Essex Property Trust tops quarterly estimates on strong rental growth

Essex Property Trust

28/04/2026 23:30

April 29 - Apartment-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) Essex Property Trust ESS.N beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit and core funds from operations on Tuesday, helped by strong rental growth and outperformance in the Seattle, Northern California and Southern California markets.

The company's first-quarter core FFO came in at $4.06 per share, above expectations of $3.96 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Essex Property Trust has benefited from tight housing supply and steady rental demand across California and Washington, enabling consistent rent growth in its coastal markets.

In the Seattle Metro area, first-quarter revenue was 0.5% higher compared with the previous quarter.

Quarterly revenue from Northern California, which comprised over 40% of the REIT's business during 2026, edged up 1.4% sequentially, while San Francisco, a key market in the region, saw revenue increase by 4.2%.

Shares of the company were marginally up in after-hours trading.

However, Essex Property sees 2026 adjusted funds from operations between $15.69 per share and $16.19 per share, the midpoint of which is below analysts' expectations of $16.04 per share.

The San Mateo, California-based real estate investment trust owns and manages over 63,000 apartment homes in the U.S. West Coast.

(Reporting by Megha Kumari in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)

((Megha.Kumari@thomsonreuters.com;))