Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) might not dominate the national banking discourse, but can a community institution with $1.0 billion in total assets defintely still offer a compelling financial story? Absolutely, and you should be paying attention to how they are managing their core business in a challenging rate environment. Their third-quarter 2025 net earnings of $2.2 million-a 28% jump in earnings per share year-over-year-demonstrate a highly focused strategy on credit quality and margin expansion. With nonperforming assets sitting at a minimal 0.01% of total assets and a recently declared $0.27 per share quarterly dividend, understanding the history and operating mechanics of this Alabama-based bank is crucial for any investor seeking stable regional financial exposure.

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) History

If you're looking at Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN), you're defintely looking at a story of deep community roots that successfully scaled into a publicly traded bank holding company. The core institution, AuburnBank, has been operating continuously for over a century, which gives it a stability uncommon in today's financial landscape.

The key to understanding AUBN is recognizing the dual structure: the bank itself, founded in 1907, and the holding company, which was established much later to manage capital and facilitate growth. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, this strategy resulted in the company achieving $1.0 billion in total assets, a clear marker of its successful evolution from a local operation.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The foundational entity, the Bank of Auburn, was established and opened its doors on January 3, 1907.

The parent company, Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc., was formally founded in 1990 as the bank holding company (BHC).

Original location

The bank was founded in the heart of downtown Auburn, Alabama, a location chosen specifically to serve the local community and the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (which later became Auburn University).

Founding team members

The instigator and principal founder was Sheldon (Shel) L. Toomer, a successful local businessman and alumnus of the college. He started the bank with a group of local merchants and faculty friends because the town had no bank at the time.

Initial capital/funding

The specific dollar amount of the initial capital from 1907 is not publicly detailed in recent filings. However, the initial funding came from Toomer and his network of fellow merchants and faculty friends, establishing it as a true community-funded venture. Here's the quick math: the town's population was less than 1,500 residents then, so the initial capital base was inherently small and locally sourced.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's trajectory has been defined by two major types of decisions: structural changes to enable growth and timely financial maneuvers to maintain stability. The 1990 formation of the bank holding company was arguably the most important structural pivot, separating the regulatory and operational risk of the bank from the capital-raising functions of the public entity. That was a game-changer for long-term capitalization.

In the near-term, the most transformative recent action was the balance sheet repositioning (selling securities to reinvest at higher yields), a move many regional banks had to consider. This was a tough call, but necessary.

• Formation of the BHC (1990): Creating Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. allowed the company to list on NASDAQ in 1995, giving it a public market for shares and a more sophisticated capital structure than a standalone community bank.
• Strategic Asset Sale (2023): In the fourth quarter of 2023, the company executed a balance sheet repositioning strategy by selling $117.6 million of available-for-sale securities. This resulted in an immediate after-tax loss of $(4.7) million, but it was a calculated move to reinvest at higher rates and improve the net interest margin (NIM) in 2024 and 2025.
• Reaching $1 Billion in Assets (2025): Achieving $1.0 billion in total assets by September 30, 2025, solidifies its status as a significant regional player, moving it past a psychological and operational milestone.

This history provides the essential context for understanding the current investor base and strategy. If you want to dive deeper into who is holding the stock now, you should be Exploring Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) Ownership Structure

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc.'s ownership structure is defintely unique for a publicly traded bank, showing a strong concentration of shares among insiders and institutional funds, which limits the available float for everyday investors.

This tight control means strategic decisions are heavily influenced by a core group of long-term stakeholders, so understanding who holds the shares is crucial for mapping the company's future direction.

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc.'s Current Status

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. is a publicly traded bank holding company, operating as the parent of AuburnBank, and trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol AUBN. As of November 2025, the company maintains a small-cap valuation with a market capitalization hovering near $90.15 million.

The company is a community-oriented bank in East Alabama, and its conservative, local focus is reflected in its balance sheet, which showed total assets of approximately $1.0 billion as of September 30, 2025. This regional focus, plus the high insider ownership, makes it less susceptible to the volatility seen in larger, more widely held financial institutions.

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc.'s Ownership Breakdown

The ownership profile is characterized by a significant stake held by company insiders, which is typical for a long-established community bank, but the institutional interest is also meaningful. Here's the quick math on the breakdown:

The high insider ownership-nearly 36.44%-is a double-edged sword: it aligns management's interests with long-term shareholder value, but it also means fewer shares are available for trading, which can impact liquidity. This structure is a key factor when you're Exploring Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc.'s Leadership

The company is guided by a seasoned leadership team and board of directors, with an average board tenure of over two decades, which speaks to stability and long-term community ties.

• Robert W. Dumas serves as the Chairman of the Board, having previously served as President and CEO until the end of 2022.
• David Hedges is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), appointed in January 2023. His total yearly compensation is approximately $393.22 thousand, with salary making up about 79.3% of that figure.
• James Walker is the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), a role he assumed in January 2023.
• The Board of Directors recently welcomed Walt Conn in October 2025, bringing extensive experience in public accounting and risk management from his prior role as Global Chief Operating Officer at KPMG International.

