PATHWARD FINANCIAL, INC. (CASH)

Item 2.    Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

PATHWARD FINANCIAL, INC. ("Pathward Financial" or the "Company" or "us") and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pathward®, National Association ("Pathward®, N.A" or "Pathward" or "the Bank") may from time to time make written or oral “forward-looking statements,” including statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the Company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), the Company’s reports to stockholders, and other communications by the Company and Pathward, N.A, which are made in good faith by the Company pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

You can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “may,” “hope,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “could,” “future,” "target," or the negative of those terms, or other words of similar meaning or similar expressions. You should carefully read statements that contain these words because they discuss our future expectations or state other “forward-looking” information. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us and assumptions about future events, and include statements with respect to the Company’s beliefs, expectations, estimates, and intentions, which are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause our actual growth, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, performance and business prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Such statements address, among others, the following subjects: future operating results, including our performance expectations; progress on key strategic initiatives; expected results of our partnerships; impacts of our improved data analytics, underwriting, and monitoring processes; expectations with respect to credit performance; expected nonperforming loan resolutions and net charge-off rates; the performance of our securities portfolio; customer retention; loan and other product demand; new products and services; credit quality; the level of net charge-offs and the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses; and technology, including impacts of technology investments. The following factors, among others, could cause the Company's financial performance and results of operations to differ materially from the expectations, estimates, and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements: maintaining our executive management team; expected growth opportunities may not be realized or may take longer to realize than expected; our ability to successfully implement measures designed to reduce expenses and increase efficiencies; changes in trade, monetary, and fiscal policies and laws, including actual changes in interest rates and the Fed Funds rate and changes in international trade policies, tariffs and treaties affecting imports and exports, and their related impacts on macroeconomic conditions, customer behavior, funding costs and loan and securities portfolios; changes in tax laws; trade disputes, barriers to trade or the emergence of trade restrictions; the strength of the United States' economy, and the local economies in which the Company operates; adverse developments in the financial services industry generally such as bank failures, responsive measures to mitigate and manage such developments, related supervisory and regulatory actions and costs, and related impacts on customer behavior; inflation, market, and monetary fluctuations; our liquidity and capital positions, including the sufficiency of our liquidity; the timely and efficient development of new products and services offered by the Company or its strategic partners, as well as risks (including reputational and litigation) attendant thereto, and the perceived overall value and acceptance of these products and services by users; the Bank's ability to maintain its Durbin Amendment exemption; the risks of dealing with or utilizing third parties, including, in connection with the Company’s prepaid card and tax refund advance businesses; the risk of reduced volume of refund advance loans as a result of reduced customer demand for or usage of the Bank’s strategic partners’ refund advance products; our relationship with, and any actions which may be initiated by, our regulators, and any related increases in compliance and other costs; changes in financial services laws and regulations, including laws and regulations relating to the tax refund industry; technological changes, including, but not limited to, the protection of our electronic systems and information; the impact of acquisitions and divestitures; litigation risk; the growth of the Company’s business, as well as expenses related thereto; continued maintenance by the Bank of its status as a well-capitalized institution; changes in consumer borrowing, spending, and saving habits; losses from fraudulent or illegal activity; technological risks and developments and cyber threats, attacks, or events; emerging external focus among regulators and other officials related to risks in connection with the development and use of artificial intelligence; the success of the Company at maintaining its high quality asset level and managing and collecting assets of borrowers in default should problem assets increase; and the potential adverse effects of unusual and infrequently occurring events, including the impact on financial markets from geopolitical conflicts, government shutdowns, weather-related disasters, or public health events, such as pandemics, and any governmental or societal responses thereto.

The foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q speak only as of the date hereof. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Additional discussions of factors affecting the Company’s business and prospects are reflected under the caption “Risk Factors” and in other sections of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Company’s fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, and in the Company's other filings made with the SEC. The Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update, revise, or clarify any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company or its subsidiaries, whether as a result of new information, changed circumstances, or future events or for any other reason, except as required by applicable law.

