W. P. Carey Inc.
- Open
- 71.51
- Day high
- 71.76
- Day low
- 71.20
- Prev close
- 71.58
- Volume
- 123K
- Mkt cap
- $15.8B
- P/E (TTM)
- 24.5
- EPS (TTM)
- $2.93
- P/B
- 1.8
- P/S
- 8.3
- Yield
- 2.61%
- Per share
- $1.87
W. P. Carey Inc. (WPC) is a Real Estate company listed on NYSE. The stock is up 9% over the past year. Drillr has 1 published research article covering WPC.
W. P. Carey Inc. (WPC) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Analyst consensus · 8 analysts
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
WPC earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 2026 | $0.71 | $1.17 | +64.6% | $461M | +1.8% |
| Apr 29, 2026 | $0.65 | $1.30 | +101.6% | $455M | +5.5% |
| Jul 29, 2025 | $1.23 | $1.28 | +4.1% | $431M | +2.5% |
| Apr 30, 2024 | $1.19 | $1.14 | -4.2% | $391M | -2.5% |
| Feb 9, 2024 | $1.21 | $1.19 | -1.7% | $414M | -1.9% |
| Nov 3, 2023 | $1.32 | $1.32 | +0.0% | $451M | -0.2% |
| Jul 28, 2023 | $1.33 | $1.36 | +2.3% | $452M | -0.1% |
| Apr 28, 2023 | $1.32 | $1.39 | +5.3% | $420M | +23.5% |
| Feb 10, 2023 | $1.29 | $1.00 | -22.5% | $400M | +2.5% |
| Nov 4, 2022 | $1.29 | $1.36 | +5.4% | $386M | +3.8% |
| Jul 29, 2022 | $1.29 | $1.31 | +1.6% | $348M | +3.8% |
| Apr 29, 2022 | $1.28 | $1.35 | +5.5% | $338M | +0.1% |
WPC insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 2026 | GASS RHONDAdirector | Grant | 2,824 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Beier Constantin H.director | Grant | 2,824 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Farrell Peterdirector | Grant | 2,824 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | LEWIS MARGARET Gdirector | Grant | 2,824 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Talma Stheeman Mechthild Elisabethdirector | Grant | 2,824 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | CALAWAY TONIT Mdirector | Grant | 2,824 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Niehaus Christopherdirector | Grant | 2,824 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Talma Stheeman Mechthild Elisabethdirector | Tax | 834 | $70.81 |
| Jul 2, 2026 | FLANAGAN ROBERT Jdirector | Grant | 2,824 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | GASS RHONDAdirector | Grant | 423 | $70.81 |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Beier Constantin H.director | Tax | 834 | $70.81 |
| May 7, 2026 | Zander Brian Hofficer: Chief Accounting Officer | Sell | 433 | $74.00 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | GASS RHONDAdirector | Grant | 396 | $69.39 |
| Feb 18, 2026 | Sanzone ToniAnnofficer: CFO | Tax | 1,441 | $74.20 |
| Feb 18, 2026 | Gordon Brooks G.officer: Managing Director | Tax | 868 | $74.20 |
Source: WPC SEC Form 4 filings, latest Jul 2, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
See the full WPC insider & 13F page →W. P. Carey Inc. company profile
Overview
W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) founded in 1973 that has evolved into one of the largest net lease REITs in the world. The company was established by William Polk Carey and went public in 1998. Over nearly five decades, W. P. Carey has built a diversified portfolio of operationally-critical commercial real estate properties across the United States and Europe. The company has undergone significant strategic transformation in recent years, including the complete exit from office properties and the consolidation of various investment vehicles to become a pure-play net lease REIT with an enterprise value of approximately $18 billion.
Business
W. P. Carey operates as a net lease real estate investment trust, which is a specialized type of real estate company that owns commercial properties and leases them to tenants under long-term agreements. In a net lease arrangement, tenants are responsible for most property expenses including taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs, while the landlord (W. P. Carey) receives predictable rental income with minimal operational responsibilities. The company's portfolio consists of approximately 1,215 properties covering roughly 142 million square feet of commercial real estate. The portfolio is strategically diversified across multiple dimensions: 1. **Property Types**: The portfolio is primarily composed of warehouse and industrial properties (approximately 60% of investments), with meaningful exposure to retail properties (around 25-30%), and smaller allocations to self-storage facilities. The company has completely exited the office sector as of 2024. 2. **Geographic Distribution**: Properties are located primarily in the United States (approximately 75% of investments) and Northern and Western Europe (approximately 25%), providing geographic diversification and currency exposure. 3. **Tenant Diversification**: The portfolio includes over 1,200 different tenants across various industries, reducing concentration risk from any single tenant or sector. The company focuses on operationally-critical properties - real estate that is essential to tenants' business operations, such as manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, and specialized retail locations. These properties typically have long-term leases (weighted average lease term of 12.3 years) with built-in rent escalation mechanisms that provide inflation protection and steady income growth.
