If you're an investor looking for something a little more spicy than simple residential real estate investing, you can choose from a whole world of commercial real estate stocks. Some commercial investors manage only offices or retail properties, while others focus on niches such as mixed-use properties.
Residential real estate stocks are great for buying and holding, but they generally don't offer much innovation or excitement. Choosing commercial real estate stocks can provide exposure to up-and-coming industries primed for major growth or already growing exponentially.
Most commercial real estate stocks are structured as real estate investment trusts (REITs), which usually pay dividends. This makes them attractive to income investors. You can also reinvest dividends to buy more shares of the REIT, further bolstering your returns.
Five top commercial real estate stocks to buy in 2026
Here are a few commercial real estate stocks to keep an eye on this year.
| Name and ticker | Market cap | Dividend yield | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilroy Realty (NYSE:KRC) | $3.3 billion | 7.65% | Office REITs |
| Realty Income (NYSE:O) | $59.4 billion | 5.07% | Retail REITs |
| Prologis (NYSE:PLD) | $127.5 billion | 2.99% | Industrial REITs |
| Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) | $7.4 billion | 9.58% | Health Care REITs |
| Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) | $65.2 billion | 4.31% | Retail REITs |
1. Kilroy Realty
NYSE: KRC
Key Data Points
NYSE: O
Key Data Points
NYSE: PLD
Key Data Points
Warehouses may not seem like the most exciting place to put your hard-earned money. But the COVID-19 pandemic changed how we shop, driving more people to online stores and e-commerce fulfillment from brands they know and trust.
This trend means companies need more places to stash backup inventory and equipment. As a result, warehouse REITs have experienced unforeseen growth over the past few years.
Prologis (PLD -0.60%) is one of the biggest players in the field, with approximately 1.3 billion square feet of rental space in 20 countries. It primarily services business-to-business, retail, and e-commerce online fulfillment companies.
With a 95.6% occupancy rate and a weighted average lease term for 2025 leases of 70 months, Prologis is solidly positioned. It counts Amazon, Home Depot, FedEx, UPS (UPS +0.06%), Walmart, and GXO Logistics (GXO +0.14%) among its top 10 tenants.
4. Alexandria Real Estate Equities
NYSE: ARE
Key Data Points
As a REIT focused on the life science, ag tech, and technology industries, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE -3.14%) controls spaces used for work important to humanity's future. But it's not just small spaces here and there; the company believes in creating clusters of research facilities to help foster innovation in cities such as Boston, San Francisco, New York, San Diego, and Seattle.
Approximately 92% of its leases are for long-term stability with occupancy rates for operating properties of almost 91% as of Dec. 31, 2025, plus a weighted-average remaining lease term for all tenants of nine years. It leases space to companies such as Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY -1.48%), Eli Lilly (LLY -1.65%), Moderna (MRNA -0.53%), Novartis (NVS -0.65%), Merck (MRK -1.03%), Uber (UBER -1.85%), and Alphabet (GOOG -0.21%)(GOOGL -0.41%).
Approximately 91% of its leases are triple net leases, which require the tenant to cover real estate taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs, maintenance, common area expenses, and other operating expenses. The lease terms reduce the company's overall cost of doing business.
5. Simon Property Group
NYSE: SPG
Key Data Points
As one of the world's largest operators of mall properties, Simon Property Group (SPG +0.81%) is constantly looking for new ways to reinvest in and add additional value to its older properties. As of Sept. 30, 2025, the REIT owned or had interests in 203 properties with 18.4 million square feet in the U.S. alone.
Although the REIT holds substantial debt, it's largely due to a huge building boom in mixed-use properties that include retail, hotel, dining, and event space. The boom allowed Simon Property to execute a record number of leases in 2024 -- 5,500 that totaled more than 21 million square feet -- which should help reduce debt over the longer term.
Adding more components to traditional retail should continue to bring value to investors as consumers are drawn to the enhanced properties.
How to invest in commercial real estate stocks
- Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
Pros and cons of investing in commercial real estate stocks
Commercial real estate stocks aren't for everyone, but they can be solid investments. Like anything, there are pros and cons to consider.
Pros
Often specialized in niche sectors. Specialization can allow the company to focus on specific sectors, attracting tenants and customers who prefer them.
Inflation hedging. Commercial leases are often more complicated than retail leases, including rent escalators that automatically keep rents in line with market values.
Diverse types of tenants. Most commercial properties have multiple tenants on the same campus, allowing for greater diversification that can somewhat protect them against natural economic cycles.
Cons
Sector-specific risks are amplified. Although there is often diversity within the commercial REIT sector, the entire sector may experience a bumpy ride, as office REITs did during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Concentration risks. Because most commercial REITs focus on specific niches, they risk overconcentration due to limited sector diversity. They can offset this with other investments, but it also reduces their expertise in their area of specialty.
Tenant risk. When an apartment tenant moves, it's just one of hundreds of units that are almost identical, but when a commercial tenant moves, it can be devastating, especially if it's an anchor store or a company that once leased substantial square footage.
What to consider before investing in commercial real estate stocks
There's a wide range of commercial real estate stocks, from warehouse REITs to mixed-used REITs, so when considering investing, it's important to understand the type of business you're getting involved with. Like with all REITs, a high occupancy rate, long leases, and solid tenants that can withstand difficult times are very good to have. You may also find that niche commercial REITs can help balance out otherwise cyclical stocks if their niche is always in demand or if the cycle for that niche runs in a different pattern from the general real estate market.
Trends in the commercial real estate market
The commercial real estate market is always experiencing localized trends, but larger trends that are having huge impacts still include:
Return to office. Office properties are still having trouble filling all their spaces, as some companies are choosing to go wholly digital. Others have slowly demanded that workers return to the office. This will vary by company, which is why it's important to know your tenants.
Data center expansion. More AI usage and greater AI infrastructure demands will generate a greater need for data centers, warehouses to store materials for infrastructure development, and other industrial buildings to support these activities. The AI boom will come to a close at some point, but until then, these properties will maintain steady demand.
Increased cost of goods. On the downside, the increased cost of goods due to global instability, rising gas prices, and on-again-off-again tariffs are hurting retailers in a big way. The REITs they rent from could feel the pinch if retail slows and closes more brick-and-mortar stores, opting to offer more options via e-commerce (which, in turn, could be a possible boon for warehouse REITs).
The bottom line
Whether you're looking for more warehousing, retail, or office exposure, there are plenty of opportunities to add stable real estate investments to your portfolio.
As a commercial real estate stock investor, you can do a lot more than simply invest in a place for someone to live. From real estate groups that lease exclusively to biotech to warehouse REITs that move e-commerce closer to home, there are plenty of opportunities to invest in commercial real estate stocks.
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FAQ
Commercial real estate stocks: FAQ
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