Realty Income - 10-K annual report 2017

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC  20549

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended
December 31, 2017

Commission File Number 1-13374

REALTY INCOME CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

11995 El Camino Real, San Diego, California, 92130

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (858) 284-5000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES x     NO o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  YES o     NO x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  YES x     NO o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).   YES x    NO o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company.  See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer x   Accelerated filer o  Non-accelerated filer o  Smaller reporting company o

Emerging growth company  o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  YES o  NO x

At June 30, 2017, the aggregate market value of the Registrant’s shares of common stock, $0.01 par value, held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was $15.1 billion based upon the last reported sale price of $55.18 per share on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2017, the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter. The determination of affiliate status for purposes of this calculation is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

At February 14, 2018, the number of shares of common stock outstanding was 284,245,504.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Part III, Items 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 incorporate by reference certain specific portions of the definitive Proxy Statement for Realty Income Corporation’s Annual Meeting to be held on May 18, 2018, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A. Only those portions of the proxy statement which are specifically incorporated by reference herein shall constitute a part of this annual report.

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REALTY INCOME CORPORATION

Index to Form 10-K

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PART I

Item 1:         Business

THE COMPANY

Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company®, is an S&P 500 company dedicated to providing stockholders with dependable monthly dividends that increase over time.  The company is structured as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, requiring it annually to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income (excluding net capital gains) in the form of dividends to its stockholders.  The monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow generated from real estate owned under long-term, net lease agreements with regional and national commercial tenants.  The company has in-house acquisition, portfolio management, asset management, real estate research, credit research, legal, finance and accounting, information technology, and capital markets capabilities.

Realty Income was founded in 1969, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: O) in 1994.  Over the past 49 years, Realty Income has been acquiring and managing freestanding commercial properties that generate rental revenue under long-term net lease agreements.  The company is a member of the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats® index for having increased its dividend every year for more than 20 consecutive years.

At December 31, 2017, we owned a diversified portfolio:

·      Of 5,172 properties;

·      With an occupancy rate of 98.4%, or 5,089 properties leased and 83 properties available for lease;

·      Leased to 249 different commercial tenants doing business in 47 separate industries;

·      Located in 49 states and Puerto Rico;

·      With over 89.6 million square feet of leasable space; and

·      With an average leasable space per property of approximately 17,320 square feet; approximately 12,060 square feet per retail property and 224,340 square feet per industrial property.

Of the 5,172 properties in the portfolio, 5,144, or 99.5%, are single-tenant properties, and the remaining are multi-tenant properties. At December 31, 2017, of the 5,144 single-tenant properties, 5,062 were leased with a weighted average remaining lease term (excluding rights to extend a lease at the option of the tenant) of approximately 9.5 years.

Our 7 senior officers owned 0.1% of our outstanding common stock with a market value of $16.9 million at January 31, 2018. Our directors and 7 senior officers, as a group, owned 0.2% of our outstanding common stock with a market value of $33.4 million at January 31, 2018.

Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “O” with a CUSIP number of 756109-104. Our central index key number is 726728.

In January 2018, we had 152 employees, as compared to 146 employees in January 2017.

We maintain a corporate website at www.realtyincome.com. On our website we make available, free of charge, copies of our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, Form 3s, Form 4s, Form 5s, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file these reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.  None of the information on our website is deemed to be part of this report.

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Increases in Monthly Dividends to Common Stockholders

We have continued our 49-year policy of paying monthly dividends. In addition, we increased the dividend five times during 2017 and twice during 2018.  As of February 2018, we have paid 81 consecutive quarterly dividend increases and increased the dividend 95 times since our listing on the NYSE in 1994.

The dividends paid per share during 2017 totaled approximately $2.527, as compared to approximately $2.392 during 2016, an increase of $0.135, or 5.6%.

The monthly dividend of $0.219 per share represents a current annualized dividend of $2.628 per share, and an annualized dividend yield of approximately 4.6% based on the last reported sale price of our common stock on the NYSE of $57.02 on December 31, 2017. Although we expect to continue our policy of paying monthly dividends, we cannot guarantee that we will maintain our current level of dividends, that we will continue our pattern of increasing dividends per share, or what our actual dividend yield will be in any future period.

Acquisitions During 2017

During 2017, we invested $1.52 billion in 303 new properties and properties under development or expansion, with an initial weighted average contractual lease rate of 6.4%. The 303 new properties and properties under development or expansion are located in 40 states, will contain approximately 7.8 million leasable square feet, and are 100% leased with a weighted average lease term of 14.4 years. The tenants occupying the new properties operate in 23 industries and the property types are 94.5% retail and 5.5% industrial, based on rental revenue.  During 2017, none of our real estate investments caused any one tenant to be 10% or more of our total assets at December 31, 2017.

The estimated initial weighted average contractual lease rate for a property is generally computed as estimated contractual net operating income, which, in the case of a net leased property, is equal to the aggregate base rent for the first full year of each lease, divided by the total cost of the property.  Since it is possible that a tenant could default on the payment of contractual rent, we cannot provide assurance that the actual return on the funds invested will remain at the percentages listed above.

In the case of a property under development or expansion, the contractual lease rate is generally fixed such that rent varies based on the actual total investment in order to provide a fixed rate of return.  When the lease does not provide for a fixed rate of return on a property under development or expansion, the estimated initial weighted average contractual lease rate is computed as follows: estimated net operating income (determined by the lease) for the first full year of each lease, divided by our projected total investment in the property, including land, construction and capitalized interest costs. Of the $1.52 billion we invested during 2017, $21.2 million was invested in 17 properties under development or expansion with an estimated initial weighted average contractual lease rate of 6.9%.  We may continue to pursue development or expansion opportunities under similar arrangements in the future.

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Portfolio Discussion

Leasing Results

At December 31, 2017, we had 83 properties available for lease out of 5,172 properties in our portfolio, which represents a 98.4% occupancy rate based on the number of properties in our portfolio. Since December 31, 2016, when we reported 84 properties available for lease out of 4,944 and a 98.3% occupancy rate, we:

·      Had 297 lease expirations;

·      Re-leased 259 properties; and

·      Sold 39 vacant properties.

Of the 259 properties re-leased during 2017, 235 properties were re-leased to existing tenants, nine were re-leased to new tenants without vacancy, and 15 were re-leased to new tenants after a period of vacancy.  The annual rent on these 259 leases was $43.18 million, as compared to the previous rent on these same properties of $40.92 million, which represents a rent recapture rate of 105.5% on the properties re-leased during 2017.

As part of our re-leasing costs, we pay leasing commissions to unrelated, third party real estate brokers consistent with the commercial real estate industry standard, and sometimes provide tenant rent concessions. We do not consider the collective impact of the leasing commissions or tenant rent concessions to be material to our financial position or results of operations.

