At a glance
Safehold Inc is worth $776.9M, about 7 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 5.4% to $385.6M in fiscal 2025, with 29.7% kept as profit; over 4 years it has grown 19.8% a year. It pays a 6.56% dividend yield, and returned $335.2M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −26.0% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −29.5% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 36.8% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 69.6% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%).
The business in plain English
Safehold Inc. owns the land under commercial buildings and rents it to the buildings' owners on long leases, known as ground leases. Base terms typically run 30 to 99 years, often with renewal options. The leases are generally triple net, meaning the tenant pays the property taxes, insurance, maintenance, operating costs and capital spending. Customers include real estate investors, owners, operators and developers in major metropolitan areas.
Safehold earns money mainly from rent that rises over time. The increase can be a fixed percentage, can follow the consumer price index (CPI, a common inflation measure), or both. Periodic CPI adjustments are generally capped at 3.0% to 3.5% and usually begin between years 11 and 21. When a lease ends, or is terminated after a tenant default, the land and building typically pass to Safehold at no extra cost. The company generally targets deals where its cost is 30% to 45% of the combined value of land and building. The building owner's larger stake acts as a cushion.
Safehold reports one business segment. Its 10-K gives no revenue split by property type or region, though it calls the portfolio diversified across both. Revenue was $385.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, up 5.4% from the year before.
Price history
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SAFE -26.0% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $114.6M, up 22.2% from a year earlier, and net income was $30.2M (+7.9%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $385.6M (+5.4% year over year; +19.8% a year from FY2021 to FY2025) with a 29.7% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2021–FY2025) | +19.8% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 26.2% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 4.8% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 1.6% weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $324.1M | $-42.4M | — |
| FY2021 | $187.0M | $73.1M | — |
| FY2022 | $270.3M | $135.4M | — |
| FY2023 | $352.6M | $-55.0M | — |
| FY2024 | $365.7M | $105.8M | — |
| FY2025 | $385.6M | $114.5M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $776.9M |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 6.9 |
| Dividend yield | 6.56% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Safehold’s market value went from $1.20B at the end of 2017 to $776.9M on Oct 28, 2026, down 35%; since the end of 2025 it is down 21%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $776.9M | -20.9% |
| 2025 | $982.3M | -25.6% |
| 2024 | $1.32B | -20.6% |
| 2023 | $1.66B | -33.0% |
| 2022 | $2.48B | -55.3% |
| 2021 | $5.55B | +3.5% |
| 2020 | $5.36B | +114.0% |
| 2019 | $2.51B | +95.9% |
| 2018 | $1.28B | +6.5% |
| 2017 | $1.20B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAFE price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -16.6% | -26.0% | -6.2% | -29.5% | — |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -16.6% |
| 2025 | -22.4% |
| 2024 | -18.2% |
| 2023 | -15.6% |
| 2022 | -63.6% |
| 2021 | +11.0% |
| 2020 | +81.6% |
| 2019 | +118.0% |
| 2018 | +8.5% |
| 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 | Lost 0.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 36.8%, back to its old high 3.1 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 68.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 69.6%, not recovered by the end of the data |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (19 read): 0 open-market purchases and 1 sales ($138K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2026 | Robin Josephs Director | sell | $138K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.99% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc. | 6.5% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in SAFE
| NETL NETLease Corporate Real Estate ETF | 3.63% |
| RZV Invesco S&P SmallCap 600® Pure Value ETF | 0.58% |
| FYT First Trust Small Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | 0.47% |
| FYX First Trust Small Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund | 0.23% |
| PSCF Invesco S&P SmallCap Financials ETF | 0.22% |
| SCAP Infrastructure Capital Small Cap Income ETF | 0.2% |
| IJS iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | 0.13% |
| VIOV Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | 0.13% |
What could go wrong
- Expected building gains may never arrive. Much of Safehold's appeal rests on taking ownership of buildings when leases end. Tenant rights, such as options to purchase the land, can limit that value, and the share price may never reflect it.
- Property value estimates could fall, especially offices. Estimates of property values, and of how easily tenants can cover rent, rely on an outside valuation firm and figures tenants report. They may miss market declines, including in office values, and could fall sharply.
