Teleconferência de Resultados do 3T26 da Easterly Government Properties (DEA): FFO Core Sobe, Guidance É Elevado

Principais Destaques

• A receita do terceiro trimestre aumentou 8,7% em relação ao mesmo período do ano anterior, atingindo US$ 93,6 milhões, impulsionada por aquisições, atividades de desenvolvimento, renovações de contratos de aluguel e receitas de TI e BSAC.
• O FFO Core por ação subiu 2,6%, para US$ 0,78, dentro da meta de crescimento anual de longo prazo da Easterly Government Properties, de 2% a 3%. O FFO por ação aumentou 6,8%, para US$ 0,79.
• O portfólio encerrou o trimestre com 98% de ocupação, com um prazo médio ponderado dos contratos de aluguel de 9,2 anos. A exposição a prazos flexíveis (soft-term) recuou para 2,3% do ALI em relação aos 5,2% no final de 2024.
• A DEA elevou o limite inferior de sua projeção de FFO Core para 2026 para US$ 3,08-US$ 3,13 por ação. A administração afirmou que o ponto médio sugere um crescimento anual de aproximadamente 4%.
• A projeção inicial de FFO Core para 2027 é de US$ 3,09-US$ 3,17 por ação, o que implica um crescimento de cerca de 1% no ponto médio. As perspectivas incluem ventos contrários decorrentes da desocupação prevista da FAA em Chicago e pressões de refinanciamento relacionadas principalmente ao vencimento do empréstimo de Loma Linda.
• A relação entre dívida líquida e EBITDA trimestral anualizado melhorou para 7,1x. A administração continua focada na desalavancagem e na obtenção de uma classificação de crédito adicional de grau de investimento.

Principais Dados Financeiros

Desempenho Operacional e dos Negócios

O crescimento da receita refletiu as aquisições e o desenvolvimento concluídos nos 12 meses anteriores, renovações de contratos de aluguel e o início de receitas de TI e BSAC.

A Easterly concluiu suas renovações de contratos de aluguel para 2026 com a renovação do USCIS Lincoln. O novo contrato tem prazo total de 15 anos, incluindo 10 anos de prazo firme. A administração afirmou que as conversas para os vencimentos de 2027 já estão em andamento e continua buscando spreads de aluguel líquido efetivo entre 15% e 19% para as renovações de 2027 e 2028.

O contrato de aluguel da FAA em Chicago foi prorrogado por nove meses, incluindo seis meses de prazo firme, sob as condições econômicas existentes. A prorrogação contribuirá para os resultados tanto em 2026 quanto em 2027, embora a empresa ainda preveja a desocupação pelo inquilino. O imóvel permanece sob contrato de venda para após a desocupação.

Todas as obras significativas no laboratório do FDLE em Fort Myers, Flórida, foram concluídas em outubro, 15 meses após o início das obras. O fórum federal em Flagstaff, Arizona, permanece programado para ser concluído no 1T 2027. A conclusão do fórum de Medford, Oregon, é agora esperada para o primeiro semestre de 2028, pois o processo de projeto do governo está demorando mais do que o planejado.

O pipeline de aquisições permanece em aproximadamente US$ 1,5 bilhão. A administração disse que está recalibrando seu custo de capital após a forte movimentação nos rendimentos das Treasuries de 10 anos e continuará seletiva. A empresa também continua a discutir potenciais joint ventures com parceiros.

Projeções da Administração

A Easterly elevou sua projeção de FFO Core para 2026 de US$ 3,07-US$ 3,13 para US$ 3,08-US$ 3,13 por ação. O limite inferior mais alto reflete principalmente a prorrogação do contrato de aluguel da FAA em Chicago, parcialmente compensado pelo pagamento antecipado do empréstimo de construção de Bedford, no valor de US$ 35,6 milhões, em setembro.

Para 2027, a administração apresentou uma projeção de FFO Core de US$ 3,09-US$ 3,17 por ação. O ponto médio implica um crescimento de aproximadamente 1% em relação ao ponto médio de 2026, enquanto o limite superior implica um crescimento de cerca de 2%.

A perspectiva para 2027 pressupõe:

• Manutenção da ocupação da FAA em Chicago até o término de seu prazo firme em 20 de abril de 2027.
• Investimento bruto relacionado ao desenvolvimento entre US$ 25 milhões e US$ 50 milhões no ponto médio.
• Aproximadamente US$ 50 milhões em aquisições integrais.
• Pressão de refinanciamento relacionada principalmente ao vencimento do empréstimo de Loma Linda.
• Nenhum benefício nos resultados decorrente da obtenção de uma classificação de grau de investimento e emissão de dívida de grau de investimento.

