LAKELAND FINANCIAL CORP (LKFN)

ITEM 2 - MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

OVERVIEW

Net income in the first six months of 2026 was $54.9 million, which increased $7.9 million, or 16.7%, from $47.1 million for the comparable period of 2025. Diluted earnings per common share were $2.17 in the first six months of 2026, an increase of 19.2% from $1.82 in the comparable period of 2025. The increase in net income for 2026 was primarily due to an increase to net interest income of $7.3 million, or 6.8%, an increase in noninterest income of $3.1 million, or 13.8%, and a decrease in the provision for credit losses of $6.1 million, or 62.2%. Offsetting these positive contributions was an increase in noninterest expense of $6.4 million, or 10.1%, and an increase to income tax expense of $2.2 million, or 22.0%. Pretax pre-provision earnings, a non-GAAP measure calculated by adding net interest income to noninterest income and subtracting noninterest expense, were $71.0 million in the first six months of 2026, an increase of $4.0 million, or 6.0%, compared to $67.0 million for the comparable period of 2025.

Return on average total equity was 14.44% in the first six months of 2026 versus 13.62% in the comparable period of 2025. Return on average total assets was 1.55% in the first six months of 2026 versus 1.39% for the comparable period of 2025. The Company's average equity to average assets ratio was 10.74% in the first six months of 2026 versus 10.19% in the comparable period of 2025.

Net income in the second quarter of 2026 was $28.4 million, an increase of $1.5 million, or 5.5%, from $27.0 million for the comparable period of 2025. Diluted earnings per common share were $1.13 in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 8.7% from $1.04 in the comparable period of 2025. The increase was driven primarily by an increase in net interest income of $3.4 million, or 6.2%, a decrease in provision for credit losses of $1.3 million, or 43.1%, and an increase in noninterest income of $1.1 million, or 9.5%. Offsetting these positive contributions was an increase in noninterest expense of $4.0 million, or 13.2%. Pretax pre-provision earnings in the second quarter of 2026 were $36.4 million, an increase of $486,000, or 1.4%, compared to $35.9 million for the comparable period of 2025.

Return on average total equity was 15.00% in the second quarter of 2026 versus 15.52% in the comparable period of 2025. Return on average total assets was 1.59% in the second quarter of 2026 versus 1.57% in the comparable period of 2025. The average equity to average assets ratio was 10.58% in the second quarter of 2026 versus 10.09% in the comparable period of 2025.

The Company’s tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, was 10.63% at June 30, 2026, compared to 10.15% at June 30, 2025 and 10.86% at December 31, 2025. Unrealized losses from available-for-sale investment securities were $140.9 million at June 30, 2026, compared to $185.3 million at June 30, 2025 and $143.3 million at December 31, 2025. When excluding the impact of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) ("AOCI") on tangible common equity and tangible assets, the Company's adjusted tangible common equity to adjusted tangible assets ratio, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, was 12.14% at June 30, 2026, compared to 12.17% at June 30, 2025 and 12.45% at December 31, 2025.

Total assets were $7.243 billion as of June 30, 2026 versus $6.990 billion as of December 31, 2025, an increase of $252.9 million, or 3.6%. Balance sheet expansion was driven by increases to total loans, net of the allowance for credit losses, which increased $202.7 million, or 3.8%, and cash and cash equivalents, which increased $52.8 million, or 37.4%. These increases were offset by a decrease to available-for-sale securities of $16.9 million, or 1.6%. The balance sheet expansion from December 31, 2025 to June 30, 2026 was funded by an increase in total deposits of $356.2 million, or 6.0%, and was offset by a decrease in borrowings of $113.0 million, or 61.3%. Total equity increased $10.9 million, or 1.4%, from $762.5 million at December 31, 2025 to $773.4 million at June 30, 2026. Driving the increase in total equity was an increase in retained earnings of $28.7 million, or 3.6%, primarily as a result of net income of $54.9 million less dividends declared and paid of $26.3 million. Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) improved by $2.7 million and contributed further to the increase in total equity. Offsetting these items was an increase in treasury stock, which increased by $23.5 million, or 65.7%, driven by the Company's utilization of its share repurchase program. The combined effect of the repurchase activity under the share repurchase program and dividends paid during the first six months of 2026 represented a total return of capital to Company shareholders of $49.8 million.

