STAG Authorizes $250 Million Share Repurchase and Raises Fourth-Quarter Distribution
Key Facts
STAG Industrial’s board authorized an optional program to repurchase up to $250 million of common stock on October 26, alongside the release of its third-quarter 2026 results. The authorization does not require the company to buy any shares and has no specified expiration date, according to its statement. The board also approved a cash distribution of $0.3875 per share for the fourth quarter that day. The distribution will be paid on January 15, 2027, to common shareholders and unit holders of record on December 31, 2026. The two steps reflect capital allocation decisions at a time when results showed a sharp rise in quarterly net income, compared with slower growth in a key per-share operating measure.
Net income attributable to common shareholders was $70.671 million in the third quarter, compared with $48.594 million in the same period of 2025, an annual increase of 45.4%. Diluted earnings per share rose to $0.37 from $0.26, an increase of 42.3%. But the first nine months showed a different trend: net income attributable to common shareholders fell 2.3% to $185.510 million from $189.911 million. Diluted earnings per share for the same period declined 4.9% to $0.97 from $1.02. Diluted Core FFO, an operating measure tracked by the company, increased just 1.5% to $0.66 per share in the quarter, from $0.65 a year earlier. Cash net operating income for comparable properties rose 3.5% to $159.865 million, compared with $154.468 million.
Chief Executive Bill Crooker said the third quarter "built on the progress we made in leasing and development during the first half of the year," pointing to continued improvement in industrial-sector fundamentals. During the quarter, the company commenced leases across its operating portfolio covering 3,610,352 square feet. Cash rents on new and renewed leases rose 23.8%, while straight-line rents increased 35.7%. Occupancy across the total portfolio was 95.9%, compared with 96.2% for the operating portfolio on September 30, 2026. The company also recorded a tenant retention rate of 90.3% on 2.9 million square feet of leases expiring during the quarter. Renewals that commenced covered 2,591,145 square feet, a separate measure from the area of expiring leases used to calculate the retention rate.
STAG’s leasing metrics coincide with a broader improvement in the U.S. industrial and logistics market. Net absorption of industrial space reached 104.6 million square feet in the third quarter, the highest quarterly level since the fourth quarter of 2022, according to CBRE. The figure exceeded the 10-year quarterly average of 82.9 million square feet, bringing year-to-date net absorption to 237.8 million square feet. Industrial leasing activity rose 27.1% year over year to 276.8 million square feet in the quarter. Year to date, leasing activity increased 17.9% to 842.3 million square feet, according to CBRE data. As of September 30, 2026, the company had 606 buildings with 123.0 million square feet of leasable area across 41 U.S. states.
In portfolio moves, the company acquired two buildings totaling 1,095,077 square feet for $107.934 million in the third quarter; they were 100.0% occupied at acquisition. It sold four buildings covering 1,122,599 square feet for $67.875 million during the same period. Year-to-date sales totaled $121.063 million from seven buildings. The company had $70 million in available, unsettled net proceeds from forward equity offerings on October 26. On July 16, it refinanced two loans of $150 million and $200 million that were due in March 2027, combining them into a new $350 million loan due on January 16, 2032. It also received an investment-grade BBB credit rating from S&P Global Ratings with a stable outlook on August 6.
Before the results, analysts had expected earnings of $0.27 per share and revenue of $226.9 million for the third quarter. The company reported revenue of $231.045 million, compared with $211.121 million a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share of $0.37, versus $0.26. The stock closed at $36.30 on October 26, according to EL7 data, before the results were published. The company is scheduled to hold a call to discuss its quarterly results on October 28, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. The call gives investors a near-term opportunity to hear from management about leasing, development and capital allocation in light of the quarterly figures.