A administração afirmou que aquisições adicionais poderiam criar potencial de alta se o capital puder ser alocado de forma acretiva, mantendo a disciplina de subscrição.

Riscos e Pontos de Atenção

A desocupação prevista da FAA em Chicago continua sendo um vento contrário para os resultados de 2027. A administração reconheceu que outra prorrogação é possível, mas afirmou que sua projeção pressupõe a ausência de ocupação após 20 de abril de 2027.

O pagamento antecipado do empréstimo de construção de Bedford reduz em aproximadamente US$ 0,02 por ação as expectativas anteriores para 2027. A Easterly usou os recursos para reduzir os saques da linha de crédito rotativo e continua avaliando oportunidades de financiamento mezzanine, incluindo projetos de clínicas ambulatoriais da Veterans Administration.

O vencimento de Loma Linda gera risco de refinanciamento. A projeção atual pressupõe que a dívida seja transferida para a linha de crédito rotativo. A alternativa preferida da administração é uma emissão inaugural de grau de investimento caso a empresa obtenha a classificação almejada; qualquer ganho nos resultados associado a isso não está incluído no guidance.

A administração também citou incertezas relacionadas às taxas de juros, condições geopolíticas e expectativas de preço dos vendedores. Observou que um ambiente prolongado com a Treasury de 10 anos entre 4% e 5% pode levar os proprietários de imóveis com vencimentos próximos a reavaliar suas expectativas de preço.

Destaques da Sessão de Perguntas e Respostas dos Analistas

• Refinanciamento de Loma Linda: A Easterly pretende buscar uma emissão de grau de investimento se seu processo de rating for bem-sucedido. Caso contrário, prevê utilizar sua linha de crédito rotativo e, posteriormente, alongar o empréstimo por meio de financiamento 4(a)(2).
• Realocação de capital de Bedford: A administração continua vendo oportunidades em financiamentos mezzanine, especialmente para desenvolvimentos de clínicas ambulatoriais da Veterans Administration.
• Condições econômicas das renovações: A empresa continua buscando spreads de aluguel líquido efetivo entre 15% e 19% para as renovações de 2027 e 2028, com prazos de renovação variando geralmente de 10 a 15 anos. O capital médio para melhorias no imóvel (TI) nas renovações foi citado em US$ 35.
• Hedge de taxa de juros: A Easterly contratou quatro swaps a 4,2% com base na taxa SOFR, com a intenção de cobrir a maior parte de 2027.
• Ambiente de aquisições: A administração disse que as expectativas dos vendedores estão começando a se ajustar aos rendimentos mais altos das Treasuries. Cerca de 30% a 35% do pipeline de US$ 1,5 bilhão se renovou à medida que surgiram novas oportunidades e outras deixaram de existir.

Transcrição Completa da Teleconferência de Resultados

Transcrição completa da teleconferência de resultados

Comentários da administração

Operator

Greetings. Welcome to the Easterly Government Properties Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Cole Bardawill, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Cole Bardawill

Good morning. Before the call begins, please note that certain statements made during this conference call may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although the company believes that its expectations as reflected in any forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond the company's control, including, without limitation, those contained in the company's most recent Form 10-K filed with the SEC and in other SEC filings. The company assumes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements.

Additionally, on this conference call, the company may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures such as funds from operations, core funds from operations and cash available for distribution. You can find a tabular reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable current GAAP numbers in the company's earnings release and separate supplemental information package on the Investor Relations page of the company's website at ir.easterlyreit.com.

I would now like to turn the conference call over to Darrell Crate, President and CEO of Easterly Government Properties.

Darrell Crate

Thanks, Cole. Good morning, everyone. This quarter, we delivered year-over-year core FFO per share growth of 2.6%, in line with our 2% to 3% stated long-term growth target. We continue to execute our strategy by growing earnings steadily, allocating capital thoughtfully and improving the quality of our portfolio over time.

We've been operating in a dynamic geopolitical and interest rate environment for several quarters now. Throughout that period, the durability of our portfolio and the consistency of our cash flows have continued to demonstrate the resilience of our business model and position us to perform well relative to the broader REIT market.

Easterly remains focused on delivering consistent annual growth in core FFO per share. In 2026, we're on track to exceed our long-term 2% to 3% growth objective, with the midpoint of guidance implying approximately 4% growth. As we look ahead to 2027, we remain committed to generating sustainable earnings growth while continuing to delever the balance sheet, a combination we believe will drive long-term shareholder value.