At December 31, 2017, our average annualized rental revenue was approximately $13.77 per square foot on the 5,089 leased properties in our portfolio.  At December 31, 2017, we classified nine properties with a carrying amount of $6.7 million as held for sale on our balance sheet.  The expected sale of these properties does not represent a strategic shift that will have a major effect on our operations and financial results and is consistent with our existing disposition strategy to further enhance our real estate portfolio and maximize portfolio returns.

Investments in Existing Properties

In 2017, we capitalized costs of $12.7 million on existing properties in our portfolio, consisting of $1.6 million for re-leasing costs, $912,000 for recurring capital expenditures, and $10.2 million for non-recurring building improvements. In 2016, we capitalized costs of $16.3 million on existing properties in our portfolio, consisting of $797,000 for re-leasing costs, $679,000 for recurring capital expenditures, and $14.9 million for non-recurring building improvements.

The majority of our building improvements relate to roof repairs, HVAC improvements, and parking lot resurfacing and replacements. The amounts of our capital expenditures can vary significantly, depending on the rental market, tenant credit worthiness, the lease term and the willingness of tenants to pay higher rents over the terms of the leases.

We define recurring capital expenditures as mandatory and repetitive landlord capital expenditure obligations that have a limited useful life. We define non-recurring capital expenditures as property improvements where we invest additional capital that extend the useful life of the property.

Note Issuance

During the year ended December 31, 2017 we issued the following notes (dollars in millions):

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The net proceeds of $1.3 billion from the December 2017 note offerings were used to redeem all $550.0 million aggregate principal amount of our outstanding 2019 notes, including accrued and unpaid interest, and to repay borrowings outstanding under our $2.0 billion revolving credit facility and, to the extent not used for those purposes, to fund the development and acquisitions of additional properties and for other general corporate purposes. The net proceeds of $705.2 million from the March 2017 note offerings were used to repay borrowings outstanding under our credit facility to fund investment opportunities and for other general corporate purposes.

Capital Raising

During 2017, Realty Income issued 23,957,741 common shares at a weighted average price of $59.54, receiving gross proceeds of $1.4 billion.

Net Income Available to Common Stockholders

Net income available to common stockholders was $301.5 million in 2017, as compared to $288.5 million in 2016, an increase of $13.0 million. On a diluted per common share basis, net income was $1.10 in 2017, as compared to $1.13 in 2016, a decrease of $0.03, or 2.7%.

The calculation to determine net income available to common stockholders includes impairments, gains from the sale of properties and/or fair value adjustments on our interest rate swaps. These items vary from period to period based on the timing of property sales and the interest rate environment, and can significantly impact net income available to common stockholders.

Funds from Operations Available to Common Stockholders (FFO)

In 2017, our FFO increased by $37.3 million, or 5.1%, to $772.7 million, as compared to $735.4 million in 2016.  On a diluted per common share basis, FFO was $2.82 in 2017, as compared to $2.88 in 2016, a decrease of $0.06, or 2.1%.

Net income and funds from operations available to common stockholders per share in 2017 were impacted by a loss of $42.4 million, or $0.15 per share, on extinguishment of debt upon the early redemption on all $550.0 million of our outstanding 6.75% notes due August 2019 during December 2017. Net income and funds from operations available to common stockholders were also impacted by a non-cash redemption charge of $13.4 million, or $0.05 per share, upon the redemption of the 6.625% Monthly Income Class F Preferred Stock that was redeemed in April 2017. This charge is based on the excess of redemption value over the carrying value of the 6.625% Monthly Income Class F Preferred Stock that represents the original issuance cost that we paid in 2012.

Adjusted Funds from Operations Available to Common Stockholders (AFFO)

In 2017, our AFFO increased by $102.2 million, or 13.9%, to $838.6 million, as compared to $736.4 million in 2016. On a diluted per common share basis, AFFO was $3.06 in 2017, as compared to $2.88 in 2016, an increase of $0.18, or 6.3%.

See our discussion of FFO and AFFO (which are not financial measures under generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP), later in the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in this annual report, which includes a reconciliation of net income available to common stockholders to FFO and AFFO.

DIVIDEND POLICY

Distributions are paid monthly to holders of shares of our common stock.

Distributions are paid monthly to the limited partners holding common units of Tau Operating Partnership, L.P. and Realty Income, L.P., each on a per unit basis that is generally equal to the amount paid per share to our common stockholders.

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In order to maintain our status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we generally are required to distribute dividends to our stockholders aggregating annually at least 90% of our taxable income (excluding net capital gains), and we are subject to income tax to the extent we distribute less than 100% of our taxable income (including net capital gains). In 2017, our cash distributions to preferred and common stockholders totaled $695.5 million, or approximately 132.9% of our estimated taxable income of $523.5 million. Our estimated taxable income reflects non-cash deductions for depreciation and amortization. Our estimated taxable income is presented to show our compliance with REIT dividend requirements and is not a measure of our liquidity or operating performance.  We intend to continue to make distributions to our stockholders that are sufficient to meet this dividend requirement and that will reduce or eliminate our exposure to income taxes. Furthermore, we believe our funds from operations are sufficient to support our current level of cash distributions to our stockholders. Our cash distributions to common stockholders in 2017 totaled $689.3 million, representing 82.2% of our adjusted funds from operations available to common stockholders of $838.6 million. In comparison, our 2016 cash distributions to common stockholders totaled $610.5 million, representing 82.9% of our adjusted funds from operations available to common stockholders of $736.4 million.

Future distributions will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, FFO, AFFO, cash flow from operations, financial condition, capital requirements, the annual distribution requirements under the REIT provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, our debt service requirements, and any other factors the Board of Directors may deem relevant. In addition, our credit facility contains financial covenants that could limit the amount of distributions payable by us in the event of a default, and which prohibit the payment of distributions on the common or preferred stock in the event that we fail to pay when due (subject to any applicable grace period) any principal or interest on borrowings under our credit facility.

Distributions of our current and accumulated earnings and profits for federal income tax purposes generally will be taxable to stockholders as ordinary income, except to the extent that we recognize capital gains and declare a capital gains dividend, or that such amounts constitute “qualified dividend income” subject to a reduced rate of tax. The maximum tax rate of non-corporate taxpayers for “qualified dividend income” is generally 20%. In general, dividends payable by REITs are not eligible for the reduced tax rate on qualified dividend income, except to the extent that certain holding requirements have been met with respect to the REIT’s stock and the REIT’s dividends are attributable to dividends received from certain taxable corporations (such as our taxable REIT subsidiaries) or to income that was subject to tax at the corporate or REIT level (for example, if we distribute taxable income that we retained and paid tax on in the prior taxable year). However, non-corporate stockholders, including individuals, generally may deduct 20% of dividends from a REIT, other than capital gain dividends and dividends treated as qualified dividend income, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026.

Distributions in excess of earnings and profits generally will first be treated as a non-taxable reduction in the stockholders’ basis in their stock, but not below zero. Distributions in excess of that basis generally will be taxable as a capital gain to stockholders who hold their shares as a capital asset. Approximately 21.7% of the distributions to our common stockholders, made or deemed to have been made in 2017, were classified as a return of capital for federal income tax purposes. We estimate that in 2018, between 15% and 25% of the distributions may be classified as a return of capital.

BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY AND STRATEGY

We believe that owning an actively managed, diversified portfolio of primarily single-tenant commercial properties under long-term, net lease agreements produces consistent and predictable income. A net lease typically requires the tenant to be responsible for monthly rent and certain property operating expenses including property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. In addition, tenants of our properties typically pay rent increases based on: (1) increases in the consumer price index (typically subject to ceilings), (2) fixed increases, or (3) additional rent calculated as a percentage of the tenants’ gross sales above a specified level. We believe that a portfolio of properties under long-term, net lease agreements generally produces a more predictable income stream than many other types of real estate portfolios, while continuing to offer the potential for growth in rental income.

Diversification is also a key component of our investment philosophy.  We believe that diversification of the portfolio by tenant, industry, geography, and, to a certain extent, property type leads to more consistent and predictable income for our stockholders by reducing vulnerability that can come with any single concentration.  Our investment activities have led to a diversified property portfolio that, as of December 31, 2017, consisted of

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5,172 properties located in 49 states and Puerto Rico, leased to 249 different commercial tenants doing business in 47 industries. No single industry represented in our property portfolio accounted for more than 10.6% of our rental revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2017.

Investment Strategy

Our investment strategy is to acquire real estate leased to regional and national tenants. When identifying new properties for investment, we generally focus on acquiring high-quality real estate that tenants consider important to the successful operation of their business. We generally seek to acquire real estate that has the following characteristics:

·      Properties that are freestanding, commercially-zoned with a single tenant;

·      Properties that are in significant markets or strategic locations critical to generating revenue for regional and national tenants (i.e. they need the property in which they operate in order to conduct their business);

·      Properties that we deem to be profitable for the tenants and/or can generally be characterized as important to the successful operations of the company’s business;

·      Properties that are located within attractive demographic areas relative to the business of our tenants, generally fungible, and have good visibility and easy access to major thoroughfares;

·      Properties with real estate valuations that approximate replacement costs;

·      Properties with rental or lease payments that approximate market rents; and

·      Properties that can be purchased with the simultaneous execution or assumption of long-term, net lease agreements, offering both current income and the potential for future rent increases.

We seek to invest in industries in which several, well-organized, regional and national tenants are capturing market share through the selection of prime real estate locations supported by superior service, quality control, economies of scale, consumer branding, and advertising. In addition, we frequently acquire large portfolios of single-tenant properties net leased to different tenants operating in a variety of industries.  We have an internal team dedicated to sourcing such opportunities, often using our relationships with various tenants, owners/developers, brokers and advisers to uncover and secure transactions.  We also undertake thorough research and analysis to identify what we consider to be appropriate property locations, tenants, and industries for investment. This research expertise is instrumental to uncovering net lease opportunities in markets where we believe we can add value.

In selecting potential investments, we look for tenants with the following attributes:

·      Tenants with reliable and sustainable cash flow;

·      Tenants with revenue and cash flow from multiple sources;

·      Tenants that are willing to sign a long-term lease (10 or more years); and

·      Tenants that are large owners and users of real estate.

From a retail perspective, our investment strategy is to target tenants that have a service, non-discretionary, and/or low-price-point component to their business.  We believe these characteristics better position tenants to operate in a variety of economic conditions and to compete more effectively with internet retailers.  As a result of the execution of this strategy, over 90% of our annualized retail rental revenue in 2017 is derived from tenants with a service, non-discretionary, and/or low price point component to their business.  From a non-retail perspective, we target industrial properties leased to Fortune 1000, primarily investment grade rated companies.  We believe these characteristics enhance the stability of the rental revenue generated from these properties.

After applying this investment strategy, we pursue those transactions where we can achieve an attractive investment spread over our cost of capital and favorable risk-adjusted returns.

Underwriting Strategy

In order to be considered for acquisition, properties must meet stringent underwriting requirements. We have established a four-part analysis to examine each potential investment based on:

·      The aforementioned overall real estate characteristics, including demographics, replacement cost and comparative rental rates;

·      Industry, tenant (including credit profile), and market conditions;

·      Store profitability for retail locations if profitability data is available; and

·      The importance of the real estate location to the operations of the tenants’ business.

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We believe the principal financial obligations for most of our tenants typically include their bank and other debt, payment obligations to suppliers, and real estate lease obligations. Because we typically own the land and building in which a tenant conducts its business or which are critical to the tenant’s ability to generate revenue, we believe the risk of default on a tenant’s lease obligation is less than the tenant’s unsecured general obligations. It has been our experience that tenants must retain their profitable and critical locations in order to survive. Therefore, in the event of reorganization, they are less likely to reject a lease of a profitable or critical location because this would terminate their right to use the property.

Thus, as the property owner, we believe that we will fare better than unsecured creditors of the same tenant in the event of reorganization. If a property is rejected by the tenant during reorganization, we own the property and can either lease it to a new tenant or sell the property. In addition, we believe that the risk of default on real estate leases can be further mitigated by monitoring the performance of the tenants’ individual locations and considering whether to proactively sell locations that meet our criteria for disposition.

Prior to entering into any transaction, our research department conducts a review of a tenant’s credit quality.  The information reviewed may include reports and filings, including any public credit ratings, financial statements, debt and equity analyst reports, and reviews of corporate credit spreads, stock prices, market capitalization, and other financial metrics.  We conduct additional due diligence, including additional financial reviews of the tenant and a more comprehensive review of the business segment and industry in which the tenant operates.  We continue to monitor our tenants’ credit quality on an ongoing basis by reviewing the available information previously discussed, and providing summaries of these findings to management.  Approximately 46% of our annualized rental revenue comes from properties leased to investment grade rated companies or their subsidiaries.  At December 31, 2017, our top 20 tenants represented approximately 54% of our annualized revenue and ten of these tenants have investment grade credit ratings or are subsidiaries of investment grade companies.

Portfolio and Asset Management Strategy

In addition to pursuing new properties for investment, we seek to increase earnings and distributions to stockholders through active portfolio and asset management.

Generally, our portfolio and asset management efforts seek to achieve:

·      Rent increases at the expiration of existing leases, when market conditions permit;

·      Optimum exposure to certain tenants, industries, and markets through re-leasing vacant properties and selectively selling properties;

·      Maximum asset-level returns on properties that are re-leased or sold;

·      Additional value creation from the existing portfolio by enhancing individual properties, pursuing alternative uses, and deriving ancillary revenue; and

·      Investment opportunities in new asset classes for the portfolio.

We continually monitor our portfolio for any changes that could affect the performance of our tenants, our tenants’ industries, and the real estate locations in which we have invested.  We also regularly analyze our portfolio with a view towards optimizing its returns and enhancing its overall credit quality.  Our active portfolio and asset management strategy pursues asset sales when we believe the reinvestment of the sale proceeds will:

·      Generate higher returns;

·      Enhance the credit quality of our real estate portfolio;

·      Extend our average remaining lease term; and/or

·      Strategically decrease tenant, industry, or geographic concentration.

