Timing note: July 23, 2026 is today, not tomorrow. This preview treats Huntington Bancshares’ 2Q26 earnings call as occurring on July 23, 2026.
Huntington enters 2Q26 with a straightforward but demanding message to validate: the legacy franchise is still growing organically while the company integrates Veritex and Cadence, captures large expense synergies, expands fee businesses, and preserves strong credit and capital metrics.
The central debate is less about a single-quarter EPS outcome—particularly given acquisition-related noise—and more about whether management can demonstrate that:
HBAN shares rose about 8.7% from April 22 through July 22, versus roughly 9.2% for the regional-bank ETF KRE over the same period—suggesting the market has not yet assigned a clear premium for Huntington’s integration and earnings-power story.
| Metric | 1Q26 result | Why it matters for 2Q26 |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP EPS | $0.25 | Depressed by acquisition-related charges |
| Adjusted EPS | $0.37 | Better indication of underlying earnings power |
| Net interest income | $1.89B | Up 19% sequentially, aided by Cadence and NIM expansion |
| Net interest margin | 3.24% | Up 9 bp sequentially |
| Noninterest income | $682M | Strong payments, wealth and especially capital-markets activity |
| Adjusted noninterest expense | $1.51B | Integration costs and expense discipline are key swing factors |
| Net charge-offs | 26 bp | Remained low and within management’s 25–35 bp expectation |
| NPA ratio | 0.72% | Higher sequentially, largely reflecting acquired portfolios |
| ACL / loans | 1.78% | Still a relatively conservative reserve position |
| Reported CET1 ratio | 10.2% | Supports growth, dividend, and buybacks |
The first quarter also showed solid organic growth excluding Cadence: end-of-period loans increased $2.2 billion, or 1.5% sequentially, while core deposits increased $3.8 billion, or 2.3%.
Management said in June that Cadence’s systems conversion was scheduled for completion within roughly two weeks, following a series of mock conversions. Investors should expect a clear update on:
This matters because management views the completed conversion as the unlock for both cost actions and revenue synergies. Veritex’s conversion was already complete, with its $70 million cost-synergy target expected to be fully reflected in 2Q. Cadence’s $365 million cost-synergy target is expected to reach full run rate in 4Q26.
Investors should be careful not to overreact to reported expenses or GAAP EPS if acquisition and conversion costs remain elevated. Management has explicitly directed investors toward 4Q26 as the period when the full run-rate economics become more visible:
For 2Q, the important question is whether the quarter provides confidence in that path—not necessarily whether every synergy is already visible in reported results.
In April, Huntington lowered its full-year NIM expectation to the high-3.20% range, from the mid-3.30% area previously. The revision was primarily attributable to:
Importantly, management emphasized that the extra Fed cash was largely a reported-margin issue rather than a material NII-dollar headwind. At the June conference, management reaffirmed that NIM should trend higher into year-end and continue expanding in 2027.
What investors need to hear:
- Deposit-cost trends remain manageable;
- Higher-cost acquired deposits are being repriced or rationalized as planned;
- Fixed-rate asset repricing remains beneficial;
- NIM remains on a path toward the high-3.20s by year-end despite quarter-to-quarter noise.
Potential positive surprise: better deposit repricing or a quicker release of excess liquidity could improve the NIM outlook.
Risk: competitive pricing in growth markets, or stickier-than-expected deposit betas, could delay margin expansion.
Huntington’s strategy depends on funding loan growth with granular, relationship-based deposits—not wholesale funding. Management has highlighted strong checking-household growth and sees meaningful opportunity to improve the acquired Cadence deposit base after conversion.
The near-term opportunity has two components:
At the June conference, management cited particularly strong early digital-account-opening activity in the Cadence footprint. The 2Q call should clarify whether those early signals are translating into balance growth and whether any customer attrition accompanied conversion.
Fee revenue was the major upside lever in 1Q. Capital markets and advisory fees rose sharply, while payments, wealth, and customer fees also grew well. Management raised its 2026 fee-income growth outlook to 31–33%.
The long-term thesis is that fee income becomes a larger proportion of total revenue—management expects it to approach 30% of the revenue base over time, from roughly 28% currently. The key growth “power alleys” are:
These businesses are central to the revenue-synergy opportunity from Cadence and Veritex. Management has identified $500 million of revenue synergies over three years, including $50–$75 million in 2026.
Watch item: distinguish recurring client penetration and organic production from market-sensitive or episodic capital-markets activity. Sustained strength across all three fee categories would support a higher-quality earnings mix.
Huntington’s ability to protect positive operating leverage is central to the 2026–27 setup. Management tightened its 2026 expense-growth outlook to the lower half of the 32.5–33.5% range, while still targeting 400–450 bp of full-year operating leverage.
The large year-over-year expense growth is mostly acquisition-driven, so the clean read-through is in:
The company has also said it has flexibility to modulate investment spending if revenue conditions soften, while maintaining a recession-readiness playbook. Investors will want evidence that expense actions are prudent calibration—not an indication that underlying revenue momentum is weakening.
Credit remains a relative strength, but it will be closely watched. In 1Q:
Management’s posture remains cautious, especially on commercial real estate and construction lending, where it expects to reduce exposure organically over time. It has not indicated broad-based deterioration in either commercial or consumer credit, though it continues to monitor pressures on lower-income consumers from energy and food costs.
The desired 2Q outcome: stable NCOs, no unexpected reserve build, and evidence that criticized and nonperforming acquired credits are behaving in line with underwriting expectations.
| Item | Current management framing | What 2Q needs to show |
|---|---|---|
| NIM | High-3.20%s by year-end | Continued path upward despite conversion-related variability |
| NII | Low end of prior 2026 range | NII outlook intact; no further deposit-cost pressure |
| Fee growth | 31–33% in 2026 | Broad-based momentum, not solely capital-markets-driven |
| Expense growth | Lower half of 32.5–33.5% | Conversion costs controlled and synergies on schedule |
| Operating leverage | 400–450 bp | Positive operating leverage still achievable |
| Cost synergies | $435M combined run rate by 4Q26 | Cadence execution and specific realization milestones |
| Revenue synergies | $500M over three years | Early conversion-enabled cross-sell traction |
| Buybacks | At least $550M in 2026 | Capital remains supportive of planned repurchases |
| 2027 EPS | $1.90–$1.93 | Reaffirmation would be meaningful |
HBAN’s 2Q26 report is principally an execution and de-risking catalyst. The company has laid out an attractive 2027 earnings algorithm—organic growth, roughly $435 million of cost synergies, growing revenue synergies, improving efficiency, expanding NIM, and capital return. The market’s focus should be on whether the Cadence conversion and post-conversion deposit/customer trends support that algorithm.
A clean conversion update, stable margin trajectory, strong fee performance, and reaffirmed 4Q/2027 targets would strengthen the case that 2Q is simply a transitional quarter on the way to a materially more profitable exit rate later in 2026.