Why did HBNC's Q4 earnings fall short of forecasts?

Horizon Bancorp's (HBNC) Q4 earnings fell short of forecasts due to a combination of factors:

1. **Revenue Shortfall**: The company's net interest income decreased to $53.1 million, below the estimated revenue of $55.19 million. This shortfall was likely due to lower-than-expected loan demand, higher funding costs, or a less favorable loan mix.
2. **Strategic Initiatives**: The company incurred a $39.1 million pre-tax loss on the sale of investment securities, as part of its strategic repositioning efforts to focus on higher-yielding loans. This one-time expense significantly impacted the net income.
3. **Deposit Decline**: There was a reduction in time deposits, resulting in a decrease in total deposits by $126.4 million to $5.60 billion. This decline in funding could have led to higher costs and negatively affected net interest income.
4. **Loan Growth**: Despite a 22.4% annualized growth rate in commercial loans, which contributed to a 31 basis point increase in the net interest margin, the overall loan growth may not have been sufficient to offset the aforementioned negatives.

In summary, HBNC's Q4 earnings fell short due to a combination of lower net interest income, strategic initiative costs, and deposit decline, despite strong loan growth.