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GENERAL

Pathward Financial, a registered bank holding company that has elected to be a financial holding company, is a Delaware corporation. Pathward Financial's principal assets are all the issued and outstanding shares of the Bank, a chartered national bank, the accounts of which are insured up to applicable limits by the FDIC as administrator of the Deposit Insurance Fund. Unless the context otherwise requires, references herein to the Company include Pathward Financial and the Bank, and all direct or indirect subsidiaries of Pathward Financial on a consolidated basis.

The Company’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CASH.”

The following discussion focuses on the consolidated financial condition of the Company at June 30, 2026, compared to September 30, 2025, and the consolidated results of operations for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements, and notes thereto, for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 and the related management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Company Highlights

•In April 2026, the Company released its 2025 Impact Report. The report highlights Pathward's deep partner expertise in enabling inclusive banking, payments, lending and tax solutions nationwide, while making progress on the Company's sustainability efforts.

Financial Highlights for the 2026 Fiscal Third Quarter

All highlights are compared to the same fiscal quarter in the prior year period.

•Interest income from commercial finance loans increased by $6.1 million.

•Total noninterest income increased 4%, or $3.3 million, as a result of strong secondary market revenue generation.

•Noninterest expense decreased 7% as a result of disciplined expense management while the Company continued to make strategic investments across people, processes, and technology in order to execute on its long-term strategy.

•New loan originations increased from $1.10 billion to $1.86 billion, primarily driven by an increase in consumer loan originations resulting from a new contract announced during fiscal 2025 and growth with current partners.

•The Company repurchased 303,632 shares of common stock at an average share price of $92.18. As of June 30, 2026, there were 3,127,179 shares available for repurchase under the current common stock share repurchase program.

Tax Season

All reported numbers are for the nine months ended June 30, 2026 and are compared to the same fiscal period in the prior year.

The Tax Services business saw strong performance during fiscal 2026 as a result of significant work to grow the business, increase market share and evolve the underwriting model. Total tax services product revenue was $107.7 million, an increase of 13% compared to the prior year. This was driven by increases in refund advance and refund transfer product fees. Total tax services product fee income increased by $12.4 million and net interest income on tax services loans increased $0.2 million. Total tax services product expense increased $0.9 million.

Provision for credit losses for the tax services portfolio decreased $5.7 million as a result of the continued work on enhancing underwriting models and data analytics capabilities.

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Total tax services product income, net of losses and direct product expenses, increased 29% to $77.1 million from $59.8 million.

FINANCIAL CONDITION

At June 30, 2026, the Company’s total assets increased to $7.31 billion compared to $7.17 billion at September 30, 2025, primarily due to growth of $442.9 million in loans and leases, partially offset by reductions of $108.2 million in debt securities AFS, $82.1 million in loans held for sale, $78.7 million in other assets, and an increase of $56.5 million in allowance for credit losses.

Total cash and cash equivalents were $149.4 million at June 30, 2026, increasing from $120.6 million at September 30, 2025. The Company maintains its cash investments primarily in interest-bearing overnight deposits with the FHLB of Des Moines and the FRB. At June 30, 2026, the Company did not have any federal funds sold.

The Company's investment security balances at June 30, 2026 totaled $1.25 billion, as compared to $1.36 billion at September 30, 2025, due to principal pay downs. The Company’s portfolio of securities customarily consists primarily of MBS, which have expected lives much shorter than the stated final maturity, non-bank qualified obligations of states and political subdivisions, which mature in approximately 15 years or less, and other tax exempt municipal mortgage re

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Item 7.    Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

This section should be read in conjunction with the following parts of this Form 10-K: Part I, Item 1 “Business,” Part II, Item 7A, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” and Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

GENERAL

The Company, a registered BHC that has elected to be a financial holding company, is a Delaware corporation, the principal assets of which are all the issued and outstanding shares of the Bank, a chartered national bank, the accounts of which are insured up to applicable limits by the FDIC as administrator of the DIF. Unless the context otherwise requires, references herein to the Company include Pathward Financial and the Bank, and all direct or indirect subsidiaries of Pathward Financial on a consolidated basis.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Financial Highlights for the 2025 Fiscal Fourth Quarter

•Total revenue for the fourth quarter was $186.7 million, an increase of $7.2 million, or 4%, compared to the same quarter in fiscal 2024, primarily driven by an increase of 13% in noninterest income.

