Columbia Banking System (COLB) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $8.93B
• Dividend Yield: 5.07%
• Average Volume (3M): 2.90M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 13.0
• Beta (1Y): 1.02
• Revenue Growth: -0.30%
• EPS Growth: -3.80%
• Country: US
• Employees: 4,721
• Sector: Financial
• Sector Strength: 70
• Industry: Banks - Regional
• EPS (TTM): 0.82
• Shares Outstanding: 299,120,970
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 2,866,388
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 2,902,523
• PEG Ratio: -1.54
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.05
• Price to Sales (P/S): 2.57
• P/FCF Ratio: 11.07
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.13
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 3.14
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 4.65
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 11.28
• 1Y Price Target: $32.86
• Price Target Upside: 7.46% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 11
• EPS Forecast (FY): 3.05
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $2.78B

• Rating: 71 Outperform
• Price Target: $34.00 ▲(11.18% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/27/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/27/26

The score is driven primarily by solid financial performance with improving leverage but only moderate returns and uneven cash-flow quality, supported by attractive valuation and dividend yield. Technicals are moderately positive but not strongly bullish, while the earnings call adds a modest boost on improving margin/synergies and capital return plans offset by near-term NIM/NII pressure and limited loan growth.

Positive Factors

Strategic Acquisition & Market Expansion

The Pacific Premier acquisition materially increases scale and geographic diversification across the western U.S., adds trust/fee capabilities and an API marketplace, and creates cross-sell opportunities. These structural gains broaden the deposit base and fee revenue runway, supporting durable earnings.

Strong Capital Position and Shareholder Returns

Robust regulatory capital and substantial excess capital provide a durable buffer for stress, enable continued buybacks and dividend maintenance, and support strategic flexibility to invest or absorb losses without forcing dilutive capital moves—strengthening long-term financial resilience.

Diversified Fee Income and Origination Growth

Rising noninterest income and materially higher loan originations diversify revenue away from pure net interest margin sensitivity. Consistent origination pipelines and fee growth improve revenue mix durability, supporting margins and offsetting periods of slower loan balance growth.

Negative Factors

Near-Term Loan Contraction & Runoff

Persistent transactional and CRE paydowns, plus ~$4B of transactional loans repricing/maturing over 24 months, constrain organic loan growth and earning-asset expansion. Limited loan growth pressures long-term interest income generation and caps credit-driven revenue expansion.

Credit Migration into Substandard

A shift of exposures into substandard signals emerging credit stress in portions of the portfolio and elevates provisioning and loss risk. If trends persist, provisions could pressure earnings and capital, slowing payout capacity and forcing more conservative lending or higher loan-loss reserves.

Integration & Cost-Savings Execution Risk

Incomplete realization of merger synergies and recurring acquisition-related amortization keep expense levels elevated into 2026. Execution risk on remaining savings could delay efficiency gains and margin recovery, weighing on medium-term profitability until full run-rate benefits are secured.

Columbia Banking System Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Columbia Banking System, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Columbia State Bank that provides a range of banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals in the United States. It offers personal banking products and services, including noninterest and interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; home mortgages for purchases and refinances, home equity loans and lines of credit, and other personal loans; debit and credit cards; and digital banking services. The company also provides business banking products and services, such as checking, savings, interest-bearing money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; agricultural, asset-based, builder, and other commercial real estate loans, as well as loans guaranteed by the small business administration; and professional banking, treasury management, merchant card, and international banking services. In addition, it offers wealth management solutions that include financial planning services, such as asset allocation, net worth analysis, estate planning and preservation, education funding, and wealth transfer; long-term care, and life and disability insurance solutions; individual retirement solutions comprising retirement planning, retirement income strategies, and traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts; and business solutions, which comprise business retirement plans, key person insurance, business succession planning, and deferred compensation plans to individuals, families, and professional businesses. Further, the company provides fiduciary, investment, and administrative trust services, such as personal and special needs trusts, estate settlement, and investment agency and charitable management. It operates a network of 153 branch locations, including 68 in the state of Washington, 59 in Oregon, 15 in Idaho, and 11 in California. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.

How the Company Makes Money

Columbia Banking System generates revenue primarily through interest income from loans and investments, as well as non-interest income from service fees and other banking services. The bank earns interest by lending money to consumers and businesses, with interest rates typically higher than the rates paid on deposits. Key revenue streams include commercial and residential loans, consumer loans, and mortgage originations. Additionally, the bank collects fees for services such as account maintenance, ATM transactions, and wealth management, contributing to its non-interest income. Strategic partnerships with local businesses and community organizations also help drive customer growth and enhance service offerings, further supporting the bank's overall earnings.

Columbia Banking System Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Solid post-2020 profitability with a healthy 2025 net margin (~17%) and improving leverage (debt-to-equity ~0.49), but ROE is only moderate (~7% in 2025) and cash-flow history is choppy with a lower cash generation profile relative to balance-sheet scale.

Income Statement

Profitability has recovered strongly from the 2020 loss, with solid earnings in 2021–2025 and a healthy 2025 net profit margin (~17%) alongside steady operating profitability (2025 EBIT margin ~23%). Revenue has expanded meaningfully over time (2025 revenue up ~7% year over year), but results show some volatility: margins peaked in 2021–2022 and have moderated since, and growth has not been consistently smooth across the period.

