Bank OZK Aims for Record-Breaking Performance by 2025 with Strong H1 Results

Bank OZK's chairman and CEO, George Gleason, aims to surpass 2024 financial achievements by 2025, driven by record-breaking net income, earnings per share, and net interest income in the first half of the year. The bank has successfully reduced its cost of interest-bearing deposits by 29 basis points and is actively pursuing growth opportunities. However, uncertainty in the market has led the bank to pause guidance on RESG origination volumes and elongated lease-up periods remain a challenge.

Bank OZK (Nasdaq: OZK) reported a record net income of $178.9 million for the second quarter of 2025, representing a 3.1% increase from the previous year. This marks the second consecutive quarter of record earnings for the bank, which also achieved a net income of $346.8 million for the first half of the year, up 0.5% year over year [1].

The bank's diluted earnings per share (EPS) reached a record of $1.58 in the second quarter, a 3.9% increase from 2024. For the first six months of 2025, EPS were $3.05, a 0.7% increase from the same period in 2024 [1].

George Gleason, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bank OZK, stated, "One of our goals for 2025 is to improve on our record 2024 net income and EPS. Our strong results for the first half of the year put us in a great position to achieve that goal. Our talented, entrepreneurial and veteran team is well suited for the very dynamic environment in which we operate today. Our excellent results for the quarter included record net income, record EPS, record net interest income, excellent growth in loans and deposits, and solid asset quality. These results demonstrate our team’s ability to proactively and effectively manage the various challenges of this environment while capitalizing on numerous opportunities" [1].

The bank has also successfully reduced its cost of interest-bearing deposits by 29 basis points, indicating a strategic move to enhance profitability. However, the bank has paused guidance on RESG origination volumes due to market uncertainty, and elongated lease-up periods remain a challenge [1].

Bank OZK operates over 250 offices in nine states, with total assets of $41.5 billion as of June 30, 2025 [1]. The bank will host a conference call on July 18, 2025, to discuss these results further.

References:
[1] https://ir.ozk.com/news-releases/news-release-details/bank-ozk-announces-record-second-quarter-2025-earnings
[2] https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/bank-ozk-reports-record-net-income-and-eps-second-quarter-2025