At a glance
Independence Realty Trust Inc is worth $3.41B, about 60 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 2.8% to $657.7M in fiscal 2025, with 8.6% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 25.4% a year. It pays a 4.84% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 4 years, and returned $618.9M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −4.4% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −6.2% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 44.1% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and is still below its earlier high.
The business in plain English
Independence Realty Trust (IRT) is a real estate investment trust, or REIT: a company that owns property and must pay out most of its taxable income as dividends. IRT owns and manages apartment communities in "non-gateway" markets, meaning U.S. cities outside the biggest, priciest metros that attract heavy national investor money. As of December 31, 2025, it owned 114 apartment properties with 33,462 units in 12 states, including Florida, Georgia, Texas, Ohio, Indiana and Colorado.
Its revenue comes mainly from rent paid by residents on short-term leases. Total revenue was $657.7 million in 2025, up 2.8% from 2024. A core growth tool is its Value Add Initiative, which renovates selected apartments so they can rent for more. Through December 31, 2025, IRT had upgraded 11,445 of 18,789 targeted units, spending an average of $17,372 per unit. The extra rent works out to about 16.1% of that cost each year.
IRT also recycles capital: it disposes of properties in markets where it lacks scale or growth is slowing, and moves the money into faster-growing areas or debt reduction. In 2025 it sold communities in Birmingham, Alabama, and Louisville, Kentucky, and added three in Indianapolis and Orlando. It also backs new apartment construction through joint ventures with developers. The annual report does not split revenue by segment or region.
Price history
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IRT -4.4% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $167.2M, up 3.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $3.4M (-57.9%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $657.7M (+2.8% year over year; +25.4% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 8.6% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +25.4% good |
|---|---|
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 1.6% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 0.9% weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $211.9M | $14.8M | $74.9M |
| FY2021 | $250.3M | $44.6M | $52.1M |
| FY2022 | $628.5M | $117.2M | — |
| FY2023 | $661.0M | $-17.2M | — |
| FY2024 | $640.0M | $39.3M | — |
| FY2025 | $657.7M | $56.6M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $3.41B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 60.2 |
| Dividend yield | 4.84% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Independence Realty Trust’s market value went from $2.55B at the end of 2020 to $3.41B on Oct 28, 2026, up 34%; since the end of 2025 it is down 18%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $3.41B | -18.5% |
| 2025 | $4.18B | -6.4% |
| 2024 | $4.47B | +29.9% |
| 2023 | $3.44B | -9.0% |
| 2022 | $3.78B | -30.4% |
| 2021 | $5.43B | +113.2% |
| 2020 | $2.55B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRT price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -14.4% | -4.4% | +10.0% | -6.2% | — |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -14.4% |
| 2025 | -8.6% |
| 2024 | +34.2% |
| 2023 | -5.6% |
| 2022 | -32.9% |
| 2021 | +98.1% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 35.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 44.1%, not recovered by the end of the data |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 11 sales ($88K), 11 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2025 | Richard D Gebert Director | sell (plan) | $9K |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Richard D Gebert Director | sell (plan) | $8K |
| Feb 2, 2026 | Richard D Gebert Director | sell (plan) | $8K |
| Aug 3, 2026 | Richard D Gebert Director | sell (plan) | $8K |
| Mar 2, 2026 | Richard D Gebert Director | sell (plan) | $8K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 14.4% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 9.12% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.34% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc. | 4.3% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Wellington Management Group LLP | 2.6% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Long Pond Capital, LP | 2.18% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in IRT
| HAUS Residential REIT ETF | 4.36% |
| PJFM PGIM Jennison Focused Mid-Cap ETF | 2.28% |
| PPTY US Diversified Real Estate ETF | 1.86% |
| SMCO Hilton Small-MidCap Opportunity ETF | 1.62% |
| HOMZ Hoya Capital Housing ETF | 1.55% |
| XMLV Invesco S&P MidCap Low Volatility ETF | 1.06% |
| JPSV JPMorgan Active Small Cap Value ETF | 0.94% |
| OMFS Invesco Russell 2000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF | 0.71% |
What could go wrong
- All apartments, mostly in the Southeast. IRT owns only apartment communities, and its operations are concentrated in the Southeast. A regional downturn, job losses or a wave of new apartment building there could hurt many of its properties at once.
