W. P. Carey Raises $496.8M Equity, Issues €1.0B in Notes to Fund Industrial, Warehouse and Retail Real Estate Acquisitions

WP Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC), a net-lease real estate investment trust, reported first-quarter 2026 net income of $176.3 million and adjusted funds from operations of $1.30 per diluted share on April 28, 2026, while raising its full-year investment volume target and securing fresh capital through both equity and debt markets to fund ongoing industrial real estate, warehouse real estate, and retail real estate acquisitions.

Q1 2026 Financial Results: Revenue and AFFO Growth

Revenues, including reimbursable costs, totaled $454.5 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, a 10.9% increase from $409.9 million in the year-earlier period. The company attributed the gain primarily to net investment activity and contractual rent escalations, partially offset by lower operating property revenues following the completion of its self-storage portfolio exit.

Net income attributable to W. P. Carey rose 40.1% year over year to $176.3 million, or $0.80 per diluted share, compared with $125.8 million in the first quarter of 2025. The company cited higher gains from the remeasurement of foreign-denominated debt, a lower non-cash allowance for credit losses on finance leases, higher gains on real estate sales, and the accretive impact of net investment activity as primary drivers, partly offset by elevated impairment charges.

AFFO for the quarter reached $288.7 million, or $1.30 per diluted share, up from $1.17 per diluted share in the prior-year period. The company said the improvement reflected accretive net investment activity, rent escalations, and higher other lease-related income, partially offset by higher interest expense.

The Board of Directors increased the quarterly cash dividend to $0.930 per share — equivalent to an annualized rate of $3.72 per share — representing a 4.5% increase compared with the first quarter of 2025. The dividend was paid April 15, 2026, to shareholders of record as of March 31, 2026.

Commercial Real Estate Financing: Equity Raise and €1.0B Notes Issuance

W. P. Carey executed two significant commercial real estate financing transactions during the quarter to support its acquisition pipeline.

On February 17, 2026, the company sold 6,000,000 shares of common stock subject to forward sale agreements through an underwritten public offering. On February 24, 2026, the underwriters exercised their option in full, resulting in the sale of an additional 900,000 shares. Combined gross proceeds totaled $496.8 million. On March 31, 2026, the company settled a portion of those forward agreements, issuing 3,450,000 shares for net proceeds of $247.1 million. As of quarter end, approximately $653.5 million in equity remained available under unsettled forward sale agreements.

Also on February 24, 2026, W. P. Carey completed an underwritten public offering of €1.0 billion in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes in two tranches: €500 million of 3.250% Senior Unsecured Notes due October 2, 2031, and €500 million of 3.750% Senior Unsecured Notes due May 10, 2035. On March 13, 2026, the company used a portion of the proceeds to repay €500 million of 2.250% Senior Unsecured Notes that were due in 2026.

In addition, on March 11, 2026, W. P. Carey amended its senior unsecured credit facility, replacing a €215 million term loan with a new CAD$347 million term loan carrying a floating rate of Term CORRA plus 80 basis points — an all-in rate of approximately 3.1% as of March 31, 2026. Proceeds were used primarily to finance new investment activity in Canada. The amendment also improved the company's revolver pricing grid by 5 basis points across all levels.

As of March 31, 2026, total liquidity stood at $2.8 billion, comprising approximately $1.9 billion of available capacity under the Senior Unsecured Credit Facility, plus cash and cash equivalents and available net proceeds under unsettled forward equity sale agreements.

Real Estate Acquisition Activity and Portfolio Composition

W. P. Carey completed $585.3 million in investment volume during the first quarter and an additional $96.7 million subsequent to quarter end, bringing year-to-date investment volume to $682.0 million. The company also reported nine active capital investments and commitments totaling $178.8 million scheduled for completion during the remainder of 2026, and two additional commitments totaling $101.5 million slated for 2027.

During the quarter, the company disposed of 19 properties for gross proceeds of $162.6 million, including the sale of its 11 remaining self-storage operating properties for $75.2 million, completing its exit from the self-storage sector following the earlier sale of 63 properties in 2025.

As of March 31, 2026, W. P. Carey's net-lease portfolio consisted of 1,703 properties comprising approximately 185 million square feet leased to 374 tenants. The portfolio carried a weighted-average lease term of 12.1 years and an occupancy rate of 98.1%. The company also owned four hotel operating properties and one student housing operating property totaling approximately 0.5 million square feet.

Contractual same-store rent growth was 2.4% year over year on a constant-currency basis as of March 31, 2026.

Chief Executive Officer Jason Fox commented on the results: "We've had a strong start to the year, backed by continued investment momentum and successful execution in the capital markets. Combined with the depth of our pipeline and the performance of our portfolio, this has enabled us to raise our full-year outlook for both investment volume and AFFO per share."

Fox added: "With substantial liquidity and our 2026 equity needs already addressed, we're confident in our ability to continue deploying capital accretively. And based on the investments we've completed to date, our current pipeline and capital projects delivering this year, we have visibility into well over a billion dollars of investments at cap rates averaging in the mid-sevens. When coupled with our best-in-class rent escalations, we believe the strength and consistency of that growth will drive long-term shareholder value."

Raised AFFO Guidance and Full-Year Outlook

W. P. Carey raised its full-year 2026 AFFO guidance to between $5.16 and $5.26 per diluted share, citing higher expected investment volume and lower estimated potential rent loss from tenant credit events. The revised guidance is based on the following key assumptions:

• Investment volume of between $1.5 billion and $2.0 billion (revised higher);
• Disposition volume of between $250 million and $750 million (unchanged);
• Total general and administrative expenses of between $103 million and $106 million (unchanged);
• Property expenses, excluding reimbursable tenant costs, of between $56 million and $60 million (unchanged); and
• Tax expense on an AFFO basis of between $45 million and $49 million (unchanged).

W. P. Carey is focused on investing primarily in single-tenant industrial, warehouse, and retail properties located in the United States and Europe under long-term net leases with built-in rent escalations. The company maintains offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, and Dallas.

The company hosted a live conference call and audio webcast on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results. Additional supplemental financial and operating information was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 28, 2026, and is available at ir.wpcarey.com.

Sources: W. P. Carey Q1 2026 Financial Results Press Release