Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

When you look at regional financial players, what makes a company like Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC), a mid-sized community bank with approximately $5.85 billion in total assets as of June 2025, a compelling case study?

The answer lies in its consistent, core banking model-generating net interest income that hit $50.8 million in the third quarter of 2025 alone-which is why institutional giants like BlackRock, Inc. are top shareholders.

This deep dive will defintely show you how this Springfield, Missouri-headquartered holding company (a company that owns a controlling interest in a bank) navigates deposit competition and credit risk, giving you the precise data needed to assess its long-term value.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) History

You're looking for the bedrock of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc.'s (GSBC) success, which is a story of a small-town thrift that became a multi-state commercial bank. The direct takeaway is that its 102-year history is defined by two key transformations: the 1974 leadership change under Bill Turner and the strategic acquisitions following the 2008 financial crisis, which cemented its regional footprint and commercial focus.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The company was established on March 1, 1923, as Great Southern Savings and Loan Association.

Original location

The original office was located in the old Seville Hotel building on East Walnut Street in Springfield, Missouri, which remains the company's headquarters today.

Founding team members

The bank was founded by J. Wyman Hogg, R.M. Mack, and John P. McNiel, and began operations with just four employees.

Initial capital/funding

The bank started with a modest initial investment of only $5,000.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The most defintely transformative period for Great Southern Bancorp was the transition from a traditional savings and loan (S&L) to a diversified commercial bank, a change that took decades and was driven by strategic leadership.

• The 1974 Leadership Shift: When Bill Turner took the helm, the bank had just one office and about $80 million in assets. His vision was to expand aggressively into the surrounding Ozarks communities, moving the bank away from being a single-market player.
• The 1989 IPO and Charter Change: Converting from a thrift to a commercial bank holding company (Great Southern Bancorp, Inc.) and listing on the NASDAQ was crucial. It gave the company the capital structure needed for larger commercial loans and expansion, which is essential for a publicly traded entity.
• The Post-2008 Crisis Acquisitions: During the last financial crisis, the company used its capital strength to buy failed banks, generating significant 'bargain purchase gains' and quickly expanding its geographic reach into states like Iowa and Minnesota. This was a massive, non-organic leap in market share.
• The 2025 Financial Health Check: As of the third quarter of 2025, the bank's core performance is strong; net interest income reached $50.8 million, and non-performing assets were low at just $7.8 million, or 0.14% of total assets. This shows the long-term success of their conservative credit posture. You can see a deeper dive on this in Breaking Down Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Here's the quick math: an investor who bought one share at the $9 Initial Public Offering (IPO) price in 1989 has seen a massive return, demonstrating the power of these long-term, transformative decisions.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) Ownership Structure

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) is a publicly traded company, but its ownership structure is a classic mix of institutional money and a significant, long-standing insider stake, which means the founding family and executives still have a substantial say in the company's direction. As of the 2025 fiscal year, institutional investors hold the largest block of shares, but the combined influence of insiders is defintely a key factor in governance.

You need to know who controls the voting power, because that tells you whose interests are prioritized in strategic decisions like capital allocation and dividend policy. For GSBC, that power is split between the big funds and the people who run the bank day-to-day.

Given Company's Current Status

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. is a publicly held bank holding company for Great Southern Bank, not a private entity. Its common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol GSBC. This public listing means the company is subject to the rigorous reporting and transparency requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), providing investors with quarterly and annual financial data, like the preliminary first quarter 2025 net income of $17.2 million. Being public also means its governance is overseen by a board of directors with a majority of independent members, a common structure for publicly traded financial institutions.

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

The shareholder base for Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. is concentrated in institutional hands, but the insider ownership is higher than you'd see in many large-cap banks. This dual structure-heavy institutional backing plus a strong insider presence-suggests a balance between professional money management oversight and a long-term, family-oriented operational vision. Here's the quick math on the breakdown as of mid-2025:

The high insider ownership, particularly by the Turner family, is a key risk/opportunity factor. It means management is deeply invested, but it also means a smaller public float, which can sometimes lead to lower trading liquidity. You need to consider that family control when looking at long-term strategy. For a deeper dive into the numbers, check out Breaking Down Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Given Company's Leadership

The organization is steered by a seasoned Board of Directors with an average tenure of 16.3 years, which provides incredible institutional knowledge, but the executive management team is relatively new, with an average tenure of only 0.9 years. This suggests a recent, significant shake-up in the operational ranks under the long-standing board's direction.

The leadership is anchored by the Turner family, which has been involved for decades, but the day-to-day operations are run by a diverse team of functional experts.

• Joseph W. Turner: President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since 2000, with a 2025 total yearly compensation of $1.56 million.
• William V. Turner: Chairman of the Board, who served as CEO from 1974 to 2000, providing historical continuity.
• Rex A. Copeland: Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), a critical role in managing the bank's balance sheet.
• Kevin L. Baker: Chief Credit Officer, overseeing the quality of the loan portfolio, a major focus for banks in 2025.
• Bryan Tiede: Chief Risk Officer and Corporate Secretary, managing regulatory compliance and enterprise risk.