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CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The Company’s accounting policies are described in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.

Certain of the Company’s accounting policies are important to the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition, since they require management to make difficult, complex or subjective judgments, some of which may relate to matters that are inherently uncertain. Estimates associated with these policies are susceptible to material changes as a result of changes in facts and circumstances. Some of the facts and circumstances which could affect these judgments include changes in interest rates, in the performance of the economy or in the financial condition of borrowers. Management believes that its critical accounting policies include determining the allowance for credit losses. See “Note 4 – Allowance for Credit Losses and Credit Quality” for more information on this critical accounting policy.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

Selected income statement information for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025 is presented in the following table:

(1)Noninterest expense (C) / (Net interest income (A) + Noninterest income (B)) = Efficiency Ratio

(2)Non-GAAP financial measure. Calculated by subtracting intangible assets, net of deferred tax, from total assets and total equity. Management believes this is an important measure because it is useful for planning and forecasting purposes. See reconciliation on the following pages.

(3)Non-GAAP financial measure. Calculated by removing the fair market value adjustment impact of the available-for-sale investment securities portfolio included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) ("AOCI") from tangible equity and tangible assets. Management believes this is an important measure because it provides better comparability to periods preceding the cycle of monetary policy tightening from 2022 and 2023 and demonstrates the Company's longer-term trend in capital strength. See reconciliation on the following pages.

(4)Non-GAAP financial measure. Pretax pre-provision earnings is calculated by adding net interest income to noninterest income and subtracting noninterest expense. Management believes this is an important measure because it may enable investors to identify the trends in the Company's earnings exclusive of the effects of tax and provision expense, which may vary significantly from period to period. See reconciliation on the following pages.

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The Company believes that providing non-GAAP financial measures provides investors with information useful to understanding the Company's financial performance.

Tangible common equity, adjusted tangible common equity, tangible assets, adjusted tangible assets, tangible book value per common share, tangible common equity to tangible assets, adjusted tangible common equity to adjusted tangible assets, and pretax pre-provision earnings are non-GAAP financial measures calculated based on GAAP amounts. Tangible common equity is calculated by excluding the balance of goodwill and other intangible assets from the calculation of equity, net of deferred tax. Tangible assets are calculated by excluding the balance of goodwill and other intangible assets from the calculation of total assets, net of deferred tax. Adjusted tangible assets and adjusted tangible common equity remove the fair market value adjustment impact of the available-for-sale investment securities portfolio in AOCI. Tangible book value per common share is calculated by dividing tangible common equity by the number of shares outstanding less true treasury stock. Pretax pre-provision earnings is calculated by adding net interest income to noninterest income and subtracting noninterest expense. Because not all companies use the same calculation of tangible common equity and tangible assets, this presentation may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures calculated by other companies. However, management considers these measures of the Company’s value meaningful to understanding of the Company’s financial information and performance.

A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures is provided below.

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

OVERVIEW

Net income in 2025 was $103.4 million, an increase of 10.6%, from $93.5 million in 2024. Net income for 2024 was less than 1% lower compared to $93.8 million in 2023.

Diluted net income per common share was $4.01 in 2025, $3.63 in 2024 and $3.65 in 2023. Return on average total assets was 1.50% in 2025, versus 1.40% in 2024 and 1.45% in 2023. Return on average total equity was 14.40% in 2025, versus 14.12% in 2024 and 15.93% in 2023. The dividend payout ratio, with respect to diluted earnings per share, was 49.88% in 2025, versus 52.89% in 2024 and 50.41% in 2023. The average equity to average assets ratio was 10.44% in 2025, compared to 9.94% in 2024 and 9.11% in 2023.

