Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Price, News & Analysis

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: EPRT) is an internally managed real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning and managing primarily single-tenant commercial properties. These properties are generally freestanding, single-tenant buildings that are net leased on a long-term basis to companies operating service-oriented or experience-based businesses.

The company states that it acquires, owns and manages properties where tenants use the locations to serve customers and conduct activities that are important to generating their sales and profits. According to company disclosures, Essential Properties concentrates on net lease structures, under which tenants are typically responsible for property-level expenses under long-duration leases.

Business focus and portfolio characteristics

Essential Properties describes itself as an internally managed REIT that invests in and leases freestanding, single-tenant commercial real estate facilities. The company focuses on tenants that operate service-oriented or experience-based concepts, and on long-term net leases. As of multiple reporting dates in 2025, the company reported a large portfolio of freestanding net lease properties, a high percentage of properties under lease, and a long weighted average remaining lease term.

Company press releases note that, as of various quarter-end dates in 2025, Essential Properties’ portfolio consisted of thousands of freestanding net lease properties, with weighted average lease terms measured in well over a decade and weighted average rent coverage ratios above 3x. The portfolio was reported to be leased at levels close to fully occupied to tenants operating hundreds of different concepts across a broad geographic footprint in the United States.

Essential Properties also reports that a significant portion of its annual base rent is derived from tenants operating service-oriented or experience-based businesses, and that a substantial share of its properties are subject to master lease structures. The company highlights metrics such as weighted average lease term, rent coverage ratios, occupancy, and the percentage of properties subject to master leases as key indicators of its portfolio profile.

Capital structure and financing activity

As a public REIT, Essential Properties raises capital through a combination of equity and debt. Company announcements describe activity under an at-the-market equity offering program, follow-on equity offerings, and the use of forward equity sales. The company also reports on its revolving credit facility capacity and net debt to annualized Adjusted EBITDAre, reflecting its approach to funding acquisitions and managing leverage.

In 2025, Essential Properties disclosed that its operating partnership completed an underwritten public offering of 5.400% Senior Notes due 2035, fully and unconditionally guaranteed by the REIT. The notes are senior unsecured obligations of the operating partnership and are governed by an indenture that includes restrictive covenants and defined events of default. The company has stated that proceeds from the notes offering are intended for repayment of amounts outstanding under its revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes, including funding investment activity.

Operating performance and guidance

Through periodic earnings releases, Essential Properties reports metrics such as net income per share, Funds from Operations (FFO), Adjusted Funds from Operations (AFFO), investment volume, dispositions, and leverage measures. The company has highlighted investment activity across dozens of properties per quarter, with disclosed weighted average cash and GAAP capitalization rates on new investments and dispositions.

Essential Properties also provides AFFO per share guidance ranges and investment volume expectations, and discusses factors such as tenant credit performance, origination activity, and capital markets execution. In its commentary, the company has referenced its origination platform, relationships with operators in its targeted middle-market industries, and its focus on providing capital to companies in the consumer service economy.

Dividends and shareholder returns

As a REIT, Essential Properties distributes a portion of its cash flow to stockholders in the form of dividends. Board-approved quarterly cash dividends on common stock are disclosed in press releases and related Form 8-K filings. In 2025, the company announced quarterly dividends per share and noted the implied annualized dividend amounts, as well as subsequent increases in the quarterly dividend rate.

These dividend announcements are accompanied by record dates and payment dates, and are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as other events on Form 8-K. The company also references its dividend decisions in the context of its operating performance and capital allocation.

Corporate governance and management

Essential Properties’ SEC filings and press releases describe changes in its leadership and board composition. In 2025, the company reported the election of a new independent director to its board, with details on her professional background in audit, accounting, risk management and transaction services, and her designation as an independent director and financial expert under New York Stock Exchange standards.

