- Business
- Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O; FSE: RY6.DU), The Monthly Dividend Company, is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust (REIT) founded in 1969 and headquartered in San Diego, California, that acquires, owns, and manages a diversified portfolio of over 15,500 freestanding, single-tenant commercial properties leased primarily under long-term net lease agreements; its core assets include retail properties such as convenience stores, supermarkets, drug stores, and dollar stores, as well as industrial, gaming, office, manufacturing, and distribution facilities occupied by more than 250 tenants across 47 industries including non-discretionary retailers like Walmart, FedEx, and Dollar General. The company operates in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, and seven other European countries, generating predictable rental revenue from base rents and recoveries where tenants bear most operating expenses including property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. Realty Income expanded significantly through its $9.3 billion merger with Spirit Realty Capital completed in January 2024, adding complementary single-tenant net lease assets and boosting annualized contractual rent revenue to $3.8 billion to $4.5 billion; in 2025, it launched a perpetual life U.S. Open-End Core Plus Fund with an initial $716 million third-party closing in September, seeded by a $1.4 billion portfolio emphasizing industrial and retail properties, entered the UK shopping centre market with a circa £150 million acquisition of The Lexicon Bracknell in November, secured a £900 million sterling-denominated term loan and issued $800 million in senior unsecured notes including $400 million at 3.950% due 2029 and $400 million at 4.500% due 2033 in October, alongside a $600 million senior notes offering due 2035 in April, and targets $4 billion in investments focused on European expansion in the UK, Spain, and Germany.