At December 31, 2017, we classified nine properties with a carrying amount of $6.7 million as held for sale on our balance sheet. For 2018, we intend to continue our active disposition efforts to further enhance our real estate portfolio and anticipate $75 to $100 million in property sales.  We plan to invest these proceeds into new property acquisitions, if there are attractive opportunities available. However, we cannot guarantee that we will sell properties during 2018 at our estimated values or be able to invest the property sale proceeds in new properties.

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The active management of the portfolio is an essential component of our long-term strategy of maintaining high occupancy. Since 1970, our occupancy rate at the end of each year has never been below 96%.  However, we cannot assure you that our future occupancy levels will continue to equal or exceed 96%.

Capital Philosophy

Historically, we have met our long-term capital needs by issuing common stock, preferred stock and long-term unsecured notes and bonds. Over the long term, we believe that common stock should be the majority of our capital structure; however, we may issue additional preferred stock or debt securities. We may issue common stock when we believe that our share price is at a level that allows for the proceeds of any offering to be accretively invested into additional properties. In addition, we may issue common stock to permanently finance properties that were initially financed by our credit facility or debt securities. However, we cannot assure you that we will have access to the capital markets at all times and at terms that are acceptable to us.

Our primary cash obligations, for the current year and subsequent years, are included in the “Table of Obligations,” which is presented later in this section. We expect to fund our operating expenses and other short-term liquidity requirements, including property acquisitions and development costs, payment of principal and interest on our outstanding indebtedness, property improvements, re-leasing costs and cash distributions to common and preferred stockholders, primarily through cash provided by operating activities, borrowing on our credit facility and periodically through public securities offerings.

Conservative Capital Structure

We believe that our stockholders are best served by a conservative capital structure. Therefore, we seek to maintain a conservative debt level on our balance sheet and solid interest and fixed charge coverage ratios. At December 31, 2017, our total outstanding borrowings of senior unsecured notes and bonds, term loans, mortgages payable and credit facility borrowings were $6.13 billion, or approximately 27.4% of our total market capitalization of $22.36 billion.

We define our total market capitalization at December 31, 2017 as the sum of:

·      Shares of our common stock outstanding of 284,213,685, plus total common units outstanding of 405,204, multiplied by the last reported sales price of our common stock on the NYSE of $57.02 per share on December 31, 2017, or $16.23 billion;

·      Outstanding borrowings of $110.0 million on our credit facility;

·      Outstanding mortgages payable of $320.3 million, excluding net mortgage premiums of $5.9 million and deferred financing costs of $236,000;

·      Outstanding borrowings of $445.9 million on our term loans, excluding deferred financing costs of $580,000; and

·      Outstanding senior unsecured notes and bonds of $5.25 billion, excluding unamortized net original issuance premiums of $14.3 million and deferred financing costs of $34.1 million.

Impact of Real Estate and Credit Markets

In the commercial real estate market, property prices generally continue to fluctuate. Likewise, during certain periods, the U.S. credit markets have experienced significant price volatility, dislocations, and liquidity disruptions, which may impact our access to and cost of capital. We continually monitor the commercial real estate and U.S. credit markets carefully and, if required, will make decisions to adjust our business strategy accordingly.

Universal Shelf Registration

In December 2015, we filed a shelf registration statement with the SEC, which is effective for a term of three years and will expire in December 2018. In accordance with SEC rules, the amount of securities to be issued pursuant to this shelf registration statement was not specified when it was filed and there is no specific dollar limit. The securities covered by this registration statement include (1) common stock, (2) preferred stock, (3) debt securities, (4) depositary shares representing fractional interests in shares of preferred stock, (5) warrants to purchase debt securities, common stock, preferred stock, or depositary shares, and (6) any combination of these securities. We may periodically offer one or more of these securities in amounts, prices and on terms to be announced when and if these securities are offered. The specifics of any future offerings, along with the use of proceeds of any securities offered, will be described in detail in a prospectus supplement, or other offering materials, at the time of any offering.

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$2.0 Billion Revolving Credit Facility

We have a $2.0 billion unsecured revolving credit facility, or our credit facility, with an initial term that expires in June 2019 and includes, at our option, two six-month extensions. Our credit facility has a $1.0 billion accordion expansion option.  Under our credit facility, our investment grade credit ratings as of December 31, 2017 provide for financing at the London Interbank Offered Rate, commonly referred to as LIBOR, plus 0.85%, with a facility commitment fee of 0.125%, for all-in drawn pricing of 0.975% over LIBOR. The borrowing rate is subject to an interest rate floor and may change if our investment grade credit ratings were to change. We also have other interest rate options available to us under our credit facility. Our credit facility is unsecured and, accordingly, we have not pledged any assets as collateral for this obligation.

At December 31, 2017, we had a borrowing capacity of $1.89 billion available on our credit facility and an outstanding balance of $110.0 million.  The weighted average interest rate on borrowings outstanding under our credit facility, at December 31, 2017, was 4.5% per annum.  We must comply with various financial and other covenants in our credit facility.  At December 31, 2017, we remain in compliance with these covenants. We expect to use our credit facility to acquire additional properties and for other general corporate purposes. Any additional borrowings will increase our exposure to interest rate risk.

We generally use our credit facility for the short-term financing of new property acquisitions. Thereafter, we generally seek to refinance those borrowings with the net proceeds of long-term or permanent financing, which may include the issuance of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. We cannot assure you, however, that we will be able to obtain any such refinancing, or that market conditions prevailing at the time of the refinancing will enable us to issue equity or debt securities at acceptable terms. We regularly review our credit facility and may seek to extend, renew or replace our credit facility, to the extent we deem appropriate.

Cash Reserves

We are organized to operate as an equity REIT that acquires and leases properties and distributes to stockholders, in the form of monthly cash distributions, a substantial portion of our net cash flow generated from leases on our properties.  We intend to retain an appropriate amount of cash as working capital.  At December 31, 2017, we had cash and cash equivalents totaling $6.9 million.

We believe that our cash and cash equivalents on hand, cash provided from operating activities, and borrowing capacity is sufficient to meet our liquidity needs for the next twelve months.  We intend, however, to use permanent or long-term capital to fund property acquisitions and to repay future borrowings under our credit facility.

Credit Agency Ratings

The borrowing interest rates under our credit facility are based upon our ratings assigned by credit rating agencies. As of December 31, 2017, we were assigned the following investment grade corporate credit ratings on our senior unsecured notes and bonds:  Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a rating of A3 with a “stable” outlook, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group has assigned a rating of BBB+ with a “positive” outlook, and Fitch Ratings has assigned a rating of BBB+ with a “stable” outlook.

