Valley National Bancorp’s VLY first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of 18 cents missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Also, the bottom line declined 5.3% on a year-over-year basis.

A rise in provisions, lower non-interest income, higher adjusted expenses and a sequential decline in loans and deposit balances hurt the results. Nonetheless, the company’s efforts to bring down funding costs drove net interest income (NII), which acted as a tailwind. This seems to have cheered investors as shares of VLY gained 1.2% in yesterday’s trading session.
 
Results excluded non-core income and charges. After considering these, net income was $106.1 million, up 10.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Valley National’s Revenues Rise, Adjusted Expenses Up

Quarterly total revenues were $478.4 million, up 5.2% year over year. The top line lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $485.9 million. 

NII (fully-taxable-equivalent or FTE basis) was $421.4 million, up 6.7%. Net interest margin (FTE basis) was 2.96%, up 17 basis points (bps).

Non-interest income declined 5.1% to $58.3 million. The fall was mainly due to lower net gains on the sale of assets. On the other hand, adjusted non-interest income grew almost 1%.

Non-interest expenses of $276.6 million declined 1.3%. Meanwhile, adjusted non-interest expenses rose marginally to $267.3 million.

The adjusted efficiency ratio was 55.87%, down from 59.10% in the prior-year quarter. A decline in the efficiency ratio indicates an improvement in profitability.

VLY’s Loans & Deposits

As of March 31, 2025, total loans were $48.7 billion, down marginally on a sequential basis. The fall was mainly due to repayment activity within commercial real estate $(CRE.UK)$ non-owner occupied and owner-occupied loan categories during the quarter.

As of March 31, 2025, total deposits were $50 billion, down slightly.

Valley National’s Credit Quality Worsens

As of March 31, 2025, total non-performing assets were $356.2 million, up 23.4% year over year. Provision for credit losses for loans was $62.7 million, rising 38.4%.

Allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans was 1.22%, up 24 bps from the year-ago quarter.

VLY’s Profitability Ratios Mixed, Capital Ratios Improve

At the end of the first quarter, adjusted annualized return on average assets was 0.69%, up from 0.65% in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted annualized return on average shareholders’ equity was 5.69%, down from 5.91%.

VLY's tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio was 8.61% as of March 31, 2025, up from 7.62% in the corresponding period of 2024. Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio was 11.53%, up from 9.78%. Also, the common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 10.80% was up from 9.34% as of March 31, 2024.

Our Take on Valley National

Valley National’s organic growth trajectory, strategic acquisitions and solid balance sheet will support its financials. However, persistently increasing costs and deteriorating asset quality are major concerns. Further, the company’s huge CRE loan exposure is worrisome.
 

Valley National Bancorp Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Valley National Bancorp price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Valley National Bancorp Quote

Valley National currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of VLY’s Peers

East West Bancorp, Inc.’s EWBC first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $2.09 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.05. Moreover, the bottom line increased marginally from the prior-year quarter’s level. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

EWBC’s results were primarily aided by an increase in NII and non-interest income. Also, loan balances increased sequentially in the quarter. However, higher provisions and non-interest expenses alongside lower deposits were headwinds.

Zions Bancorporation’s ZION first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share $(EPS)$ of $1.24 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.20. Moreover, the bottom line surged 29.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Results were primarily aided by higher NII and non-interest income. Also, higher loans were another positive. However, higher provisions and a rise in adjusted non-interest expenses were major headwinds for ZION.

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Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $(ZION)$ : Free Stock Analysis Report

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