Date note: Huntington Bancshares is scheduled to release results before the market opens today, Thursday, July 23, 2026, followed by its conference call at 9:00 a.m. ET—not tomorrow. (ir.huntington.com)
This quarter is less about whether Huntington can beat a noisy EPS consensus and more about whether management can validate the earnings bridge created by the Cadence and Veritex acquisitions.
The principal questions are:
Public estimate aggregators currently indicate roughly $0.36–$0.39 of EPS and $2.84–$2.90 billion of revenue, although comparisons may differ depending on whether estimates are GAAP or adjusted. Investors should focus on adjusted EPS and the reconciliation of acquisition-related charges rather than the headline GAAP figure. (benzinga.com)
First-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.37, while GAAP EPS was $0.25 after $0.12 per share of acquisition and related items. Net interest income rose 19% sequentially to $1.89 billion, NIM expanded nine basis points to 3.24%, and fee income increased 17% sequentially to $682 million.
The balance sheet also changed substantially following the February 1 Cadence closing. At quarter-end, HBAN had approximately $189 billion of loans and $223 billion of deposits. Credit remained manageable, with net charge-offs at 0.26%, but the nonperforming-asset ratio increased to 0.72%, partly reflecting acquired loans. CET1 was 10.2%, and tangible book value was $9.55 per share. (ir.huntington.com)
This is the most important qualitative issue.
As of the June 9 Morgan Stanley conference, management expected to complete the Cadence systems conversion in mid-June. HBAN said retention among approximately 1,000 key revenue-producing employees had been exceptionally high and that early customer and revenue-synergy indicators were positive.
Investors should look for:
A clean conversion would materially reduce execution risk. Conversely, customer attrition or delayed systems work would cast doubt on the timing of both expense and revenue synergies. Huntington’s June materials called for $435 million of combined annualized expense synergies, including $70 million from Veritex by 2Q26 and $365 million from Cadence by 4Q26. (ir.huntington.com)
First-quarter NIM was 3.24%. Management subsequently said quarterly NIM could vary by several basis points during the second and third quarters as it:
At the first-quarter call, management forecast full-year NIM trending into the high 3.20% area, below its earlier mid-3.30% expectation, while continuing to expect expansion later in 2026 and into 2027.
A small sequential decline would not necessarily be concerning. More important will be whether management still sees:
A NIM below roughly 3.20% accompanied by weaker guidance would be a negative surprise.
Fees were the standout in the first quarter. Payments, wealth management, customer loan and deposit fees, and capital markets all posted strong growth, with capital markets revenue reaching a record.
Management raised its 2026 fee-growth expectation to 31%–33%, helped by acquisitions and strong organic results. Its June materials continued to target $50–$75 million of revenue synergies in 2026 and more than $500 million cumulatively over three years. The key opportunities include deposit optimization, payments, wealth management, capital markets and cross-selling national lending capabilities into the acquired customer base. (ir.huntington.com)
Watch for:
Recent regional-bank results suggest fee businesses, particularly capital markets, can remain supportive. HBAN needs that strength because fees are currently doing part of the work previously expected from NII.
Acquisition charges will probably continue to distort GAAP expenses. The useful figures will be adjusted expense growth and the run rate exiting the quarter.
Management previously:
The second quarter does not need to show the entire benefit. It does need to demonstrate that the expense base is bending toward the fourth-quarter target.
Management’s 2026 net charge-off guidance has been 25–35 basis points, versus 26 basis points in the first quarter. That appears achievable, but the acquired portfolios have increased HBAN’s absolute exposure to C&I and CRE.
At March 31:
Investors should examine criticized assets, commercial nonaccruals, office maturities and construction lending. Management has indicated that it intends to reduce selected CRE construction exposure over time rather than chase volume.
A charge-off result within guidance but accompanied by a meaningful increase in criticized loans would be less reassuring than the headline suggests. Conversely, stable criticized assets and NPAs would support the argument that the acquired portfolios are behaving as underwritten.
HBAN entered the quarter with a 10.2% reported CET1 ratio and a $3 billion repurchase authorization. Management had planned at least $550 million of repurchases in 2026, with more than $250 million completed or announced by the first-quarter call.
The longer-term centerpiece remains:
Those targets depend heavily on merger execution, not an aggressive macroeconomic assumption. Huntington reaffirmed them at its June investor conference. (ir.huntington.com)
The market will therefore care more about management’s confidence in the 2027 bridge than a penny or two of quarterly EPS variance.
| Metric or issue | Constructive outcome | Negative outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EPS | At or above the upper-$0.30s | Below the mid-$0.30s without a clearly temporary explanation |
| Revenue | Around or above $2.85B | Revenue miss driven by both NII and fees |
| NIM | Near Q1’s 3.24%, with second-half expansion intact | Materially below 3.20% or reduced outlook |
| Cadence conversion | Completed cleanly; retention remains strong | Customer disruption, deposit attrition or delayed savings |
| Fee income | Broad strength; guidance maintained or raised | Q1 capital-markets strength proves unusually transitory |
| Expenses | Clear sequential progress toward 4Q target | Core expenses remain elevated beyond merger timing |
| Net charge-offs | Within 25–35 bp guidance | Higher losses plus adverse criticized-asset migration |
| Capital | CET1 stable; buyback plan intact | Capital pressure limits repurchases |
| 2027 outlook | $1.90–$1.93 EPS reiterated | Target qualified, delayed or dependent on additional cuts |
The likely debate after the report will not center on the reported EPS number alone. The real test is whether Huntington can show that the Cadence conversion is complete, deposit optimization is beginning, fee momentum remains broad, and expense synergies are arriving on schedule.
A merely in-line quarter with clean integration commentary and unchanged 2027 targets would probably be sufficient to support the thesis. The most bullish outcome would combine stable NIM, continued fee upside, benign credit and faster-than-planned cost realization. The principal downside risk is a combination of acquired-deposit attrition, weaker NIM and delayed Cadence savings—even if headline EPS appears acceptable.