2024 CEO Letter
“Following 2024’s transitional year, I’m excited as we look to the future. Today, W. P. Carey stands as a simpler, more dynamic business well positioned with a strong balance sheet, access to multiple forms of capital, exceptional rent growth and a proven investment approach — all of which provide a foundation for sustainable growth and long-term value creation.”
- Jason Fox, Chief Executive Officer and President
Highlights from the letter include:
A new foundation for growth: With the successful completion of W. P. Carey’s office exit strategy, the company has established a new baseline for AFFO, setting the foundation for sustainable future growth in earnings and dividends that will drive long-term value for its shareholders.
Strong investment activity: W. P. Carey maintained its focus on investing primarily in high-quality, single-tenant industrial, warehouse and retail properties both in the U.S. and Europe, completing $1.6 billion of investments at attractive spreads to its cost of capital and ending the year with a record quarter of activity.
Best-in-class rent growth: W. P. Carey continued to achieve best-in-class rent escalations on new investments, resulting from its focus on sale-leasebacks. Despite lower inflation, the strength of the company’s fixed rent bumps supported year-over-year contractual same-store rent growth of 2.6%, which remains among the best in the net lease sector.
Continued balance sheet strength and successful capital markets execution: W. P. Carey remained committed to maintaining a strong, conservative balance sheet with access to multiple forms of capital. Investment activity continued to be supported by successful execution in the debt capital markets, with bonds issued at attractive pricing relative to the yields achieved on new investments.