Based on our ratings as of December 31, 2017, the facility interest rate as of December 31, 2017 was LIBOR, plus 0.85% with a facility commitment fee of 0.125%, for all-in drawn pricing of 0.975% over LIBOR.  Our credit facility provides that the interest rate can range between: (i) LIBOR, plus 1.55% if our credit rating is lower than BBB-/Baa3 or unrated and (ii) LIBOR, plus 0.85% if our credit rating is A-/A3 or higher.  In addition, our credit facility provides for a facility commitment fee based on our credit ratings, which range from: (i) 0.30% for a rating lower than BBB-/Baa3 or unrated, and (ii) 0.125% for a credit rating of A-/A3 or higher.

We also issue senior debt securities from time to time and our credit ratings can impact the interest rates charged in those transactions.  If our credit ratings or ratings outlook change, our cost to obtain debt financing could increase or decrease. The credit ratings assigned to us could change based upon, among other things, our results of operations and financial condition. These ratings are subject to ongoing evaluation by credit rating agencies and we cannot assure you that our ratings will not be changed or withdrawn by a rating agency in the future if, in its judgment, circumstances warrant. Moreover, a rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold our debt securities, preferred stock or common stock.

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Term Loans

In December 2017, in conjunction with the acquisition of a portfolio of properties, we entered into a $125.9 million promissory note, maturing in January 2018. Borrowings under this note bore interest at 1.52%. This note was paid in full at maturity.

In June 2015, in conjunction with entering into our credit facility, we entered into a $250 million senior unsecured term loan maturing on June 30, 2020.  Borrowing under this term loan bears interest at the current one-month LIBOR, plus 0.90%.  In conjunction with this term loan, we also entered into an interest rate swap which effectively fixes our per annum interest rate on this term loan at 2.62%.

In January 2013, in conjunction with our acquisition of American Realty Capital Trust, Inc., or ARCT, we entered into a $70 million senior unsecured term loan with an initial maturity date of January 2018.  Borrowing under this term loan bears interest at the current one-month LIBOR, plus 1.10%.  In conjunction with this term loan, we also entered into an interest rate swap which effectively fixes our per annum interest rate on this term loan at 2.05%. In January 2018, we entered into a six-month extension of this loan, which now matures in July 2018 and includes, at our option, two additional six-month extensions. Borrowing during the extension periods bear interest at the current one-month LIBOR, plus 0.90%. The interest rate swap terminated upon the initial maturity in January 2018.

Mortgage Debt

As of December 31, 2017, we had $320.3 million of mortgages payable, all of which were assumed in connection with our property acquisitions.  Additionally, at December 31, 2017, we had net premiums totaling $5.9 million on these mortgages and deferred financing costs of $236,000.  We expect to pay off the mortgages payable as soon as prepayment penalties have declined to a level that would make it economically feasible to do so.  During 2017, we made $139.7 million of principal payments, including the repayment of eight mortgages in full for $133.5 million.

Notes Outstanding

As of December 31, 2017, we had $5.25 billion of senior unsecured note and bond obligations, excluding unamortized net original issuance premiums of $14.3 million and deferred financing costs of $34.1 million.  All of our outstanding notes and bonds have fixed interest rates. Interest on all of our senior note and bond obligations is paid semiannually.

No Unconsolidated Investments

We have no unconsolidated investments, nor do we engage in trading activities involving energy or commodity contracts.

Corporate Responsibility

We are committed to providing an engaging, diverse, and safe work environment for our employees, upholding our corporate responsibilities as a public company operating for the benefit of our stockholders, and operating our company in an environmentally conscious manner. As The Monthly Dividend Company®, our mission is to provide our stockholders with monthly dividends that increase over time. How we manage and use the physical, financial and talent resources that enable us to achieve this mission, demonstrates our commitment to corporate responsibility.

Social Responsibility and Ethics. An extension of our mission is our commitment to being socially responsible and conducting our business according to the highest ethical standards. Our employees are awarded compensation that is in line with those of our peers and competitors, including generous healthcare benefits for employees and their families, participation in a 401(k) plan with a matching contribution by Realty Income, competitive paid time-off benefits, and an infant-at-work program for new parents. We also have a long-standing commitment to equal employment opportunity and adhere to all Equal Employer Opportunity Policy guidelines. Our employees have access to members of our Board of Directors to report anonymously, if desired, any suspicion of misconduct by any member of our senior management or executive team. We apply the principles of full and fair disclosure in all of our business dealings, and we encourage all of our directors, officers, and other employees to conduct our business in accordance with the highest standards of moral and ethical behavior, in each case, as outlined in our Corporate Code of Business Ethics. We are also committed to dealing fairly with all of our customers, suppliers, and competitors.

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Realty Income and its employees have taken an active role in supporting communities through civic involvement with charitable organizations and corporate donations. Focusing our impact on our social responsibility, our non-profit partnerships have resulted in approximately 725 employee volunteer hours during 2017, principally through our partnership with San Diego Habitat for Humanity. Our employees have also provided educational services to at-risk youth, funding to local foodbanks, and toys for under-served children. Our dedication to being a responsible corporate citizen has a direct and positive impact in the communities in which we operate and contributes to the strength of our reputation and our financial performance.

Corporate Governance. We believe that a company’s reputation for integrity and serving its stockholders responsibly is of utmost importance. We are committed to managing the company for the benefit of our stockholders and are focused on maintaining good corporate governance.  Practices that illustrate this commitment include:

·      Our Board of Directors is comprised of eight directors, seven of which are independent, non-employee directors;

·      Our Board of Directors is elected on an annual basis;

·      We employ a majority vote standard for uncontested elections;

·      Our Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors works with independent consultants in conducting annual compensation reviews for our key executives, and compensates each individual primarily based on reaching certain performance metrics that determine the success of our company; and

·      We adhere to all other corporate governance principles outlined in our “Corporate Governance Guidelines” document on our website.

Environmental Practices.  Our focus on environmental conservationism is demonstrated by how we manage our day-to-day activities at our corporate headquarters. At our headquarters, we promote energy efficiency and encourage practices such as powering down office equipment at the end of the day, implementing file-sharing technology and automatic “duplex mode” to limit paper use, adopting an electronic approval system, carpooling to our headquarters, and recycling paper waste. In 2017, we sent more than 32,700 pounds of paper to our off-site partner for recycling.

With respect to other recycling and reuse practices, we encourage the use of recycled products and the recycling of materials used in our operations. Cell phones, wireless devices and office equipment are recycled or donated whenever possible.

In addition, our headquarters building was retrofitted according to the State of California energy efficiency standards (specifically following California Green Building Standards Code and Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), with features such as an automatic lighting control system with light-harvesting technology, a Building Management System that monitors and controls energy use, an energy-efficient PVC roof and heating and cooling system, LED lighting, and drought-tolerant landscaping with recycled materials.

In 2017, we formed an internal “Green Team” whose mission is to encourage environmentally-friendly choices to further reduce our environmental impact as a company. To achieve this mission, the Green Team creates and executes strategies to promote sustainability internally and tracks the progress of their efforts.

