Key Highlights

  • Net income came to $5.2 million, or $0.02 per share, versus $14.9 million, or $0.07.
  • Core Net Income was $40.6 million, or $0.16 per share, up from $15.4 million, or $0.07.
  • Total Assets increased $5.4 billion to $17.6 billion from $12.2 billion at June 30, 2026.
  • Net interest Margin was 2.96%, up 67 basis points from 2.29% a year earlier.
  • The board declared a quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per share.

GAAP Earnings fall as core results more than double

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) serves as the Holding Company for Columbia Bank. For the quarter ended September 30, 2026, it posted net income of $5.2 million, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, compared with $14.9 million, or $0.07, in the third quarter of 2025.

Core net income, a non-GAAP measure, reached $40.6 million, or $0.16 per share, against $15.4 million, or $0.07. Return on average assets came in at 0.13%, versus 0.55%, while core return on average assets increased to 0.97% from 0.56%.

The gap between GAAP and core results, roughly $35.4 million on a calculated basis, reflects the transaction-related items the company leaves out of core earnings.

Second-step offering and Northfield deal close

Chief Executive Thomas Kemly said the team completed the second-step conversion offering and the simultaneous purchase of Northfield Bancorp during the quarter. Management also carried out transactions designed to improve earnings and lower Interest Rate and Credit risk, including securities sales and a reduction in Balance Sheet leverage.

Total assets expanded by $5.4 billion to $17.6 billion, a change the company mainly credits to the Northfield Acquisition and the stock offering. Mr. Kemly said the company keeps recruiting experienced commercial bankers to build out lending, deposit and treasury offerings.

Loans and deposits jump on acquired balances

Gross loans rose $3.1 billion, or 37.2%, from June 30, 2026, a figure that includes $3.2 billion of loans brought in through Northfield. Commercial real estate, construction and commercial Business loans climbed $899.8 million, or 23.0%.

Total deposits grew $3.1 billion, or 32.2%. The deal contributed $3.8 billion of deposits, partly offset by $970.1 million of stock subscription proceeds moved into stockholders' equity. Non-interest-bearing deposits increased $771.6 million, or 49.6%.

Since most of the growth was acquired rather than organic, the pace of underlying Loan growth is a separate question to monitor in the quarters ahead.

Margin recovers 52 basis points in a single quarter

Net interest margin reached 2.96%, versus 2.29% a year earlier and 2.44% at June 30, 2026, representing increases of 67 and 52 basis points respectively. The company connected the margin recovery to its balance sheet actions and the larger base of earning assets.

Net interest income was $114.4 million, up $57.0 million, or 99.3%, from $57.4 million a year earlier. The average Yield on loans rose 33 basis points to 5.37%. The company said the Northfield acquisition closed on July 20, 2026 and contributed about $5.2 billion in total assets. Core net income for the nine months totaled $70.6 million, and the board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share.

Investors following the stock will likely watch integration costs, the speed of organic loan growth and whether the margin can hold near 2.96%.

Balance sheet scale on a calculated basis

Total assets rose about 44% in one quarter, moving from $12.2 billion to $17.6 billion. Gross loans grew 37.2% while deposits grew 32.2%, so loan growth outpaced deposit growth by five percentage points, which can push the loan-to-deposit ratio higher.

With the second-step offering adding capital, the larger Equity base is spread over a bigger asset base, a Factor that matters for Return on Assets and Return on Equity going forward.