LaHaise James A 4

What Happened

• James A. LaHaise, Chief Strategy Officer of Ameris Bancorp (ABCB), was issued 14,910 shares under a performance stock unit award and simultaneously had 6,641 shares withheld/sold to satisfy tax withholding on Feb 19, 2026. The withheld shares were sold at $82.93 each for proceeds of $550,738. The award stems from a PSU grant originally awarded Feb 23, 2023.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-02-19; Filing date: 2026-02-23 (timely).
• Award: 14,910 shares granted (transaction code A); per the Form 4 the acquisition price is $0.00 for the grant.
• Sale/withholding: 6,641 shares disposed at $82.93 each for $550,738 (transaction code S; withholding to cover taxes per footnote).
• Additional detail: filing notes an extra 36 shares acquired via a dividend reinvestment plan included in totals.
• Shares owned after transaction: Not specified in the filing.
• Footnotes: F1 = PSU award originally granted Feb 23, 2023 under the 2021 Omnibus Equity Plan; F2 = 6,641 shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding on the grant; F3 = +36 shares from dividend reinvestment.

Context

• This combination of an award and a simultaneous withholding sale is common when performance shares vest: a portion of newly issued shares is sold/withheld to cover required taxes rather than representing a discretionary market sale.
• The sale proceeds ($550,738) reflect tax withholding rather than an independent decision to reduce holdings; the grant itself represents compensation tied to prior performance.