Weekly Real Estate News
Essential Properties Realty Trust raised its 2026 adjusted funds from operations outlook and introduced 2027 guidance after investing $342.2 million across 100 properties during the third quarter.
The Princeton, New Jersey-based net-lease REIT announced results October 21 for the quarter ended September 30. Its adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, increased 6% to 51 cents per share from a year earlier, while GAAP net income per share fell 18% to 27 cents. The difference underscores why investors track both traditional earnings and real estate-specific operating measures.
Investment pace remains strong
Essential Properties acquired 100 properties during the quarter at a weighted-average cash capitalization rate of 7.7%. It sold 11 properties for net proceeds of $17.9 million. For the first nine months of 2026, investments totaled approximately $1.1 billion across 329 properties.
The company’s portfolio consisted of 2,580 freestanding net-lease properties as of September 30 and was 99.6% leased. Its weighted-average remaining lease term was 14.2 years, with tenants operating 727 different concepts across 49 states.
Guidance raised
Management increased its 2026 AFFO per-share guidance to $2.02 to $2.05 from a prior range of $2.01 to $2.05. It also introduced 2027 AFFO guidance of $2.10 to $2.18 per share and lifted the low end of its 2026 investment-volume outlook to $1.3 billion from $1.2 billion, leaving the upper end at $1.5 billion.
The company reported total third-quarter revenue of $168.7 million, up from $144.9 million a year earlier. Core FFO rose 6% to 55 cents per share. Its pro forma net debt to annualized adjusted EBITDAre was 3.8 times at quarter-end.
What it signals
The results show continued investor appetite for long-duration, single-tenant net-leased real estate even as other property segments face different financing and leasing conditions. AFFO and Core FFO are non-GAAP measures, and management’s 2027 guidance is forward-looking rather than a guaranteed result.
Primary source: Essential Properties third-quarter 2026 earnings release.
