← Columbia Banking System overview

Columbia Banking System vs Axos Financial: why the prices moved differently

Weekly · monthly · quarterly news summaries, side by side in time

Columbia Banking System Inc (COLB)

Q3 2026
▲2

Q2 beat, buyback plan, Utah expansion, $250M debt raise

  • Q2 earnings beat and buyback plan Columbia beat profit estimates ($0.76 vs $0.73) and said it will buy back $150M-$200M of its own stock in Q3, after already returning over $300M to shareholders. Buybacks shrink the share count, which tends to lift the stock price.

    The earnings beat plus a concrete buyback plan is the main new force pushing COLB up.

  • Revenue miss and shrinking loan book Revenue of $677M-$683M fell short of estimates, and total loans slipped to $47.2B as commercial real estate borrowers paid off loans faster than new ones were made. Management called this disciplined lending, but slower loan growth weighs on future profit.

    This is the real counterweight: the top line missed and the loan book is contracting.

  • New Utah branches expand customer reach Columbia opened a combined commercial and retail branch in Draper, Utah, the first of three planned Salt Lake City-area locations in 2026. More branches mean more potential deposits and loans, supporting growth over time.

    Branch expansion is a new, concrete driver of future deposit and loan growth.

  • $250M subordinated notes priced Columbia Bank priced $250M of subordinated notes due 2036 at 6.721%, counted as regulatory capital. Proceeds fund growth and let the parent redeem trust preferred securities, but the interest cost adds a modest expense.

    This new financing strengthens capital but carries a real cost, so the effect is mixed.

August 2026
▲2

Q2 beat, buyback plan, Utah expansion, $250M debt raise

  • Q2 earnings beat and buyback plan Columbia beat profit estimates ($0.76 vs $0.73) and said it will buy back $150M-$200M of its own stock in Q3, after already returning over $300M to shareholders. Buybacks shrink the share count, which tends to lift the stock price.

    The earnings beat plus a concrete buyback plan is the main new force pushing COLB up.

  • Revenue miss and shrinking loan book Revenue of $677M-$683M fell short of estimates, and total loans slipped to $47.2B as commercial real estate borrowers paid off loans faster than new ones were made. Management called this disciplined lending, but slower loan growth weighs on future profit.

    This is the real counterweight: the top line missed and the loan book is contracting.

  • New Utah branches expand customer reach Columbia opened a combined commercial and retail branch in Draper, Utah, the first of three planned Salt Lake City-area locations in 2026. More branches mean more potential deposits and loans, supporting growth over time.

    Branch expansion is a new, concrete driver of future deposit and loan growth.

  • $250M subordinated notes priced Columbia Bank priced $250M of subordinated notes due 2036 at 6.721%, counted as regulatory capital. Proceeds fund growth and let the parent redeem trust preferred securities, but the interest cost adds a modest expense.

    This new financing strengthens capital but carries a real cost, so the effect is mixed.

Latest
▲2

Q2 beat, buyback plan, Utah expansion, $250M debt raise

  • Q2 earnings beat and buyback plan Columbia beat profit estimates ($0.76 vs $0.73) and said it will buy back $150M-$200M of its own stock in Q3, after already returning over $300M to shareholders. Buybacks shrink the share count, which tends to lift the stock price.

    The earnings beat plus a concrete buyback plan is the main new force pushing COLB up.

  • Revenue miss and shrinking loan book Revenue of $677M-$683M fell short of estimates, and total loans slipped to $47.2B as commercial real estate borrowers paid off loans faster than new ones were made. Management called this disciplined lending, but slower loan growth weighs on future profit.

    This is the real counterweight: the top line missed and the loan book is contracting.

  • New Utah branches expand customer reach Columbia opened a combined commercial and retail branch in Draper, Utah, the first of three planned Salt Lake City-area locations in 2026. More branches mean more potential deposits and loans, supporting growth over time.

    Branch expansion is a new, concrete driver of future deposit and loan growth.

  • $250M subordinated notes priced Columbia Bank priced $250M of subordinated notes due 2036 at 6.721%, counted as regulatory capital. Proceeds fund growth and let the parent redeem trust preferred securities, but the interest cost adds a modest expense.

    This new financing strengthens capital but carries a real cost, so the effect is mixed.

