Top Real Estate Stocks by Return on Assets
Top real estate companies ranked by return on assets, latest annual filings.
What Return on Assets Means for Real Estate Companies
Return on assets compares net income with the buildings, land and leases a real estate company holds. Accounting rules require large depreciation charges against properties that in many cases hold or gain value, so the numerator is reduced by an expense that does not match economic reality, while the denominator carries those properties at cost less the same accumulated depreciation. The result understates the cash a portfolio generates, which is why the sector reports funds from operations.
Why It Matters Less in Real Estate
A low figure here is the accounting rather than the business. Property depreciation runs for decades against assets whose rents are often rising, so a portfolio of well-let buildings can report modest net income while collecting substantial cash. Property sales complicate it further, because a gain lands in net income and lifts the ratio in a year when nothing was built or leased. Funds from operations, occupancy and lease terms describe the operating performance more faithfully.
What to Read Alongside
Pair return on assets with Return on Equity to see how much mortgage debt supports the portfolio, Net Margin for the profitability of rental income, and Total Assets to size the property base at book value.
| # | Symbol | Company | Sector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SPG | Simon Property Group, Inc. | Real Estate | 11.40% | $68.82B |
| 2 | SUI | Sun Communities, Inc. | Real Estate | 11.29% | $14.60B |
| 3 | UNIT | Uniti Group Inc. | Real Estate | 10.84% | $1.18B |
| 4 | SBAC | SBA Communications Corporation | Real Estate | 9.10% | $19.72B |
| 5 | PSA | Public Storage | Real Estate | 8.83% | $57.36B |
| 6 | LAMR | Lamar Advertising Company | Real Estate | 8.47% | $15.94B |
| 7 | ELS | Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. | Real Estate | 7.00% | $11.85B |
| 8 | GLPI | Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. | Real Estate | 6.39% | $11.46B |
| 9 | VICI | VICI Properties Inc. | Real Estate | 5.94% | $26.45B |
| 10 | OHI | Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. | Real Estate | 5.87% | $14.24B |
| 11 | HST | Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. | Real Estate | 5.86% | $17.17B |
| 12 | VNO | Vornado Realty Trust | Real Estate | 5.83% | $6.50B |
| 13 | FOR | Forestar Group Inc. | Real Estate | 5.35% | $1.33B |
| 14 | ESS | Essex Property Trust, Inc. | Real Estate | 5.09% | $17.69B |
| 15 | CUBE | CubeSmart | Real Estate | 5.02% | $9.04B |
| 16 | FRT | Federal Realty Investment Trust | Real Estate | 4.50% | $9.49B |
| 17 | JLL | Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated | Real Estate | 4.45% | $13.83B |
| 18 | BRX | Brixmor Property Group Inc. | Real Estate | 4.23% | $8.63B |
| 19 | REG | Regency Centers Corporation | Real Estate | 4.06% | $13.49B |
| 20 | AMT | American Tower Corporation | Real Estate | 4.00% | $87.73B |
| 21 | RHP | Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. | Real Estate | 3.94% | $9.12B |
| 22 | CBRE | CBRE Group, Inc. | Real Estate | 3.75% | $35.41B |
| 23 | MAA | Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. | Real Estate | 3.73% | $13.87B |
| 24 | APLE | Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. | Real Estate | 3.58% | $4.31B |
| 25 | UDR | UDR, Inc. | Real Estate | 3.56% | $11.47B |
| 26 | DOUG | Douglas Elliman Inc. | Real Estate | 3.42% | $145.42M |
| 27 | FSV | FirstService Corporation | Real Estate | 3.39% | $6.30B |
| 28 | DRH | DiamondRock Hospitality Company | Real Estate | 3.38% | $2.85B |
| 29 | PLD | Prologis, Inc. | Real Estate | 3.37% | $120.04B |
| 30 | EQIX | Equinix, Inc. | Real Estate | 3.36% | $95.48B |
| 31 | EXR | Extra Space Storage Inc. | Real Estate | 3.33% | $30.29B |
| 32 | CCS | Century Communities, Inc. | Real Estate | 3.31% | $1.63B |
| 33 | IHS | IHS Holding Limited | Real Estate | 3.20% | $2.86B |