Net income in 2025 as compared to 2024 was positively impacted by a $24.3 million increase to net interest income and a decrease in the provision for credit losses of $5.0 million. Offsetting these positive contributions was a decrease in noninterest income of $8.9 million and an increase in noninterest expense of $6.5 million. Pretax pre-provision earnings, a non-GAAP measure calculated by adding net interest income to noninterest income and subtracting noninterest expense, were $137.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $8.9 million, or 7.0%, compared to $128.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Net income in 2024 as compared to 2023 was positively impacted by a $7.0 million increase in noninterest income and a $5.6 million decrease in noninterest expense. Offsetting these positive contributions to net income were an increase to the provision for credit losses of $10.9 million, an increase to income tax expense of $1.6 million, and a decrease to net interest income of $356,000. Pretax pre-provision earnings were $128.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $12.3 million, or 10.5%, compared to $116.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Total assets were $6.990 billion as of December 31, 2025, versus $6.678 billion as of December 31, 2024, an increase of $311.6 million or 4.7%. Balance sheet expansion in 2025 was driven by loan growth net of the allowance for credit losses of $274.4 million, or 5.5%, and an increase in available-for-sale securities of $60.6 million, or 6.1%. Deposits increased by $72.4 million, or 1.2%, during 2025, to fund the balance sheet expansion. Borrowings outstanding at December 31, 2025, were $184.2 million, compared to no borrowings outstanding at December 31, 2024.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Certain of the Company’s accounting policies are important to the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition, since they require management to make difficult, complex or subjective judgments, some of which may relate to matters that are inherently uncertain. Estimates associated with these policies are susceptible to material changes as a result of changes in facts and circumstances. Some of the facts and circumstances which could affect these judgments include changes in interest rates, in the performance of the economy or in the financial condition of borrowers. Management believes that its critical accounting policies include determining the allowance for credit losses.

Allowance for Credit Losses

The Company maintains an allowance for credit losses to provide for expected credit losses. Losses are charged against the allowance when management believes that the principal is uncollectible. Subsequent recoveries, if any, are credited to the allowance. Allocations of the allowance are made for specific loans and for pools of similar types of loans, although the entire allowance is available for any loan that, in management’s judgment, should be charged against the allowance. A provision for credit losses is taken based on management’s ongoing evaluation of the appropriate allowance balance. A formal evaluation of the adequacy of the credit loss allowance is conducted monthly. The ultimate recovery of all loans is susceptible to future market factors beyond the Company’s control.

The level of credit loss provision is influenced by growth in the overall loan portfolio, emerging market risk, emerging concentration risk, commercial loan focus and large credit concentration, new industry lending activity, general economic conditions and historical loss analysis. In addition, management gives consideration to changes in the facts and circumstances of watch list credits, which includes the security position of the borrower, in determining the appropriate level of the credit loss provision. Furthermore, management’s overall view on credit quality is a factor in the determination of the provision.

The determination of the appropriate allowance is inherently subjective, as it requires significant estimates by management. The Company has an established process to determine the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses that

