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what it is
W.P. Carey buys commercial buildings, then rents them back to the businesses using them.
how it gets paid
Last year W.P. Carey made $1.7B in revenue.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 8.4% last year. Revenue was up 195% from a year earlier.
what just happened
Revenue hit $1.3B, and EPS came in at $0.67.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
65/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
45.2x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
5.1% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
3.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 57/100 — below average
What they do
W.P. Carey buys commercial buildings, then rents them back to the businesses using them.
You are not betting on one renter. You are betting on 355 tenants spread across 1,555 properties. That is the whole trick. Sale-leaseback means a tenant sells the building, then keeps using it. Leaving is painful because the space is mission-critical.
How they make money
$1.7B
annual revenue · their business grew +8.4% last year
total revenue
$1.7B
+8.4%
The products that matter
long-term property rentals
Net-Lease Real Estate
$1.7B · 100% of revenue
it produced the company's entire $1.7B revenue base last year across 1,400+ properties. That's a clean model, but it means all the pressure lands on leasing, tenant credit, and capital allocation.
97.0% occupied
lease economics
Rent Escalators
built into the story
the page gives no separate revenue line here, and that's the point. Internal rent growth matters because this business only grew 8.4% last year, so small contractual increases do real work.
steady, not explosive
external growth machine
Acquisition Pipeline
$656M quarterly volume
the latest quarter included $656M of investment volume. For a REIT, buying the right properties is growth. Buying the wrong ones is how "defensive" stocks become less defensive.
capital deployment
Key numbers
$1.7B
annual revenue
Revenue grew 8.4% vs. prior year. That keeps the rent machine moving even after a messy reset.
5.1%
dividend yield
You get paid 5.1% a year while waiting. That is the market admitting this is an income stock with a price tag.
97.0%
occupancy
97.0% occupancy means almost every building is leased. A few move-outs matter because the margin for error is thin.
45.2x
trailing p/e
The stock is priced like a premium asset, not a sleepy landlord. That leaves less room for disappointment.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 95 / 100
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in WPC 3 years ago → it's now worth $9,950.
The index would have given you $13,920.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $1.3B, and EPS came in at $0.67.
Revenue was up 195% from a year earlier. The beat was tiny, but the point is cleaner: rent and acquisitions are still doing the work.
$1.3B
revenue
$0.67
eps
74.0%
gross margin
the number that mattered
$1.3B mattered most because it showed the portfolio can still throw off a giant quarterly revenue base.
-
w.p.carey posted a solid 2025 third quarter, reflecting a busy acquisition slate and steady internal rent growth.
-
investment volume totaled $656 million in the quarter (and $1.6 billion year to date), while contractual same-store rent growth came in at 2.4%.
-
occupancy dipped to 97.0% at quarter-end, which management framed as a temporary spike tied to a handful of known move-outs.
-
funds from operations (ffo), on a per-share basis, was $1.25, up from $1.18 in the year-ago period.
-
the company bumped up the fourth-quarter dividend payment by a penny, to $0.91 per share.results for the close of 2025 and full-year 2026 should continue to benefit from wpc‘s transaction pipeline and rent escalators.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is tenant credit quality in a single-engine net-lease model.
high
tenant concentration & credit risk
The page flags below-average tenant credit quality. In plain English: some of the rent checks are less bulletproof than investors usually want from a defensive REIT.
If a major tenant stumbles, occupancy can fall below 97.0% and pressure the income stream supporting a dividend shown as 138% covered by AFFO.
med
europe and currency exposure
The portfolio spans the U.S., Western Europe, and Northern Europe. That diversifies geography, but it also imports foreign exchange noise and regional economic risk.
A rough move in European currencies or a regional slowdown could affect roughly 40% of the portfolio and make dollar results look weaker even if the properties stay occupied.
med
growth depends on keeping the deal machine moving
W.P. Carey generated all $1.7B of revenue from one strategy. Internal escalators help, but acquisitions still matter. The latest quarter's $656M investment volume tells you management is still feeding the machine.
If investment volume slows, growth can flatten fast. That's how you end up owning a stable REIT with a stable stock that still trails the market by $3,970 over three years.
Roughly 40% portfolio exposure outside the U.S. and a 97.0% occupancy rate leave less room for error than the word "defensive" usually implies.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
Q1 2026 earnings report
Expected around May 5, 2026. The data feed points to EPS of $0.62 and revenue of $438M. For this stock, the more important question is whether occupancy and AFFO stay steady.
metric
occupancy after the 97.0% dip
A move from 97.0% back up would support the idea that recent softness was just normal leasing friction. Another step down would matter more than a one-cent AFFO beat.
risk
dividend data consistency and coverage
The page shows both a prior bump to $0.91 and a scheduled $0.93 payment. Coverage at 138% is the anchor. If that starts shrinking, the income thesis gets less comfortable.
trend
analyst targets versus actual returns
Barclays' $68 target and a $72 midpoint imply modest upside. After a three-year result of $9,950 versus $13,920 for the index, you want to see the business, not just the target, improve.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
below average
momentum score 4 — in human-speak, analysts do not see this as a near-term outperformer.
risk profile
above average
stability score 2 — safer than roughly 80% of stocks. You own less drama here, not zero risk.
chart momentum
top 20%
technical score 2 — the chart looks better than the three-year total return record. Welcome to income stocks.
earnings predictability
65 / 100
predictable enough for a REIT, but not so smooth that you can ignore tenant quality, occupancy, or capital markets.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 370 buyers vs. 335 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.2B shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$56
$87
$66
current price
$72
target midpoint · +10% from current · 3-5yr high: $100 (+50% · 15% ann'l return)
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