CVB Financial’s Q4 Earnings Call: Our Top 5 Analyst Questions

Adjusted 4th quarter earnings increased 62% year over year due to sustained balance‑sheet growth, NIM expansion and positive operating leverage.

Announced strategic merger to expand market presence and enhance long‑term growth opportunities.

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heritage Commerce Corp , (the “Company”), the holding company for Heritage Bank of Commerce (the “Bank”) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2025. All data are unaudited.

CEO COMMENTARY:

“The year 2025, and the fourth quarter in particular, was a consequential time for Heritage, and we are proud of the way our team worked to deliver solid growth and results, driven by steady performance across the business, sustained client momentum and strong credit quality. This quarter reflects strong execution across the organization. We delivered meaningful balance‑sheet growth, expanded operating leverage through disciplined expense management, and increased adjusted full year earnings by 39%. Our focus on consistent performance and prudent growth continues to strengthen our foundation,” said Clay Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“The recently announced merger with Citizens Business Bank represents an exciting next step in Heritage’s journey, building on the strength of our franchise and the consistent performance we delivered throughout 2025. As we work toward the completion of the transaction, we remain fully focused on executing our strategy and continuing to support our clients, colleagues, and communities.”

(1)This is a non-GAAP financial measure as defined and discussed under “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” in this press release. All references to “adjusted” operating metrics exclude the $9.2 million of pre-tax charges primarily related to a legal settlement in the second quarter of 2025 and $2.1 million of pre-tax merger-related costs in the fourth quarter of 2025 as presented in the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures at the end of this press release.

About Heritage Commerce Corp

Heritage Commerce Corp, a bank holding company established in October 1997, is the parent company of Heritage Bank of Commerce, established in 1994 and headquartered in San Jose, CA with full-service branches in Danville, Fremont, Hollister, Livermore, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, Oakland, Palo Alto, Pleasanton, Redwood City, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo, San Rafael, and Walnut Creek. Heritage Bank of Commerce is an SBA Preferred Lender. Bay View Funding, a subsidiary of Heritage Bank of Commerce, is based in San Jose, CA and provides business-essential working capital factoring financing to various industries throughout the United States. For more information, please visit www.heritagecommercecorp.com. The contents of our website are not incorporated into, and do not form a part of, this release or of our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Recent Merger Announcement

On December 17, 2025, CVB Financial Corp. ; together with Citizens Business Bank, National Association, “Citizens”) and Heritage Commerce Corp ; together with Heritage Bank of Commerce, “Heritage”), jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Heritage will merge with and into Citizens in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $811 million, or $13.00 per HTBK share, based on CVBF’s closing stock price on December 16, 2025. The value of the transaction is based on a specified closing price and is subject to CVBF stock price fluctuations. Upon completion, the combination is expected to create a top-performing California business bank with approximately $22 billion in assets, more than 75 offices and branches, and a deeply rooted presence in the State’s key economic centers. The proposed merger has been unanimously approved by the respective Boards of Directors of both companies and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals, Heritage and Citizens shareholder approvals, and other closing conditions. For more information, please refer to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 17, 2025.

Reclassifications

During the first quarter of 2025, we reclassified Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) and Federal Reserve Bank (“FRB”) stock dividends from interest income to noninterest income and the related average asset balances were reclassified from interest earning assets to other assets on the “Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin” tables. The amounts for the prior periods were reclassified to conform to the current presentation. These reclassifications did not affect previously reported net income or shareholders’ equity.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Financial results are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and prevailing practices in the banking industry. However, certain non-GAAP performance measures and ratios are used by management to evaluate and measure the Company’s performance. These measures include “adjusted” operating metrics that have been adjusted to exclude notable expenses incurred in the second and fourth quarters of 2025 as well as other performance measures and ratios adjusted for notable items. Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures enhance comparability between periods and in some instances are common in the banking industry. These non-GAAP financial measures should be supplemental to primary GAAP financial measures and should not be read in isolation or relied upon as a substitute for primary GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures is presented in the tables at the end of this press release under “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