The long tenure of the board, especially Chairman William V. Turner's over 40 years of service, is a huge institutional asset that most regional banks can't match. Still, the new management team means you should watch for changes in execution and strategic focus, especially as they navigate the current interest rate environment.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) Mission and Values

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) is driven by a core principle of building mutually beneficial relationships, which translates directly into a conservative, consistent banking model focused on long-term financial strength for all stakeholders. This commitment goes beyond simple transactions, aiming to be the premier community bank in its operating markets.

Given Company's Core Purpose

You're looking for what truly anchors this institution, and it's a four-part commitment that ties together the bank's operations, from a mortgage officer to the CEO. This is the cultural DNA that dictates their risk posture and capital allocation, which is defintely a key factor in their resilience.

Official mission statement

The mission statement for Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. is clear and comprehensive, encompassing the four pillars of its business ecosystem:

• Build winning relationships with its customers.
• Build winning relationships with its associates.
• Build winning relationships with its shareholders.
• Build winning relationships with its communities.

Here's the quick math on the shareholder piece: the company paid its 142nd consecutive quarterly dividend in Q2 2025, demonstrating a consistent return of value.

Vision statement

The company's vision is to be the premier community bank in the markets it serves, which is a powerful statement about market positioning and operational excellence, not just size. It's about being the best, not the biggest.

• Achieve market leadership in customer satisfaction and financial performance.
• Build customer loyalty through exceptional, personalized solutions.
• Maintain financial strength and consistent profitability.
• Make a positive community impact through lending and volunteerism.

This focus on financial strength is reflected in their Q3 2025 results, where Stockholders' Equity stood at $632.9 million, or 11.0% of total assets of $5.74 billion. If you want to dive deeper into who's buying into this vision, you should check out Exploring Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Given Company slogan/tagline

While Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. doesn't prominently feature a single, short consumer slogan like some national brands, its internal guiding theme is focused on the relationship aspect of banking, often summarized as:

• Understanding What Really Matters.

This translates into a conservative credit posture; their Q2 2025 Tier 1 Leverage Ratio of 11.5% is a testament to their prudent risk management, providing a significant buffer against potential downturns.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) How It Works

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. primarily works by operating as a traditional, relationship-focused commercial and retail bank, Great Southern Bank, generating revenue by taking in customer deposits and then deploying that capital into a diversified portfolio of loans, particularly in commercial real estate and multi-family residential lending. The core of its business model is net interest income (NII), which is the difference between the interest earned on its assets (loans and securities) and the interest paid on its liabilities (deposits and borrowings).

This model delivered a net interest income of $50.8 million in the third quarter of 2025, supported by a strong net interest margin (NIM) of 3.72% for the same period. That's how they make their money, simply put: lend money at a higher rate than they borrow it.

Great Southern Bancorp's Product/Service Portfolio

Great Southern Bancorp's Operational Framework

The company's operational success stems from a disciplined, centralized underwriting process coupled with a decentralized, relationship-based sales approach across its multi-state footprint. They focus on maintaining a conservative credit posture, which means carefully selecting who they lend to, even if it limits growth speed.

Here's the quick math on their asset quality as of Q3 2025: Non-performing assets were exceptionally low at $7.8 million, representing just 0.14% of total assets. That's defintely a key metric in a volatile market.

• Relationship Banking: Use a regional banking center network (89 retail centers) and commercial lending offices (in cities like Chicago, Dallas, and Phoenix) to source stable, lower-cost core deposits and high-quality loans.
• Expense Control: Maintain a lean structure, evidenced by an efficiency ratio of 59.16% in Q2 2025, which shows they spend less than 60 cents to earn a dollar of revenue.
• Funding Management: Strategically manage the deposit mix, including the use of brokered deposits, to control overall funding costs and drive margin expansion. They're constantly optimizing the cost of their borrowed money.

Great Southern Bancorp's Strategic Advantages

Great Southern Bancorp's competitive edge isn't about being the biggest; it's about being the most resilient and disciplined. Their primary advantage is a fortress-like balance sheet that allows them to weather economic shifts better than many peers.

• Capital Strength: Regulatory capital ratios significantly exceed minimum requirements, with a Total Capital Ratio of 15.1% as of September 30, 2025, providing a substantial buffer against unexpected losses.
• Asset Quality: Consistently low non-performing assets, as noted above, minimize credit loss provisions and protect earnings. This focus on credit quality is a long-term value driver.
• Liquidity Buffer: They maintain substantial secured borrowing line availability, totaling approximately $1.56 billion as of Q2 2025, ensuring ample funding capacity even under stress scenarios.
• Margin Resilience: The ability to expand the net interest margin to 3.72% (Q3 2025) in a challenging rate environment shows effective asset-liability management (ALM), which is the science of matching loan yields to deposit costs.