The company also disclosed the planned appointment of a new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective as of a specified date, along with the resignation of the prior Chief Financial Officer to pursue another opportunity. The related Form 8-K provides background on the incoming executive’s prior experience in real estate investment, research, and capital markets roles, and notes that his compensation as Chief Financial Officer will be determined later.

Essential Properties enters into indemnification agreements with certain directors and executive officers, as described in its Form 8-K filings. These agreements generally provide for indemnification, subject to limitations, if an individual is made a party to certain proceedings by reason of their position with the company.

Reporting, disclosure and corporate responsibility

Essential Properties files regular reports and current reports with the SEC, including earnings releases, investor presentations, and other disclosures furnished under Regulation FD. The company has also published a Corporate Responsibility Report, which it furnishes as an exhibit to a Form 8-K and makes available on its website. This report is described as addressing aspects of the company’s corporate responsibility practices.

In addition, Essential Properties periodically releases investor presentations and supplemental information that provide further detail on its portfolio, capital structure, and financial performance. These materials are furnished, rather than filed, under the Exchange Act, and are referenced in multiple Form 8-K filings.

Stock information and industry classification

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol EPRT. The company is organized as a REIT and, based on the provided classification, operates within the Real Estate and Rental and Leasing sector, with an industry focus on lessors of nonresidential buildings (except miniwarehouses). Its strategy centers on net-leased, single-tenant commercial properties used by service-oriented and experience-based tenants.

FAQs about Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (EPRT)

• What does Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. do?
  

  Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. is an internally managed REIT that acquires, owns and manages primarily single-tenant, freestanding commercial properties. These properties are generally net leased on a long-term basis to companies operating service-oriented or experience-based businesses.

• How does Essential Properties generate revenue?
  

  According to its financial statements, Essential Properties generates revenue primarily from rental income on its real estate investments and interest on loans and direct financing lease receivables. It also reports other revenue related to its property and tenant relationships.

• What types of tenants occupy Essential Properties’ buildings?
  

  The company states that its tenants operate service-oriented or experience-based businesses. Its portfolio is leased to tenants operating hundreds of different concepts, and a high percentage of its annual base rent is derived from these types of operations.

• What is notable about Essential Properties’ lease structure?
  

  Essential Properties focuses on long-term net leases for single-tenant properties. Company disclosures highlight weighted average remaining lease terms measured in many years, high occupancy levels, and a significant share of properties under master lease arrangements.

• How diversified is Essential Properties’ portfolio?
  

  Press releases indicate that the company’s portfolio consists of thousands of freestanding net lease properties, leased to tenants operating hundreds of different concepts across numerous U.S. states. The company also discloses concentration metrics for its top tenants and industries.

• How does Essential Properties use debt and equity financing?
  

  Essential Properties reports raising capital through at-the-market equity programs, follow-on equity offerings, and forward equity sales, as well as through public debt offerings such as its 5.400% Senior Notes due 2035. It also maintains a revolving credit facility and discloses leverage metrics like net debt to annualized Adjusted EBITDAre.

• Does Essential Properties pay a dividend?
  

  Yes. The company’s board of directors declares quarterly cash dividends on its common stock, which are disclosed in press releases and Form 8-K filings. These announcements include the dividend amount per share, the implied annualized rate, and the relevant record and payment dates.

• What corporate governance developments has the company reported?
  

  In 2025, Essential Properties reported the election of a new independent director with extensive audit and financial experience, and the planned appointment of a new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The company also describes indemnification agreements for directors and certain officers in its Form 8-K filings.

• Where is Essential Properties based?
  

  SEC filings list the company’s principal offices in Princeton, New Jersey, and identify it as a Maryland corporation with its common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EPRT.

• What types of disclosures does Essential Properties provide to investors?
  

  Essential Properties provides earnings press releases, investor presentations, supplemental information packages, corporate responsibility reports, and current reports on material events. Many of these materials are furnished as exhibits to Form 8-K filings and referenced in its public communications.