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Ashleigh Flower Wilshire, SVP, Head of Investor Relations

504.299.5076 or ashleigh.wilshire@hancockwhitney.com

Hancock Whitney reports second quarter 2026 EPS of $1.55

GULFPORT, Miss. (July 21, 2026) — Hancock Whitney Corporation (Nasdaq: HWC) today announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2026. Net income for the second quarter of 2026 totaled $127.0 million, or $1.55 per diluted common share (EPS), compared to $47.4 million, or $0.57 per diluted common share, in the first quarter of 2026. First quarter 2026 results include a pretax charge of $98.6million, or $0.95 per share, of a supplemental disclosure item related to a net loss on securities portfolio restructure. There were no supplemental disclosure items in the second quarter of 2026. The company reported net income for the second quarter of 2025 of $113.5 million, or $1.32 per diluted common share. The second quarter of 2025 included $5.9 million, or $0.05 per diluted common share, of supplemental disclosure items related to the acquisition of Sabal Trust Company.

Second Quarter 2026 Highlights

“The second quarter of 2026 results reflect another quarter of strong performance,” said John M. Hairston, President & CEO. “Our team delivered exceptional progress on our organic growth plan with loan growth of 10% and deposit growth of 8%, linked quarter annualized. We remained focused on our investment in revenue-generating activities, including hiring 15 net new bankers in the second quarter. Profitability remains solid with EPS of $1.55, ROA of 1.42%, an efficiency ratio of 55.31%, and continued fee income growth and well-controlled expenses. Our criticized loan levels decreased during the quarter and our ACL remains robust at 1.42%. We also announced the acquisition of One Florida Bank this quarter and expect to close the transaction on August 1. We look forward to the remainder of 2026 as we continue to execute our organic growth plan and welcome the One Florida Bank associates and clients to Hancock Whitney.”

Loans

Total loans were $24.6 billion at June 30, 2026, up $588.3 million, or 2%, from March 31, 2026. Loan growth was driven primarily by an increase in C&I lending, healthcare activity, and commercial real estate across multiple products.

Average loans totaled $24.3 billion for the second quarter of 2026, up $373.9 million, or 2%, linked-quarter.

Deposits

Total deposits at June 30, 2026 were $29.6 billion, up $547.6 million, or 2%, from March 31, 2026. Deposit growth was driven primarily by an increase in interest-bearing transactions and savings, offset by decreases in retail time deposits and interest-bearing public fund deposits.

Noninterest-bearing deposits totaled $10.3 billion at June 30, 2026, virtually flat from March 31, 2026, and comprised 35% of total period-end deposits.

Interest-bearing transaction and savings deposits totaled $13.0 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2026, up $785.0 million, or 6%, linked-quarter due to competitive products and pricing.

Interest-bearing public fund deposits decreased $56.9 million, or 2%, linked-quarter, totaling $2.9 billion at June 30, 2026. The decrease in interest-bearing public fund deposits was driven by seasonal outflows. Compared to March 31, 2026, retail time deposits of $3.4 billion were down $172.4 million, or 5%, driven by maturities and repricing during the second quarter of 2026.

Average deposits for the second quarter of 2026 were $28.8 billion, down $53.8 million, or less than 1%, linked-quarter.

Asset Quality

The total allowance for credit losses (ACL) was $348.0 million at June 30, 2026, up $4.3 million, or 1% from March 31, 2026. During the second quarter of 2026, the company recorded a provision for credit losses of $13.8 million, compared to $13.2 million in the first quarter of 2026. There were $9.4 million of net charge-offs in the second quarter of 2026, or 0.16% of average total loans on an annualized basis, compared to net charge-offs of $11.1 million, or 0.19% of average total loans in the first quarter of 2026. The ratio of ACL to period-end loans was 1.42% at June 30, 2026 compared to 1.43% at March 31, 2026.

Criticized commercial loans totaled $492.0 million, or 2.55% of total commercial loans, at June 30, 2026, down $30.2 million from $522.2 million, or 2.79% of total commercial loans, at March 31, 2026. Nonaccrual loans totaled $113.7 million, or 0.46% of total loans, at June 30, 2026, compared to $113.3 million, or 0.47% of total loans, at March 31, 2026. ORE and foreclosed assets were $12.9 million at June 30, 2026, up $1.6 million, or 14%, from $11.3 million at March 31, 2026.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin (NIM) (TE)

Net interest income (TE) for the second quarter of 2026 was $295.2 million, an increase of $7.7 million, or 3%, from the first quarter of 2026. The net interest margin (NIM) (TE) was 3.56% in the second quarter of 2026, up 1 bp linked-quarter, driven by the higher investment portfolio yield (+2 bps), and lower cost of deposits (+3 bps), partially offset by unfavorable borrowing costs (-3 bps) and lower loan yields (-1 bp).

