Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NWBI)

Item 2.    MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, this document may contain certain forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements contained herein are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as they reflect management’s analysis only as of the date of this report. We have no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this report.

Important factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to:

•    the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits of the Merger (as defined below) will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; the effect of the Merger on the combined company’s customer and employee relationships and operating results; and other factors that may affect the results of operations and financial condition of the combined company;

•    inflation and changes in the interest rate environment that reduce our margins, our loan origination, or the fair value of financial instruments;

•    changes in asset quality, including increases in default rates on loans and higher levels of nonperforming loans and loan charge-offs generally;

•    changes in laws, government regulations or supervision, examination and enforcement priorities affecting financial institutions, including as part of the regulatory reform agenda of the Trump administration, as well as changes in regulatory fees and capital requirements;

•    changes in federal, state, or local tax laws and tax rates;

•    general economic conditions, either nationally or in our market areas, that are different than expected, including inflationary or recessionary pressures or those related to changes in monetary, fiscal, regulatory and tariff policies of the U.S. government, including policies of the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board;

•    trade disputes, barriers to trade or the emergence of trade restrictions and the resulting impacts on market volatility and global trade;

•    growing fiscal deficits;

•    potential recession or slowing of growth in the U.S., Europe and other regions;

•    developments in the Middle East;

•    adverse changes in the securities and credit markets;

•    instability or breakdown in the financial services sector, including failures or rumors of failures of other depository institutions, along with actions taken by governmental agencies to address such turmoil;

•    cyber-security concerns, including an interruption or breach in the security of our website or other information systems;

•    technological changes that may be more difficult or expensive than expected;

•    changes in liquidity, including the size and composition of our deposit portfolio, and the percentage of uninsured deposits in the portfolio;

•    the ability of third-party providers to perform their obligations to us;

•    competition among depository and other financial institutions, including with respect to deposit gathering, service charges and fees;

•    our ability to enter new markets successfully and capitalize on growth opportunities;

•    our ability to manage our growth internally and our ability to successfully integrate acquired entities, businesses or branch offices;

•    changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits;

•    our ability to continue to increase and manage our commercial, including commercial real estate, and personal loans;

•    possible impairments of securities held by us, including those issued by government entities and government sponsored enterprises;

•    changes in the value of our goodwill or other intangible assets;

•    the impact of the economy on our loan portfolio (including cash flow and collateral values), investment portfolio, customers and capital market activities;

•    our ability to receive regulatory approvals for proposed transactions or new lines of business;

•    the effects of any federal government shutdown or the inability of the federal government to manage debt limits:

•a prolonged government shutdown, which could adversely affect the U.S. and global economy;

•    changes in the financial performance and/or condition of our borrowers;

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•    the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the regulatory agencies, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and other accounting standard setters;

•    changes in the level and direction of loan delinquencies and write-offs and changes in estimates of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses;

•    our ability to access cost-effective funding;

•    the effect of global or national war, conflict, or terrorism;

•    our ability to manage market risk, credit risk and operational risk;

•    the disruption to local, regional, national and global economic activity caused by infectious disease outbreaks, and the significant impact that any such outbreaks may have on our growth, operations and earnings;

•     the effects of natural disasters and extreme weather events;

•     changes in our ability to continue to pay dividends, either at current rates or at all;

•    our ability to retain key employees; and

•    our compensation expense associated with equity allocated or awarded to our employees.

Overview of Critical Accounting Policies Involving Estimates

Please refer to Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II of our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Note 1 “Basis of Presentation and Informational Disclosures” within this Item 1 of this Quarterly Report for more information.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

The following Accounting Standard Updates (“ASU”) issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") have not yet been adopted.

In October 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-06, "Disclosure Improvements." This ASU includes amendments on several subtopics in the FASB Accounting Standards Codification ("Codification") to incorporate certain disclosures and presentation requirements currently residing in SEC Regulations S-X and S-K. The adoption of this ASU may lead to certain disclosures being relocated into the financial statements. The effective date for each amendment will be the date on which the SEC’s removal of that related disclosure from Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K becomes effective, with early adoption prohibited. These amendments are to be applied prospectively. If the SEC has not removed the applicable requirements from Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K by June 30, 2027, the pending content of the related amendment will be removed from the Codification and will not become effective for any entity. We do not believe this guidance will have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.

In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, “Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses”. The guidance requires disaggregated disclosure of specified expense categories. The guidance also requires disclosure of total selling expenses and how the Company defines selling expenses. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2027. Prospective application is required, with retrospective application permitted. In January 2025, the FASB issued ASU 2025-01, “Income Statement — Reporting Comprehensive Income – Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40).” The guidance amends the effective date of ASU 2024-03 to clarify that all public business entities are required to adopt the guidance in annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the effect the updated guidance will have on the Company’s financial statement disclosures.

In September 2025, the FASB issued ASU 2025-06, "Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Internal-Use Software”. This ASU addresses the challenges of applying current internal-use software accounting requirements due to the evolution of software development since the original guidance was issued. The ASU removes all references to project stages. The amendments require an entity to start capitalizing software costs when management has authorized and committed to funding the software project, and it is probable that the project will be completed and the software will be used to perform the function intended. The amendments in the ASU are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027, and for interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027. Early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an annual reporting period. We do not believe this guidance will have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.

In November 2025, the FASB issued ASU 2025-08, "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Purchased Loans". This ASU amends the accounting for acquired loans (excluding credit cards) by expanding the scope of acquired financial assets subject to the gross-up approach under ASC 326, for assets that meet certain criteria at acquisition referred to as purchased seasoned loans. The ASU also provides for an irrevocable accounting policy election to measure the ACL on purchased seasoned loans using the amortized cost basis, rather than unpaid principal balance, if a method other than a discounted cash flow method is utilized to estimate expected credit

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losses. This guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2026 and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods. Early adoption is permitted. This guidance will impact our Consolidated Financial Statements on a prospective basis only when loans are acquired.

