Lineage (NASDAQ: LINE) AFFO per share slides 14.1% and quarterly net loss widens

What happened

Lineage, Inc. (NASDAQ: LINE) reported third-quarter AFFO per share of $0.73, down 14.1% from a year earlier, and a $173 million GAAP net loss.

Profit fell much faster than sales. Revenue slipped 1.2% to $1.36 billion, down $16 million from $1.38 billion. Adjusted EBITDA fell 7.0% to $317 million, down $24 million, and its margin narrowed to 23.3% from 24.8%. AFFO fell 14.9% to $188 million, down $33 million. AFFO per share dropped from $0.85.

The net loss widened from $112 million a year earlier. It equaled $0.68 per diluted share, against $0.44. The income statement carries a $109 million charge for restructuring, impairment and disposals, versus a $5 million gain a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA and AFFO add back a $105 million loss on property destruction, so both leave it out.

Lineage expects full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $1.25 to $1.27 billion and AFFO per share of $2.86 to $2.98. It says it adjusted its guidance for pressures it saw late in the quarter. Nine-month AFFO per share was $2.28, against $2.52 a year earlier.

Key numbers

Metric	Latest	Change	Source
Total revenue	$1.36 billion	from $1.38 billion, -1.2%	SEC 8-K earnings release
Adjusted EBITDA	$317 million	from $341 million, -7.0%	SEC 8-K earnings release
Adjusted EBITDA margin	23.3%	from 24.8%, -1.5 percentage points	SEC 8-K earnings release
AFFO per share	$0.73	from $0.85, -14.1%	SEC 8-K earnings release
GAAP net loss	-$173 million	from -$112 million	SEC 8-K earnings release
Full-year 2026 AFFO per share guidance	$2.86 to $2.98		SEC 8-K earnings release

Read more: Lineage (LINE) company research

Where the pressure showed

Chief executive Greg Lehmkuhl said sharply higher oil prices, constrained trucking capacity and tariff uncertainty created headwinds late in the quarter, especially in the Global Integrated Solutions segment. That segment's NOI fell 13.8% to $56 million. Its revenue fell 3.3% to $352 million, and its margin slipped to 15.9% from 17.9%.

The larger Global Warehousing segment also lost ground. Its NOI fell 6.0% to $361 million from $384 million, while revenue slipped only 0.4% to $1.01 billion. Power costs rose 11.3% to $69 million and labor costs rose 1.0%. The segment margin fell to 35.8% from 37.9%.

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What the occupancy data shows

Demand for space held up better than pricing and costs. Same-warehouse economic occupancy rose to 82.5% from 82.2%, and same-warehouse revenue edged up 0.4% to $917 million.

Storage revenue per economic occupied pallet fell 1.1% to $62.70, and same-warehouse cost of operations rose 3.4%. Same-warehouse NOI fell 4.2% to $342 million, and the margin dropped to 37.3% from 39.1%. More pallets were filled, but each earned less and cost more to serve.

Why it matters

OptimistFi has argued that Lineage works if customers keep outsourcing food logistics and management turns scale into durable cash flow and per-share profit. Rising occupancy supports the first half of that view. Falling AFFO per share and a wider GAAP loss press on the second. The quarter reads as mixed for the case.

Management says same-store occupancy grew year over year for the second straight quarter and that customer inventory levels have normalized. It calls the pressures cyclical, not a change in trajectory. It also expects them to continue into the fourth quarter.

Cash flow and debt

Cash generation weakened over the nine months. Operating cash flow was $431 million, down from $627 million a year earlier. That covered the $403 million paid in dividends and other distributions. It fell short of the $483 million spent on property, plant and equipment.

Borrowing rose. Long-term debt, net, was $6.81 billion at Sept. 30, against $6.11 billion at Dec. 31, 2025. Net interest expense for the quarter was $92 million, up from $68 million. Lineage declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5325 per share, an annualized rate of $2.13.

What's next

Lineage will host a conference call and webcast on Nov. 10 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern to discuss the quarter. Management has said the oil, trucking and tariff pressures will continue into the fourth quarter.

Warehousing NOI falling faster than revenue again would weaken the case. Occupancy gains that turn into NOI growth within the full-year guidance ranges would strengthen it.

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