The properties in our portfolio are primarily net leased to our tenants, and each tenant is ultimately responsible for maintaining the buildings including controlling their energy usage and the implementation of any environmentally sustainable practices at each location. We actively communicate and work with our tenants to promote environmental responsibility at the properties we own and to reiterate the importance of energy efficient facilities.

Our Asset Management team has engaged with renewable energy development companies to identify assets that would maximize energy efficiency initiatives throughout our property portfolio. These initiatives include solar energy arrays, battery storage, and charging stations. In addition, we continue to explore regional opportunities with our tenants in order to qualify for city and county renewable energy or energy efficiency programs.

More information on our social responsibility and environmental practices can be found on our company’s website at http://www.realtyincome.com/about-realty-income/corporate-responsibility. None of the information on our website is deemed to be a part of this report.

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PROPERTY PORTFOLIO INFORMATION

At December 31, 2017, we owned a diversified portfolio:

·      Of 5,172 properties;

·      With an occupancy rate of 98.4%, or 5,089 properties leased and 83 properties available for lease;

·      Leased to 249 different commercial tenants doing business in 47 separate industries;

·      Located in 49 states and Puerto Rico;

·      With over 89.6 million square feet of leasable space; and

·      With an average leasable space per property of approximately 17,320 square feet; approximately 12,060 square feet per retail property and 224,340 square feet per industrial property.

At December 31, 2017, of our 5,172 properties, 5,089 were leased under net lease agreements. A net lease typically requires the tenant to be responsible for monthly rent and certain property operating expenses including property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. In addition, our tenants are typically subject to future rent increases based on increases in the consumer price index (typically subject to ceilings), additional rent calculated as a percentage of the tenants’ gross sales above a specified level, or fixed increases.

At December 31, 2017, our 249 commercial tenants, which we define as retailers with over 50 locations and non-retailers with over $500 million in annual revenues, represented approximately 95% of our annualized revenue.  We had 269 additional tenants, representing approximately 5% of our annualized revenue at December 31, 2017, which brings our total tenant count to 518 tenants.

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Property Type Composition

The following table sets forth certain property type information regarding our property portfolio as of December 31, 2017 (dollars in thousands):

Tenant Diversification

The following table sets forth the largest tenants in our property portfolio, expressed as a percentage of total rental revenue at December 31, 2017:

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Service Category Diversification for our Retail Properties

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the 4,999 retail properties included in our 5,172 total properties owned at December 31, 2017, classified according to the business types and the level of services they provide at the property level (dollars in thousands):

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Lease Expirations

The following table sets forth certain information regarding our property portfolio regarding the timing of the lease term expirations in our portfolio (excluding rights to extend a lease at the option of the tenant) on our 5,062 net leased, single-tenant properties and their contribution to rental revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2017 (dollars in thousands):

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Geographic Diversification

The following table sets forth certain state-by-state information regarding our property portfolio as of December 31, 2017 (dollars in thousands):

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the documents incorporated by reference, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When used in this annual report, the words “estimated”, “anticipated”, “expect”, “believe”, “intend” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include discussions of strategy, plans, or intentions of management. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about Realty Income Corporation, including, among other things:

·      Our anticipated growth strategies;

·      Our intention to acquire additional properties and the timing of these acquisitions;

·      Our intention to sell properties and the timing of these property sales;

·      Our intention to re-lease vacant properties;

·      Anticipated trends in our business, including trends in the market for long-term, net leases of freestanding, single-tenant properties; and

·      Future expenditures for development projects.

Future events and actual results, financial and otherwise, may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. In particular, some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are:

·      Our continued qualification as a real estate investment trust;

·      General business and economic conditions;

·      Competition;

·      Fluctuating interest rates;

·      Access to debt and equity capital markets;

·      Continued volatility and uncertainty in the credit markets and broader financial markets;

·      Other risks inherent in the real estate business including tenant defaults, potential liability relating to environmental matters, illiquidity of real estate investments, and potential damages from natural disasters;

·      Impairments in the value of our real estate assets;

·      Changes in the tax laws of the United States of America;

·      The outcome of any legal proceedings to which we are a party or which may occur in the future; and

·      Acts of terrorism and war.

Additional factors that may cause risks and uncertainties include those discussed in the sections entitled “Business”, “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this Annual Report.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that this annual report was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.  While forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs, they are not guarantees of future performance. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this annual report or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events discussed in this annual report might not occur.

Item 1A:      Risk Factors

This “Risk Factors” section contains references to our “capital stock” and to our “stockholders.”  Unless expressly stated otherwise, the references to our “capital stock” represent our common stock and any class or series of our preferred stock, while the references to our “stockholders” represent holders of our common stock and any class or series of our preferred stock.

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In order to grow we need to continue to acquire investment properties.  The acquisition of investment properties may be subject to competitive pressures.

We face competition in the acquisition and operation of our properties. We expect competition from:

·      Businesses;

·      Individuals;

·      Fiduciary accounts and plans; and

·      Other entities engaged in real estate investment and financing.

Some of these competitors are larger than we are and have greater financial resources. This competition may result in a higher cost for properties we wish to purchase.

Negative market conditions or adverse events affecting our existing or potential tenants, or the industries in which they operate, could have an adverse impact on our ability to attract new tenants, re-lease space, collect rent or renew leases, which could adversely affect our cash flow from operations and inhibit growth.

Cash flow from operations depends in part on our ability to lease space to tenants on economically favorable terms. We could be adversely affected by various facts and events over which we have limited or no control, such as:

·      Lack of demand in areas where our properties are located;

·      Inability to retain existing tenants and attract new tenants;

·      Oversupply of space and changes in market rental rates;

·      Declines in our tenants’ creditworthiness and ability to pay rent, which may be affected by their operations, economic downturns and competition within their industries from other operators;

·      Defaults by and bankruptcies of tenants, failure of tenants to pay rent on a timely basis, or failure of tenants to comply with their contractual obligations;

·      Economic or physical decline of the areas where the properties are located; and

·      Deterioration of physical condition of our properties.

At any time, any tenant may experience a downturn in its business that may weaken its operating results or overall financial condition. As a result, a tenant may delay lease commencement, fail to make rental payments when due, decline to extend a lease upon its expiration, become insolvent, or declare bankruptcy. Any tenant bankruptcy or insolvency, leasing delay or failure to make rental payments when due could result in the termination of the tenant’s lease and material losses to us.

If tenants do not renew their leases as they expire, we may not be able to rent or sell the properties.  Furthermore, leases that are renewed, and some new leases for properties that are re-leased, may have terms that are less economically favorable than expiring lease terms, or may require us to incur significant costs, such as renovations, tenant improvements, or lease transaction costs. Negative market conditions may cause us to sell vacant properties for less than their carrying value, which could result in impairments. Any of these events could adversely affect cash flow from operations and our ability to make distributions to stockholders and service indebtedness. A significant portion of the costs of owning property, such as real estate taxes, insurance, and maintenance, are not necessarily reduced when circumstances cause a decrease in rental revenue from the properties. In a weakened financial condition, tenants may not be able to pay these costs of ownership and we may be unable to recover these operating expenses from them.

