Hope Bancorp Posts Q2 Revenue Drop 19%

Key Points

• - Non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.19 surpassed the analyst estimate of $(0.14), beating by $0.33.

• - Revenue fell 19.1% year over year to $94.6 million, significantly missing the $133.9 million consensus estimate.

• - The completed acquisition of Territorial Bancorp reshaped the loan and deposit mix, lowering deposit costs and expanding into new markets.

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Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE), a regional bank serving commercial and retail clients primarily in California and the western U.S., reported second quarter results on July 22, 2025. The most important news from the release was its sharp revenue miss and a headline GAAP net loss, driven by large, one-time charges related to portfolio repositioning and the acquisition of Territorial Bancorp. While non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $0.19, far above the $(0.14) analyst estimate, revenue at $94.6 million fell well short of the $133.9 million consensus. Overall, the quarter reflected improved net interest income and efficiency gains outside of these special items, alongside major changes to the company’s funding and asset mix due to the Territorial deal.

Source: Analyst estimates for the quarter provided by FactSet.

Company Overview and Business Focus

Hope Bancorp operates as a regional bank, offering a range of products including commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial lending, and consumer deposit services. It has a significant presence in the Korean-American business community and maintains a focus on strong credit controls and diversified loan origination.

Recently, Hope Bancorp’s major focus areas include managing its interest rate risk, expanding through acquisitions, and maintaining a balanced deposit mix. Key factors for its success involve effective regulatory compliance, prudent expense management, and strategic initiatives like mergers that broaden its customer base and geographical reach.

Quarter Highlights: Strategy, Metrics, and One-Time Items

The second quarter marked a transformative period for Hope Bancorp with the closing of the Territorial Bancorp acquisition on April 2, 2025. This transaction brought $1.07 billion in loans and $1.67 billion in deposits, with a notable deposit cost of 1.98%, to the combined organization. Following this acquisition, residential mortgage and other loans nearly doubled as a share of the bank’s portfolio, climbing from 9% in the prior quarter to 16%. This shift also lowered the company’s commercial real estate loan exposure from 62.8% to 58% of total loans, which reduces concentration risk from this often volatile segment.

Total deposits grew 10% from the prior quarter to $15.94 billion, reflecting the addition of Territorial’s low-cost funding. While noninterest-bearing deposits dipped slightly as a share of total deposits, the company achieved a reduction in brokered deposits by 19% to $797.1 million. Brokered deposits now make up only 5% of total funding, down from 9% a year earlier, improving the bank’s funding stability and cost structure. Money market and other interest-bearing deposits increased more rapidly, indicating ongoing competition for customer balances but a positive overall funding trend.

Net interest income during the period increased to $117.5 million, up 11% from the prior year quarter, reflecting organic loan growth and the impact of the Territorial portfolio. Net interest margin—a measure of the difference between interest income and interest expense expressed against average earning assets—rose from 2.62% to 2.69%. The repositioning of the bank’s securities portfolio, which involved selling $417.9 million of low-yield securities and reinvesting proceeds into higher-yielding assets, is expected to add $12 million to annual interest income. This boosted interest income in the quarter, supporting core profitability.

Headline results were heavily affected by several one-time events. The company recorded a net GAAP loss of $27.9 million, driven mainly by an after-tax loss of $38.9 million from the securities portfolio restructuring, $4.9 million in tax charges due to changes in California law, and merger-related expenses. These items contributed to the large revenue miss relative to consensus. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes these special items, the company posted adjusted net income of $24.5 million, and efficiency ratio improved slightly from the prior quarter to 69.1%. For banks, the efficiency ratio measures noninterest expenses as a share of revenue—the lower, the better, since it shows what portion of revenue is consumed by operating costs.

Credit quality metrics were mixed. Net loan charge-offs, which are the losses from loans unlikely to be collected minus recoveries, increased to $12.0 million, with the rate on average loans rising to 0.33%. Nonperforming assets as a share of total assets increased to 0.61%, mainly due to one commercial real estate loan being moved to nonaccrual status. However, overall criticized loans—those flagged for potential weakness—fell 8% to $414.7 million, reflecting a reduction in risk, notably from a 26% drop in special mention loans. The allowance for credit losses stood at $149.5 million (1.04% of loans), a reduction due to the addition of high-quality loans from Territorial.

The quarter saw stable performance in noninterest income lines. Core noninterest income was largely unchanged at $15.9 million, while gains from the sale of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans increased to $4.0 million after $67.4 million in sales. A new white-label credit card program from the Territorial franchise was added, contributing to product diversity, though there were no major new product rollouts. The effective tax rate excluding special items dropped to 20.1%, a benefit expected to continue due to changes in state tax law.

From a capital perspective, the bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio—a measure of core equity capital relative to risk-weighted assets—remained strong at 12.06%. Total stockholders’ equity increased 3% from the previous quarter, though the tangible common equity ratio slipped to 9.43% due to the impact of the acquisition. These levels remain above regulatory minimums and support continued balance sheet growth.

The board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per share, unchanged from previous quarters. This continues a stable dividend streak throughout recent years.

Looking Ahead: Management’s Outlook and Investor Watchpoints

Management did not provide explicit numeric forward guidance for the remainder of fiscal 2025 in the earnings release. However, context from disclosures and past calls suggests targets for high single-digit percentage growth in net interest income and loan balances for the year, at the low end of previous expectations. The repositioned securities portfolio is projected to boost interest income by $12 million annually, while fee income is expected to grow in the "mid-20s" percentage range, and expenses look set for "low double-digit" growth, all excluding one-time items.

Investors should monitor further integration of the Territorial business, especially whether the company can continue reducing funding costs and building diversified loan volumes. Areas to watch include credit metrics—in particular, net charge-offs and nonperforming assets—which showed some deterioration in the period, as well as ongoing dependence on transactional gains within noninterest income. The mix of commercial real estate in the loan portfolio, while reduced, remains substantial and could carry elevated risk if market conditions shift. Dividend payments remain stable, with the most recent declaration at $0.14 per share for the quarter.

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

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