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1. Start with the properties’ operating trend
Read the REIT’s latest annual and quarterly filings. Begin with the same-store portfolio: occupancy, rental rates, revenue, expenses, and net operating income (NOI). These measures help distinguish changes at established facilities from growth caused by acquisitions, development, or other portfolio changes.
Check the company’s definition of “same store.” A facility may be excluded while it is being developed or leased up, for example, so total NOI growth can tell a different story from comparable-property performance. Public Storage identifies local competition as a factor that can affect occupancy, rental rates, and advertising costs in its markets (2024 Form 10-K).
Then assess leasing and pricing. Extra Space Storage says its results depend materially on leasing available units, managing rents, and tenants making required payments (2024 Form 10-K). Look at whether occupancy and rental-rate trends are improving together or whether one is being supported at the expense of the other.
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2. Read GAAP results before using FFO or AFFO
FFO is a supplemental operating measure
Start with GAAP net income and cash flows from operations. Then use funds from operations (FFO) as an additional lens. Nareit FFO adjusts GAAP net income for real-estate depreciation and amortization and specified real-estate-related gains, losses, and impairments. National Storage Affiliates describes FFO and Core FFO as useful starting points for operating comparisons, while treating them as supplemental performance measures (2024 Form 10-K).
FFO is not a substitute for GAAP net income or cash flow. Read the reconciliation and consider what the adjustments mean for the company’s actual cash generation and investment needs.
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AFFO needs an issuer-by-issuer definition check
Adjusted FFO (AFFO) has no single calculation that makes every company’s figure directly comparable. Global Self Storage notes that REITs may use different AFFO computations and terminology (2024 Form 10-K). Read each issuer’s definition and reconciliation item by item, paying particular attention to adjustments for recurring capital needs.
Do not compare one company’s Core FFO or AFFO directly with another’s until you understand how both are calculated. Per-share growth also needs context: check the share count and whether adjustments are consistent over time. There is no universal AFFO benchmark threshold established by these definitions.
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Review the debt schedule and the company’s discussion of financing risk. Compare secured and unsecured borrowing, fixed and variable rates, upcoming maturities, available liquidity, and planned capital spending. National Storage Affiliates flags leverage and interest-rate exposure as risks in its filing (2024 Form 10-K).
Also consider how the REIT expects to fund acquisitions, development, redevelopment, and capital expenditure. Extra Space Storage describes a mix of potential sources, including operating cash, revolving credit, commercial paper, secured and unsecured financing, equity, joint ventures, and asset sales (2024 Form 10-K).
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Debt can bring financing costs and refinancing risk; issuing equity can fund investment but changes each shareholder’s ownership per share. Rather than applying an unsupported “safe” leverage cutoff, assess borrowing capacity, interest costs, maturities, and coverage in the context of the company’s assets and cash generation.
4. Test local-market and development assumptions
Storage competition is local. Look for information about new supply, demand, market concentration, and the company’s ability to sustain its rent and occupancy assumptions. Public Storage identifies competition as a factor affecting occupancy, rents, and advertising expense, and describes development risks that include delays, higher costs, regulatory issues, and revenue below underwriting assumptions (2024 Form 10-K).
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Keep development and acquisitions separate from same-store performance. For each, consider the cost of the investment, expected return, and—where relevant—the ability to complete the project and lease it up. Risk disclosures explain what can go wrong; they do not establish whether a particular project will succeed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.5. Compare REITs on consistent measures
When comparing two or more self-storage REITs, use the same reporting period and definitions wherever possible. A practical comparison includes:
- Same-store occupancy, rental rates, revenue, expenses, and NOI growth.
- Growth from acquisitions and development, distinguished from organic same-store performance.
- FFO per share and the nature and consistency of its adjustments; compare AFFO only after reconciling definitions.
- Debt, maturity schedule, interest-rate exposure, liquidity, and expected financing needs.
- Local competition, market supply, and exposure to development execution.
- Valuation and dividend measures calculated from a common share-price date and clearly identified financial period.
6. Treat valuation as an assumptions exercise
Price-to-FFO per share, price-to-AFFO per share, dividend yield, and estimated net asset value (NAV) can all be comparison lenses, but each depends on dated, clearly defined inputs. A NAV estimate or implied property capitalization rate depends on assumptions about property values, NOI, debt, and cap rates. Where those inputs are uncertain, test a range of assumptions rather than treating one estimate as a precise value.
Do not infer a current bargain, fair value, or “best” REIT from operating disclosures alone. A meaningful current comparison needs synchronized share prices and comparable financial and debt data; no date-matched multiples, yields, cap-rate data, or company valuation outputs are established here.
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