You may have noticed that we've refreshed our brand and introduced a new logo. Over the past several years, Easterly has expanded its capabilities, broadened its investment opportunities and strengthened its platform. Today, we're a diversified owner, developer and operator of mission-critical properties serving federal, state and local government, as well as the government-adjacent tenants. Our new identity reflects the company we have become and the opportunities we see ahead.

Turning to the quarter. Our portfolio continues to perform well, ending the period 98% leased with a weighted average lease term of 9.2 years. These metrics underscore the durability of our portfolio and the essential missions supported across our buildings.

Our asset management team did an excellent job closing out our 2026 lease rollovers with the renewal of USCIS Lincoln. With our 2026 renewals behind us, the team has already turned its attention to our 2027 expirations and is actively engaged in those discussions. That includes continuing to reduce the share of our portfolio with soft term, and Allison will update you on that in a moment.

In addition, we're able to extend the lease at our FAA Chicago facility for an additional 9 months, including 6 months of firm term. As we've discussed previously, the government occasionally requires additional time to transition out of a facility, and this extension is expected to provide incremental earnings in both 2026 and 2027. We still expect the tenant to vacate the property, and the asset remains under contract for sale upon move-out.

Lastly, our acquisitions team remains active as we evaluate opportunities across our approximately $1.5 billion pipeline. With the recent sharp move in the 10-year treasury, we are recalibrating our cost of capital and we remain disciplined and selective, focused on opportunities where we can create value and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for shareholders. I want to take a moment and thank Mike Ibe, Chris Wang and the entire acquisitions team for continuing to keep that pipeline actionable. As we see our cost of capital improve over time, that work positions us to meaningfully accelerate our growth.

On the joint venture front, we continue to talk with partners. We believe we have a definable edge in this government real estate space. As one of the largest landlords in the sector, we bring many benefits as a partner to those looking for this kind of exposure.

I'll leave it to Allison to discuss our 2026 and 2027 guidance, but we're pleased with this year's performance to date and the momentum we've built across the business. As we look ahead to 2027, we're focused on continuing to execute against our strategy and delivering growth within our long-term target ranges. While the geopolitical and macroeconomic backdrop remains uncertain, we believe the durability of our portfolio and the mission-critical nature of our assets we own position us well to navigate a wide range of operating environments.

I also want to thank Allison, who's been working with our team and the rating agencies to socialize our differentiated credit profile. That work matters as we pursue our investment-grade goal. We want to thank our team for the great execution so far this year. We would also like to thank our tenants and our shareholders as we partner with them to hit our goals for 2026 and 2027 as well.

Now with that, I'll turn the call over to Allison.

Allison Marino

Thanks, Darrell, and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to begin with reporting the financial results for the third quarter of 2026. The underlying growth of the business continues to come through clearly in the numbers. Total revenue for the quarter was $93.6 million, up from $86.2 million in the third quarter of 2025. That's an increase of 8.7% year-over-year, and it was driven by several factors: the acquisitions and development we've completed over the last 12 months, lease renewals and TI and BSAC income coming online. EBITDA grew alongside revenue, coming in at $59 million for the quarter versus $54.2 million in the third quarter of 2025, approximately 8.9% growth.

And importantly, that growth continues to reach the bottom line on a per share basis. For the quarter, net income was $0.12 per share on a fully diluted basis. FFO per share was $0.79, up from $0.74 in the prior year, and that is approximately 6.8% year-over-year growth. FFO exceeds core FFO this quarter because of the downward adjustment to our credit loss allowance from the Bedford loan repayment. And core FFO per share as well came in at $0.78, up from $0.76 in the prior year. That is approximately 2.6% growth year-over-year. And finally, cash available for distribution for the quarter was approximately $32.8 million.

As Darrell noted, our asset management team did an excellent job closing out our 2026 lease rollovers with the renewal of USCIS Lincoln, a 15-year lease with 10 years of firm term. On soft term, we've continued to reduce the percentage of our portfolio with early termination rights, which stood at 2.3% of ALI at quarter end, down from 5.2% of ALI at year-end 2024.

Turning to development. We are pleased to announce that all significant construction activities were completed at our FDLE laboratory facility in Fort Myers, Florida this month. Having broken ground on the project in August of 2025, we're extremely proud of the execution by both our internal team and development partners in delivering the facility in 15 months.

Looking ahead, our development pipeline continues to progress as expected. Construction of the U.S. courthouse in Flagstaff, Arizona remains on track for completion in the first quarter of 2027, while our U.S. courthouse project in Medford, Oregon is now expected to be completed during the first half of 2028. The timing reflects the government's design process with various agencies, which is taking a bit longer than planned.