Certain matters discussed in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain in that they reflect plans and expectations for future events. These statements may include, among other things, those relating to the Company’s future financial performance, plans and objectives regarding future events, expectations regarding changes in interest rates and market conditions, projected cash flows of our investment securities portfolio, the performance of our loan portfolio, loan growth, expenses, net interest margin, estimated net interest income resulting from a shift in interest rates, expectation of high credit quality issuers ability to repay, as well as statements relating to the anticipated effects on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations from expected developments or events. Any statements that reflect our belief about, confidence in, or expectations for future events, performance or condition should be considered forward-looking statements. Readers should not construe these statements as assurances of a given level of performance, nor as promises that we will take actions that we currently expect to take. All statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control and some of which may fall outside our ability to predict or anticipate. Accordingly, our actual results may differ materially from our projected results, and we may take actions or experience events that we do not currently expect. Risks and uncertainties that could cause our financial performance to differ materially from our goals, plans, expectations and projections expressed in forward-looking statements include those set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Item 1A of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, and include: (i) cybersecurity risks that may affect us directly or may impact us indirectly by virtue of their effects on our clients, markets or vendors, including our ability to identify and address cybersecurity risks, including those posed by the increasing use of artificial intelligence (such as, but not limited to, ransomware, data security breaches, “denial of service” attacks, “hacking” and identity theft) affecting us, our clients, and our third-party vendors and service providers; (ii) events that affect our ability to attract, recruit, and retain qualified officers and other personnel to implement our strategic plan, and that enable current and future personnel to protect and develop our relationships with clients, and to promote our business, results of operations and growth prospects; (iii) media items and consumer confidence as those factors affect our clients’ confidence in the banking system generally and in our bank specifically; (iv) adequacy of our risk management framework, disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; (v) market, geographic and sociopolitical factors that arise by virtue of the fact that we operate primarily in the general San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California; (vi) risks of geographic concentration of our client base, our loans, and the collateral securing our loans, as those clients and assets may be particularly subject to natural disasters and to events and conditions that directly or indirectly affect those regions, including the particular risks of natural disasters (including earthquakes, fires, and flooding) and other events that disproportionately affect that region; (vii) political events that have accompanied or that may in the future accompany or result from recent political changes, particularly including the imposition of tariffs, sociopolitical events and conditions that result from political conflicts and law enforcement activities that may adversely affect our markets or our clients; (viii) our ability to estimate accurately, and to establish adequate reserves against, the risk of loss associated with our loan and lease portfolios and our factoring business; (ix) inflationary pressures and changes in the interest rate environment that reduce our margins and yields, the fair value of financial instruments or our level of loan originations, or increase the level of defaults, losses and prepayments on loans to clients, whether held in the portfolio or in the secondary market; (x) factors that affect the value and liquidity of our investment portfolios, particularly the values of securities available-for-sale; (xi) factors that affect our liquidity and our ability to meet client demands for withdrawals from deposit accounts and undrawn lines of credit, including our cash on hand and the availability of funds from our own lines of credit; (xii) increased capital requirements for our continual growth or as imposed by banking regulators, which may require us to raise capital at a time when capital is not available on favorable terms or at all; (xiii) the expense and uncertain resolution of litigation matters whether occurring in the ordinary course of business or otherwise, particularly including but not limited to the effects of recent and ongoing developments in California labor and employment laws, regulations and court decisions; (xiv) operational issues stemming from, and/or capital spending necessitated by, the potential need to adapt to industry changes in information technology systems, on which we are highly dependent; and (xv) our success in managing the risks involved in the foregoing factors. In addition, statements regarding the timing and impact of the closing of the proposed merger with Citizens are subject to risks and uncertainties. For more information on factors that could cause our expectations regarding the proposed merger with Citizens to differ, potentially materially, please refer to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 17, 2025.

Member FDIC

For additional information, email:

InvestorRelations@herbank.com

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(1)This is a non-GAAP financial measure as defined and discussed under “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” in this press release.