•Net interest margin ("NIM") increased 14 basis points to 7.46% for the fourth quarter from 7.32% during the same period of last year, primarily driven by an improved earning asset mix from continued balance sheet optimization.

•Total gross loans and leases at September 30, 2025 increased $589.7 million, to $4.66 billion compared to September 30, 2024 and decreased $78.4 million when compared to June 30, 2025. The primary driver for the sequential decrease was due to the Company moving $144.1 million of its held for investment consumer finance portfolio to held for sale due to a purchase agreement being signed during the 2025 fiscal fourth quarter. On October 3, 2025, the Company closed on the sale of more than half of the held for sale consumer finance portfolio.

•During the 2025 fiscal fourth quarter, the Company repurchased 180,740 shares of common stock at an average share price of $82.95. As of September 30, 2025, there were 4,937,816 shares available for repurchase under the current common stock share repurchase program.

Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated and identified subsequent events that occurred after September 30, 2025. See Note 21. Subsequent Events for details on these events.

FINANCIAL CONDITION

At September 30, 2025, the Company’s total assets decreased to $7.17 billion compared to $7.53 billion at September 30, 2024, primarily due to reductions of $512.3 million in loans held for sale, $413.4 million in securities AFS, and $37.8 million in cash and cash equivalents, partially offset by growth of $589.7 million in loans and leases.

Total cash and cash equivalents were $120.6 million at September 30, 2025, decreasing from $158.3 million at September 30, 2024. The decrease was primarily due to the repayment of short-term borrowings partially offset by the proceeds from the sale of the commercial insurance premium finance business, net transaction costs, the sale of the transportation portfolio within the Company's working capital lending solutions, and the sale of debt securities AFS during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025. The Company maintains its cash investments primarily in interest-bearing overnight deposits with the FHLB of Des Moines and the FRB. At September 30, 2025, the Company did not have any federal funds sold.

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The Company's investment security balances at September 30, 2025 totaled $1.36 billion, as compared to $1.77 billion at September 30, 2024. The decrease was primarily related to the sale of investment securities AFS during the first, second, and fourth quarters of fiscal 2025 and normal paydown activity of investment security balances during the fiscal year. The Company’s portfolio of securities customarily consists primarily of MBS, which have expected lives much shorter than the stated final maturity, non-bank qualified obligations of states and political subdivisions, which mature in approximately 15 years or less, and other tax exempt municipal mortgage related pass through securities which have average lives much shorter than their stated final maturities. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, the Company made $2.3 million purchases of investment securities.

Through the Bank, the Company owns stock in the FHLB due to the Bank’s membership and participation in this banking system as well as stock in the FRB. The FHLB requires a level of stock investment based on a pre-determined formula. The Company’s investment in these stocks was $24.7 million at September 30, 2025, a decrease from $36.0 million at September 30, 2024, as redemptions were partially offset by purchases of FHLB membership stock during the fiscal year.

Loans held for sale at September 30, 2025 totaled $179.4 million, decreasing from $691.7 million at September 30, 2024. This decrease was primarily driven by the sale of the commercial insurance premium finance loans and a reduction in SBA/USDA loans held for sale, partially offset by an increase in consumer credit products held for sale at September 30, 2025 compared to September 30, 2024.

Total gross loans and leases totaled $4.66 billion at September 30, 2025, as compared to $4.08 billion at September 30, 2024. The increase was due to an increase in the commercial finance and warehouse finance portfolios, partially offset by decreases in the consumer finance and seasonal tax services loan portfolios. The decrease in consumer finance was due to the Company moving $144.1 million of its held for investment consumer finance portfolio to held for sale due to a purchase agreement being signed during the 2025 fiscal fourth quarter. See Note 4. Loans and Leases, Net to the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” which is included in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Commercial finance loans, which comprised 84% of the Company's loan and lease portfolio, totaled $3.92 billion at September 30, 2025, reflecting an increase of $628.4 million, or 19%, from September 30, 2024. The increase was primarily driven by increases in term lending of $747.9 million and asset-based lending of $121.4 million, partially offset by decreases of $144.8 million in factoring loans, $57.1 million in SBA/USDA, and $36.0 million in other commercial finance.

