Amalgamated’s AI-Infused Earnings Harvest

Amalgamated Financial delivered a record quarter: net income of $34.8M, revenue approaching $100M, and a core efficiency ratio below 50%. CEO Priscilla Sims Brown opened the call with a confident declaration: “This quarter showcases the power of the franchise we have built.” — Priscilla Sims Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer · 2026-07-23 The bank raised full‑year 2026 guidance for net interest income to $338M–$340M and core pretax pre‑provision earnings to $188M–$190M, citing continued asset optimization and deposit‑led growth. Sam Brown highlighted the underlying strength: “We are really proud of what we are able to do in loan growth this year.” — Sam D. Brown, Chief Banking Officer · 2026-07-23

AI Adoption: A New Theme

What is new this quarter is the explicit push into AI. use of AI appears for the first time in the company’s keyword trajectory, and CFO Jason Darby introduced a view of enterprise AI across business functions:

We have introduced a view of our enterprise use of AI tools across multiple business functions. The building blocks for the tech infrastructure necessary to support efficient future growth. We will look forward to updating you in future quarters on our progress on AI adoption, utilization, and agentification as we move towards scalable efficiency.

Election‑Cycle Balance Sheet Management

The balance sheet strategy remains anchored around the election cycle. With on‑balance‑sheet deposits at a record $8.5B, the bank is targeting $9.6B of total assets and plans to deploy off‑balance‑sheet deposits to fund the inevitable deposit outflow as political deposits unwind into year‑end. CFO Jason Darby explained: “The average balance? Yes. It should be flattish. I think there is still a little bit of growth and probably under 1% on an average basis in Q3 and Q4. But, generally, that is the back half of the year.” — Jason Darby, Chief Financial Officer · 2026-07-23 The election cycle remains a recurring theme, but management is explicit that 2027 will be the “restarting of the growth engine” as the presidential cycle kicks off. Indeed, the political deposit franchise has historically exceeded expectations; as Priscilla noted in January: “we have been pleasantly surprised, as you know, every cycle in that our projections or our actuals from the prior cycle have been surpassed.” — Priscilla Sims Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer · 2026-01-22

Credit Resolution and Outlook

Credit quality continues to improve after the single‑borrower issue that dominated the Q1 call. In April, CEO Priscilla Sims Brown acknowledged the limited disclosure posture: “Justin, we’re going to be somewhat limited, obviously, as we are in the midst of negotiations with this borrower on talking about it in too much detail” — Priscilla Sims Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer · 2026-04-23. This quarter, criticized and classified balances declined by ~$9M and pass‑rated loans were ~97% of the portfolio, suggesting the issue is contained. The bank’s credit discipline is now a stable pillar.

Underpinning the story is the raw growth in net interest income, which reached $80M in Q1 2026 (latest filing) and is being guided higher. The stock has rallied ~16% over the past 90 days and sits near its 52‑week high, reflecting investor confidence in the “better bank” narrative. The AI adoption adds a fresh, forward‑looking angle.

Amalgamated is no longer just a mission‑driven lender; it is building a scalable platform with AI and technology investment. The record results and guidance raise confirm the “harvesting earnings power” theme, while the new AI focus could differentiate it among small‑cap banks.