Chesapeake Financial Shares Inc., the parent company of both Chesapeake Bank and Chesapeake Wealth Management, had earnings of $6,454,594 for the fourth quarter of 2025, which was double the earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024, reported Chesapeake chairman and CEO Jeffrey M. Szyperski.

Earnings for calendar year 2025 of $10,000,366 represented a 12.5 percent decrease from 2024 earnings. The decrease is due to the company proactively repositioning approximately $75 million of investments into higher rates resulting in an $8,000,323 after-tax charge to earnings in the first quarter, a release stated.

This repositioning, as well as deploying funds from a new subordinated debt issue, has strengthened earnings going forward, the release added. The reported earnings per share were $2.123 fully diluted as compared to $2.422 in 2024. Chesapeake Financial Shares ended the year Dec. 31, 2025 with total assets of $1,670,174,891, a 9.5 percent increase over year-end 2024. Nonperforming assets were 0.352 percent as of Dec. 31, 2025, compared to 0.328 percent at Dec. 31, 2024.

“2025 was a year of strengthening our balance sheet for stronger and more sustainable profits going forward while also maintaining excellent asset quality,” Szyperski said. “We also increased our noninterest income $4.37 million after adjusting for our one-time investment loss. Chesapeake Payment Systems, Flexent and Chesapeake Wealth Management all contributed solidly to our earnings.

“Additionally, American Banker named us one of the ‘Top Performing Community Banks’ in the United States for the eighteenth consecutive year and one of the ‘Best Banks to Work For’ for the thirteenth consecutive year,” he continued. “These awards are evidence of our consistently strong earnings and commitment to our employees.”

At the Jan. 16 Chesapeake Financial Shares Board of Directors’ meeting, the board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share effective March 1, 2026, payable on or before March 15, 2026. The company has increased its dividend for 33 consecutive years. The stock currently has a 2.41 percent dividend yield.

For more information about Chesapeake Financial Shares stock (CPKF), or to receive daily email alerts of our stock price, see www.chesapeakefinancialshares.com. The company is followed by Zacks Investment Research, and a copy of their report can also be found on this site or at www.zacks.com. Chesapeake Financial Shares is an over-the-counter, publicly traded stock.