EQUITY BANCSHARES INC (EQBK)

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

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, filed with the SEC on March 6, 2026, and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report. The following discussion contains “forward-looking statements” that reflect our future plans, estimates, beliefs and expected performance. We caution that assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions or beliefs about future events may, and often do, vary from actual results and the differences can be material. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Also, see the risk factors and other cautionary statements described under the heading “Item 1A: Risk Factors” included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K and in Item 1A of this Quarterly Report. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.

This discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operation includes the following sections:

•
Table containing selected financial data and ratios for the periods;

•
Overview – a general description of our business and financial highlights;

•
Critical Accounting Estimates – a discussion of accounting policies that require critical estimates and assumptions;

•
Results of Operations – an analysis of our operating results, including disclosures about the sustainability of our earnings;

•
Financial Condition – an analysis of our financial position;

•
Liquidity and Capital Resources – an analysis of our cash flows and capital position; and

•
Non-GAAP Financial Measures – a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures.

59

* The value noted is considered a Non-GAAP financial measure. For a reconciliation of Non-GAAP financial measures see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” in this Item 2.

60

Overview

We are a financial holding company headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Our wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Equity Bank, provides a broad range of financial services primarily to businesses and business owners as well as individuals through our network of 82 full-service banking sites located in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. As of June 30, 2026, we had consolidated total assets of $7.73 billion, total loans held for investment, net of allowance, of $5.34 billion, total deposits of $6.30 billion, and total stockholders’ equity of $827.3 million. During the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2026, we had net income of $26.4 million and $43.4 million. We had net income of $15.3 million and $30.3 million for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2025.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Our significant accounting policies are integral to understanding the results reported. Our accounting policies are described in detail in Note 1 to the December 31, 2025, audited financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, filed with the SEC on March 6, 2026. The preparation of our financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make a number of judgments and assumptions that affect our reported results and disclosures. Several of our accounting policies are inherently subject to valuation assumptions and other subjective assessments and are more critical than others in terms of their importance to results. Changes in any of the estimates and assumptions underlying critical accounting policies could have a material effect on our financial statements. Our accounting policies are described in “NOTE 1 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES” in the Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statements.

The accounting policies that management believes are the most critical to an understanding of our financial condition and results of operations and require complex management judgment are described below.

Allowance for Credit Losses: The allowance for credit losses represents management’s estimate of all expected credit losses over the expected life of our loan portfolio. This assessment includes procedures to estimate the allowance and test the adequacy and appropriateness of the resulting balance. The level of the allowance is based upon management’s evaluation of historical default and loss experience, current and project

[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]

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

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following discussion contains “forward-looking statements” that reflect our future plans, estimates, beliefs and expected performance. We caution that assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions or beliefs about future events may, and often do, vary from actual results and the differences can be material. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Also, see the risk factors and other cautionary statements described under the heading “Item 1A – Risk Factors” included in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.

This discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operation includes the following sections:

•
Table containing selected financial data and ratios for the periods;

•
Overview;

•
Critical Accounting Policies – a discussion of accounting policies that require critical estimates and assumptions;

•
Results of Operations – an analysis of our operating results, including disclosures about the sustainability of our earnings;

•
Financial Condition – an analysis of our financial position;

•
Liquidity and Capital Resources – an analysis of our cash flows and capital position; and

•
Non-GAAP Financial Measures – reconciliation of non-GAAP measures.

53

54

* Indicates non-GAAP financial measure. Please see “Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

55

Overview

We are a financial holding company headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Our wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Equity Bank, provides a broad range of financial services primarily to businesses and business owners as well as individuals through our network of 77 full-service branches located in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. As of December 31, 2025, we had, on a consolidated basis, total assets of $6.37 billion, total deposits of $5.14 billion, total loans held for investment, net of allowances, of $4.15 billion and total stockholders’ equity of $732.1 million. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2025, was $22.7 million, compared to net income of $62.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.

History and Background

From 2003 through 2025, we completed a series of 23 acquisitions, two charter consolidations and two branch dispositions. We seek to integrate the banks we acquire into our existing operational platform and enhance stockholder value through the creation of efficiencies within the combined operations. In conjunction with our strategic acquisition growth, we strive to reposition and improve the loan portfolio and deposit mix of the banks we acquire. Following our acquisitions, we focus on identifying and disposing of problematic loans and replacing them with higher quality loans generated organically. In addition, we concentrate on growth in our commercial loan portfolio, which we believe generally offers higher return opportunities than our consumer loan portfolio, primarily by hiring additional talented bankers, particularly in our metropolitan markets, and incentivizing our bankers to expand their commercial banking relationships. We also seek to increase our most attractive deposit accounts primarily by growing deposits in our community markets and cross selling our depository products to our loan customers.

Our principal objective is to continually increase stockholder value and generate consistent earnings growth by expanding our commercial banking franchise both organically and through strategic acquisitions. We believe our strategy of selectively acquiring and integrating community banks has provided us with economies of scale and improved our overall franchise efficiency. We expect to continue to pursue strategic acquisitions and believe our targeted market areas present us with many and varied acquisition opportunities. We are also focused on continuing to grow organically and believe the markets in which we operate currently provide meaningful opportunities to expand our commercial customer base and increase our current market share. We believe our geographic footprint, which is strategically split between growing metropolitan

[Excerpt truncated for page length; the complete text is on the linked full-MD&A page.]