| 34 | INVH | Invitation Homes Inc. | Real Estate | 3.15% | $16.25B |
| 35 | KIM | Kimco Realty Corporation | Real Estate | 2.97% | $15.86B |
| 36 | OUT | OUTFRONT Media Inc. | Real Estate | 2.77% | $5.58B |
| 37 | DLR | Digital Realty Trust, Inc. | Real Estate | 2.65% | $64.75B |
| 38 | WPC | W. P. Carey Inc. | Real Estate | 2.59% | $14.67B |
| 39 | BEKE | KE Holdings Inc. | Real Estate | 2.57% | $19.32B |
| 40 | KRC | Kilroy Realty Corporation | Real Estate | 2.53% | $4.27B |
| 41 | NMRK | Newmark Group, Inc. | Real Estate | 2.51% | $2.06B |
| 42 | XHR | Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. | Real Estate | 2.25% | $1.83B |
| 43 | WY | Weyerhaeuser Company | Real Estate | 1.95% | $14.11B |
| 44 | REXR | Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. | Real Estate | 1.68% | $8.14B |
| 45 | CIGI | Colliers International Group Inc. | Real Estate | 1.52% | $4.73B |
| 46 | O | Realty Income Corporation | Real Estate | 1.45% | $54.09B |
| 47 | CCI | Crown Castle Inc. | Real Estate | 1.41% | $37.21B |
| 48 | WELL | Welltower Inc. | Real Estate | 1.39% | $173.38B |
| 49 | RITM | Rithm Capital Corp. | Real Estate | 1.31% | $5.15B |
| 50 | AHR | American Healthcare REIT, Inc. | Real Estate | 1.29% | $11.67B |
| 51 | HHH | Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. | Real Estate | 1.16% | $4.38B |
| 52 | CWK | Cushman & Wakefield Limited | Real Estate | 1.15% | $2.79B |
| 53 | BXP | BXP, Inc. | Real Estate | 1.06% | $9.94B |
| 54 | VTR | Ventas, Inc. | Real Estate | 0.91% | $44.84B |
| 55 | IRM | Iron Mountain Incorporated | Real Estate | 0.68% | $33.66B |
| 56 | STWD | Starwood Property Trust, Inc. | Real Estate | 0.65% | $4.64B |
| 57 | RLJ | RLJ Lodging Trust | Real Estate | 0.60% | $1.86B |
| 58 | DOC | Healthpeak Properties, Inc. | Real Estate | 0.35% | $13.35B |
| 59 | DEI | Douglas Emmett, Inc. | Real Estate | 0.18% | $1.70B |
| 60 | CSGP | CoStar Group, Inc. | Real Estate | 0.07% | $13.66B |
No companies match this search.
How this ranking is built
Companies are ranked by return on assets as reported in their most recent annual filing with the SEC. Figures shown are in US dollars (or percent, as noted), rounded to two decimals.
- Source: annual 10-K / 20-F filings from companies trading on US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX).
- Fiscal year: whichever annual period the company has most recently filed. Fiscal years don't always align with the calendar year, so the "as of FY" stamp above reflects the most common year across the table.
- Filtered out: warrants, preferred shares, and duplicate listings that share a parent company's financials.
- Size floor: A company qualifies at $1 billion in annual revenue or above, so a small filer with a freak ratio cannot top the list.
- Value range: Only figures above 0% and up to 100% qualify.
- Update cadence: refreshed as companies file new annual reports (typically within 60–90 days of fiscal year end).
Not financial advice. This is a research tool, not a recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
Why do property companies show low returns on assets?
Depreciation is the main reason. Accounting rules require buildings to be written down over long schedules even when their rents and market values are climbing, so reported net income sits well below the cash the portfolio collects. The asset base is also carried at historic cost less that depreciation, which distorts both halves of the ratio. Funds from operations exists as the sector's answer, because net income describes property economics poorly.
Is funds from operations a better measure than return on assets for a property company?
For operating performance it is the sector's own standard, because it adds back property depreciation and strips out gains on sales. Return on assets still adds something, since it places the whole portfolio, including debt-funded property, against the profit it produces under an accounting standard every other sector uses too. Reading the two together gives both the sector view and the cross-market one.