This blend of long-serving local leadership and recent, high-level financial expertise ensures a conservative approach to banking while still navigating modern regulatory and risk environments.

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) Mission and Values

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc., through its subsidiary AuburnBank, anchors its purpose not just in financial growth, but in being the indispensable financial partner for East Alabama's long-term prosperity. Their cultural DNA is built on a century-old commitment to community banking, which translates directly into a focus on local businesses and citizens over broader national expansion.

You're looking for what truly drives this bank beyond the balance sheet, and honestly, it's their deep, sustained local presence. The bank's commitment is defintely a long-haul strategy, evidenced by their over 118 years of continuous operation since 1907.

Auburn National Bancorporation's Core Purpose

The company's core purpose is to foster community growth and stability, which is a significant differentiator in the highly competitive regional banking space. This focus means their lending and deposit services are highly tailored to the specific needs of individuals and small-to-middle market businesses in East Alabama, particularly in Lee County and surrounding areas.

Official mission statement

The bank's mission is deeply rooted in its history, focusing on local economic health and personal well-being. It's a direct, community-first mandate.

• Promote the community and see local businesses flourish.
• Improve the livelihoods of local citizens.
• Execute on this commitment for the long haul-over 118 years.

Here's the quick math on their community commitment: in 2024 alone, AuburnBank partnered with over 96 local agencies, providing more than $211,000 in funding. That's a concrete investment in their operating environment.

Vision statement

The near-term vision is less about geographic expansion and more about modernizing the service delivery while maintaining the personal touch that has given them over 20% of the deposit market share in the Auburn-Opelika metropolitan area.

• Invest in business, people, and community for local growth opportunities in 2025.
• Make it easier to do business through technological investment.
• Implement a new deposit account opening system to significantly reduce account opening time.
• Develop a new mobile and online banking platform to dramatically improve the digital experience.

What this estimate hides is the challenge of balancing high-tech convenience with the high-touch customer service that a community bank is known for. You can find more details on how they plan to achieve this balance here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN).

Auburn National Bancorporation slogan/tagline

While an explicit, short slogan isn't publicly featured, the company's operational mantra centers on the core values that have sustained its market leadership. Their actions speak louder than a tagline.

• Be dependable.
• Know and care for customers and community.
• Maintain strong governance and prudent risk management.

They've consistently paid a cash dividend for 31 consecutive years, which is a strong signal of their dependability and financial stability to shareholders.

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) How It Works

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) works by functioning as the holding company for AuburnBank, a community bank that primarily generates revenue through net interest income (NII) from its loan and investment portfolios, funded by local deposits. The bank's core mission is to provide comprehensive financial services to its East Alabama community, focusing on both retail and commercial banking needs Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN)..

Honestly, the business model is straightforward: take in deposits, lend that money out, and earn the spread (net interest margin). For the third quarter of 2025, the company reported net interest income (tax-equivalent) of $7.6 million, a key driver of its overall revenue of $8.40 million for the quarter.

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc.'s Operational Framework

The company's value creation process centers on efficient asset-liability management (ALM) and deep local integration. They generate value by attracting low-cost core deposits from their primary service area-Auburn and Opelika, Alabama, and surrounding Lee County-and deploying those funds into higher-yielding loans and investment securities.

• Deposit Gathering: AuburnBank focuses on maintaining strong community relationships to secure a stable and cost-effective deposit base, which totaled $917.3 million as of September 30, 2025.
• Loan Origination: Funds are primarily channeled into a diversified loan portfolio, which stood at $557.9 million (net of unearned income) at the end of Q3 2025, with a significant portion in commercial real estate.
• Risk Management: They prioritize prudent credit quality management; the nonperforming assets were extremely low at just $0.1 million, or 0.01% of total assets, as of September 30, 2025. That's defintely a strong indicator of careful lending.
• Digital Investment: To improve efficiency and customer experience, the bank is investing in technology, including implementing a new deposit account opening system and developing a new mobile and online banking platform throughout 2025.

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

Auburn National Bancorporation's market success is rooted in its status as a true community bank, which gives it a distinct edge against larger regional or national competitors. They know their market better than anyone else.

• Dominant Local Market Share: The company is the only bank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, and has maintained the leading deposit market share-over 20% in the Auburn-Opelika metropolitan area-for 28 consecutive years.
• Strong Asset Quality: Exceptional credit management is a key differentiator; the nonperforming assets ratio of 0.01% of total assets as of Q3 2025 is a sign of a very clean loan book.
• Regional Expertise: Deep community ties and local knowledge allow for better underwriting and personalized service, which helps them retain customers who value a human connection over a purely digital experience.
• Financial Strength: The company maintains a robust balance sheet, reporting total assets of $1.0 billion as of September 30, 2025, providing a solid foundation for continued lending and stability.

