Start here if you're new
what it is
Public Storage rents you boxes for your stuff, then turns that steady rent into fat margins and dividends.
how it gets paid
Last year Public Storage made $4.8B in revenue. Same-store self-storage rental was the main engine at $3.36B, or 70% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 2.7% last year. Revenue rose about 3% vs. prior year, and earnings jumped more than 20% from last year.
what just happened
Public Storage posted revenue of $1.224 billion in the quarter, ahead of the $1.205 billion view, while EPS reached $2.62.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
45/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
31.1x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
4.4% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
11.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 70/100 — average
What they do
Public Storage rents you boxes for your stuff, then turns that steady rent into fat margins and dividends.
This business wins because your stuff does not negotiate. Public Storage controls interests in 3,073 facilities and 221 million rentable square feet in the U.S., plus a 35% stake in Shurgard. Scale matters here because occupancy and rent increases spread across thousands of units, which means more profit from each extra dollar of rent.
How they make money
$4.8B
annual revenue · their business grew +2.7% last year
Same-store self-storage rental
$3.36B
+1.0%
Acquired and non-same-store facilities
$0.91B
+9.0%
Tenant reinsurance and fees
$0.29B
+3.0%
Ancillary storage services
$0.14B
+2.0%
Other property income
$0.10B
+1.0%
The products that matter
rents storage units
Self-Storage Rentals
$4.6B · ~95% of revenue
it is the core business. the page shows roughly $4.6B in rental revenue, and the same-store portfolio slipped 0.2% last quarter to $936.2M. that is the number you watch.
core engine
insurance, locks, add-ons
Ancillary Services
$0.2B · ~5% of revenue
this piece is only about $0.2B of revenue, but it adds margin on top of rent collections and helps support a 73% gross margin.
margin helper
Key numbers
68.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → what is left after running the business → so what: this thing prints cash harder than most landlords.
31.1x
trailing p/e
P/E → how much you pay for each dollar of earnings → so what: you are paying up for reliability, not speed.
4.4%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → your cash payout at today's price → so what: you get paid to wait, but rates still matter.
221M
rentable sq. ft.
Rentable square feet → the amount of space earning rent → so what: scale is the moat in a business built on tiny monthly payments.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 90 / 100
- net profit margin 40.0% — keeps 40 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 20% — $0.20 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A with balance sheet grade and risk rank standing out. your money faces less risk here than at most public companies.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in PSA 3 years ago → it's now worth $10,310.
The index would have given you $13,920.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Public Storage posted revenue of $1.224 billion in the quarter, ahead of the $1.205 billion view, while EPS reached $2.62.
Revenue rose about 3% vs. prior year, and earnings jumped more than 20% from last year. Management said acquired facilities and leasing helped drive the result.
$1.224B
revenue
$2.62
eps
68.5%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The key number was the 3% revenue increase to $1.224 billion, because it shows PSA is still growing even while earnings estimates are drifting lower.
-
public storage reported solid results for the third quarter.
-
revenues of $1.224 billion increased by about 3% and were comfortably above our $1.205 billion view from september.same-property comparisons were about unchanged, suggesting that acquisitions made over the past 12 months drove the improvement.
-
earnings were $2.62 a share, or a more than 20% jump from last year.currency gains associated with its euro-denominated notes contributed to the increase, and helped lift profits above our estimated $2.36. more importantly, though, core funds from operations (ffo) of $4.31 per share were above the $4.17 that we forecasted in september.
-
the roughly 3% vs. prior year advance in ffo mostly reflected the impact from recently acquired facilities and the lease-up of properties that were expanded or under development. we have raised our 2025 view.recent outperformance heading into the final quarter of 2025 and an improved outlook by leadership have made us a bit more sanguine about results into year-end.
-
indeed, we now expect the top line to rise to $4.82 billion, or roughly in line with the 3% advance through the first nine months.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is the National Storage Affiliates deal landing into a same-store slowdown.
high
$10.5B national storage affiliates acquisition
The all-stock structure can expand scale, but it also brings integration risk and share dilution at the exact moment the legacy same-store portfolio is under pressure.
This deal is large relative to PSA's current $48B market value. If integration stumbles, you feel it in per-share results.
high
same-store revenue already turned negative
Same-store revenue declined 0.2% to $936.2M last quarter. That matters because existing-store performance is the clearest read on pricing power and occupancy.
If that decline deepens, the premium multiple starts to look like nostalgia for better storage cycles.
med
2026 guide implies weaker property economics
Management guided to same-store revenue down 1.1% and NOI down 2.2% in 2026. In plain English: they expect less profit from the existing portfolio, not more.
That makes the $16.97 core FFO base harder to grow from here.
med
valuation leaves less room for a slow recovery
At 31.1x trailing earnings, PSA is not priced like a stressed landlord. You are paying for quality before the growth has actually returned.
That is fine if fundamentals stabilize quickly. It is less fine if same-store weakness lingers for several quarters.
The risk stack is concentrated: about $4.6B of rental revenue sits on a same-store engine that already slipped to $936.2M last quarter, while a $10.5B stock deal raises the execution bar.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
trend
same-store revenue needs to stop shrinking
The core signal is simple: last quarter was -0.2%. If that line turns positive again, the premium multiple looks more defensible.
calendar
Q1 2026 earnings
The next report is expected April 29, 2026. You want to see whether the guided 1.1% same-store decline is playing out, or getting worse.
risk
NSA deal close and integration
The $10.5B National Storage Affiliates acquisition can improve scale. It can also distract management if the core portfolio is still soft.
metric
core FFO versus the $16.97 base
For REITs, core FFO is the cleaner earnings number. If that stalls while same-store NOI is down 2.2%, the stock loses part of its quality premium.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3. in human-speak: analysts do not see a strong near-term edge either way.
risk profile
safer than most
stability score 2 means PSA has historically been less volatile than roughly 80% of stocks. defensive does not mean cheap.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 means the stock is mostly moving with the market. No loud message from the tape right now.
earnings predictability
45 / 100
That is middling for a business many investors treat like a bond proxy. Expect more variance than the brand implies.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 533 buyers vs. 498 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.1B shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$239
$417
$272
current price
$328
target midpoint · +20% from current · 3-5yr high: $535 (+95% · 21% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
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