Balance Sheet

Leverage looks reasonable for a regional bank, with debt-to-equity improving to ~0.49 in 2025 from higher levels in 2023–2024, and equity has built substantially (supporting a larger asset base). Returns on equity are positive but not standout (about 7% in 2025, down from ~10% in 2024), indicating profitability is solid but has cooled versus prior years.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is solid and improving, with operating cash flow rising to ~$746M in 2025 and free cash flow growing ~6% year over year; free cash flow also covers net income well (about 1.0x in 2025). However, cash flow has been choppy across the history (notably stronger in 2022 and weaker earlier), and the provided cash-flow coverage measure remains low, suggesting cash generation relative to the balance-sheet scale is not particularly strong.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	3.21B	2.97B	2.74B	1.35B	1.32B
Gross Profit	2.17B	1.82B	1.78B	1.19B	1.32B
EBITDA	895.31M	868.62M	615.45M	478.88M	589.66M
Net Income	550.03M	533.67M	348.71M	336.75M	420.30M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	66.83B	51.58B	52.17B	31.85B	30.64B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	511.00M	2.08B	10.99B	4.49B	6.63B
Total Debt	3.84B	3.90B	4.76B	1.72B	975.13M
Total Liabilities	58.99B	46.46B	47.18B	29.37B	27.89B
Stockholders Equity	7.84B	5.12B	5.00B	2.48B	2.75B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	746.00M	623.20M	669.84M	1.04B	647.25M
Operating Cash Flow	746.00M	658.87M	669.84M	1.07B	662.72M
Investing Cash Flow	2.17B	114.57M	501.74M	-3.53B	-1.53B
Financing Cash Flow	-2.42B	-1.06B	-303.69M	1.00B	1.06B

Columbia Banking System Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 30.58
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For COLB, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 30.58 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 30.92, above the 50-day MA of 29.65, and above the 200-day MA of 26.13, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.30 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 51.43 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 26.83 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for COLB.

Columbia Banking System Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
COLB	71 Outperform	$8.93B	12.98	8.49%	5.07%	-0.30%	-3.80%
FNB	71 Outperform	$6.28B	11.23	8.66%	2.73%	4.54%	27.56%
HOMB	71 Outperform	$5.56B	11.76	11.51%	2.85%	1.43%	19.58%
OZK	70 Outperform	$5.52B	7.87	12.09%	3.68%	2.79%	2.11%
VLY	69 Neutral	$7.18B	12.74	7.85%	3.69%	-1.94%	41.35%
Sector *	68 Neutral	$18.00B	11.42	9.92%	3.81%	9.73%	1.22%
GBCI	67 Neutral	$6.21B	24.02	6.43%	2.89%	8.73%	26.19%

Columbia Banking System Corporate Events

Columbia Banking System Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend

On February 13, 2026, Columbia Banking System, Inc., parent company of Columbia Bank, announced that its board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.37 per common share. The dividend will be paid on March 16, 2026, to shareholders of record as of February 27, 2026, signaling continued capital return to investors and underscoring the bank’s confidence in its financial position and ongoing operations.

As a major regional banking player in the western U.S., this dividend declaration reflects Columbia’s ongoing commitment to shareholder value amid a competitive banking landscape. The move may bolster investor sentiment around the company’s stability and earnings capacity, while reinforcing its positioning as a sizable, service-diversified institution in its core markets across the western states.

The most recent analyst rating on (COLB) stock is a Hold with a $33.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Columbia Banking System stock, see the COLB Stock Forecast page.

Columbia Banking System Reports Strong Q4 Earnings Post-Acquisition

On January 22, 2026, Columbia Banking System reported fourth-quarter 2025 results showing net income of $215 million and operating net income of $243 million, equal to diluted earnings per share of $0.72 and operating diluted EPS of $0.82, respectively. The quarter reflected the first full three-month contribution from the Pacific Premier acquisition, driving a $122 million sequential increase in net interest income to $627 million, a 22-basis-point rise in net interest margin to 4.06%, and a $16 million rise in adjusted non-interest income, while non-interest expense rose by $19 million as the company continued to operate as a combined entity. Credit quality remained stable with net charge-offs at 0.25% of average loans and leases and non-performing assets at 0.30% of total assets, while provision expense fell sharply to $23 million from $70 million in the prior quarter, normalizing after acquisition-related impacts. Capital levels stayed strong, with an estimated total risk-based capital ratio of 13.6% and CET1 of 11.8%; Columbia paid a $0.37 per-share quarterly dividend in December 2025 and repurchased $100 million of common stock, underscoring ongoing capital returns to shareholders. Management highlighted disciplined balance sheet management, successful deposit-gathering campaigns that added $1.3 billion in new deposits in 2025, and progress toward a systems conversion expected later in the quarter, positioning the bank to capture merger-related cost savings, improve efficiency, and enhance long-term earnings power and competitiveness in its western U.S. markets.

The most recent analyst rating on (COLB) stock is a Hold with a $30.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Columbia Banking System stock, see the COLB Stock Forecast page.

Columbia Banking System Schedules Q4 2025 Earnings Release

On December 31, 2025, Columbia Banking System, Inc. announced it would release its fourth-quarter 2025 financial results after the market close on Thursday, January 22, 2026, followed by a conference call and live Q&A for investors and analysts at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time that same day. The scheduled disclosure and investor call underscore the company’s efforts to maintain transparency with stakeholders and provide an update on its latest financial performance and recent activities amid its continued role as a leading regional banking provider in the western United States.

The most recent analyst rating on (COLB) stock is a Hold with a $30.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Columbia Banking System stock, see the COLB Stock Forecast page.