US REIT same-store net operating income growth holds steady in Q1 2026

US equity real estate investment trusts, excluding hotel-focused REITs, posted median year-over-year same-store net operating income growth of 2.6% in the first quarter.

This net operating income (NOI) growth rate was flat sequentially and slightly down from 2.7% a year earlier, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis of REITs reporting first-quarter earnings as of June 2.

Same-store occupancy fell to a median of 93.9%, compared with 94.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 94.1% in the first quarter of 2025.

S&P Global Market Intelligence prefers to use cash-based same-store NOI, if available. However, noncash-based NOI will be used if not.

While earnings trends within the portfolio of publicly traded REITs might not match those of privately owned properties, during a time when commercial real estate is being scrutinized, data reported by public REITs can provide valuable insight into potential earnings trends for commercial real estate as a whole.

Data center REITs lead on NOI gains

Data center REITs outpaced all other subsectors tracked in Market Intelligence's analysis, achieving the highest year-over-year same-store NOI growth in the first quarter at a median of 9.5%.

Equinix Inc. was the only data center REIT among the 10 REITs with the highest same-store NOI growth in the first quarter. Equinix recorded a median increase of 11.0%, the sixth-highest among all REITs analyzed.

Healthcare REITs ranked second among all subsectors, recording a median year-over-year same-store NOI growth rate of 8.6% in the first quarter.

Healthcare-focused Welltower Inc., Janus Living Inc. and American Healthcare REIT Inc. ranked second, third and fourth, respectively, among the top 10 REITs on same-store NOI gains. Same-store NOI rose 16.4% year over year for Welltower, 13.8% for Janus and 12.1% for American Healthcare REIT.

During an April 29 earnings call, Welltower CFO Timothy McHugh attributed the company's 16.4% same-store NOI gain to "22.1% growth in our [seniors housing operating portfolio], which now makes up 74% of our same-store NOI." This growth was "the highest level in our company's recorded history," COO John Burkart added.

For Janus, factors such as improved occupancy rates and record entrance fee sales drove the company's same-store revenue and NOI higher in the first quarter, Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations Jonathan Hughes said during a May 6 earnings call.

American Healthcare raised its full-year 2026 same-store NOI growth guidance to a range of 9% to 12%, implying "another year of double-digit total portfolio same-store NOI growth for the third year in a row," CFO Brian Peay said during a May 8 earnings call.

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Industrial REITs recorded a median same-store NOI increase of 4.2% in the first quarter, the third-highest among all subsectors.

Self-storage REITs, which registered a year-over-year same-store NOI decline in the fourth quarter of 2025, booked a year-over-year gain of 0.8% in the first quarter.

REITs with largest NOI increases, decreases

Diversified REIT NexPoint Diversified Real Estate Trust reported the largest year-over-year same-store NOI growth rate in the first quarter among all US equity REITs analyzed, at 35.3%.

Industrial REITs EastGroup Properties Inc., Terreno Realty Corp. and Prologis Inc. were also among the REITs with the highest year-over-year increases in same-store NOI. The metric grew 9.2% for EastGroup, 8.9% for Terreno and 8.8% for Prologis.

EastGroup's increase in same-store NOI was "mostly occupancy driven," CFO Staci Tyler said on the company's first-quarter earnings call. "We had a 130-basis-point increase in occupancy [in the first quarter], which really helped to drive that 9.2% same-property growth."

Gladstone Land Corp. reported the largest year-over-year decline in same-store NOI in the first quarter, down 17.3%.

Office REITs Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., Creative Media & Community Trust Corp. and Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. followed. In the first quarter, same-store NOI declined 11.7% year over year for Alexandria Real Estate, 8.5% for Creative Media & Community Trust and 7.4% for Hudson Pacific.

Alexandria Real Estate's same-property NOI was down primarily because of a reduction in occupancy, CFO Marc Binda said during an April 28 earnings call.

Hudson Pacific's same-store cash NOI fell to $85.2 million in the first quarter from $92 million in the same period a year earlier, "driven by lower office revenue from tenant move-outs ... largely Uber's departure at 1455 Market, partially offset by higher studio revenue from increased production activity at our Hollywood assets," CFO Harout Diramerian said during the company's first-quarter earnings call.