US earnings calls, October 13-19, 2026: banks expect wider net interest margins

Cleveland-Cliffs said it expects $715 million of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in its fiscal 2026 fourth quarter. ServisFirst and WaFd said they expect margins to widen.

An update from FactIQ, written from company statements in earnings calls of companies listed in the United States. What is FactIQ?

Key figures

Cleveland-Cliffs, expected adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026

$715 millionstated by the chief financial officer; approximately $100 million above the third quarter of fiscal year 2026

Cleveland-Cliffs, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, third quarter of fiscal year 2026

$612 millionstated by the chief financial officer; above its prior expectation of $575 million

ServisFirst Bancshares, expected increase in net interest margin

5 to 7 basis pointsstated by the chief financial officer

Albertsons, cost savings program target over the next three years

$2 billionstated by the chief executive; raised from $1.5 billion

Several regional banks said they expect their net interest margins to widen

Net interest margin (NIM) is the gap between what a bank earns on loans and what it pays on deposits.

ServisFirst Bancshares: the chief financial officer said management expects NIM to increase by 5 to 7 basis points, a unit used for small changes in rates. The chief financial officer said NIM is expected to continue expanding into 2027. Net interest income was $159.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, up nearly 20% year over year.
Independent Bank Corp: the chief financial officer said the bank sees a path to a 4% NIM by the end of 2027.
WaFd: the chief financial officer said WaFd expects NIM to expand modestly over the next quarter or two, assuming no interest-rate changes.
FB Financial: the chief financial officer said the company expects core NIM in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026 to remain near third-quarter levels.
Simmons First National: the chief financial officer said its modeling assumed one interest-rate increase in each of December, March and June.

Cleveland-Cliffs said its earnings beat its own expectation

The chief financial officer said Cleveland-Cliffs reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $612 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, above its prior expectation of $575 million. The chief financial officer said unit cost declined by $17 per net ton. The chief executive said US steel imports remain 35%-40% below pre-Section 232 levels. Commercial Metals Company said it increased its share repurchase authorization by $600 million to about $700 million total.

Banks gave different views on loan growth

FB Financial said its loan growth was 9.7% annualized in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026. ServisFirst said year-to-date loan growth exceeded $1 billion, an annualized growth rate of 10%. WaFd said loan growth is expected to be relatively flat to modest. Simmons First National said management was less optimistic about loan growth in the immediate term.

Other companies reported cost targets, flows and higher outlooks

Albertsons: the chief executive said it increased its cost savings target from $1.5 billion to $2 billion over the next three years. Identical sales declined 0.8% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2027.
Cohen & Steers: the chief financial officer said net inflows were $1.6 billion in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026.
AZZ: the chief executive said AZZ raised its fiscal year 2027 sales outlook to $1.825 billion–$1.875 billion.

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