Company Description
Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ: SFNC) is a Mid-South based financial holding company in the commercial banking industry. Through its principal subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company is engaged in providing banking services that include consumer, real estate and commercial loans, as well as checking, savings and time deposit accounts. According to company disclosures, Simmons Bank operates more than 220 branches across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas and has a history of paying cash dividends to shareholders for 116 consecutive years. The bank traces its roots to 1903, reflecting a long-standing presence in regional banking.
Simmons First National Corporation is classified in the commercial banking industry within the broader finance and insurance sector. Its loan portfolio, as described in available information, includes construction, single-family residential and commercial loans, non-real estate loans, nonaccrual and past due loans, as well as credit card loans, student loans and other consumer loans. The company also offers products and services that encompass trust services, investments, agricultural finance lending, equipment lending, insurance, consumer finance and small business administration lending. These activities are conducted through its banking subsidiary within the United States.
Business model and banking activities
As a financial holding company, Simmons First National Corporation conducts its primary business through Simmons Bank. The bank’s activities include taking deposits through checking, savings and time deposit accounts and extending credit through a variety of loan types. The loan portfolio composition, which includes construction, residential and commercial real estate, non-real estate loans, credit card loans, student loans and other consumer loans, illustrates the company’s participation in multiple areas of retail and commercial banking.
Beyond traditional lending and deposit services, Simmons offers trust services and investment-related offerings, as well as agricultural finance lending and equipment lending. The company also participates in insurance-related activities, consumer finance and small business administration lending. These services align with the commercial banking focus described in the company’s profile and regulatory disclosures.
Geographic footprint and market focus
Simmons First National Corporation describes itself as a Mid-South based financial holding company. Its principal subsidiary, Simmons Bank, operates more than 220 branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Through this footprint, the company conducts its commercial banking activities in multiple states, serving customers in those markets with deposit accounts, loans and related financial services.
The company’s operations are carried out through its subsidiaries in the United States. The presence across several states in the Mid-South region supports its positioning as a regional banking organization, with a network of financial centers that provide access to its products and services.
Dividend history and shareholder focus
According to multiple company announcements, Simmons First National Corporation has paid cash dividends for 116 consecutive years. The company notes that research by Dividend Power identifies it as one of a limited number of U.S. publicly traded companies that have paid dividends for more than 100 uninterrupted years. The company also indicates that it has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years, and that this track record has led to a designation as a "Dividend Contender" in that research, reflecting a pattern of regular dividend growth over an extended period.
This long dividend history is a notable characteristic of Simmons First National Corporation’s relationship with its shareholders. The company’s common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol SFNC, as disclosed in its SEC filings.
Recognition and workplace profile
Simmons Bank, the principal subsidiary of Simmons First National Corporation, has been recognized in several third-party rankings. Company news releases state that Simmons Bank has been named by Newsweek as one of America’s Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions 2026 and one of America’s Greatest Workplaces 2025 in Arkansas. Simmons Bank has also been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the 2024–2025 Best Companies to Work For in the South and by Forbes in categories such as America’s Best-In-State Banks and America’s Best-In-State Employers in specific states.
These recognitions, as reported by the company, relate to both its banking services and its workplace environment. They provide additional context on how external organizations have evaluated the bank’s operations and employment practices.
Capital, funding and balance sheet actions
Recent SEC filings and company press releases describe several capital and balance sheet activities. In one transaction, the company completed steps to reposition its consolidated balance sheet, which included reclassifying held-to-maturity investment securities to available-for-sale and selling a significant amount of investment securities based on fair market value. The company reported that this sale resulted in a realized after-tax loss that would be recorded in the third quarter of 2025, and that the transaction was associated with an underwritten public offering of Class A common stock that generated net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including support for balance sheet repositioning and growth.
In another filing, the company reported entering into an underwriting agreement to issue and sell subordinated notes with a fixed-to-floating rate structure. The company indicated that it intends to use the net proceeds from this subordinated notes offering, along with cash on hand, to repay in full an existing series of subordinated notes due 2028 and for general corporate purposes. These actions, as described in the filings, relate to the company’s capital structure and funding strategy.
Earnings reporting and regulatory disclosures
Simmons First National Corporation regularly files reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For example, the company filed a Form 8-K reporting its third quarter 2025 results, including a net loss for the quarter and adjusted earnings measures, and provided financial highlights such as total loans, total deposits, total assets and various performance and capital ratios. The company also furnished press releases and investor presentations as exhibits to its Form 8-K filings, indicating a practice of providing supplemental information to investors.
Other Form 8-K filings describe matters such as the pricing of equity offerings, completion of balance sheet repositioning transactions, the pricing of subordinated notes, and changes in executive leadership, including the planned retirement of the company’s chairman and chief executive officer and the appointment of a new president and chief executive officer effective on a specified future date. These filings illustrate the types of material events that Simmons First National Corporation reports in accordance with SEC requirements.
Corporate governance and leadership changes
In a Form 8-K and accompanying press release, Simmons First National Corporation disclosed that its long-serving chairman and chief executive officer notified the company of his decision to retire from his positions at the end of a specified date. The board of directors appointed a successor to serve as president and chief executive officer of the company and Simmons Bank effective at the beginning of the following year and elected that individual to the board to fill the vacancy created by the retirement. The board also elected a new chairman to succeed the retiring chairman, with the change to take effect on the same date as the leadership transition.
Another Form 8-K describes adjustments to benefits under the Simmons Bank Endorsement Split-Dollar Life Insurance Plan for certain officers, including increases in defined lump-sum life insurance benefits. These disclosures provide insight into aspects of the company’s executive compensation and governance practices.
Industry classification and regulatory status
Simmons First National Corporation is incorporated in Arkansas and is identified in SEC filings as a registrant with common stock registered under Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Its common stock trades under the symbol SFNC on The Nasdaq Global Select Market. The company operates in the commercial banking segment of the finance and insurance sector, and its principal subsidiary, Simmons Bank, functions as a bank subject to applicable banking regulations.
As a financial holding company with a commercial banking focus, Simmons First National Corporation’s activities, as described in its public disclosures, center on deposit-taking, lending and related financial services, supplemented by trust, investment, insurance and specialized lending offerings. Its long operating history, regional branch network and extended record of dividend payments are recurring themes in its public communications.