HBT Financial, Inc. (HBT)

OVERVIEW

HBT Financial, Inc., headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, is the holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company, and has banking roots that can be traced back to 1920. We provide a comprehensive suite of financial products and services to consumers, businesses, and municipal entities throughout Illinois, eastern Iowa, and suburban St. Louis. As of June 30, 2026, the Company had total assets of $6.7 billion, loans held for investment of $4.8 billion, and total deposits of $5.8 billion.

Market Area

As of June 30, 2026, our branch network included 83 full-service branch locations throughout Illinois, eastern Iowa, and suburban St. Louis. We hold a leading deposit share in many of our central Illinois markets, which we define as a top three deposit share rank, providing the foundation for our strong deposit base. The stability provided by this low-cost funding is a key driver of our strong track record of financial performance. Below is a summary of our loan and deposit balances by geographic region:

CNB Acquisition

On March 1, 2026, HBT Financial completed its acquisition of CNB, the holding company for CNB Bank. The acquisition of CNB further enhanced HBT Financial's footprint in the central Illinois, Chicago MSA, and suburban St. Louis markets. Prior to the acquisition, CNB operated 18 full-service branch locations which now operate as branches of Heartland Bank. The core system conversion was successfully completed in March 2026. After considering business combination accounting adjustments, CNB added total assets of $1.81 billion, total loans held for investment of $1.30 billion, and total deposits of $1.52 billion.

Total consideration consisted of 5.5 million shares of HBT Financial’s common stock and $33.8 million in cash. Based on the closing price of HBT Financial common stock of $26.96 on February 27, 2026, the aggregate consideration was approximately $182.1 million. Goodwill of $22.1 million was recorded in the acquisition. Acquisition-related expenses totaled $0.3 million during the three months ended June 30, 2026 and $15.9 million during the six months ended June 30, 2026. There were no acquisition-related expenses during the three and six months ended June 30, 2025.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview of Recent Financial Results

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*    Annualized measure.

(1)See "Non-GAAP Financial Information" for reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to their most closely comparable GAAP measures.

(2)On a tax-equivalent basis assuming a federal income tax rate of 21% and a state income tax rate of 9.5%.

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Comparison of the Three Months Ended June 30, 2026 to the Three Months Ended June 30, 2025

For the three months ended June 30, 2026, net income was $27.8 million, increasing by $8.6 million, or 44.8%, when compared to net income for the three months ended June 30, 2025. Notable changes include the following:

•A $19.4 million increase in net interest income, primarily attributable to higher average interest-earning asset balances following the CNB merger and improved yields on debt securities, which were partially offset by an increase in funding costs;

•CNB acquisition-related expenses totaled $0.3 million during the second quarter of 2026;

•Excluding CNB acquisition-related expenses, noninterest expense increased by $10.3 million, primarily due to the addition of CNB operations, including a $6.2 million increase in employee salaries and employee benefits;

•A $2.7 million increase in noninterest income, primarily attributable to the CNB merger, with a $1.1 million increase in wealth management fees, a $0.6 million increase in credit card income, and a $0.6 million increase in service charges on deposit accounts; and

•A $2.8 million increase in income tax expense, primarily due to an increase in pre-tax income as a result of the items noted above.

Comparison of the Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 to the Six Months Ended June 30, 2025

For the six months ended June 30, 2026, net income was $39.0 million, increasing by $0.7 million, or 1.9%, when compared to net income for the six months ended June 30, 2025. Notable changes include the following:

•A $27.1 million increase in net interest income, primarily attributable to higher average interest-earning asset balances following the CNB merger and improved yields on debt securities;

•CNB acquisition-related expenses totaled $15.9 million during the six months ended June 30, 2026;

•Excluding CNB acquisition-related expenses, noninterest expense increased by $15.1 million, primarily reflecting higher base costs following the CNB merger, including a $8.8 million increase in employee salaries and benefits expense; and

•A $4.3 million increase in noninterest income, primarily attributable to the CNB merger, with a $2.0 million increase in wealth management fees, a $0.8 million increase in credit card income, and a $0.8 million increase in service charges on deposit accounts.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income equals the excess of interest income on interest earning assets (including discount accretion on acquired loans plus certain loan fees) over interest expense incurred on interest-bearing liabilities. Net interest margin, which is expressed as the percentage of net interest income to average interest-earning assets, is utilized to measure and explain changes in net interest income.

The following tables set forth average balances, average yields and costs, and certain other information. Average balances are daily average balances. Nonaccrual loans are included in the computation of average balances but have been reflected in the table as loans carrying a zero yield. The yields set forth below include the effect of deferred fees and costs as well as purchase accounting adjustments that are accreted or amortized to interest income or expense.

