Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) executives used the company’s 2026 annual meeting of stockholders to review 2025 results, first-quarter 2026 performance, capital allocation, lending trends, deposits and technology investments, while stockholders approved all proposals presented at the meeting.
President and CEO Joe Turner said the company’s priorities remain centered on “maintaining strong capital and liquidity, preserving credit quality, managing expenses carefully, and serving our customers and communities well.” Turner said Great Southern continued to operate with a conservative approach during a period marked by deposit competition, interest rate volatility and economic uncertainty.
2025 Earnings Rise as Margin Improves
Copeland said net interest margin improved to 3.67% in 2025 from 3.42% in 2024. He attributed the 25-basis-point increase to disciplined asset-liability management and reductions in deposit and borrowing costs after Federal Reserve rate cuts in late 2024 and late 2025, while asset yields declined only modestly.
For the first quarter of 2026, the company reported net income of $17.5 million, or $1.58 per diluted common share, compared with $17.2 million, or $1.47 per diluted common share, in the prior-year quarter. Net interest margin was 3.71% in the first quarter, compared with 3.57% a year earlier and 3.70% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Loan Balances Rebound in First Quarter After 2025 Payoffs
Copeland said total assets were approximately $5.60 billion at Dec. 31, 2025, compared with approximately $5.98 billion at the end of 2024. Assets rose modestly to approximately $5.69 billion at March 31, 2026.
Net loans receivable declined $333.5 million, or 7.1%, during 2025 to $4.36 billion at year-end. Copeland said the decline reflected elevated payoff and refinancing activity, especially in multifamily, construction, one- to four-family residential and commercial business portfolios.
Chief Lending Officer John Bugh said loan balances increased in the first quarter of 2026, with total net loans up $100 million, or 2.3%, to $4.46 billion at March 31, 2026. The increase was driven primarily by construction and commercial real estate loans, partially offset by declines in multifamily loans. Bugh said payoff activity moderated compared with recent quarters but noted that future loan growth will depend on borrower repayment activity, project timing and disciplined origination opportunities.
Bugh said commercial real estate and multifamily loans represented 65% of the loan portfolio at March 31, 2026. Missouri remained the company’s largest region, followed by Texas, Minnesota and Iowa. He also said Great Southern operates seven commercial lending offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Omaha and Phoenix, which generated 41% of commercial lending production in 2025.
Deposits Stable as Competition Remains Elevated
Total deposits were $4.48 billion at Dec. 31, 2025, down $122.8 million from the end of 2024, driven primarily by reductions in broker deposits and time deposits, partially offset by growth in interest-bearing checking balances, Copeland said. At March 31, 2026, deposits were approximately $4.5 billion, with balances generally stable during the quarter.
Chief Retail Banking Officer Laura Smith said total deposits were approximately $4.45 billion at March 31, 2026, down $37.6 million from Dec. 31, 2025. She said non-broker deposits declined by approximately $26 million during the quarter, while broker deposits declined by approximately $11 million. Estimated uninsured deposits, excluding deposit accounts of consolidated subsidiaries, were approximately $740 million, or 16.7% of total deposits.
Copeland said the company had available secured borrowing capacity of approximately $1.24 billion through the Federal Home Loan Bank and $332.1 million through the Federal Reserve Bank at March 31, 2026. Great Southern also held $187.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and $347.1 million of unpledged available-for-sale securities.
Capital Returns Continue Through Dividends and Buybacks
Copeland said Great Southern’s regulatory capital ratios continued to “significantly exceed well-capitalized thresholds” at March 31, 2026. Stockholders’ equity was $636.1 million at Dec. 31, 2025, with book value of $57.50 per common share. At March 31, 2026, stockholders’ equity was $633.6 million, while book value per common share increased to $58.27.
The company declared regular cash dividends of $1.66 per common share in 2025, including an increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.43 from $0.40 during the third quarter. The first-quarter 2026 dividend remained $0.43 per share.
Great Southern repurchased 755,759 shares in 2025 at an average price of $58.35 per share, totaling $44.5 million. In the first quarter of 2026, it repurchased 268,664 shares at an average price of $62.55, totaling $16.9 million. Copeland said approximately 419,000 shares remained available under the current repurchase authorization at March 31, 2026.
Stockholders Approve Meeting Proposals
During the business portion of the meeting, Corporate Secretary Brian Teague said stockholders approved all proposals. Kevin R. Ausburn, Amelia A. Counts, Steven D. Edwards and Douglas M. Pitt were elected to three-year terms as directors. Stockholders also approved the advisory vote on executive compensation, approved the Great Southern Bancorp 2026 Omnibus Incentive Plan and ratified Forvis Mazars LLP as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2026.
Teague said final voting results will be included in a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. No stockholder questions were submitted during the meeting.
About Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC)
Great Southern Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: GSBC) is the bank holding company for Great Southern Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. Through its subsidiary, the company provides a broad spectrum of financial products and services designed to meet the needs of individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and professional clients across its regional footprint.
Great Southern Bank’s core business activities include deposit-taking, lending and treasury management.