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generally includes consideration of changes in the nature and volume of the loan portfolio and overall portfolio quality, along with current and forecasted economic conditions that may affect borrowers’ ability to repay. Consideration is not limited to these factors although they represent the most commonly cited factors. To determine the specific allocation levels for individual credits, management considers the current valuation of collateral and the amounts and timing of expected future cash flows as the primary measures. Management also considers trends in adversely classified loans based upon an ongoing review of those credits. With respect to pools of similar loans, an appropriate level of general allowance is determined by portfolio segment using a probability of default-loss given default ("PD/LGD") model, subject to a floor. A default can be triggered by one of several different asset quality factors, including past due status, nonaccrual status, material modification to a borrower experiencing financial difficulty or if the loan has had a charge off. This PD is then combined with a LGD derived from historical charge off data to construct a default rate. This loss rate is then supplemented with adjustments for reasonable and supportable forecasts of relevant economic indicators, particularly the unemployment rate forecast from the Federal Open Market Committee’s Summary of Economic Projections, and other environmental factors based on the risks present for each portfolio segment. These environmental factors include consideration of the following: levels of, and trends in, delinquencies and nonperforming loans; trends in volume and terms of loans; changes in collateral strength; effects of any changes in risk selection and underwriting standards; other changes in lending policies, procedure, and practices; experience, ability, and depth of lending management and other relevant staff; national and local economic trends and conditions; industry conditions; and effects of changes in credit concentrations. It is also possible that these factors could include social, political, economic, and terrorist events or activities. All of these factors are subject to change, which may be significant. As a result of this detailed process, the allowance results in two forms of allocations, specific and pooled. These two components represent the total allowance for credit losses deemed adequate to cover expected losses inherent in the loan portfolio. The Company's allowance for credit losses balance was comprised of 12% specific allocations and 88% pooled allocations at December 31, 2025, compared to 32% specific allocations and 68% pooled allocations at December 31, 2024. The decrease in specific allocations was driven by a previously disclosed nonperforming commercial credit that was specifically allocated for within in the allowance for credit losses in 2024 and partially charged off in 2025.

Commercial loans are subject to a dual standardized grading process administered by the credit administration function. These grade assignments are performed independently of each other and a consensus is reached by credit administration and the loan officer. Specific allocations are established in cases where management has identified significant conditions or circumstances related to an individual credit that indicate it should be analyzed on an individual basis. Considerations with respect to specific allocations for these individual credits include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) the sufficiency of the customer’s cash flow or net worth to repay the loan; (b) the adequacy of the discounted value of collateral relative to the loan balance; (c) whether the loan has been criticized in a regulatory examination; (d) whether the loan is nonperforming; (e) any other reasons the ultimate collectability of the loan may be in question; or (f) any unique loan characteristics that require special monitoring.

Allocations are also applied to categories of loans considered not to be individually analyzed, but for which the rate of loss is expected to be consistent with or greater than historical averages. Such allocations are based on past loss experience and information about specific borrower situations and estimated collateral values. These general pooled loan allocations are performed for portfolio segments of commercial and industrial; commercial real estate, multi-family, and construction; agri-business and agricultural; other commercial loans; and consumer 1-4 family mortgage and other consumer loans. Pooled allocations of the allowance are determined by a historical loss rate based on the calculation of each pool’s probability of default-loss given default, subject to a floor. The length of the historical period for each pool is based on the average life of the pool. The historical loss rates are supplemented with consideration of economic conditions and portfolio trends.

Due to the imprecise nature of estimating the allowance for credit losses, the Company’s allowance for credit losses includes an unallocated component. The unallocated component of the allowance for credit losses incorporates the Company’s judgmental determination of potential expected losses that may not be fully reflected in other allocations. As a practical expedient, the Company has elected to state accrued interest separately from loan principal balances on the consolidated balance sheet. Additionally, when a loan is placed on non-accrual, interest payments are reversed through interest income.

For off balance sheet credit exposures outlined in the ASU at 326-20-30-11, it is the Company’s position that nearly all of the unfunded amounts on lines of credit are unconditionally cancellable, and therefore not subject to having a liability recorded.

The allowance is inherently uncertain as it represents the Company’s expectation of the future collectability of loans in its portfolio; actual collections may be greater than or less than expectations. Actual collections may be impacted by wider economic conditions such as changes in the competitive environment or in the levels of business investment or consumer spending, or by the quality of borrowers’ management teams and the success of their strategy execution. Borrowers’ ability to

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repay may also change due to the effects of government monetary or fiscal policy, which could affect the level of demand for borrowers’ products or services or the borrowers' ability to service their debt payments in the future.

The Company’s allowance for credit losses is subject to changes in the inputs to the model, including the following: the number of delinquent loans, nonaccrual loans, material modification due to a borrower experiencing financial difficulty, or charge offs; the levels of charge offs and recoveries; projected unemployment rates and other economic indicators; the Company’s collateral position on adversely classified loans; or manage

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