Axos Financial Inc (AX)

Q3 2026
▲3

Axos beats on loan growth, guides to steady expansion

  • Q2 beat on broad loan growth Axos reported Q2 CY2026 revenue of $379.8 million, up about 21% from a year earlier, and earnings per share of $2.53, well above what analysts expected. Broad loan growth in commercial specialty and asset-based lending drove the beat, showing the bank is winning business and growing profit.

    The earnings beat and its cause are the core new fact of the period.

  • Management guides to low- to mid-teens loan growth Axos projects organic loan growth in the low- to mid-teens percentage range and a fairly stable net interest margin, with pipelines up across lending categories. New deposits from Jenius Bank and Capital One, plus the Arc deal, are expected to fund that growth, though integration costs add about $1 million a month.

    Forward guidance tells readers where future earnings are headed, not just the last quarter.

  • Verdant deal adds earnings and credit improves The Verdant Commercial Capital acquisition is contributing and management expects it to add to earnings per share at the mid-to-high end of its original estimate. Net charge-offs fell seven basis points from the prior quarter, meaning fewer loans went bad, a sign of healthier credit that supports profits.

    Deal accretion and better credit quality are new supports for the stock.

  • Strong book value growth, but one metric missed Book value per share, a key measure of a bank's underlying worth, rose 13% from a year earlier to $50.96, though it fell short of the $52.10 analysts expected. The miss is a mild counterweight to an otherwise strong quarter and is worth watching in coming reports.

    It is the one real negative in the period and keeps the picture fair.

August 2026
▲3

Axos beats on loan growth, guides to steady expansion

  • Q2 beat on broad loan growth Axos reported Q2 CY2026 revenue of $379.8 million, up about 21% from a year earlier, and earnings per share of $2.53, well above what analysts expected. Broad loan growth in commercial specialty and asset-based lending drove the beat, showing the bank is winning business and growing profit.

    The earnings beat and its cause are the core new fact of the period.

  • Management guides to low- to mid-teens loan growth Axos projects organic loan growth in the low- to mid-teens percentage range and a fairly stable net interest margin, with pipelines up across lending categories. New deposits from Jenius Bank and Capital One, plus the Arc deal, are expected to fund that growth, though integration costs add about $1 million a month.

    Forward guidance tells readers where future earnings are headed, not just the last quarter.

  • Verdant deal adds earnings and credit improves The Verdant Commercial Capital acquisition is contributing and management expects it to add to earnings per share at the mid-to-high end of its original estimate. Net charge-offs fell seven basis points from the prior quarter, meaning fewer loans went bad, a sign of healthier credit that supports profits.

    Deal accretion and better credit quality are new supports for the stock.

  • Strong book value growth, but one metric missed Book value per share, a key measure of a bank's underlying worth, rose 13% from a year earlier to $50.96, though it fell short of the $52.10 analysts expected. The miss is a mild counterweight to an otherwise strong quarter and is worth watching in coming reports.

    It is the one real negative in the period and keeps the picture fair.

Latest
▲3

Axos beats on loan growth, guides to steady expansion

  • Q2 beat on broad loan growth Axos reported Q2 CY2026 revenue of $379.8 million, up about 21% from a year earlier, and earnings per share of $2.53, well above what analysts expected. Broad loan growth in commercial specialty and asset-based lending drove the beat, showing the bank is winning business and growing profit.

    The earnings beat and its cause are the core new fact of the period.

  • Management guides to low- to mid-teens loan growth Axos projects organic loan growth in the low- to mid-teens percentage range and a fairly stable net interest margin, with pipelines up across lending categories. New deposits from Jenius Bank and Capital One, plus the Arc deal, are expected to fund that growth, though integration costs add about $1 million a month.

    Forward guidance tells readers where future earnings are headed, not just the last quarter.

  • Verdant deal adds earnings and credit improves The Verdant Commercial Capital acquisition is contributing and management expects it to add to earnings per share at the mid-to-high end of its original estimate. Net charge-offs fell seven basis points from the prior quarter, meaning fewer loans went bad, a sign of healthier credit that supports profits.

    Deal accretion and better credit quality are new supports for the stock.

  • Strong book value growth, but one metric missed Book value per share, a key measure of a bank's underlying worth, rose 13% from a year earlier to $50.96, though it fell short of the $52.10 analysts expected. The miss is a mild counterweight to an otherwise strong quarter and is worth watching in coming reports.

    It is the one real negative in the period and keeps the picture fair.