In November 2025, the FASB issued ASU 2025-09. "Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Hedge Accounting Improvements." This ASU more closely aligns hedge accounting with the economics of an entity’s risk management activities. The revised guidance allows for individually forecasted transactions with similar risk exposure to be hedged in a group, enables the hedging of the variable price components of forecasted purchases or sales of nonfinancial assets, introduces a model for hedging interest payments on debt instruments with multiple rate options and allows a borrower to select a documented interest rate index and/or tenor without automatically discontinuing hedge accounting. This guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2026 and interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods on a prospective basis. Early adoption is permitted. We do not believe this guidance will have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.

Acquisition of Penns Woods

On July 25, 2025, the Company completed its acquisition of Penns Woods, pursuant to the merger agreement, which was entered into by the Company and Penns Woods on December 16, 2024 (the "Merger Agreement"). In accordance with the Merger Agreement, the Company and Penns Woods completed a business combination whereby Penns Woods merged with and into the Company (the “Merger”),

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

Our principal business consists of collecting deposits and making loans primarily secured by various types of collateral, including real estate and other assets in the markets in which we are located. Attracting and maintaining deposits is affected by a number of factors, including interest rates paid on competing deposits and other investments offered by other financial and non-financial institutions, account maturities, fee structures, and levels of personal income and savings. Lending activities are affected by the demand for funds and thus are influenced by interest rates, the number and quality of alternative lenders and regional economic conditions. Sources of funds for lending activities include deposits, borrowings, repayments on loans, cash flows from investment and mortgage-backed securities and income provided from operations.

Our earnings depend primarily on net interest income, which is the difference between interest earned on our interest-earning assets, consisting primarily of loans and investment securities, and the interest paid on interest-bearing liabilities, consisting primarily of deposits, borrowed funds, and trust-preferred securities. Net interest income is a function of our interest rate spread, which is the difference between the average yield earned on our interest-earning assets and the average rate paid on our interest-bearing liabilities, as well as a function of the average balance of interest-earning assets compared to the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities. Also contributing to our earnings is noninterest income, which consists primarily of service charges and fees on loan and deposit products and services, fees related to investment management and trust services, net gains and losses on the sale of assets, including SBA loans, and mortgage banking income. Net interest income and noninterest income are offset by provisions for credit losses, general administrative and other expenses, including employee compensation and benefits, occupancy expense and processing costs, as well as by state and federal income tax expense.

Our net income was $126 million, or $0.92 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $100 million, or $0.79 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2024, and $135 million, or $1.06 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2023. The provision for credit losses was $56 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $25 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, and $23 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Selected Financial and Other Data

The summary financial information presented below is derived in part from the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. The following is only a summary and should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes included elsewhere in this document. The information at December 31, 2025 and 2024 and for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 is derived in part from the audited Consolidated Financial Statements that appear in this document.

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(1)Represents net income divided by average assets.

(2)Represents net income divided by average equity.

(3)Represents average yield on interest-earning assets less average cost of interest-bearing liabilities (shown on a fully taxable equivalent (“FTE”) basis).

(4)Represents net interest income as a percentage of average interest-earning assets (shown on a FTE basis).

(5) 2023 includes $6.7 million in merger, asset disposition and restructuring expense.

(6) 2024 includes $5.8 million in merger, asset disposition and restructuring expense and a $39.4 loss on sale of investments.

(7) 2025 includes $42.8 million in merger, asset disposition and restructuring expense and $20.7 million of CECL day 1 provision expense.

(8)    Excludes goodwill and other intangible assets (non-GAAP).

The following non-GAAP financial measures used by the Company provide information useful to investors in understanding our operating performance and trends, and facilitate comparisons with the performance of our peers. The following table summarizes the non-GAAP financial measures derived from amounts reported in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 1 of the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Certain accounting policies are important to the understanding of our 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, including, but without limitation, changes in interest rates, performance of the economy, financial condition of borrowers and laws and regulations. The following is the accounting estimate we believe is critical.

Allowance for Credit Losses. We recognize that losses will be experienced on assets and that the risk of loss varies with the type of asset, the creditworthiness of a borrower, general economic conditions and the quality of the collateral, if any. We maintain an allowance for expected lifetime losses in the loan portfolio. The allowance for credit losses represents management’s estimate of

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lifetime expected losses based on all available information. The allowance for credit losses is based on management’s evaluation of relevant available information, from internal and external sources, relating to past events, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The loan portfolio is reviewed regularly by management in its determination of the allowance for credit losses. The methodology for assessing the appropriateness of the allowance includes a review of historical losses, peer group comparisons, industry data and economic conditions. As an integral part of their examination process, regulatory agencies periodically review our allowance for credit losses and may require us to make additional provisions for estimated losses based upon judgments different from those of management. In establishing the allowance for credit losses, a combination of statistical models are applied to various pools of outstanding loans. We use a 24 month forecasting period and revert to historical average loss rates thereafter. Credit relationships that have been classified as substandard or doubtful and are greater than or equal to $1.0 million are reviewed by the Credit Administration department to determine if they no longer continue to demonstrate similar risk characteristics to their loan pool. If a loan no longer demonstrates similar risk characteristics to their loan pool they are removed from the pool and an individual assessment is performed. The allowance calculation is also supplemented with qualitative reserves that take into consideration the current portfolio and specific risk characteristics, such as changes in underwriting standards, portfolio mix, delinquency level, or term, as well as changes in environmental conditions, among other factors, that have occurred but are not yet reflect

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