EWBC Posts Strong 2025 Revenues: Will the Growth Momentum Continue?

Solid loan expansion, higher margins and improving fee-based income are expected to support East West Bancorp’s EWBC revenues going forward. The company’s focus on organic growth and disciplined balance sheet management is expected to help sustain its top-line performance.

In 2025, East West Bancorp reported net revenues of $2.93 billion, up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. This was primarily driven by higher net interest income (NII) and non-interest income. Strong loan and deposit balances also supported the overall revenue performance.

Key Drivers of EWBC’s Revenue Growth

NII, the primary contributor to revenues, has remained resilient over time. The metric recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7% in the last six years (2019-2025). This growth was mainly driven by rising loan balances and relatively higher interest rates.
 
Rising loan demand and deposit repricing are expected to support NII growth going forward. In addition, down-rate protection hedge programs, increasing interest-earning assets and the company’s continued focus on acquiring low-cost deposits are expected to provide support.
 
Margin dynamics are also expected to remain supportive despite an easing rate environment. In 2025, net interest margin (NIM) expanded 17 basis points to 3.41%. NIM is expected to benefit from solid loan demand, lower deposit beta, stabilizing funding costs and balance sheet hedging strategies.

Non-interest income also remains a key component of revenues. Over the last six years (2019-2025), non-interest income recorded a CAGR of 9.3%, reflecting steady improvement in fee-based activities. In 2025, commercial and consumer deposit-related fees and lending fees were major contributors to total non-interest income, contributing 29.5% and 28.5%, respectively. As East West Bancorp continues to expand its client base and grow deposits and loans, fee income from deposit account services and lending activities is expected to increase further.

EWBC’s Revenue Growth Outlook for 2026

Management anticipates steady revenue growth, with NII projected to rise 5-7% year over year and period-end loans expected to grow 5-7% amid solid loan demand.

EWBC’s shares have gained 1.1% in the past three months, compared with the industry’s growth of 0.4%.

Currently, EWBC carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

How Will EWBC’s Peers Sustain Revenue Growth?

In 2025, Columbia Banking System COLB reported total revenues of $2.32 billion, up 19% year over year. This was driven by higher NII, increased non-interest income and contributions from the Pacific Premier Bancorp acquisition.

COLB’s revenue growth is expected to be driven by expanding margins, rising fee income and continued balance sheet optimization. Its NIM expanded as deposit costs declined and higher-cost wholesale funding reduced. In 2025, the metric increased to 4.06% from 3.64% in 2024.
 
Additionally, the company’s growing fee-based businesses, including treasury management, commercial card, financial services and trust, along with cross-selling opportunities from the Pacific Premier acquisition, are expected to support non-interest income growth. Together with strong capital generation, these factors are likely to support steady revenue expansion in the periods ahead.

Similarly, WaFd, Inc.’s WAFD revenues recorded a CAGR of 3.2% over the last three fiscal years (2022-2025) and improved further in first-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended Dec. 31), supported by higher NII, healthy loan demand and improved non-interest income.

Organic growth initiatives, improving loan demand and expanding fee-based income streams are expected to support revenue growth of WAFD. Further, the acquisition of Luther Burbank Corporation is expected to remain earnings-accretive. 

WAFD’s NIM remained under pressure over the past couple of years due to elevated funding costs and declined to 2.58% in fiscal 2025. However, the trend reversed in first-quarter fiscal 2026 as margins improved. Further, the company’s initiative to increase non-interest-bearing deposits, a low-cost funding source, is expected to reduce funding costs and provide additional support to margins.