- Close ties to Star Holdings. Safehold has several agreements with Star Holdings and may not collect what it is owed. Star Holdings owns a significant stake, all pledged to back a loan, so a forced sale could weigh on the shares.
- Rent increases may trail inflation. Inflation adjustments are generally capped at 3.0% to 3.5%, so rent may fall behind if prices rise faster. Over leases lasting decades, rent can also lag the land's market value.
- Heavy borrowing and interest-rate exposure. Total debt was about $4.65 billion against $2.44 billion of total equity as of June 30, 2026. Debt payments reduce cash for dividends, and rising rates or lower credit ratings could make borrowing costlier.
- Growth depends on new deals and outside money. There may not be enough ground lease deals to meet growth goals. Depreciation is limited and tax rules require it to pay out most income, so Safehold relies heavily on outside capital to grow.
Recent events
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For income and retirement investors
Safehold pays a dividend but has held it at $0.708 per share in fiscal 2023, 2024 and 2025, so it has no streak of increases. From $0.43 in fiscal 2020, it grew about 10.5% a year through fiscal 2025, mostly early on. The fiscal 2025 dividend was 44.5% of earnings, and the company kept paying through a net loss in fiscal 2023. The dividend yield (yearly dividends divided by share price) was 6.56% as of October 28, 2026, lifted by the falling price. Buybacks totaled $122.6 million in fiscal 2021, with none reported for fiscal 2022 to 2025.
In the 2020 COVID crash, the shares fell 36.8% from March 5 to March 16, 2020, and recovered by June 17. The 2022 bear market, a broad stock slump, hit much harder: a 69.6% drop from January 4 to October 10, 2022, with no recovery as of October 28, 2026. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Safehold make money?
Safehold makes money by owning land under commercial buildings and collecting rent from the buildings' owners under ground leases. Base terms typically run 30 to 99 years. Rent rises over time through fixed increases, inflation-linked increases or both, and some leases also give Safehold a share of the property's gross revenue. Tenants generally pay taxes, insurance and upkeep. Revenue was $385.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, and $114.6 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, up 22.2% from a year earlier.
What happens when a Safehold ground lease ends?
Generally, the land, building and improvements revert to Safehold at no extra cost when the lease ends or after a tenant default ends it. Safehold typically pays 30% to 45% of the combined land-and-building value. The rest is a potential future gain, which it calls unrealized capital appreciation. That gain is not guaranteed. Tenant rights can limit it. Holders of Caret units (special interests in Safehold's main subsidiary), including management and outside investors, also share in sale proceeds above cost.
Does Safehold raise its dividend every year?
No. Safehold pays a dividend, but it was $0.708 per share in each of fiscal 2023, 2024 and 2025. That is up from $0.43 in fiscal 2020, about 10.5% a year on average, with nearly all of the growth before 2023. The yield was 6.56% as of October 28, 2026, partly because the share price fell. Dividends were 44.5% of fiscal 2025 earnings. As a REIT (real estate investment trust), Safehold must pay out most taxable income. Its 10-K warns that cash may not cover distributions at expected levels.
How has Safehold stock performed?
Poorly for several years. Based on price returns as of October 28, 2026, the stock lost 26% over one year and about 83% in total over five years. It fell 63.6% in 2022 and dropped again in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025. It was down 16.6% for 2026 through October 28. Its worst peak-to-trough fall in 9.3 years of price history was 86.6%. Earlier, it gained 118% in 2019 and 81.6% in 2020. On October 28, 2026, the shares traded at 6.9 times fiscal 2025 earnings.
How much debt does Safehold have?
Total debt was about $4.65 billion as of June 30, 2026, close to twice its total equity of $2.44 billion. Total assets were $7.52 billion. For comparison, the stock market valued all of Safehold's shares at about $777 million as of October 28, 2026. Debt payments reduce the cash available for dividends. The 10-K also warns that credit ratings affect Safehold's borrowing costs, and that failing to protect itself well against interest-rate swings could hurt results.