Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, parent of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California, has raised its quarterly cash dividend to $5.60 per share, a 4.7% increase from the prior $5.35, payable on October 1, 2026 to shareholders of record on September 11, 2026. The increase reflects the board's confidence in the bank's earnings power, supported by higher net interest income and net income in the first half of 2026. The move tilts the risk-reward slightly toward income-focused holders, though rising payouts could limit flexibility if credit costs increase. The stock has risen strongly over the past year, and the bank continues to combine a low-teens price-to-earnings ratio with high profit margins and ongoing buybacks.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. reported a record quarterly net income of $11.8 million for the second quarter of 2026, a 53 percent increase from the same period last year. Earnings per basic and diluted share reached $0.86, compared to $0.56 a year earlier, while the return on average assets improved to 1.34 percent. Net interest margin expanded by 26 basis points to 3.48 percent, and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities declined to 2.56 percent from 2.83 percent. Total deposits grew 5.9 percent year-over-year to $2.87 billion, and net loans increased 3 percent to $2.70 billion, with nonperforming loans at 0.27 percent of total loans. The company declared a second-quarter dividend of $0.23 per share, contributing to a 4 percent increase in the annualized dividend to $0.92 per share.