Total end-of-period deposits increased slightly to $5.89 billion at September 30, 2025, compared to $5.88 billion at September 30, 2024. The increase in end-of-period deposits was primarily driven by increases in money market deposits of $32.3 million, partially offset by a decrease in wholesale deposits of $25.0 million.

The Company's total borrowings decreased $367.9 million to $42.5 million at September 30, 2025 from $410.4 million at September 30, 2024, primarily driven by a decrease in short-term borrowings of $368.0 million. See Note 11. Short-term and Long-term Borrowings to the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” which are included in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

At September 30, 2025, the Company’s stockholders’ equity totaled $857.5 million, an increase of $35.3 million, from $822.2 million at September 30, 2024. The increase was primarily attributable to increases in additional paid-in capital, retained earnings, and a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive loss, partially offset by a decrease in treasury stock. The Company and Bank remained above the federal regulatory minimum capital requirements at September 30, 2025, and continued to be classified as well-capitalized, and in good standing with the regulatory agencies. See Note 15. Capital Requirements and Restrictions on Retained Earnings to the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” which is included in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Noninterest-bearing Checking Deposits. The Company may hold negative balances associated with cardholder programs in the Partner Solutions business line that are included within noninterest-bearing deposits on the Company's Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. Negative balances can relate to any of the following payments functions:

–Prefundings: The Company deploys funds to cards prior to receiving cash (typically 2-3 days) where the prefunding balance is netted at a pooled partner level utilizing ASC 210-20.

–Discount fundings: The Company funds cards in alignment to expected breakage values on the card. Consumers may spend more than is estimated. These discounts are netted at a pooled partner level using ASC 210-20. The majority of these discount fundings relate to a small number of partners and are analyzed on an ongoing basis.

–Demand Deposit Account ("DDA") overdrafts: Certain programs offered allow cardholders traditional DDA overdraft protection services whereby cardholders can spend a limited amount in excess of their available card balance. When overdrawn, these accounts are re-classed as loans on the balance sheet within the Consumer Finance category.

The Company meets the Right of Set off criteria in ASC 210-20, Balance Sheet - Offsetting, for all payments negative deposit balances with the exception of DDA overdrafts. The following table summarizes the Company's negative deposit balances within the Partner Solutions business line:

Off-Balance Sheet Custodial Deposits. The Bank utilizes a custodial deposit transference structure for certain prepaid and deposit programs whereby the Bank, acting as custodian of cardholder funds, places a portion of such cardholder funds that are not needed to support near term settlement at one or more third-party banks insured by the FDIC (each, a “Program Bank”). Accounts opened at Program Banks are established in the Bank’s name as custodian, for the benefit of the Bank’s cardholders. The Bank remains the issuer of all cards and holder of all accounts under the applicable cardholder agreements and has sole custodial control and transaction authority over the accounts opened at Program Banks.

The Bank maintains the records of each cardholder’s deposits maintained at Program Banks. Program Banks undergo robust due diligence prior to becoming a Program Bank and are also subject to continuous monitoring.

As of September 30, 2025, the Company managed $210.5 million of customer deposits at other banks in its capacity as custodian. These deposits provide the Company with the ability to earn servicing fee income, typically reflective of the EFFR.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The Company’s results of operations are dependent on net interest income, provision for credit loss, noninterest income, noninterest expense and income tax expense. Net interest income is the difference, or spread, between the average yield on interest-earning assets and the average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities. The interest rate spread is affected by regulatory, economic and competitive factors that influence interest rates, loan and lease demand and deposit flows. Notwithstanding that a significant amount of the Company’s deposits, primarily those attributable to the Partner Solutions business line, pay relatively low rates of interest or none at all, the Company, like other financial institutions, is subject to interest rate risk to the extent that its interest-earning assets mature or reprice at different times,

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