Net Lease REITs (Mostly) Top Q4 Estimates

WPC’s decisions to be a net seller and refocus its business have “improved the quality of our portfolio and the composition of our revenue streams,” says CEO Jason Fox.

NEW YORK CITY—With W. P. Carey the latest to do so, net lease REITs reporting their fourth-quarter 2017 results have usually, although not invariably, surpassed estimates of various performance metrics. WPC’s earnings per share of $1.18, announced Friday morning, beat the Zacks consensus estimate by 61 cents. Its adjusted funds from operations for Q4 and the past 12 months similarly represented gains compared to 2016.

“Our fourth-quarter and full-year results reflect the continuing positive effects of the advancements we’ve made in recent years, with AFFO per diluted share up 7.4% and 3.5%, respectively, over the prior-year periods,” says CEO Jason Fox. “Reductions in our cost base and an improved cost of debt outweighed the near-term impacts of our decisions to be a net seller and refocus our business, which have improved the quality of our portfolio and the composition of our revenue streams.” This past June, WPC’s board voted to wind down the company’s non-traded REIT series.