Revenue model
W. P. Carey generates revenue primarily through rental income from its net lease properties. The company's business model is relatively straightforward: it acquires commercial real estate properties and leases them to high-quality tenants under long-term net lease agreements, typically ranging from 10-20 years. Under these arrangements, tenants pay base rent plus assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance, and maintenance expenses. The company's revenue streams include: 1. **Base Rental Income**: Fixed monthly or quarterly rent payments from tenants, which constitute the majority of revenue (over $1.3 billion in annual base rent as of 2024). 2. **Rent Escalations**: Built-in annual rent increases that are either fixed (typically in the mid-to-high 2% range, sometimes over 3%) or tied to inflation indices like CPI. Approximately 60% of recent investments include inflation-linked escalations, while 40% have fixed annual bumps averaging 3%. 3. **Investment Income**: Returns from new property acquisitions, with recent investments yielding initial cash cap rates in the mid-7% range and average yields over 9% when factoring in rent escalations. The company primarily acquires properties through sale-leaseback transactions (representing close to 90% of recent investment volume), where operating companies sell their real estate to W. P. Carey and simultaneously sign long-term leases to continue operating from the same locations. This provides the selling companies with capital for business operations while giving W. P. Carey stable, long-term income streams. Factors that positively impact margins include: lower interest rates (reducing borrowing costs), inflation (through CPI-linked rent escalations), strong tenant credit quality, and favorable real estate market conditions. Negative factors include: rising interest rates, tenant credit deterioration, economic downturns affecting tenant performance, and competitive pressure on cap rates. The company maintains a conservative approach with tenant credit monitoring and typically reserves 100 basis points of rent for potential credit losses.
Competitive moat
W. P. Carey's competitive moat is moderately strong, built primarily on several key advantages. The company benefits from scale and established relationships in the sale-leaseback market, where its nearly 50-year operating history and $18 billion enterprise value provide credibility with large corporate clients seeking to monetize their real estate. The company's expertise in underwriting complex transactions and its ability to close large deals quickly creates barriers for smaller competitors. The long-term nature of net leases provides some defensive characteristics, as tenants face significant switching costs and operational disruption if they were to relocate from mission-critical facilities. Properties are typically customized for specific tenant operations, making them less attractive to alternative users and creating mutual dependency between landlord and tenant. However, the moat faces several limitations. The net lease REIT sector is highly competitive, with numerous well-capitalized players including Realty Income, National Retail Properties, and others competing for the same sale-leaseback opportunities. Capital is relatively commoditized in this industry, and differentiation often comes down to execution speed, pricing, and relationship management rather than unique competitive advantages. The company's geographic diversification across the U.S. and Europe provides some differentiation, as not all competitors have the same international capabilities. Additionally, W. P. Carey's focus on operationally-critical industrial and warehouse properties aligns with long-term trends toward e-commerce and supply chain optimization. Potential disruption could come from direct lending platforms, private equity firms with real estate arms, or changes in corporate finance strategies that reduce demand for sale-leaseback transactions. The company's moat is best characterized as operational excellence and scale advantages rather than truly defensible economic moats.
Risks & safety
W. P. Carey demonstrates a moderate margin of safety with generally conservative financial management, though REIT-specific metrics require careful evaluation. **Liquidity and Solvency:** - Strong liquidity position with $187.8 million in cash and short-term investments as of Q1 2025 - Total available liquidity of approximately $2.6 billion including credit facilities - Debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, which is reasonable for a REIT but indicates moderate leverage - Minimal near-term debt maturities with weighted average cost of debt at 3.2% - Investment grade credit ratings from both Moody's and S&P **Valuation Metrics:** - EV/EBITDA of 7.4x (Q1 2025) appears reasonable for a diversified REIT - Price-to-earnings ratio of 27.6x is elevated but reflects REIT-specific accounting (depreciation impacts) - Price-to-book ratio of 1.66x suggests modest premium to asset value - Dividend yield over 6% provides attractive income component **Other Considerations:** - High occupancy rate of 98.6% indicates strong tenant retention - Conservative approach to credit losses with 100 basis points reserved annually - Watch list tenants represent approximately 6% of annual base rent - Geographic and tenant diversification reduces concentration risk - AFFO (Adjusted Funds From Operations) guidance of $4.82-$4.92 per share provides earnings visibility
Recent development
Over the past few years, W. P. Carey has executed several major strategic transformations that have fundamentally repositioned the company. The most significant development was the complete exit from office properties, reducing office exposure from 16% of annual base rent in 2022 to just 2.7% by 2023, and completing the full exit by 2024. This strategic pivot anticipated the structural challenges facing office real estate and positioned the company away from a declining sector. The company has simultaneously expanded its focus on retail net lease investments, targeting 30-40% of annual deal volume in retail properties. This represents a significant shift toward U.S. retail net lease opportunities, focusing on long-term leases with concepts like car washes, fitness centers, dollar stores, and experiential retail that offer attractive yields in the 7% range. W. P. Carey has also consolidated its business model by completing the merger with CPA:18, transitioning to a pure-play net lease REIT structure. This consolidation eliminated the complexity of managing multiple investment vehicles and created a more focused operational structure. The company has maintained its emphasis on sale-leaseback transactions, which now represent close to 90% of investment volume. Recent investments have targeted warehouse and industrial properties (approximately 60% of volume) with initial cap rates in the mid-7% range and rent escalation structures providing yields over 9% when factoring in annual increases. From a capital management perspective, the company has significantly strengthened its balance sheet by raising over $1 billion in new unsecured debt and maintaining high liquidity levels. Management has guided toward no equity issuance needs through 2025, funding growth through asset sales and maintaining conservative leverage metrics.
WPC company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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