Realty Income (NYSE:O), Inc is a US-based investment company focused on the commercial retail market. The company is structured as a REIT and pays 90% of its income in the form of dividend payments. The company hails itself as The Monthly Dividend Company, a name it has trademarked. It is a member of the S&P 500 and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat index having increased the payment 117 times since its IPO in 1994. Since its inception and as of December 2022, the company has paid 629 consecutive monthly dividends.
Realty Income, Inc is focused exclusively on free-standing commercial properties in the US, UK and Spain. Unlike some commercial REITs, Realty Income operates on a triple-net lease basis which means its tenants pay for taxes, maintenance and utilities. The company is incorporated in Maryland but has its headquarters in San Diego, California. As of Marcy 2022 the company owned 11,281 properties enclosing more than 213 million square feet of space making it the 7th largest REIT in the US and internationally. At the time, it was worth nearly $40 billion in market cap making it the world's 425th most valuable company.
The company’s top 10 tenants are Walgreens Boots Alliance, 7-11, Dollar General/Dollar Tree, FedEx, LA Fitness, Sainsbury’s, BJ’s Wholesale Club, CVS and Walmart. This lineup of tenants ensures a steady stream of monthly income that allows the company to pay its monthly distribution. The company's CAGR runs in the range of 15% since the IPO and that is boosted by the dividend and its history of growth as well.
The company was founded in 1969 by William and Evelyn Clark. Their first target was a Taco Bell and since then they (and the company) have expanded into all aspects of commercial real estate. The strategy was to target the real estate needed to operate a commercial business and then lease it back to the business. These deals are attractive to businesses because they provide needed capital while guaranteeing long-term occupation of existing facilities.
Some notable milestones in the company’s history are 1994 when it IPOd and then 1997 when Mr. Clark retired and a new era began. In 2013 the company made its first major acquisition with the purchase of Realty Capital Trust and then in 2015 it was added to the S&P 500 index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index in the same year. In 2019 the company made its first acquisition outside the US with the sale and leaseback of some Sainsbury’s properties in the UK and in 2021 it purchased Vereit.
