Same-store revenue inflected back to growth even as net operating income slipped, while a fresh joint venture with CBRE Investment Management signals a more selective approach to deploying capital.

May 5, 2026

CubeSmart reported first-quarter 2026 results on April 30, with the Malvern, Pennsylvania-based self-storage real estate investment trust posting modestly lower earnings against the year-ago period while flagging a return to positive same-store revenue growth.

Net income attributable to common shareholders for the three months ended March 31 totaled $82.9 million, down from $89.2 million in the first quarter of 2025. Diluted earnings per share slipped to $0.36 from $0.39. Funds from operations as adjusted — the sector’s preferred operating yardstick — came in at $144.2 million, versus $148.1 million a year earlier, a 1.6 percent decline on a per-share basis to $0.63.

Chief Executive Chris Marr characterized the quarter as broadly in line with management’s expectations, citing stable operating trends and pointing to the inflection in same-store revenue growth back into positive territory as evidence that underlying fundamentals are firming up.

Same-store metrics tell a nuanced story

The company’s same-store pool of 623 properties — roughly 93 percent of its consolidated rentable footprint — generated revenue growth of 0.6 percent compared with the prior-year quarter. Operating expenses, however, climbed 5.8 percent, weighing on net operating income, which slipped 1.5 percent year over year. Same-store physical occupancy ended the quarter at 89.3 percent, down marginally from 89.6 percent a year earlier.

Across the broader consolidated portfolio of 662 stores totaling 48.5 million rentable square feet, total revenues rose by $8.9 million, lifted by recent acquisitions and newly opened development projects. Property operating expenses, meanwhile, climbed $7.1 million on higher advertising and personnel costs.

A new joint venture and selective development

CubeSmart tipped its hand on capital allocation with the formation of an unconsolidated joint venture alongside an affiliate of CBRE Investment Management. The vehicle acquired its first property — a store in Arizona — for $13.6 million. CubeSmart holds a 15 percent stake, contributed $2.1 million to the transaction, and will manage the venture’s properties. The partnership intends to pursue core, core-plus, and value-add opportunities in high-growth U.S. markets.

On the development front, the company opened a New York joint-venture project at a total cost of $28 million during the quarter and has one additional New York development underway, also budgeted at $28 million, with $8 million already deployed and a third-quarter 2027 opening targeted. Its third-party management platform expanded by 33 stores during the period to reach 854 properties spanning 56.3 million rentable square feet.

Higher debt costs, steady capital returns

Interest expense rose to $29.8 million from $26.1 million as the average outstanding debt balance grew to $3.48 billion from $3.20 billion and the weighted-average effective interest rate ticked up to 3.33 percent from 3.19 percent.

The company was also active in returning capital to shareholders:

• Repurchased 0.9 million common shares for $33.4 million, at an average price of $36.64 per share.
• Left 11.2 million shares authorized under the existing buyback program.
• Declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share in February, paid April 15 to holders of record as of April 1.

Chief Financial Officer Tim Martin framed the quarter’s activity as part of a steady capital-allocation playbook, citing the CBRE venture and ongoing buybacks as evidence of management’s confidence in the platform’s long-term trajectory.

Full-year outlook

For 2026, CubeSmart projects fully diluted earnings per share of $1.55 to $1.63, with FFO per share as adjusted forecast at $2.52 to $2.60. The guidance excludes any speculative future investment activity. According to the 2026 Self-Storage Almanac, the company ranks among the three largest owners and operators of self-storage properties in the United States.