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) How It Makes Money

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) primarily makes money through the classic banking model: borrowing funds from depositors and lending them out at a higher rate, which generates net interest income. The vast majority of its revenue comes from the interest earned on its loan portfolio and investment securities, with a smaller but steady stream from customer fees and services.

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc.'s Revenue Breakdown

For the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), Auburn National Bancorporation reported total revenue of $8.40 million, with the revenue streams heavily weighted toward core lending activities. This breakdown shows the company's reliance on the spread between the interest it pays and the interest it collects.

The core engine is Net Interest Income (NII), which totaled $7.6 million in Q3 2025, an 11% jump year-over-year (YoY) from Q3 2024. Noninterest Income, derived from service charges on deposit accounts and other fee-based services, was $0.8 million, remaining flat YoY. The company is a pure-play regional bank, so non-interest income is not a major growth driver.

Business Economics

The company's profitability hinges on its Net Interest Margin (NIM), which is the difference between the interest income generated and the amount of interest paid out to depositors. You want to see that spread widening, and that's exactly what happened in Q3 2025.

• Net Interest Margin (NIM): The NIM improved by 25 basis points (bps) to 3.30% in Q3 2025, compared to the same period last year. This is a defintely positive sign, showing they are managing their funding costs better or getting higher yields on their loans and securities.
• Loan Portfolio Focus: The loan book is a key asset, with a significant portion invested in commercial real estate, which typically provides higher yields than residential mortgages.
• Pricing Strategy: As a community bank in the Auburn-Opelika metropolitan area, Auburn National Bancorporation leverages deep local ties and its position as the Lee County deposit market leader to attract stable, low-cost deposits. This local market dominance helps keep their cost of funds manageable, supporting the NIM.

The economic fundamentals are straightforward: attract deposits cheaply, lend money securely at a higher rate, and manage overhead. Their total assets were approximately $1.0 billion as of September 30, 2025, making them a small but locally powerful player. If you want to dive into the strategic direction, you can review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN).

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc.'s Financial Performance

The Q3 2025 results show a healthy, well-capitalized institution with excellent asset quality. The numbers point to a business that is executing well on its core banking strategy, especially in managing credit risk.

• Net Earnings: Net earnings for Q3 2025 were $2.2 million, a significant increase from $1.7 million in Q3 2024. This translated to Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $0.64, a 28% increase YoY.
• Asset Quality: Credit quality is exceptionally strong, with Nonperforming Assets (NPAs) at a minimal 0.01% of total assets as of September 30, 2025. This low ratio suggests prudent underwriting and minimal immediate risk of loan losses.
• Capital Position: The company maintains a strong capital buffer, with a Tangible Common Equity (TCE) ratio of 8.86% at the end of Q3 2025. This is a key metric for banks, and this level indicates a robust capacity to absorb potential losses and support future growth.
• Return on Assets (ROA): The ROA improved to 0.89% in Q3 2025, up from 0.71% in Q3 2024. While still below the 1.0% benchmark often sought in banking, the upward trend shows improved operational efficiency.

Here's the quick math: the company earned $5.6 million, or $1.60 per share, in net earnings for the first nine months of 2025, which is already ahead of the $4.8 million reported for the same period in 2024. The consistent quarterly cash dividend of $0.27 per share, declared for Q4 2025, further reflects this financial stability.

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN) Market Position & Future Outlook

Auburn National Bancorporation (AUBN) is a highly localized, community-focused bank holding company that maintains a dominant deposit market position in its core East Alabama operating area, despite its relatively small size of approximately $1.0 billion in total assets as of September 30, 2025. The company is poised for continued profitability from its successful balance sheet repositioning, but it must manage rising overhead costs and deposit fluctuations to truly accelerate earnings.

Competitive Landscape

In the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), Auburn National Bancorporation's subsidiary, AuburnBank, is the definitive market leader, a position it has held for 28 consecutive years. This local dominance is a significant competitive moat against larger regional and national banks that operate in the same market.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's strategic focus is on leveraging its strong local position while enhancing efficiency and digital reach. That's a smart move, but it has to be executed defintely without ballooning non-interest expenses.

Industry Position

Auburn National Bancorporation occupies a unique and enviable niche as a community bank with a fortress-like balance sheet. The Q3 2025 results show a net interest margin of 3.30% and net earnings of $2.2 million, reflecting strong core banking performance. The company's credit quality is exceptionally strong, with nonperforming assets at a minimal 0.01% of total assets as of September 30, 2025.

• Maintain a high tangible common equity ratio of 8.86%, reflecting a strong capital cushion against unexpected losses.
• The bank has a 31-year streak of consecutive dividend payments, with the Q4 2025 cash dividend declared at $0.27 per share, demonstrating a commitment to shareholder returns and financial stability.
• Its primary competitive leverage stems from its hyper-local focus and deep community engagement, which is central to its Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. (AUBN).

The core challenge remains scaling its revenue base-which was $8.40 million in Q3 2025-to generate better operating leverage against fixed costs. The market is rewarding this stability, but true alpha comes from efficient growth.