Average earning assets were $33.2 billion for the second quarter of 2026, up $507 million, or 2%, from the first quarter of 2026.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income totaled $108.4 million for the second quarter of 2026, up $100.9 million from the first quarter of 2026. Included in noninterest income in the first quarter of 2026 was a supplemental disclosure item of a ($98.6) million loss from a securities portfolio restructuring. There were no supplemental disclosure items in the second quarter of 2026.

Service charges on deposit accounts totaled $25.9 million for the second quarter of 2026, unchanged from prior quarter. Bank card and ATM fees were up $1.1 million, or 5%, from the first quarter of 2026. Investment and annuity income and insurance fees were up $2.0 million, or 16%, linked-quarter due to seasonally higher activity. Trust fees were up $1.5 million, or 6%, linked-quarter due to annual collection of tax preparation fees. Fees from secondary mortgage operations totaled $4.1 million for the second quarter of 2026, up $0.5 million, or 15%, linked-quarter.

There were no securities gains and losses in the second quarter of 2026. Securities transactions, net in the first quarter 2026 was a loss of $98.6 million, resulting from a securities portfolio restructuring identified as a supplemental disclosure item.

Other noninterest income was $14.5 million in the second quarter of 2026, down $2.8 million, or 16%, from the first quarter of 2026. The decrease in other noninterest income was primarily due to lower syndication fees and lower SBIC income.

Noninterest Expense & Taxes

Noninterest expense totaled $225.4 million, up $4.7 million, or 2% linked-quarter.

Personnel expense totaled $130.2 million in the second quarter of 2026, up $3.0 million, or 2%, linked-quarter due to annual merit increases and the impact of new hires.

Net occupancy and equipment expense totaled $18.3 million in the second quarter of 2026, up $1.0 million, or 6%, from the first quarter of 2026. Amortization of intangibles totaled $2.2 million for the second quarter of 2026, down $0.3 million, or 13%, linked-quarter.

Net expense on ORE and other foreclosed assets totaled $0.2 million in the second quarter of 2026, compared to $0.4 million in the first quarter of 2026.

Other expenses totaled $74.5 million in the second quarter of 2026, up $1.2 million, or 2%, linked-quarter.

The effective income tax rate for the second quarter of 2026 was 21.7 %, compared to 19.3% in the first quarter of 2026.

Capital

Common stockholders’ equity at June 30, 2026 totaled $4.4 billion, up $24.5 million, or 1%, from March 31, 2026. The tangible common equity (TCE) ratio was 9.78%, down 15 bps linked-quarter. The company’s CET1 ratio is estimated to be 13.18% at June 30, 2026, down 11 bps linked-quarter. Total risk-based capital ratio is estimated to be 14.97% at June 30, 2026, down 13 bps linked-quarter.

During the second quarter of 2026, the company repurchased 712,966 shares of its common stock at an average price of $68.28 per share. This stock repurchase is pursuant to the company’s share buyback program (which authorizes the repurchase of up to 5%, or approximately 4.1 million shares, of the company’s outstanding common stock), which expires on December 31, 2026. Since its inception, the company has repurchased 2,112,966 shares under this share buyback program.

Conference Call and Slide Presentation

Management will host a conference call for analysts and investors at 3:30 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, July 21, 2026 to review second quarter of 2026 results. A live listen-only webcast of the call will be available under the Investor Relations section of Hancock Whitney’s website at investors.hancockwhitney.com. A link to the release with additional financial tables, and a link to a slide presentation related to second quarter 2026 results are also posted as part of the webcast link. To participate in the Q&A portion of the call, dial 833-461-5787, access code 863473372.

A replay of the conference call will be available under the Investor Relations section of our website.

About Hancock Whitney

Since the late 1800s, Hancock Whitney has embodied core values of Honor & Integrity, Strength & Stability, Commitment to Service, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility. Hancock Whitney offices and financial centers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas offer comprehensive financial products and services, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; private banking; trust and investment services; healthcare banking; and mortgage services. The company also operates combined loan and deposit production offices in the greater metropolitan areas of Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia. More information is available at www.hancockwhitney.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release includes non-GAAP financial measures to describe Hancock Whitney’s performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered alternatives to GAAP-basis financial statements and other bank holding companies may define or calculate these non-GAAP measures or similar measures differently. The reconciliations of those measures to GAAP measures are provided either in the financial tables or in Appendix A thereto.

