Carter Bankshares Reports Q1 2026 Financial Results

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20429 FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 23, 2026 CARTER BANKSHARES, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

| Virginia | 001-39731 | 85-3365661 |
| (State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation) | (Commission
file number) | (IRS Employer
Identification No.) |
1300 Kings Mountain Road, Martinsville, Virginia 24112 (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) (276) 656-1776 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code) Not Applicable (Former name or former address, if changed since last report) Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below): ☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) ☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) ☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR240.14d-2(b)) ☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which
registered |
| Common Stock, $1.00 par value | CARE | NASDAQ Global Select Market |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter). Emerging growth company ☐ If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

ITEM 2.02. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION. On April 23, 2026, Carter Bankshares, Inc. announced by press release its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2026. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1. The information contained in this Report on Form 8-K is furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall such information be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing. ITEM 9.01. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS. (d) Exhibits. Exhibit No. Exhibit 99.1 Press Release announcing t h e First Quarter 202 6 Financial Results . Important Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements made in Mr. Van Dyke’s quotations and may include statements relating to our financial condition, market conditions, results of operations, plans, including our strategic plan, brand strategy, and guiding principles and the anticipated results of the foregoing, objectives, outlook for earnings, revenues, expenses, capital and liquidity levels and ratios, asset levels, asset quality, loan pipeline and nonaccrual and nonperforming loans. Forward looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as “will likely result,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “intend,” “believe,” “assume,” “strategy,” “trend,” “plan,” “outlook,” “outcome,” “continue,” “remain,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “comfortable,” “current,” “position,” “maintain,” “sustain,” “seek,” “achieve” and variations of such words and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as will, would, should, could or may. These statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and often are beyond the Company’s control. Although we believe the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of these assumptions could prove to be inaccurate and the forward-looking statements based on these assumptions could be incorrect. Actual results may differ significantly from those expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. The matters discussed in these forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and trends to differ materially from those made, projected, or implied in or by the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to the effects of: market interest rates and the impacts of market interest rates on economic conditions, customer behavior, and the Company’s net interest margin, net interest income, funding costs and its deposit, loan and securities portfolios; inflation, market and monetary fluctuations; changes in trade policies, tariffs, monetary and fiscal policies and laws of the U.S. government and the related impacts on economic conditions and financial markets, and changes in policies of the Federal Reserve, FDIC and U.S. Department of the Treasury; changes in accounting policies, practices, or guidance, for example, our adoption of Current Expected Credit Losses (“CECL”) methodology, including potential volatility in the Company’s operating results due to application of the CECL methodology; cyber-security threats, attacks or events; rapid technological developments and changes, including emerging issues related to the development and use of artificial intelligence that could give rise to legal or regulatory action or increase cybersecurity threats; our ability to resolve our nonperforming assets and our ability to secure collateral on loans that have entered nonaccrual status due to loan maturities and failure to pay in full; changes in the Company’s liquidity and capital positions; concentrations of loans secured by real estate, particularly commercial real estate (“CRE”) loans, and the potential impacts of changes in market conditions on the value of real estate collateral; increased delinquency and foreclosure rates on CRE loans; an insufficient allowance for credit losses; the potential adverse effects of unusual and infrequently occurring events, such as weather-related disasters, terrorist acts, war and other geopolitical conflicts or public health events (such as pandemics), and of any governmental and societal responses thereto; these potential adverse effects may include, without limitation, adverse effects on macroeconomic conditions, the ability of the Company's borrowers to satisfy their obligations to the Company, on the value of collateral securing loans, on the demand for the Company's loans or its other products and services, on incidents of cyberattack and fraud, on the Company’s liquidity or capital positions, on risks posed by reliance on third-party service providers, on other aspects of the Company's business operations and on financial markets and economic growth; a change in spreads on interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities; 1
regulatory supervision and oversight, including our relationship with regulators and any actions that may be initiated by our regulators; legislation affecting the financial services industry as a whole, and the Company and the Bank, in particular and changes impacting the rulemaking, supervision, examination and enforcement priorities of the federal banking agencies; the outcome of pending and future litigation and/or governmental proceedings; increasing price and product/service competition; the ability to continue to introduce competitive new products and services on a timely, cost-effective basis; managing our internal growth and acquisitions; the possibility that the anticipated benefits from acquisitions cannot be fully realized in a timely manner or at all, or that integrating acquired operations will be more difficult, disruptive or more costly than anticipated; the soundness of other financial institutions and any indirect exposure related to large bank failures and their impact on the broader market through other customers, suppliers and partners or that the conditions which resulted in the liquidity concerns with those failed banks may also adversely impact, directly or indirectly, other financial institutions and market participants with which the Company has commercial or deposit relationships with; material increases in costs and expenses; reliance on significant customer relationships; general economic or business conditions, including unemployment levels, supply chain disruptions, slowdowns in economic growth, government shutdowns and geopolitical instability and tensions; significant weakening of the local economies in which we operate; changes in customer behaviors, including consumer spending, borrowing and saving habits; changes in deposit flows and loan demand; our failure to attract or retain key associates; expansions or consolidations in the Company’s branch network, including that the anticipated benefits of the Company’s branch acquisitions or the Company’s branch network optimization project are not fully realized in a timely manner or at all; deterioration of the housing market and reduced demand for mortgages; and re-emergence of turbulence in significant portions of the global financial and real estate markets that could impact our performance, both directly, by affecting our revenues and the value of our assets and liabilities, and indirectly, by affecting the economy generally and access to capital in the amounts, at the times and on the terms required to support our future businesses. Many of these factors, as well as other factors, are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. All risk factors and uncertainties described herein and therein should be considered in evaluating the Company’s forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on beliefs and assumptions using information available at the time the statements are made. We caution you not to unduly rely on forward-looking statements because the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and projections about future events are expressed in or implied by a forward-looking statement may, and often do, differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as to the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update, revise or clarify any forward-looking statement to reflect developments occurring after the statement is made, except as required by law. 2
SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

| CARTER BANKSHARES, INC. |
| (Registrant) |

| Date: April 23, 2026 | By: | /s/ Wendy S. Bell |
| Name: | Wendy S. Bell |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer |