Bloomberg
Huntington Bancshares’ first-quarter profits topped analysts’ estimates, and Chairman and CEO Steve Steinour expects that momentum to carry over into the spring and early summer because lending momentum is continuing.
“Our pipeline going into the second quarter, with high probability to close, is almost the same level as it was in the first quarter,” Steinour said Thursday on a call with analysts. “Our second quarter, unless something dramatic happens, should be reasonably strong as well.”
“We’re not seeing a material dropoff by any stretch, and things that are being deferred [by clients] have the potential to be stacked into the second half of this year,” he added.
Steinour, who has led Huntington since January 2009, said the $210 billion-asset company has prepared a range of contingency plans should the increased tariffs being implemented by the Trump administration lead to a slowdown or recession. Still, he seemed noticeably more positive than other bank CEOs on earnings calls in recent days.
Even amid the volatility that swamped the markets after President Trump outlined his policy on April 2, Steinour insisted Thursday that Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington has “never been better positioned’ — given a robust loan pipeline, ample capital levels and continued solid credit quality.
“We are more optimistic than some, maybe many,” Steinour told American Banker in an interview on Thursday afternoon. “You want to have a quarter that’s hitting on all cylinders. This is as close, I think, in my 15 years that we’ve come to that, and the second quarter is setting up that way.”
“All told, [it was] a good quarter and a good outlook,” Piper Sandler analyst Scott Siefers wrote in a research note. Investors seemed to take the same view. Huntington’s shares were trading up 3% Thursday afternoon at $13.67.
Huntington reported first-quarter net income of $527 million, or 34 cents per share, beating the consensus estimate by three cents. The bottom-line beat was driven by growth in loans and deposits, which both expanded at a 7% clip compared with the first quarter of 2024. First-quarter revenue, which totaled $1.94 billion, exceeded the comparable 2024 result by 10%. Net charge-offs of $86 million were down 7% from the year-earlier period.
Huntington is not the only bank to have outperformed expectations during the three months ended March 31.
They weren’t alone. Truist Financial scaled back its 2025 earnings guidance, and John Turner, CEO at Regions Financial in Birmingham, Alabama, warned of a potential slowdown.
Huntington’s signals were upbeat across the board. Chief Financial Officer Zach Wasserman increased full-year 2025 guidance for net interest income — predicting growth in the 5% to 7% range, up from the bank’s previous 4% to 6% prediction.
Huntington also said Thursday that it is accelerating construction connected to its ongoing expansion in North Carolina and South Carolina, predicting that it will complete the buildout of 55 planned branches in three years, instead of the previously announced five.
Steinour said that the company would likely buy back a modest amount of shares in 2025. Just two months ago, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Huntington stated that it did “not expect to have any” share repurchases this year.
According to Steinour, 2025 holds the potential to be an “exceptional year” for Huntington “if things come together.”
A lot depends on the fate of the Trump administration’s tariff gambit. Steinour is hopeful it will bear fruit.
“I believe this effort to get fair trade will come to fruition in the foreseeable future this year,” he told American Banker. “I don’t know exactly when, but it’s going to come together, and that will open up economic opportunities.”