United Community Banks reports Q2 operating EPS 58c, consensus 51c

Reports Q2 revenue $233M, consensus $238.95M. United’s return on assets was 0.97%, or 1.04% on an operating basis. Return on equity was 7.53% and return on tangible common equity was 11.68%. On a pre-tax, pre-provision basis, operating return on assets was 1.54% for the quarter. At quarter end, tangible common equity to tangible assets was 8.78%, up 29 basis points from the first quarter of 2024. Chairman and CEO Lynn Harton stated, “Our second quarter results showed solid improvement, driven by healthy net interest margin expansion and disciplined expense control. We achieved these results by remaining sharply focused on loan and deposit pricing even if that meant accepting slower growth in the near term. Compared with the first quarter, we saw decreases in both loans and deposits, yet our pricing discipline led to a $9.55 million increase in net interest income. We expect loan growth to be weaker in the near term as customers appear to be taking a conservative approach to economic and election uncertainty.” Harton continued, “On the strategic front, after an evaluation of our entire wealth management business, we made the decision to sell our investment in our Registered Investment Advisor, FinTrust Capital Advisors, while setting a more aggressive growth course for our Private Banking, Retail, and Trust businesses. We view the Private Banking, Retail and Trust as more attractive in the medium to long term, and decided to focus our Wealth resources in these businesses. We expect the FinTrust transaction to close in the third quarter.”