Realty Income (NYSE:O) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Realty Income (NYSE:O) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.76), FiscalAI reports. Realty Income had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. Realty Income updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.380-4.420 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Realty Income’s conference call:

• Management reported resilient operating results in 2025 with AFFO per share of $4.28 for the year, 98.9% occupancy, and 103.9% rent recapture, which they cite as evidence of stable, diversified cash flows.
• They deployed roughly $6.3 billion ($6.2B pro rata) in 2025 at a ~7.3% initial cash yield and guided to ~$8 billion of investments for 2026, emphasizing relationship-driven and structured transactions (including an $800M perpetual preferred with Blackstone).
• Balance-sheet flexibility is highlighted as a competitive advantage: ~$4.1 billion pro rata liquidity, net debt / pro forma adjusted EBITDA of 5.4x, a recent $862M convertible note at 3.5% (used to repurchase shares and repay higher-rate debt), and management says they have >$2B of equity (or ~$3B fully levered) dry powder.
• 2026 guidance is deliberately conservative — AFFO per share of $4.38–$4.42 assumes 40–50 bps of credit-related revenue loss and $30–$40M of lease termination income; management acknowledged downside/credit assumptions account for a significant portion of conservatism.
• Management is expanding capital channels and geographies: they launched a U.S. open-end core-plus fund (~$1.5B cornerstone raise), entered a programmatic GIC JV for ~ $1.5B of industrial build-to-suit, and are entering Mexico — positioning recurring fee income and new sourcing avenues.

Realty Income Price Performance

NYSE O traded down $1.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $65.38. The company had a trading volume of 969,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,465,347. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. Realty Income has a 52 week low of $50.71 and a 52 week high of $67.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.41, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.79.

Realty Income Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Realty Income’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 300.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Realty Income from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Realty Income from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised shares of Realty Income from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Realty Income from $67.75 to $70.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Realty Income in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.27.

Key Stories Impacting Realty Income

Here are the key news stories impacting Realty Income this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management is pushing growth and diversification — Realty Income is targeting approximately $8 billion of investments in 2026 and expanding global partnerships and fee-based asset-management activities, which could drive long-term fee revenue and geographic diversification. Realty Income targets $8B in 2026 investments while expanding global partnerships
• Positive Sentiment: Portfolio stability: Q4 showed strong occupancy and rent-recapture rates and FFO of $1.08 — in line with estimates — supporting dividend coverage and the company’s “Monthly Dividend” thesis. Realty Income Corp (O) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley kept a Hold rating and a $65 price target, signaling limited near-term upside despite solid fundamentals. Realty Income: Solid Fundamentals and Funding Flexibility But Limited Near-Term Upside Support Hold Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Management updated FY‑2026 guidance (EPS range provided), which some read as ambitious vs. parts of the market; analysts are parsing EPS vs. FFO differences as they model 2026 results. (See company operating results and slide deck for details.)
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP EPS missed expectations sharply — reported $0.32 vs. the $1.08 consensus — an immediate negative catalyst that pressured sentiment despite FFO parity. Realty Income Q4 earnings / transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance/FFO concerns — several outlets flagged that Realty Income forecasted annual FFO below some Street expectations citing slowing demand and higher property-management costs, which reduces near-term earnings visibility. Realty Income forecasts annual FFO below estimates on slowing demand, higher costs

Institutional Trading of Realty Income

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Realty Income by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,291,294 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,031,080,000 after acquiring an additional 3,252,091 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Realty Income by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,028,892 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,831,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295,936 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Realty Income by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,795,930 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $664,937,000 after buying an additional 660,062 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Realty Income by 5.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 12,011,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $692,002,000 after buying an additional 654,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burkehill Global Management LP bought a new position in Realty Income during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,822,000. 70.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Realty Income

Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and manages commercial properties subject primarily to long-term net lease agreements. The company’s business model focuses on generating predictable, contractual rental income by leasing properties to tenants under agreements that typically place responsibility for taxes, insurance and maintenance on the tenant. Realty Income is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and markets itself as a reliable income-oriented REIT.

Realty Income’s portfolio is concentrated in single-tenant, retail and service-oriented properties such as drugstores, convenience stores, dollar and discount retailers, restaurants, and other essential-service businesses.