Great Southern Bancorp's Q2 2025: Navigating Contradictions in Loan Growth, Deposits, and Expenses

Loan growth outlook, deposit competition and interest rates, expense control and expectations are the key contradictions discussed in Great Southern Bancorp, Inc.'s latest 2025Q2 earnings call.



Financial Performance and Margin Improvement:
- Great Southern Bancorp reported net income of $19.8 million for Q2 2025, up from $17 million in the same quarter a year ago.
- The improvement was driven by higher net interest income and unusually large tax credit partnership income.

Loan Portfolio and Funding:
- Gross loans totaled $4.6 billion, a decline of $157 million or 3.3%, primarily due to a higher level of large loan payoffs.
- The company managed total deposit costs while maintaining focus on customer retention, despite a 1.6% decrease in total deposits.

Expenses and Efficiency Ratio:
- Noninterest expenses were $35 million, down $1.4 million from the year ago quarter, led by a $935,000 reduction in legal and professional expenses.
- This resulted in a favorable efficiency ratio of just over 59%, reflecting disciplined focus on costs.

Capital Position and Shareholder Value:
- Total stockholders' equity increased to $622.4 million, representing 10.6% of total assets.
- The company redeemed $75 million in subordinated notes at par and repurchased nearly 176,000 shares of common stock, focusing on maintaining strong capital levels and delivering consistent value for shareholders.