercial construction, commercial real estate, and auto loans made up the largest sources of organic loan growth. Of the new loans, $467 million resulted from the SimplyBank deal in July 2024, giving the bank a significant lift in both loans and deposits.

Total deposits averaged $4.65 billion, growing 13.1% year over year, again boosted mainly by the recent acquisition. Total deposits grew 0.5% versus the previous quarter. Meanwhile, time deposits -- accounts with fixed terms, usually offering higher interest rates to customers -- rose to $710 million from $586 million last year. A higher share of time deposits may hint at an increasingly competitive environment for attracting and keeping customer funds.

On the cost side, non-interest expenses increased 17% year over year, reaching $38.3 million. Still, the bank improved its efficiency ratio -- meaning it generated more revenue for each dollar spent -- falling to 59.37% from 64.56% (Q2 2025 compared to Q2 2024). This shows that revenue growth outpaced the increase in expenses, an efficiency gain worth noting.

Asset Quality, Credit, and Product Trends

The bank reported significant progress in asset quality, a crucial metric that measures the health of its loan book. Net charge-offs -- the loans written off as unrecoverable, net of recoveries -- fell to $1.7 million from $4.7 million a year ago. Nonperforming loans, which are loans that borrowers are not able to service, dropped to $9.8 million, or just 0.25% of total loans. This reduction stands out, as it marks a halving of problem loans compared to the year-ago level.

Provisions for credit losses, which are funds set aside to cover potential bad loans, were $2 million, a reduction from $3 million in Q2 2024. The allowance for credit losses was 1.21% of loans as of June 30, 2025. However, loans that were 30 to 89 days past due increased from $14.9 million to $22.3 million between Q2 2024 and Q2 2025, a shift that could merit attention if the trend continues. The ratio of credit loss reserves to nonperforming loans rose sharply to 480.7%, highlighting robust “coverage” -- in other words, the bank is well prepared, on paper, for loan losses.

On the regulatory capital front, the company maintained strong cushions above government benchmarks. Its Tier 1 Leverage and Risk-based Tier 1 Capital ratios stood at 10.91% and 12.86%, respectively. These numbers, set by bank regulators, measure the bank’s ability to absorb losses and support lending. Tier 1 Leverage and Risk-based Tier 1 Capital ratios as of June 30, 2025, were above the minimum required, Tier 1 Leverage and Risk-based Tier 1 Capital ratios declined from June 30, 2024, to June 30, 2025, in connection with the growth in assets and the impact of the recent acquisition. Book value per share rose to $49.59, up 10.4% from the previous year, giving investors a larger equity stake behind each share owned.

The commercial segment accounted for $2.22 billion, residential loans for $988 million, and consumer loans for $682 million. The company’s trust and financial services income increased 13.0% to $1.49 million compared to Q2 2024, suggesting steady progress in its fee-based lines, although these remain a smaller part of the overall business.

Looking Ahead and Guidance

Management struck an optimistic tone in its comments but did not issue specific financial targets for the remainder of fiscal 2025. There was no forward guidance provided regarding expected earnings, revenue, capital measures, or loan growth for future quarters. Key items for investors to watch in upcoming periods include the sustainability of profitability gains, organic deposit growth, and potential pressures on capital ratios as the balance sheet expands.

Any changes in asset quality, especially the trend in past due loans, will also be important signs of credit conditions ahead. The quarterly dividend was raised 13.3% to $0.51 per share compared to Q2 2024.

Note: Revenue and net income are presented using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) unless otherwise noted.

Where to invest $1,000 right now

When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,055%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500.

They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025

JesterAI is a Foolish AI, based on a variety of Large Language Models (LLMs) and proprietary Motley Fool systems. All articles published by JesterAI are reviewed by our editorial team, and The Motley Fool takes ultimate responsibility for the content of this article. JesterAI cannot own stocks and so it has no positions in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.