At a glance
W P Carey Inc is worth $14.52B. Revenue grew 8.4% to $1.72B in fiscal 2025, with 27.2% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 7.3% a year. It pays a 5.93% dividend yield, and returned $4.07B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +0.9% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +1.5% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 50.3% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 21.8% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 16 months and 40 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
W. P. Carey is a real estate investment trust (REIT), a company that owns property and pays out most of its taxable income as dividends. It owns buildings that businesses need to operate, mainly single-tenant warehouses, industrial sites and retail stores, and rents them out on long-term leases. It specializes in sale-leasebacks: buying a company's property, then leasing it straight back. These are triple-net leases, so the tenant pays nearly all running costs, including taxes, insurance and upkeep.
Rent provides the vast majority of revenue, which was $1.72 billion in fiscal 2025. Most leases have scheduled rent increases. These are either fixed or tied to inflation measures such as the Consumer Price Index, and some are capped. As of December 31, 2025, it owned interests in 1,682 net-leased properties leased to 371 tenants in 25 countries, and about 98% of that space was occupied.
The clearest breakdown is by annualized base rent (ABR), the yearly minimum rent owed under its leases. As of that date, about 61% of ABR came from the United States and 33% from Europe. The 10-K highlights two food-related tenant industries: packaged foods and meats (9.6% of ABR) and food retail (9.4%). It also runs 16 operating properties, mostly self-storage. It exited offices partly by spinning off 59 office properties as Net Lease Office Properties in November 2023, a separate REIT it manages.
Price history
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WPC +0.9% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $468.3M, up 8.6% from a year earlier, and net income was $140.9M (0.0%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.72B (+8.4% year over year; +7.3% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 27.2% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +7.3% good |
|---|---|
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 5.7% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 2.6% weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.21B | $455.4M | — |
| FY2021 | $1.33B | $410.0M | — |
| FY2022 | $1.48B | $599.1M | — |
| FY2023 | $1.74B | $708.3M | — |
| FY2024 | $1.58B | $460.8M | — |
| FY2025 | $1.72B | $466.4M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $14.52B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | — |
| Dividend yield | 5.93% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
W P Carey’s market value went from $9.42B at the end of 2016 to $14.52B on Oct 28, 2026, up 54%; since the end of 2025 it is up 3%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $14.52B | +2.9% |
| 2025 | $14.10B | +18.3% |
| 2024 | $11.92B | -15.9% |
| 2023 | $14.17B | -12.8% |
| 2022 | $16.26B | +6.4% |
| 2021 | $15.28B | +23.5% |
| 2020 | $12.38B | -10.2% |
| 2019 | $13.79B | +31.0% |
| 2018 | $10.52B | -4.8% |
| 2017 | $11.05B | +17.3% |
| 2016 | $9.42B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPC price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +2.1% | +0.9% | +12.9% | +1.5% | +6.9% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +2.1% |
| 2025 | +24.9% |
| 2024 | -10.6% |
| 2023 | -10.0% |
| 2022 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | +22.9% |
| 2020 | -6.0% |
| 2019 | +28.8% |
| 2018 | +1.0% |
| 2017 | +25.6% |
| 2016 | +6.5% |
| 2015 | -10.4% |
| 2014 | +20.9% |
| 2013 | +24.1% |
| 2012 | +34.0% |
| 2011 | +38.2% |
| 2010 | +20.9% |
| 2009 | +28.7% |
| 2008 | -24.2% |
| 2007 | +17.8% |
| 2006 | +26.5% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 34.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 48.8%, back to its old high 12.9 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 48.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 50.3%, back to its old high 16.1 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 21.8%, back to its old high 40.2 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 1 sales ($32K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 2026 | Brian H Zander Chief Accounting Officer | sell | $32K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 8.74% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.5% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in WPC
| NETL NETLease Corporate Real Estate ETF | 7.92% |
| INDS Pacer Industrial Real Estate ETF | 4.64% |
| SRET Global X SuperDividend REIT ETF | 3.63% |
| JPRE JPMorgan Realty Income ETF | 2.53% |
| DESK VanEck Office and Commercial REIT ETF | 2.25% |
| CALF Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows ETF | 2.1% |
| RIET Hoya Capital High Dividend Yield ETF | 1.77% |
| FLOW Global X U.S. Cash Flow Kings 100 ETF | 1.66% |
What could go wrong
- Heavy reliance on food-related tenants. The company sets no industry limits. As of December 31, 2025, packaged foods and meats tenants accounted for 9.6% of annualized base rent and food retailers 9.4%. Trouble in food could hit rent.
