United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE: UCB) reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2026, which included a net loss of $139.7 million on a GAAP basis. The company attributed this loss to strategic actions taken during the quarter, including the sale of its equipment finance business and the repositioning of its investment portfolio. Excluding these non-operating items, the company reported operating net income of $93.7 million, an increase of 8% compared to the second quarter of 2026.
During the quarter, United Community completed the acquisition of Peach State Bancshares, which added $520 million in loans and $678 million in deposits. Concurrently, the company sold its Navitas equipment finance business for $2.0 billion in cash proceeds, a 7% premium to par. Following the sale, the company reclassified $2.2 billion in held-to-maturity securities to available-for-sale and sold $2.5 billion in low-yielding long-dated securities, generating an additional $2.1 billion in cash proceeds. These funds were used to pay down borrowings and redeploy into higher-yielding securities.
Core banking metrics showed strength, with annualized core loan growth of 9.8% and core customer deposit growth of 8.0% for the quarter. The company also reported a net interest margin of 3.68%, which increased by 10 basis points year-over-year and remained stable from the second quarter. New loan production exceeded $1 billion for the second consecutive quarter.
On a per-share basis, diluted earnings were ($1.16) on a GAAP basis and $0.77 on an operating basis. The company’s operating efficiency ratio improved to 53.1% from 56.7% in the prior quarter. United Community also repurchased 1.395 million common shares at an average price of $35.81 per share for an aggregate of $50 million. The Board approved an additional $100 million share repurchase authorization through the end of 2027, bringing the total outstanding authorization to $113 million.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, the company reported operating net income of $265 million, compared to $249 million in the same period in 2025. Total operating revenue for the year-to-date period was $843 million, up 7% from 2025.