On leverage, as of quarter end, our net debt to annualized quarterly EBITDA stood at 7.1x. This metric improved from second quarter and reflects our continued progress towards our target cash leverage range. We believe this progress positions the company well as we look forward to 2027 and our goal of achieving an additional investment-grade credit rating. We are growing FFO per share and delevering at the same time. That is a hard combination to deliver, and I am proud of what our team has accomplished so far.

Turning to guidance. We are raising the low end of our 2026 core FFO per share guidance. Our new range is $3.08 to $3.13 per share compared with $3.07 and $3.13 previously. The increase is primarily driven by the execution of a 9-month lease extension at FAA Chicago, which includes 6 months of firm term and provides additional earnings contribution in both 2026 and '27.

This benefit is partially offset by the early repayment in September of our $35.6 million Bedford construction loan ahead of its August '27 maturity date. That loan contributed approximately $0.02 per share to our 2027 expectations, and we used the proceeds from the repayment to reduce outstanding borrowings on our revolving credit facility.

For 2027, we are introducing initial full year core FFO per share guidance of $3.09 to $3.17 per share. At the midpoint, that implies roughly 1% growth over our 2026 midpoint. And the high end implies roughly 2%, the low end of our long-term target.

Two headwinds that are incorporated into our 2027 outlook: the FAA Chicago move-out and the refinancing-related pressure largely driven by the maturity of our Loma Linda loan. Our guidance assumes that FAA Chicago remains occupied through the current firm term, which extends through April 20, 2027. At the midpoint, our guidance contemplates between $25 million and $50 million of gross development-related investment during the year. And in addition, our guidance assumes approximately $50 million of wholly owned acquisitions during 2027.

As the year progresses, we would imagine there to be additional upside from acquisitions, and we will continue to pursue opportunities where we can deploy capital accretively while maintaining our disciplined underwriting standards. Through consistent execution over the course of the year, we believe we can build on this guidance.

We remain focused on executing against our long-term growth strategy, achieving our targeted leverage levels, maintaining strong tenant relationships and allocating capital in a disciplined manner. Continued execution in these areas supports the resilience of our cash flows and enhances our ability to create long-term value for shareholders. Thank you for your time this morning. We appreciate your partnership and look forward to updating you on our progress.

With that, I will now turn the call back to Shannon.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from John Kim of BMO Capital Markets.

Perguntas e respostas

John Kim

I just wanted to follow up on guidance for next year. I know you walked through some of the headwinds, which include the Bedford loan repayment, the Loma Linda refinancing and FAA Chicago move-out. But on the first couple of items, the loan repayment, how quickly do you think you can reinvest some of those proceeds back into mezz? I think before, you talked about having a pretty steady mezz program. And on the Loma Linda loan maturity, how do you plan to refinance that debt?

Allison Marino

Sure. So maybe we'll start with Loma Linda because that's, I think, a very simple answer. At this moment, we intend, should we be successful in the investment-grade ratings process, to use an investment-grade inaugural issuance to address that maturity. If not, we will put it on the revolver and term it out using 4(a)(2) money like we have in the past. But our primary goal, as we've shared most recently, is investment-grade.

Darrell Crate

But our guidance is to put it on the revolver today. So the degree to which we get an investment-grade rating and we're able to do those issuances, we -- that would be worth some earnings accretion. And that is our goal. That is not in our guidance.

Allison Marino

And then for Bedford, I think we continue to see opportunity within the mezz financing space. We -- as we've shared before, the VA outpatient clinic pipeline that's coming off the conveyor belt from the Veterans Administration is quite large at this time. And we're seeing opportunities across the country for projects like that where we can continue to deploy mezzanine capital.

John Kim

I was wondering also if you could discuss your expectations for renewal leasing spreads? I think last call, you mentioned mid- to high teens net effective rental growth, and I wanted to see if that's what you believe you can accomplish?

Allison Marino

Yes. I think that is still and continues to be our expectation with respect to upcoming 2027 and 2028 renewals. I think we're pushing for as much firm term as we can get. 10 to 15 tends to be about what a renewal is achievable under these days. [indiscernible] there. And then mid- to high teens, to your point, net effective rent spreads, typically, which is -- significantly outpaces market from peers, we are only at $35 of TI capital deployed across renewals on average.

John Kim

It was breaking up a little bit, but did you mention the '26 USCIS Lincoln renewal as well?

Allison Marino

We will share the class of renewals for 2026 as a group in the year-end earnings call as we historically have, but that is 10 years of firm term, 15 years total.

Operator

Our next question comes from Alex Murphy with Truist Securities.

