Ameris Bancorp

Good day and welcome to the Amherst Bancorp fourth quarter conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Nicole Stokes, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Megan, and thank you to all who have joined our call today. During the call, we will be referencing the press release and the financial highlights that are available on the investor relations section of our website at AmerisBank.com. I'm joined today by Palmer Proctor, our CEO, and Doug Strange, our Chief Credit Officer. Palmer will begin, and then I will discuss the details of our financial results before we open up for Q&A. But before we begin, I'll remind you that our comments may include forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. The actual results could vary materially. We list some of the factors that might cause results to differ in our press release and in our SEC filings, which are available on our website. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, early developments, or otherwise, except as required by law. Also during the call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures in reference to the company's performance. You can see our reconciliation of these measures and GAAP financial measures in the appendix to our presentation. And with that, I'll turn it over to Palmer.

Thank you, Nicole. Good morning, everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to join our call this morning. I'm proud of our fourth quarter performance and our record-setting results for the full year of 2025. We continue to operate at a high level of consistent core profitability while remaining focused on capital returns and accretive growth to enhance our shareholder value. We're positioned extremely well going into 2026, both from a growth and profitability level. Not only are we in the best southeastern markets that are growing faster than the national average, but we also have the best bankers who have focused on servicing our customers and growing our franchise organically. Nicole is going to talk about the details of our financials in just a minute, but I did I want to give you just a few top-level comments about our core profitability. We reported record earnings for 2025 at over $412 million for the year, with our diluted EPS hitting $6 per share for the first time in our history. That's a 15% increase in EPS year over year, and we did it organically. Our PPNR ROA was consistently above 2% this year. Our margin expanded every quarter, and our efficiency ratio improved throughout the year. We remain focused on generating revenue growth and positive operating leverage. We reported a 6% growth in revenue for the year, while our expenses declined by 1%. Combined, this positive operating leverage pushed our efficiency ratio to 50% for the year. This core profitability led to tangible book value growth of over 14% for this year. We remain diligent with our capital planning and are focused on generating shareholder returns. We paid off all of our sub-debt during 2025, and as a result, have a very simple common stock capital structure going forward. During the fourth quarter, we announced an increased share repurchase program, and we were active in the fourth quarter buying back almost 1% of our stock at an average price of $72. For the year, we repurchased $77 million, or 2% of the company, at an average price under $67.00. Capital ratios remain strong, ending the year with common equity Tier 1 at 13.2% and tangible common equity ratio growing to 11.4%. Capital at this level positions us well for future growth expectations. On the growth front, we were very pleased with our asset generation during the fourth quarter, growing earning assets by almost 6%. We experienced unusually high payoffs in the CRE portfolio this quarter, which is indicative of a healthy economy, but does affect our net loan growth. Notwithstanding, we grew loans almost 5% in the fourth quarter, even with the elevated CRE payoffs of over $500 million. Under normal CRE payoffs, our loan growth would have approached double digits. Our pipelines remain strong, and we saw the highest level of loan production since 2022 coming in at $2.4 billion for the quarter, which was a 16% increase above third quarter levels. Asset quality for the year remains strong, with net charge-offs and MPAs improving from the prior year. Our allowance remains healthy at 162 of loans. CRE and construction concentrations were consistent at 262 and 43, respectively. On the funding side, we remain focused on core deposits and relationship banking. Our non-interest-bearing deposits represent a strong 29 percent of total deposits, even with typical seasonality of the fourth quarter. We're well positioned for future growth, both from the strength of our balance sheet and our fundamental operating model. We have strong momentum into 2026 with our organic growth strategies, which will be complemented by the disruption with our growing southeastern markets. We have strong core profitability with diversified and durable revenue streams. These will continue to grow tangible book value, franchise value, and shareholder value in 2026 and beyond. I'll stop there and turn over to Cole to discuss our financial results in more detail.