Equity Residential (EQR) Q2 EPS Up 47%

Equity Residential (EQR -0.12%), a leading owner and operator of apartment communities in major U.S. cities, reported its second quarter earnings on August 4, 2025. The standout headline was earnings per share (EPS, GAAP) of $0.50 in Q2 2025, beating analyst expectations of $0.34 by $0.16 (GAAP) primarily due to property sale gains. Revenue (GAAP) reached $768.8 million, up 4.7% from the prior year but just under consensus GAAP revenue estimates. Funds from operations (FFO) per share, a key industry metric, also increased to $0.98. Overall, the quarter showed steady operational strength, robust occupancy, prompting management to raise its full-year 2025 guidance for Normalized FFO (core earnings).

Source: Analyst estimates provided by FactSet. Management expectations based on management's guidance, as provided in Q1 2025 earnings report.

About Equity Residential and Its Core Strategy

Equity Residential runs a business centered on owning, managing, and developing apartment communities in key metropolitan areas such as New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington, D.C. The company’s focus is on rental housing in high-demand, high-barrier-to-entry markets, where home ownership is costly and rental demand is resilient. Its typical resident is a well-educated, economically stable professional from the Millennial or Generation Z demographic.

Recent years have seen the company emphasize operational efficiency through technology, targeting strong job-growth metro areas and balancing its portfolio between established coastal cities and expansion markets like Atlanta and Denver. Success depends on tightly managed occupancy, consistent renewal rates, and careful cost control, all while balancing investments between acquisitions and property sales to optimize returns.

Highlights and Developments for the Quarter

GAAP EPS of $0.50 surpassed analyst expectations, largely due to one-time property sale gains. Revenue grew 4.9% compared to last year, this GAAP revenue result fell slightly below analyst targets by $1.1 million. The key industry metric, funds from operations (FFO, non-GAAP) per share, rose to $0.98, while normalized FFO (which adjusts out certain gains and non-core items) reached $0.99 per share.

Occupancy is closely watched in the apartment sector and outperformed here, achieving a weighted average occupancy rate of 96.6% in its same-store portfolio and exceeded internal projections. Same-store revenue increased by 2.7%. However, expense growth of 3.7% in those same properties outpaced revenue, as higher utility costs and payroll offset savings elsewhere. As a result, net operating income (NOI) from these properties grew 2.3%.

Geographically, there was a split in performance. San Francisco, for example, reported revenue growth of 4.5% with occupancy exceeding 97%. New York also saw strong revenue and occupancy improvements. Conversely, some expansion markets such as Denver and other growth cities reported declines in revenue and occupancy due to new housing supply putting pressure on rents.

Portfolio activity included acquiring eight apartment properties in suburban Atlanta for $533.8 million and selling one Seattle property for $121.0 million. Development continued at a measured pace with new projects completed in New York. The company adjusted guidance to reflect a net-neutral capital allocation approach for FY2025, balancing $1.0 billion in acquisitions with $1.0 billion in sales. Most of the debt remains fixed-rate, with leverage, as measured by total debt to Normalized EBITDAre, rising slightly to 4.49 times as of June 30, 2025.

Leasing trends showed a blended lease rate increase of 3.0%, driven by strong renewal rate growth (5.2%) but offset by a small decline in new lease pricing (down 0.1%). This means that while existing residents renewing leases faced higher rates, rents for new tenants were stable or down slightly, especially in oversupplied markets. Turnover remained low at 11.2%, and the use of concessions, such as temporary rent discounts, was mostly stable but remained common in some urban markets like San Francisco’s downtown submarket.

Dividend policy continued its trend, with a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, up from $0.675 per share in Q2 2024, in line with prior increases. There were no extraordinary dividend breaks or reductions reported for the quarter.

Business Segments, Product Types, and Market Context

The majority of net operating income comes from established cities, with about 11.0% derived from a set of expansion markets in the Sunbelt and Mountain regions as of June 30, 2025.

Products and services center around long-term apartment rentals, supplemented by premium amenities, smart home features, and digital leasing experiences powered by technology. Recent investments in automated leasing, conversational artificial intelligence, and centralized customer service aim to streamline the resident journey, reduce costs, and support high occupancy. These efforts are reflected in the high renewal and occupancy rates.

External conditions influenced results. High costs of home ownership continue to support demand for rental apartments in urban centers. New housing supply in certain markets, particularly Denver and some Texas cities, affected rental rates and produced negative growth in those regions. The company also flagged the potential for increased regulatory risk in certain states with new rent control measures, though its geographic mix minimizes immediate exposure.

Most of the debt remains fixed-rate, with 88.3% of debt held at fixed rates as of June 30, 2025. Management issued new long-term notes with a 4.95% coupon in May 2025 to refinance maturing debt. Liquidity remains strong, with more than $31 million in cash and $1.7 billion in available credit as of June 30, 2025.

Outlook and Guidance

Management raised its full-year 2025 guidance for several key metrics following the quarter, including updated guidance for EPS (GAAP), FFO per share (non-GAAP), and Normalized FFO per share (non-GAAP). The forecast for FFO (Funds From Operations, non-GAAP) per share for FY2025 now ranges from $4.03 to $4.09, up from prior guidance, representing an increase of about 8% at the midpoint over the prior year. Normalized FFO guidance now sits at $3.97 to $4.03 per share, with same store Net Operating Income (NOI) growth expected between 2.2% and 2.8%. Expectations for physical occupancy were also raised modestly to 96.4%. Revenue and expense growth for properties held, known as same-store results, are now forecast at 2.6% to 3.2% for revenue and 3.5% to 4.0% for expenses, both tighter ranges than before.

The company continues to expect net-neutral transaction activity, planning $1.0 billion in both acquisitions and sales. Expense guidance was lowered slightly, with the expense change range revised to 3.5% to 4.0% from the previous range of 3.5% to 4.5%, and there was a slight downward revision to EPS (GAAP) guidance due to lower property sale gains in the back half of the year. Management noted the ongoing risk from new supply—especially in Denver and other expansion markets—and highlighted a “muted” outlook for revenue growth in these regions until late 2026. No other material one-time events or major changes to the company’s forward strategy were disclosed during this period.

The quarterly dividend was raised 2.6% to $0.6925 per share, up from Q2 2024.

Revenue and net income presented using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) unless otherwise noted.