Alexei Zamanski Murphy

What are the terms of the new interest rate swaps you entered into last week?

Allison Marino

Yes. So we placed four. They're at 4.2% on a SOFR base, and they are intended to get us through most of next year.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from the line of Seth Bergey with Citi.

Seth Bergey

I just wanted to follow up on kind of -- you mentioned in the opening comments, the uncertain macro environment and interest rates. And I wondered if that is changing the way conversations are evolving around future capital deployment, just in terms of unlocking kind of more opportunities for you? And just kind of any comments you can have there would be helpful.

Darrell Crate

Yes. I'll say a couple of things, and maybe Allison will add on. One, broadly, what you're seeing in real estate and among sellers is there's been this imagination that the treasuries are going to go back to 2% to 3%. And we've seen a lot of people hold on, wait, wait for that to happen. And over the last quarter and particularly last 2, you're beginning to see folks come to some sensibility that we might be in a 4% to 5% 10-year treasury environment for a while.

Accordingly, people do have maturities that are coming up. It encourages them to also just reassess their price expectations. And we are very hopeful that we will be able to find transactions that would be more accretive. And hopefully, as we get rewarded on cost of capital, that can just lead to accelerated growth. And so we're very mindful of cash. We're very mindful of accretion in transaction.

I mean, stepping back, if you look at the company and you think about -- Allison and I have been in these roles for just about 3 years. And in 2023, in the third quarter, we had cash available for distribution. It was just under $24 million, I think $23.9 million. And we had a payout ratio of 117%, principally driven by a set of dispositions that had taken hold.

As you look at '24, '25, '26, we've been steadily growing that cash available for distribution. And today, as Allison mentioned, that's at $32.8 million with a payout ratio that's below 70%, I think, right around 67%. So almost half of the payout ratio that we were at before. And we've grown that cash available for distribution from this portfolio by 37% over those 3 years.

So that's what we're looking at. That only happens if you are investing accretively, managing the portfolio for cash return, which is what we're up to. So as we move into this next -- this environment, I don't think anybody would say it's been easy for these last 3 years. We've had DOGE, we've had headlines sort of come the wrong way. We've had interest rate uncertainty. And then you've got just global uncertainty and times of uncertainty.

And so -- but we functioned in a time that I think has been very accretive for shareholders, focusing on cash, being able to maintain the weighted average maturity of leases, keep our liabilities in a nice place, get these lease renewals in a more organized and partnerly way. And we've been closer with the GSA, helping them achieve many of their objectives. I think we put that constellation of things together.

And as I -- and I gave a shout out to our acquisitions team. And we've had a pipeline of about $1.5 billion. And obviously -- and it's a great question, but during this time, that $1.5 billion has remained pretty steady. But I would say it's probably churned 30%, 35% as you've seen new folks bubble up as their sellers' expectations get more in line with what's good for our shareholders and other opportunities that have presented themselves.

So they remain very poised that we are -- and what we've been doing for these last 3 years is very focused on gaining the trust of our investors, laying out this long-term objective with a growth rate that we've been achieving, exceeding. That would -- if we continue, would compare very favorably to [ the office group ]. So accordingly, if we do gain that trust and gain better cost of capital, we actually have an actionable pipeline where we could materially grow and get that flywheel going, as folks say in the industry.

So I would take your question and say this sort of uncertainty, the volatility, the folks -- it pushes people for action. And I think we're very well positioned and have demonstrated that during challenging periods, we can be in a place that really adds value to the company. So thanks for listening to all of that.

Seth Bergey

And maybe just a follow-up. I know the FAA Chicago was anticipated to kind of move out at the end of this year. They've obviously signed kind of the extension into April of next year. Is there kind of a possibility that they extend further beyond that? Or is that kind of -- they end up when they move out?

Darrell Crate

Well, there's always a possibility. But I think we're -- we have been imagining that they're going to leave for the last 2 years, so to rule it out would be impossible. But our guidance only includes them staying through their firm term and just as we think about positioning earnings growth and how we are keeping investor expectations in line. And we're not going to have any expectation that they are there beyond April.

Seth Bergey

And maybe just a quick one on kind of the terms of the extension, the same economics of what's in place, just given the short-term nature of it?

Allison Marino

Yes, that's correct. It will just hold the current terms.

Operator

Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference back to Darrell Crate, President and CEO of Easterly Government Properties, for closing remarks.

Darrell Crate

I'd like to just thank everybody for joining our third quarter conference call. We're really excited to just continue to execute our strategy. And we look forward to our next conference call, where we'll be announcing our full year results and the progress that we continue to make to achieve growth in 2027.

Operator

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.