COPT Defense Properties (CDP) Q4 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved FFO per share of $2.72 for 2025, up 5.8% year-over-year, marking the seventh consecutive year of growth and exceeding guidance midpoint.

• Portfolio occupancy remained above 94% for 12 consecutive quarters, with Defense/IT portfolio occupancy at 95.5% and leased at 96.5%.

• Executed 3.1 million SF of total leasing in 2025, exceeding targets by nearly 40%, including 557,000 SF of vacancy leasing and 477,000 SF of investment leasing.

• Committed $278 million to five new investments in 2025, 81% pre-leased, with four being expansions for existing tenants.

• Maintained a strong balance sheet with increased debt capacity, conservative leverage, and strong liquidity.

Financial highlights

• 2025 FFO per share of $2.72, $0.06 above initial guidance and $0.02 above revised guidance; Q4 2025 FFO per share was $0.70, up 7.7% year-over-year.

• Full year 2025 EPS was $1.34, up from $1.23 in 2024; total revenues for 2025 were $763.9 million.

• Same Property Cash NOI increased 4.1% year-over-year, exceeding original guidance midpoint.

• Dividend per share increased 10.9% since 2022, marking the third consecutive annual increase.

• Capital commitment to new investments in 2025 totaled $278 million.

Outlook and guidance

• 2026 FFO per share guidance midpoint set at $2.75, implying 1.1% growth over 2025, with EPS guidance midpoint at $1.25.

• Guidance absorbs a $0.09 increase in financing costs; excluding this, FFO per share would have grown 4.4%.

• Same Property Cash NOI projected to increase 2.5% at the midpoint for 2026.

• Year-end 2026 occupancy guidance: 94.0% at midpoint; tenant retention expected at 75%-85% and cash rent spreads up 2% at midpoint.

• Vacancy leasing target for 2026 set at 400,000 SF, one-third of available inventory.