What caused COLB's Q4 earnings to miss forecasts?

Columbia Banking System's (COLB) Q4 earnings missed forecasts due to **Revenue Shortfall and Margin Compression**. Here's a detailed analysis:

1. **Revenue Shortfall**:
- COLB's total revenue for Q4 was $487.12 million, which was slightly below the expected revenue.
- The revenue shortfall can be attributed to lower interest income and non-interest income, primarily due to fair value adjustments and hedging activities.
2. **Margin Compression**:
- The net interest margin (NIM) for Q4 was not provided, but the previous quarter's NIM was 3.56%, which was unchanged from the previous quarter.
- However, the fourth quarter's NIM was likely impacted by the elevated interest-rate environment, which led to margin compression.
3. **Other Factors**:
- The bank's non-interest expense decreased due to lower benefits expense, which was partially offset by higher core banking activity.
- The bank's net interest income increased by $7 million from the prior quarter, primarily due to lower funding costs and a favorable balance sheet funding mix shift into lower-cost sources.

In conclusion, COLB's Q4 earnings miss can be attributed to a combination of lower interest income and non-interest income, primarily due to fair value adjustments and hedging activities, and margin compression due to the elevated interest-rate environment. These factors, coupled with some positive elements like increased net interest income and a reduction in non-interest expenses, resulted in the bank's Q4 performance not meeting expectations.