- Short leases and competing buildings. Residents sign short-term leases, so falling market rents show up in IRT's income quickly. Rival apartment complexes, vacancies and residents who stop paying rent can all reduce revenue.
- Debt and interest rates. IRT had about $2.44 billion of debt as of June 30, 2026, some at floating rates. Higher rates raise interest costs, make refinancing harder and can draw income investors toward other yields.
- Development and joint-venture projects. IRT funds new apartment projects alongside partners it doesn't fully control, and costs can overrun. An Austin property it took over in January 2026 was just 24% occupied as of February 10, 2026.
- Write-downs if property values fall. IRT wrote down a Denver property held for sale by $12.8 million in 2025. If apartment values fall, more of these impairment charges could cut reported earnings and weigh on the share price.
- Rising taxes, insurance, labor and materials costs. Property taxes, insurance, utilities, wages and building materials, including items hit by tariffs, can rise faster than rents. That squeezes profit and can make renovations under the Value Add Initiative costlier.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Major agreement signed
- Major agreement signed; Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Major agreement ended
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
IRT paid $0.67 a share in dividends for 2025; the yield was 4.84% as of October 28, 2026. It has raised the dividend four years running, after the payout fell from $0.54 a share in 2020 to $0.48 in 2021. From 2020 to 2025, the dividend grew about 4.4% a year. Dividends equaled 273% of 2025 net income. But REIT earnings are cut by depreciation, a non-cash cost, so payouts are usually judged against funds from operations, which add it back. IRT repurchased $30 million of stock in 2025, while also using $101.0 million from new share sales to fund two Orlando acquisitions.
In the 2022 bear market, the share price fell 44.1% from its April 21, 2022 high to its October 7, 2022 low and had not regained that high by October 28, 2026. Figures for the 2008 and 2020 crashes aren't available. As a single stock, IRT carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Independence Realty Trust make money?
Mainly by renting apartments. As of December 31, 2025, IRT owned 114 apartment communities with 33,462 units in 12 states, including Florida, Georgia, Texas and Ohio. Total revenue was $657.7 million in 2025. It aims to lift rents by renovating selected units: through December 31, 2025, it had upgraded 11,445 of them at an average of $17,372 each. It also disposes of properties in markets where growth is slowing and moves the money into faster-growing ones.
Does IRT raise its dividend every year?
Not every year. IRT has raised its dividend four years in a row, from $0.48 a share in 2021 to $0.67 in 2025. Before that streak, the payout had dropped from $0.54 a share in 2020. From 2020 to 2025, the dividend grew about 4.4% a year. Dividends equaled 273% of 2025 net income, though REIT earnings are reduced by depreciation, a non-cash expense, so payouts are usually compared with funds from operations instead.
What is IRT's dividend yield, and how are its dividends taxed?
IRT's dividend yield was 4.84% as of October 28, 2026, and it paid $0.67 a share for 2025. As a REIT, it must pay out most of its taxable income, which tends to support a higher yield. The trade-off is tax: REIT dividends generally don't qualify for the lower tax rates that apply to many ordinary stock dividends, so in a taxable account more of this income may be taxed at regular income-tax rates.
How much debt does Independence Realty Trust have?
About $2.44 billion as of June 30, 2026, against total assets of $6.09 billion and total equity of $3.36 billion. Cash and investments were $22.5 million. In February 2026, IRT signed a new credit agreement that added a $350 million term loan (a bank loan with a set end date) due February 2030. Part of it repaid a loan due in May 2026, and the deal raised total borrowing capacity under the agreement to $1.5 billion. Some of its debt carries floating interest rates.
How has IRT stock performed?
Unevenly. As of October 28, 2026, IRT's share price was down 14.4% year to date and 4.4% over one year. In total, it was up 33% over three years but down 27% over five years. Calendar years have swung widely, from a 98.1% gain in 2021 to a 32.9% drop in 2022, and the price fell 8.6% in 2025. These are share-price changes, before dividends.