- Big exposure to foreign properties. As of December 31, 2025, properties outside the US produced 39% of annualized base rent, including 33% from Europe. Currency swings, shifting foreign tax rules, European energy costs and the Russia-Ukraine war add risk.
- Tenant bankruptcies can cut rent and raise costs. Most properties have a single tenant, so results depend on tenants' finances. If one goes bankrupt, rent can stop, and costs the tenant normally covers, like taxes and upkeep, may shift to W. P. Carey.
- Many leases expire within five years. Its 2025 10-K says a significant amount of its leases expire within five years. If tenants do not renew, W. P. Carey may struggle to re-lease or sell those buildings, losing rent meanwhile.
- Debt and high interest rates. Total debt was about $8.8 billion as of September 30, 2026. The 10-K says inflation and high rates have hurt results. Costlier capital squeezes returns on new deals, and a credit downgrade could raise costs.
- Dividends can be cut; new shares dilute. The 10-K says there is no assurance it can maintain cash dividends. The dividend per share fell in 2023 and 2024, and selling new shares to raise money can dilute existing owners.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Major agreement signed
- Major agreement signed; Other company announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
W. P. Carey's dividend yield was 5.93% as of October 28, 2026, but its dividend shrank about 2.8% a year from 2020 to 2025. The regular dividend per share was $4.24 in 2022. It fell to $4.07 in 2023 and $3.49 in 2024, around the November 2023 office spin-off, then rose to $3.62 in 2025: a one-year streak of increases. Dividends paid in 2025 equaled about 169% of net income. That is common for REITs, because depreciation, a noncash charge, lowers reported earnings. REIT payouts are usually judged against cash-flow measures instead. There were no buybacks from 2021 to 2025, and the share count rose about 21% from February 2022 to October 2026.
The shares fell about 49% in the 2008 financial crisis and 50% in the 2020 COVID crash, regaining their prior highs by March 2010 and July 2021. A 22% drop in 2022 took until February 2026 to recover. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does W. P. Carey make money?
W. P. Carey makes money mainly by collecting rent. As of December 31, 2025, it owned interests in 1,682 net-leased properties, mostly warehouses, industrial sites and retail stores, rented to 371 tenants in 25 countries. It specializes in sale-leasebacks, where it buys a company's building and leases it back long term. Tenants pay most property costs, and most leases have built-in rent increases, fixed or tied to inflation. Revenue was $1.72 billion in fiscal 2025.
Does W. P. Carey raise its dividend every year?
No. The regular dividend per share fell from $4.24 in 2022 to $4.07 in 2023 and $3.49 in 2024, around the November 2023 spin-off of its office properties. It rose to $3.62 in 2025, a one-year streak of increases. From 2020 to 2025, it shrank about 2.8% a year. The 10-K says there is no assurance it can maintain cash dividends. The dividend yield was 5.93% as of October 28, 2026.
Does W. P. Carey still own office buildings?
Largely no. In September 2023, W. P. Carey announced a plan to exit its office assets. On November 1, 2023, it spun off 59 office properties into Net Lease Office Properties (NLOP), a separate publicly traded REIT. It sold certain remaining offices through a sale program completed in 2024. W. P. Carey manages NLOP under advisory agreements. As of December 31, 2025, its portfolio was mainly single-tenant industrial, warehouse and retail properties.
How much of W. P. Carey's rent comes from outside the US?
About 39%. As of December 31, 2025, properties outside the United States produced 39% of annualized base rent (ABR), the yearly minimum rent owed under its leases. Europe alone produced 33%, and the US about 61%. Along with its New York headquarters and Dallas office, it has offices in London and Amsterdam. This exposure adds currency, foreign tax and political risks, including risks to its Eastern European properties from the Russia-Ukraine war.
How has W. P. Carey stock performed?
Ten-year returns have been moderate and five-year returns weak. As of October 28, 2026, the stock returned about 0.9% over one year, 1.5% a year over five years and 6.9% a year over ten years. It lost about 10% in 2023 and 11% in 2024, then gained about 25% in 2025. In the three months to October 28, 2026, it fell about 15%. It also dropped about 50% in the 2020 COVID crash.