Further, the occurrence of a tenant bankruptcy or insolvency could diminish the income we receive from the tenant’s lease or leases. In addition, a bankruptcy court might authorize the tenant to terminate its leases with us. If that happens, our claim against the bankrupt tenant for unpaid future rent would be subject to statutory limitations that most likely would result in rent payments that would be substantially less than the remaining rent we are owed under the leases or we may elect not to pursue claims against a tenant for terminated leases. In addition, any claim we have for unpaid past rent, if any, may not be paid in full, or at all. Moreover, in the case of a tenant’s leases that are not terminated as the result of its bankruptcy, we may be required or elect to reduce the rent payable under those leases or provide other concessions, reducing amounts we receive under those leases. As a result, tenant bankruptcies may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.  Any of these events could adversely affect our cash flow from operations and our ability to make distributions to stockholders and service our indebtedness.

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Eighty-three of our properties were available for lease or sale at December 31, 2017, 82 of which were single-tenant properties. At December 31, 2017, 55 of our properties under lease were unoccupied and available for sublease by the tenants, all of which were current with their rent and other obligations. During 2017, each of our tenants accounted for less than 10% of our rental revenue.

For 2017, our tenants in the “drug store” industry accounted for approximately 10.6% of our rental revenue. A downturn in this industry, whether nationwide or limited to specific sectors of the United States, or a change in legislation relating to prescription drugs, could adversely affect tenants in this industry, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, our ability to pay the principal of and interest on our debt securities and other indebtedness and to make distributions on our common stock, including the common stock offered hereby, and preferred stock.

Individually, each of the other industries in our property portfolio accounted for less than 10% of our rental revenue for 2017. Nevertheless, downturns in these industries could also adversely affect our tenants, which in turn could also have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and our ability to pay the principal of and interest on our debt securities and other indebtedness and to make distributions on our common stock, and preferred stock. In addition, we may in the future make additional investments in the “drug store” industry, which would increase this industry’s percentage of our rental revenues, thereby increasing the effect that such a downturn in this industry would have on us.

In addition, some of our properties are leased to tenants that may have limited financial and other resources, and therefore, they are more likely to be adversely affected by a downturn in their respective businesses or in the regional, national, or international economy.

Furthermore, we have made and may continue to make selected acquisitions of properties that fall outside our historical focus on freestanding, single-tenant, net lease locations in the United States. We may be exposed to a variety of new risks by expanding into new property types and/or new jurisdictions outside the United States and properties leased to tenants engaged in non-retail businesses. These risks may include limited experience in managing certain types of new properties, new types of real estate locations and lease structures, and the laws and culture of any non-U.S. jurisdiction.

As a property owner, we may be subject to unknown environmental liabilities.

Investments in real property can create a potential for environmental liability. An owner of property can face liability for environmental contamination created by the presence or discharge of hazardous substances on the property. We can face such liability regardless of:

·      Our knowledge of the contamination;

·      The timing of the contamination;

·      The cause of the contamination; or

·      The party responsible for the contamination of the property.

There may be environmental conditions associated with our properties of which we are unaware. In that regard, a number of our properties are leased to operators of convenience stores that sell petroleum-based fuels, as well as to operators of oil change and tune-up facilities and operators that use chemicals and other waste products. These facilities, and some other of our properties, use, or may have used in the past, underground lifts or underground tanks for the storage of petroleum-based or waste products, which could create a potential for the release of hazardous substances.

The presence of hazardous substances on a property may adversely affect our ability to lease or sell that property and we may incur substantial remediation costs or third party liability claims. Although our leases generally require our tenants to operate in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local environmental laws, ordinances and regulations, and to indemnify us against any environmental liabilities arising from the tenants’ activities on the property, we could nevertheless be subject to liability, including strict liability, by virtue of our ownership interest. There also can be no assurance that our tenants could or would satisfy their indemnification obligations under their leases. The discovery of environmental liabilities attached to our properties could have an adverse effect on our results of operations, our financial condition, or our ability to make distributions to stockholders and to pay the principal of and interest on our debt securities and other indebtedness.

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In addition, several of our properties were built during the period when asbestos was commonly used in building construction and we may acquire other buildings with asbestos in the future. Environmental laws govern the presence, maintenance, and removal of asbestos-containing materials, or ACMs, and require that owners or operators of buildings containing asbestos properly manage and maintain the asbestos, that they adequately inform or train those who may come into contact with asbestos and that they undertake special precautions, including removal or other abatement in the event that asbestos is disturbed during renovation or demolition of a building. These laws may impose fines and penalties on building owners or operators for failure to comply with these requirements and may allow third parties to seek recovery from owners or operators for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos fibers.

It is possible that our insurance could be insufficient to address any particular environmental situation and/or that, in the future, we could be unable to obtain insurance for environmental matters at a reasonable cost, or at all. Our tenants are generally responsible for, and indemnify us against, liabilities for environmental matters that arise during the lease terms as a result of tenants’ activities on the properties. For properties that have underground storage tanks, in addition to providing an indemnity in our favor, the tenants generally are required to meet applicable state financial assurance obligations, including maintaining certain minimum net worth requirements, obtaining environmental insurance, or relying upon the state trust funds where available in the states where these properties are located to reimburse responsible parties for costs of environmental remediation.  However, it is possible that one or more of our tenants could fail to have sufficient funds to cover any such indemnification or to meet applicable state financial assurance obligations, and thus we may still be obligated to pay for any such environmental liabilities.

Compliance.  We have not been notified by any governmental authority, and are not otherwise aware, of any material noncompliance, liability, or claim relating to hazardous substances, toxic substances, or petroleum products in connection with any of our properties. In addition, we believe we are in compliance in all material respects with all present federal, state, and local laws relating to ACMs. Nevertheless, if environmental contamination should exist, we could be subject to liability, including strict liability, by virtue of our ownership interest.

Insurance and Indemnity.  In July 2012, we entered into a ten-year environmental insurance policy that expires in July 2022 and replaced our previous seven-year environmental insurance policy. The limits on our current policy are $10 million per occurrence and $60 million in the aggregate.  The limits on the excess policy are $5 million per occurrence and $10 million in the aggregate.  Therefore, the primary and excess ten-year policies together provide a total limit of $15 million per occurrence and $70 million in the aggregate.

It is possible that our insurance could be insufficient to address any particular environmental situation and that, in the future, we could be unable to obtain insurance for environmental matters at a reasonable cost, or at all. Our tenants are generally responsible for, and indemnify us against, liabilities for environmental matters that occur on our properties.  For properties that have underground storage tanks, in addition to providing an indemnity in our favor, the tenants generally obtain environmental insurance or rely upon the state funds in the states where these properties are located to reimburse tenants for environmental remediation.

If we fail to qualify as a REIT, the amount of dividends we are able to pay would decrease, which could adversely affect the market price of our capital stock and could adversely affect the value of our debt securities.

Commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 1994, we believe that we have been organized and have operated, and we intend to continue to operate, so as to qualify as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Code. However, we cannot assure you that we have been organized or have operated in a manner that has satisfied the requirements for qualification as a REIT, or that we will continue to be organized or operate in a manner that will allow us to continue to qualify as a REIT.

Qualification as a REIT involves the satisfaction of numerous requirements under highly technical and complex Code provisions, for which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations, as well as the determination of various factual matters and circumstances not entirely within our control.

For example, in order to qualify as a REIT, at least 95% of our gross income in each year must be derived from qualifying sources, and we must pay distributions to stockholders aggregating annually at least 90% of our taxable income (excluding net capital gains).

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If we fail to satisfy all of the requirements for qualification as a REIT, we may be subject to certain penalty taxes or, in some circumstances, we may fail to qualify as a REIT.  If we were to fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year:

·      We would be required to pay regular U.S. federal corporate income tax on our taxable income;

·      We would not be allowed a deduction for amounts distributed to our stockholders in computing our taxable income;

·      We could be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which qualification is lost;

·      We would no longer be required to make distributions to stockholders; and

·      This treatment would substantially reduce amounts available for investment or distribution to stockholders because of the additional tax liability for the years involved, which could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our capital stock and the value of our debt securities.

Even if we qualify for and maintain our REIT status, we may be subject to certain federal, state, and local taxes on our income and property. For example, if we have net income from a prohibited transaction, that income will be subject to a 100% tax. In addition, our taxable REIT subsidiaries, including Crest, are subject to federal and state taxes at the applicable tax rates on their income and property.  Any failure to comply with legal and regulatory tax obligations could adversely affect our ability to conduct business and could adversely affect the market price of our capital stock and the value of our debt securities.

Legislative or other actions affecting REITs could have a negative effect on us or our investors. The rules dealing with federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the Internal Revenue Services, or the IRS, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, or the Treasury. Changes to the tax laws, with or without retroactive application, could adversely affect us or our investors, including holders of our common stock or debt securities. We cannot predict how changes in the tax laws might affect us or our investors. New legislation, Treasury Regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions could significantly and negatively affect our ability to qualify as a REIT, the federal income tax consequences of such qualification, or the federal income tax consequences of an investment in us. Also, the law relating to the tax treatment of other entities, or an investment in other entities, could change, making an investment in such other entities more attractive relative to an investment in a REIT.

Recently enacted U.S. tax legislation, or the 2017 Tax Legislation, has significantly changed the U.S. federal income taxation of U.S. businesses and their owners, including REITs and their stockholders. We are still evaluating the potential impact of the 2017 Tax Legislation on us, but the changes made by the 2017 Tax Legislation that could affect us and our investors include:

·      Temporarily reducing individual U.S. federal income tax rates on ordinary income, including the reduction of the highest individual U.S. federal income tax rate from 39.6% to 37% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026;

·      Permanently eliminating the progressive corporate tax rate structure, which previously imposed a maximum corporate tax rate of 35%, and replacing it with a flat corporate tax rate of 21%;

·      Permitting a deduction for certain domestic qualified business income from pass-through income entities, including dividends received by our stockholders from us that are not designated by us as capital gain dividends or qualified dividend income, which will allow individuals, trusts, and estates to deduct up to 20% of such amounts for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026;

·      Reducing the highest rate of withholding with respect to our distributions to non-U.S. stockholders that are treated as attributable to gains from the sale or exchange of U.S. real property interests from 35% to 21%;

·      Limiting our deduction for net operating losses arising in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 to 80% of REIT taxable income (prior to the application of the dividends paid deduction);

·      Generally limiting the deduction for net business interest expense in excess of 30% of a business’s “adjusted taxable income,” except for taxpayers (including most equity REITs) that engage in certain real estate businesses and elect out of this rule (provided that such electing taxpayers must use an alternative depreciation system with longer depreciation periods); and

·      Eliminating the corporate alternative minimum tax.

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Many of these changes are effective immediately, without any transition periods or grandfathering for existing transactions. The legislation is unclear in many respects and could be subject to potential amendments and technical corrections, as well as interpretations and implementing regulations by the Treasury and IRS, any of which could lessen or increase the impact of the legislation. In addition, it is unclear how these U.S. federal income tax changes will affect state and local taxation, which often uses federal taxable income as a starting point for computing state and local tax liabilities. While some of the changes made by the tax legislation may adversely affect us in one or more reporting periods and prospectively, other changes may be beneficial on a going forward basis. We continue to work with our tax advisors and auditors to determine the full impact that the recent tax legislation as a whole will have on us.

Distribution requirements imposed by law limit our flexibility.

To maintain our status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we generally are required to distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our taxable income, excluding net capital gains, each year. We also are subject to tax at regular corporate rates to the extent that we distribute less than 100% of our taxable income (including net capital gains) each year.

In addition, we are subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax to the extent that we fail to distribute during any calendar year at least the sum of 85% of our ordinary income for that calendar year, 95% of our capital gain net income for the calendar year, and any amount of that income that was not distributed in prior years.

We intend to continue to make distributions to our stockholders to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code as well as to reduce our exposure to federal income taxes and the nondeductible excise tax. Differences in timing between the receipt of income and the payment of expenses to arrive at taxable income, along with the effect of required debt amortization payments, could require us to borrow funds to meet the distribution requirements that are necessary to achieve the tax benefits associated with qualifying as a REIT.

Future issuances of equity securities could dilute the interest of holders of our common stock.

Our future growth will depend, in large part, upon our ability to raise additional capital. If we were to raise additional capital through the issuance of equity securities, we could dilute the interests of holders of our common stock. The interests of our common stockholders could also be diluted by the issuance of shares of common stock pursuant to stock incentive plans. Likewise, our Board of Directors is authorized to cause us to issue preferred stock of any class or series (with dividend, voting and other rights as determined by our Board of Directors). Accordingly, our Board of Directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting, dividend and other similar rights that could dilute, or otherwise adversely affect, the interest of holders of our common stock.

We may acquire properties or portfolios of properties through tax deferred contribution transactions, which could result in stockholder dilution and limit our ability to sell or refinance such assets.

We have in the past and may in the future acquire properties or portfolios of properties through tax deferred contribution transactions in exchange for partnership units in an operating partnership, which could result in stockholder dilution through the issuance of operating partnership units that, under certain circumstances, may be exchanged for shares of our common stock.  This acquisition structure may have the effect of, among other things, reducing the amount of tax depreciation we could deduct over the tax life of the acquired properties, and may require that we agree to restrictions on our ability to dispose of, or refinance the debt on, the acquired properties in order to protect the contributors’ ability to defer recognition of taxable gain.  Similarly, we may be required to incur or maintain debt we would otherwise not incur so we can allocate the debt to the contributors to maintain their tax bases.  These restrictions could limit our ability to sell or refinance an asset at a time, or on terms, that would be favorable absent such restrictions.

We are subject to risks associated with debt and capital stock financing.