If you want a deeper dive into the numbers that support this stability, check out Breaking Down Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) How It Makes Money

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) operates primarily as a traditional commercial bank, so its core business is making money from the spread between what it earns on loans and investments and what it pays on deposits and borrowings-this is called net interest income. They also generate a smaller but important stream of revenue from customer fees for banking services and transactions.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc.'s Revenue Breakdown

For a regional bank like Great Southern Bancorp, Net Interest Income (NII) is the engine. As of the third quarter of 2025, NII made up nearly 90% of their total revenue, a clear sign of their reliance on core lending and deposit-taking. The table below uses the most recent quarterly data, which ended September 30, 2025, to give you a precise picture of their revenue mix.

The Net Interest Income stream, which totaled $50.8 million in the third quarter of 2025, grew by 5.8% compared to the same period last year. That's a solid increase driven by higher yields on their loan portfolio. Total Non-Interest Income, at $7.1 million in the third quarter of 2025, is a smaller but stable component, showing a 1.0% year-over-year increase. This is defintely a bank focused on the fundamentals of lending.

Business Economics

The core economic fundamental for Great Southern Bancorp is managing its Net Interest Margin (NIM), which is the difference between the interest rate they charge on assets (like loans) and the interest rate they pay on liabilities (like deposits). In the current interest rate environment, their NIM has been a strength.

• Net Interest Margin (NIM): The annualized NIM for the third quarter of 2025 stood at 3.72%, a healthy jump from 3.42% in the year-ago quarter. This improvement shows they are effectively reducing their cost of funds, even as loan yields remain strong.
• Non-Interest Income Drivers: The $7.1 million in non-interest income is primarily generated from service charges on deposit accounts, point-of-sale (POS) and ATM fee income, and overdraft/insufficient funds fees. For example, in 3Q25, overdraft and insufficient funds fees were $1.4 million, up 4.6% from 3Q24, while POS and ATM fee income was $3.3 million.
• Funding Mix: The bank is actively managing its deposit base. While total deposits decreased by $77.5 million in the first nine months of 2025, they saw increases in interest-bearing checking and non-interest-bearing deposits, which are generally cheaper funding sources than time deposits or brokered deposits.

What this estimate hides is the potential for deposit costs to rise if the Federal Reserve's rate-easing cycle stalls, but for now, they are managing the cost of money well.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc.'s Financial Performance

The bank's financial health as of the end of the third quarter of 2025 shows consistency, driven by that strong NIM and disciplined credit management. Their focus is on sustainable returns, not just chasing growth. You can see their strategic focus on Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC).

• Net Income and EPS: Net income for the third quarter of 2025 was $17.8 million, a 7.7% increase from the third quarter of 2024. Earnings per diluted common share (EPS) followed suit, rising 10.6% to $1.56.
• Asset Quality: Credit quality remains exceptionally strong. Non-performing assets (NPAs) were only 0.14% of total assets as of September 30, 2025, a sign of prudent risk management. Their Allowance for Credit Losses (ACL) to period-end loans was 1.43%, indicating a solid buffer against potential losses.
• Capital Strength: Total stockholders' equity reached $632.9 million at September 30, 2025, representing 11.0% of total assets. This tangible common equity ratio of 10.9% shows they operate well above regulatory capital requirements, giving them flexibility.

The next step for you is to compare this 3.72% NIM to other regional banks to see if Great Southern Bancorp is an outperformer in its peer group.

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) Market Position & Future Outlook

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) maintains a solid, defensive position in the regional banking space, underpinned by strong capital ratios and a Q3 2025 Net Interest Margin (NIM) of 3.72%. The future outlook is centered on disciplined credit quality management and strategic technology investments to drive efficiency, rather than aggressive balance sheet growth.

You're seeing a regional bank focused on weathering macroeconomic shifts, so their strategy is about protecting the downside while incrementally improving the customer experience. This is defintely a risk-aware approach.

Competitive Landscape

Note: Market Share percentages are illustrative estimates of deposit share within the core Midwest operating region, reflecting relative size. Great Southern Bancorp, Inc.'s market capitalization as of November 2025 is approximately $0.65 Billion USD.

Opportunities & Challenges

Industry Position

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. operates as a smaller, tightly-managed regional bank, ranking well below the national giants but holding a defensible position against mid-sized peers in its core Midwest markets (Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, etc.). The company's focus on asset quality is a clear differentiator; non-performing assets were just $7.8 million, or 0.14% of total assets, as of September 30, 2025. That's a very clean balance sheet.

• Maintain a high Total Capital Ratio of 14.7% (Q2 2025), significantly exceeding regulatory minimums.
• Demonstrate commitment to shareholders by increasing the quarterly dividend to $0.43 per share.
• Leverage a new core provider relationship to roll out a full overhaul of the treasury management services platform.

The bank's consistent profitability and valuation metrics-like a healthy P/E ratio of 9.61 (Q3 2025)-suggest good value relative to growth compared to the broader finance sector. You can dive deeper into the institutional holdings and recent trading patterns by Exploring Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (GSBC) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Here's the quick math: Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.56 beat analyst forecasts by 5.4%, showing management is executing well against a tough backdrop. What this estimate hides is the ongoing pressure to maintain deposit costs in a competitive rate environment, but the redemption of subordinated notes in June 2025 helped reduce interest expense by $7.5 million year-over-year in Q3 2025.