Cullen/Frost reported fourth-quarter net income available to common shareholders of $164.6 million, up 7.4% from $153.2 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share rose to $2.56 from $2.36 in Q4 2024. Return on average assets improved to 1.22% (from 1.19%), while return on average common equity stood at 14.80%, compared with 15.58% in the prior year quarter, reflecting the company’s higher earnings base and disciplined capital management.

On a taxable-equivalent basis, net interest income for the quarter reached $471.2 million, an 8.6% increase over $433.7 million in Q4 2024. The net interest margin expanded to 3.66% from 3.53%, despite a slight dip from 3.69% in the previous quarter. Average total loans rose 6.5% year-over-year to $21.7 billion, while average deposits increased 3.5% to $43.3 billion, driven by 3.1% growth in non-interest-bearing balances and a 3.0% uptick in interest-bearing deposits over Q4 2024.

Non-interest income climbed 7.6% year-over-year to $132.2 million. Trust and investment management fees increased 4.3%, buoyed by higher market values of client assets, while service charges on deposit accounts jumped 15.9%. Income from customer derivatives trading contributed an additional $1.4 million, and other non-interest income grew by 13.8%, reflecting diversified fee streams and higher transactional volumes.

Non-interest expenses rose 10.6% to $371.7 million, primarily due to higher salaries and wages (+10.3%), increased employee benefits (+28.1%) and a $16.2 million aggregation of one-time items including payroll transition bonuses and charitable contributions. The board authorized a $300 million share repurchase program and repurchased 653,913 shares at a total cost of $80.7 million in the quarter. Additionally, a Q1 common dividend of $1.00 per share and a preferred dividend of $11.125 per share were declared, underscoring the firm’s commitment to returning capital to shareholders.