Consistent with the provisions of subpart 229.1400 of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation S-K, “Disclosures by Bank and Savings and Loan Registrants,” the company presents net interest income, net interest margin and efficiency ratios on a fully taxable equivalent (“TE”) basis. The TE basis adjusts for the tax-favored status of net interest income from certain loans and investments using the statutory federal tax rate to increase tax-exempt interest income to a

taxable equivalent basis. The company believes this measure to be the preferred industry measurement of net interest income and it enhances comparability of net interest income arising from taxable and tax-exempt sources.

The company presents certain additional non-GAAP financial measures to assist the reader with a better understanding of the company’s performance period over period, as well as to provide investors with assistance in understanding the success management has experienced in executing its strategic initiatives. The company highlights certain items that are outside of our principal business and/or are not indicative of forward-looking trends in supplemental disclosures items below our GAAP financial data and presents certain “Adjusted” ratios that exclude these disclosed items. These adjusted ratios provide management or the reader with a measure that may be more indicative of forward-looking trends in our business, as well as demonstrates the effects of significant gains or losses and changes.

We define Adjusted Pre-Provision Net Revenue as net income excluding provision expense and income tax expense, plus the taxable equivalent adjustment (as defined above), less supplemental disclosure items (as defined above). Management believes that adjusted pre-provision net revenue is a useful financial measure because it enables investors and others to assess the company’s ability to generate capital to cover credit losses through a credit cycle. We define Adjusted Revenue as net interest income (te) and noninterest income less supplemental disclosure items. We define Adjusted Noninterest Expense as noninterest expense less supplemental disclosure items. We define our Efficiency Ratio as noninterest expense to total net interest income (te) and noninterest income, excluding amortization of purchased intangibles and supplemental disclosure items, if applicable. Management believes adjusted revenue, adjusted noninterest expense and the efficiency ratio are useful measures as they provide a greater understanding of ongoing operations and enhance comparability with prior periods.

Important Cautionary Statement about Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements that we may make include statements regarding our expectations of our performance and financial condition, balance sheet and revenue growth, the provision for credit losses, capital levels, deposits (including growth, pricing, and betas), investment portfolio, other sources of liquidity, loan growth expectations, management’s predictions about charge-offs for loans, the impact of current and future economic conditions, including the effects of declines in the real estate market, tariffs or trade wars (including reduced consumer spending, lower economic growth or recession, reduced demand for U.S. exports, disruptions to supply chains, and decreased demand for other banking products and services), high unemployment, inflationary pressures, increasing insurance costs, fluctuations in interest rates, including the impact of changes in interest rates on our financial projections, models and guidance and slowdowns in economic growth, as well as the financial stress on borrowers as a result of the foregoing, general economic business conditions in our local markets, Federal Reserve action with respect to interest rates, the effects of war or other conflicts, acts of terrorism, climate change, the impact of natural or man-made disasters, the adequacy of our enterprise risk management framework, potential claims, damages, penalties, fines and reputational damage resulting from pending or future litigation, regulatory proceedings, assessments, and enforcement actions, as well as the impact of negative developments affecting the banking industry and the resulting media coverage; the timing, benefits, costs and synergies of the merger with One Florida Bank, as well as statements regarding the potential impact of current or future business combinations on our performance and financial condition, including our ability to successfully identify acquisition targets and integrate the businesses, success of revenue-generating and cost reduction initiatives, the potential impact of third-party business combinations in our footprint on our performance and financial condition, the effectiveness of derivative financial instruments and

hedging activities to manage risks, projected tax rates, increased cybersecurity risks, including potential business disruptions or financial losses, and the impact of artificial intelligence on our business operations, the adequacy of our internal controls over financial and non-financial reporting, the impact of changes in U.S. laws or policies, including those related to credit card interest rates, the financial impact of regulatory requirements and tax reform legislation, deposit trends, credit quality trends, net interest margin trends, future expense levels, future profitability, supplemental disclosure items, improvements in expense to revenue (efficiency) ratio, purchase accounting impacts and expected returns. Also, any statement that does not describe historical or current facts is a forward-looking statement. These statements often include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “forecast,” “goals,” “targets,” “initiatives,” “focus,” “potentially,” “probably,” “projects,” “outlook," or similar expressions or future conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” and “could.” Forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of management and on information currently available to management. Our statements speak as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update these statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in such statements in light of new information or future events.

Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking statement made in this release is subject to the safe harbor protections set forth in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and in other periodic reports that we file with the SEC.