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A record adjusted earnings print and an acquisition announcement arriving in the same quarter make for a more complicated read than either event would alone.
First Financial Bancorp reported adjusted earnings of $0.80 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2026, the highest in the company's history, while announcing the acquisition of Finward Bancorp and raising its quarterly dividend.
The margin and credit numbers underneath are where the story lives. Margin and loan growth Net interest margin on a fully tax-equivalent basis reached 3.98% in the quarter.
Reported earnings per diluted share were $0.73; the gap to the adjusted $0.80 reflects items the company excluded from its operating view. Return on average assets came in at 1.37% as reported and 1.50% adjusted.
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