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ITEM 7.    MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this report to the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to HBT Financial, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Management’s discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the following parts of this Annual Report on 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”. Detailed discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operation for 2025 as compared to 2024 can be found below. Detailed discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operation for 2024 as compared to 2023 can be found in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

OVERVIEW

HBT Financial, Inc., headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, is the holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company, and has banking roots that can be traced back to 1920. We provide a comprehensive suite of financial products and services to consumers, businesses, and municipal entities throughout Illinois and eastern Iowa. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had total assets of $5.1 billion, loans held for investment of $3.5 billion, and total deposits of $4.4 billion.

Market Area

As of December 31, 2025, our branch network included 66 full-service branch locations throughout Illinois and eastern Iowa. We hold a leading deposit share in many of our central Illinois markets, which we define as a top three deposit share rank, providing the foundation for our strong deposit base. The stability provided by this low-cost funding is a key driver of our strong track record of financial performance. Below is a summary of our loan and deposit balances by geographic region:

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CNB Bank Shares, Inc. Acquisition

On March 1, 2026, HBT Financial completed its acquisition of CNB, the holding company for CNB Bank. The combined company will have increased density in the central Illinois, Chicago MSA, and St. Louis MSA markets. Prior to the acquisition, CNB operated 18 full-service branch locations which now operate as branches of Heartland Bank. The core system conversion is expected to occur in March 2026.

As of December 31, 2025, CNB had total assets of $1.8 billion, total loans of $1.3 billion, and total deposits of $1.5 billion. This acquisition is a subsequent event and the financial results of CNB are not recognized in this Form 10-K.

Total consideration consisted of 5.5 million shares of HBT Financial's common stock and $34 million in cash. Based upon the closing price of HBT Financial common stock of $26.96 on February 27, 2026, the aggregate consideration was approximately $182 million. Acquisition-related expenses recognized during the year ended December 31, 2025 totaled $1.0 million.

Town and Country Financial Corporation Acquisition

On February 1, 2023, HBT Financial completed its acquisition of Town and Country, the holding company for Town and Country Bank. The acquisition of Town and Country further enhanced HBT Financial’s footprint in central Illinois and expanded our footprint into metro-east St. Louis. At the time of acquisition, Town and Country Bank operated 10 full-service branch locations which began operating as branches of Heartland Bank. The core system conversion was successfully completed in April 2023. After considering business combination accounting adjustments, Town and Country added total assets of $937.2 million, total loans held for investment of $635.4 million, and total deposits of $720.4 million.

Total consideration consisted of 3.4 million shares of HBT Financial’s common stock and $38.0 million in cash. Based upon the closing price of HBT Financial common stock of $21.12 on February 1, 2023, the aggregate consideration was approximately $109.4 million. Goodwill of $30.5 million was recorded in the acquisition. Acquisition-related expenses recognized during the year ended December 31, 2023 totaled $13.7 million, including the recognition of an allowance for credit losses on non-purchased credit deteriorated loans and an allowance for credit losses on unfunded commitments. There were no Town and Country acquisition-related expenses recognized subsequent to the second quarter of 2023.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview of Recent Financial Results

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(1)See "Non-GAAP Financial Information" for reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to their most closely comparable GAAP measures.

(2)On a tax-equivalent basis assuming a federal income tax rate of 21% and a state income tax rate of 9.5%.

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Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2025 to the Year Ended December 31, 2024

For the year ended December 31, 2025, net income was $77.0 million, increasing by $5.2 million, or 7.3%, when compared to net income for the year ended December 31, 2024. Notable changes include the following:

•A $10.0 million increase in net interest income, primarily attributable to lower funding costs, higher yields on debt securities, and higher average loan balances;

•A $0.2 million loss on sales of securities included in the 2025 results, compared to a $3.7 million of loss on sales of securities included in the 2024 results;

•A $3.4 million increase in salaries and benefits expense, primarily driven by higher medical benefits expenses and annual merit increases;

•A $1.9 million negative mortgage servicing rights ("MSR") fair value adjustment included in the 2025 results, compared to a $0.2 million negative MSR fair value adjustment included in the 2024 results;

•A $1.2 million increase in wealth management fees, primarily driven by higher values of assets under management and an increase in farm management fees;

•CNB acquisition-related expenses of $1.0 million, primarily related to professional fees and data processing expense; and

•A $1.9 million increase in income tax expense, primarily due to an increase in pre-tax income as a result of the items noted above.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income equals the excess of interest income on interest earning assets (including discount accretion on acquired loans plus certain loan fees) over interest expense incurred on interest-bearing liabilities. Net interest margin, which is expressed as the percentage of net interest income to average interest-earning assets, is utilized to measure and explain changes in net interest income.

The following table sets forth average balances, average yields and costs, and certain other information. Average balances are daily average balances. Nonaccrual loans are included in the computation of average balances but have been reflected in the table as loans carrying a zero yield. The yields set forth below include the effect of deferred fees and costs as well as purchase accounting adjustments that are accreted or amortized to interest income or expense.

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