EastGroup Q3 EPS Rises to $1.46 as Industrial Portfolio Reaches 97.3% Leased; Dividend Raised 12.9%
Industrial real estate investment trust EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP) announced results for the third quarter of 2026 via PR Newswire: net income attributable to common stockholders of $1.46 per diluted share, compared with $1.26 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2025. Funds from operations (FFO), excluding gain on involuntary conversion and business interruption claims, were $2.45 per diluted share, up 7.9% from $2.27 a year earlier.
Same-property net operating income, excluding income from lease terminations, increased 5.3% on a straight-line basis and 7.1% on a cash basis. The operating portfolio was 97.3% leased and 96.5% occupied as of September 30, 2026, and average month-end occupancy was 96.1% for the quarter, versus 95.7% a year earlier. Rental rates on new and renewal leases increased an average of 36.3% on a straight-line basis. Property net operating income was $147.9 million, compared with $134.4 million in the prior-year quarter.
On capital activity, the company entered into forward equity sale agreements for approximately $486 million at an initial weighted average forward price of $202.06 per share; started construction of four development projects and one redevelopment project totaling 998,000 square feet with projected total costs of approximately $162 million; and acquired two operating properties containing 531,000 square feet and 107 acres of development land for approximately $164 million. Subsequent to quarter-end, it acquired three operating properties containing 1,031,000 square feet and 25 acres of development land for approximately $262 million. The company declared its 187th consecutive quarterly cash dividend, increasing it by $0.20 per share (12.9%) to $1.75 per share.
CEO Marshall Loeb said the team and the portfolio performed ahead of expectations this quarter and so far this year, and that the leasing environment has been much more stable than headlines would lead one to expect. President Reid Dunbar said continued leasing momentum gave the company confidence to raise development starts to $390 million for the year and increase acquisition guidance to $360 million.
EastGroup is a real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets, with an emphasis on shallow-bay, last-mile facilities in high-growth markets.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 物流配送中心内部（资料图）。Rsherwin 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 取用 / Inside a logistics distribution center (file photo). Photo by Rsherwin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
