Cisco's (CSCO) CEO Chuck Robbins recently described the current environment as "the greatest financial crisis in our lifetime," so it's no surprise that many companies are tightening up their budgets. On Wednesday, market research firm Gartner updated its global IT spending forecast for 2020 and now projects a drop of 8% versus prior expectations calling [...]

Whirlpool (WHR) reported earnings on April 30 and provided investors with a first glimpse into the impacts of the pandemic on sales in the home appliance maker's two most important regions, the U.S. (54% of 2019 revenue) and Europe (21%). Both regions saw sharp drop-offs in retail sales in March as people began to stay home and [...]

On April 8, we discussed the coronavirus-related challenges facing Urstadt Biddle (UBA). Our primary concerns were the firm's small size (only 81 properties), concentrated operations in ground zero of the pandemic (New York), relatively high payout ratio entering the crisis (80% to 90%), and signs that numerous tenants (e.g. Staples) may skip their rent. More news has [...]

Simon Property Group (SPG) reported earnings on May 11. Management disclosed few specifics, dodging questions about how much rent was collected in April and the status of its pending acquisition of Taubman. However, CEO David Simon did provide general expectations for the dividend. Based on what management knows today, it sounds like Simon expects by the end [...]

Ventas (VTR) reported earnings on May 8 and opted not to comment on the dividend other than stating on the earnings call that a decision by the Board would be made in June: As you know, we declared and paid our last quarterly dividend in April. Because we normally pay our next dividend in July, our Board [...]

Tanger (SKT) reported earnings today and suspended its quarterly dividend. The owner of outlet malls will pay the previously-scheduled dividend on May 15, but payouts will cease after that until further notice. By suspending the dividend, Tanger will save $35 million in cash per quarter to help preserve the firm's balance sheet and maintain financial flexibility. It's [...]

Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) reported earnings on April 29. Management reaffirmed their commitment to the distribution, which has been increased for 21 consecutive years:  Finally, I'd like to iterate our financial objectives as to defend and maintain our distribution, our strong balance sheet, and our debt rating; maintain ample liquidity; and continue to high-grade and invest in [...]

Federal Realty (FRT), owner of grocery-anchored shopping centers, reported earnings on Wednesday and revealed that only 53% of April rent was collected. The REIT's properties have long been a stable source of rental income due to their location in large, affluent markets like Silicon Valley and New York. Investments over the past twenty years in nearby office [...]

On Monday, Realty Income (O) released earnings and reported that 83% of rent was collected in April. Given the circumstances, April rent collection was better than expected and beat that of all other retail REITs we've studied. Source: Company Press Releases The top four industries in Realty Income's portfolio have fared well during coronavirus-related shutdowns so far. [...]

Leggett & Platt (LEG) has weathered many challenges over its 137-year existence while managing to increase its dividend for nearly 50 consecutive years. But the coronavirus pandemic could be a perfect storm for the dividend. After digesting the company's earnings call on Tuesday, we believe there is elevated risk that management could cut the dividend, [...]

Welltower (WELL) reported earnings after the market closed today and announced plans to reduce its dividend by 30%: The financial headwinds resulting from the pandemic will create significant pressure on our near-term cash flow, leading to the difficult, but prudent decision to reduce our quarterly dividend to 70% of pre-COVID levels. Based on WELL's closing price, the [...]

National Retail Properties (NNN) reported earnings yesterday and revealed that a dismal 48% of rent went uncollected in April. May could be even worse than April as shutdowns persist and more businesses grapple with reduced economic activity and no return to normalcy in sight. Troubling NNN is the firm's high exposure to several industries impacted heavily by [...]

On April 10, we published a note reviewing Welltower's (WELL) dividend safety and exposure to the coronavirus pandemic. More information about the state of the senior housing market has trickled in since then, and it's been worse than expected. As a result of these headwinds, we believe Welltower's cash flow may no longer cover its dividend for [...]

Brookfield Property Partners L.P. (BPY) is a major owner, operator, and investor in commercial real estate. In 2019, the firm generated approximately 46% of its net operating income (NOI) from retail assets, 35% from offices, and 19% from equity investments in Brookfield-sponsored real estate opportunity funds. We expect the coronavirus pandemic to impact each of [...]

The coronavirus pandemic creates several challenges for Iron Mountain (IRM). The business seems likely to remain a cash cow and has reasonable liquidity, but these emerging issues have potential to reduce the REIT's financial flexibility. This could be problematic given Iron Mountain's ongoing investments to evolve its business model for the digital world, plus the [...]