Kite Realty Group Trust (KRG) Q1 2026 earnings call transcript

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to KITE REALTY GROUP's first quarter earnings call. Some of today's comments contain forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions of future events and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from these statements. For more information about the factors that can adversely affect the company's results, please see our SEC filings, including our most recent Form 10-K. Today's remarks also include certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to today's earnings press release, available on our website, for reconciliation of these non-GAAP performance measures to our GAAP financial results. On the call with me today from KITE REALTY GROUP are Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Kite, President and Chief Operating Officer Tom McGowan, President and Chief Financial Officer Heath Feer, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer Adam Jaworski, and Senior Vice President Capital Markets and Investor Relations Tyler Henshaw.

Given the number of participants on the call, we ask that you limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you have additional questions, we ask that you please rejoin the queue. I will now turn the call over to John.

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. We entered 2026 with an ambitious set of operational and strategic goals, and through the first quarter, we are firmly on target. Tenant demand remains healthy, our signed, not open pipeline remains elevated, and the underlying fundamentals of our portfolio have never been stronger. This is a result of deliberate work over the past two years to reshape KRG into a higher caliber, faster growing, and more resilient company. We have sold over $600 million of non-core assets, entered into strategic and transformational joint ventures, repurchased shares at pricing well below consensus NAV, and repositioned the portfolio squarely toward higher growth and higher quality grocery anchored lifestyle and mixed use assets. These actions are proactive, decisive, and disciplined, designed to capitalize on the disconnect between public and private market values while fundamentally elevating the company.

The KRG you see today is significantly improved from where it was 24 months ago. The first quarter was another clear example of that discipline in action. We repurchased 6 million common shares for approximately 152 million and sold Corum Plaza, a non-core lower-growth asset. Together with the activity completed in 2025, we have now repurchased 16.9 million shares for $400 million at an average price of $23.67, representing a compelling arbitrage, buying our own stock at an FFO yield meaningfully wider than the yields at which we have sold lower growth assets. As we advance through 2026, we will continue to evaluate capital recycling opportunities that further optimize the portfolio and support our long-term strategic objectives. None of this is possible without the strength and versatility of our balance sheet.

Our ability to sell assets, repurchase stock, enter into strategic joint ventures, fund growth, and continue investing in the portfolio is a direct result of the disciplined financial posture we have maintained over multiple years. We remain committed to operating with conservative leverage, ample liquidity, and meaningful financial flexibility, which allows us to stay opportunistic while continuing to protect the long-term durability of the platform. That discipline is translating directly into operating performance. Demand for space in our high-quality centers remains exceptionally healthy, and our first quarter results reflect both the strength of the portfolio and the quality of our execution. Same property NOI increased 3.6% in the first quarter, a strong start to the year. During the quarter, we executed 151 new and renewal leases, representing over 700,000 square feet.

Blended cash leasing spreads were 13.5%, including 31.3% on new leases. Our non-option renewal spreads were 12.3%, demonstrating the continued mark-to-market potential embedded within our portfolio. Our lease rate stands at 94.7%, a 90 basis point increase year over year, reflecting the continued absorption of our inventory by high quality, well-capitalized retailers. During the quarter, we signed new leases with a variety of sought-after concepts, including On Running, Reformation, Warby Parker, Total Wine, and Barnes & Noble. ABR per square foot reached $22.89 at quarter end, a 6.5% increase year-over-year.

Our sign-not-open pipeline remains elevated at approximately $36 million of NOI, representing a 350 basis points spread between our leased and occupied rates. The average ABR for leases in our sign-not-open pipeline is $28 a square foot. Embedded rent escalators are the first stone in the foundation of long-term total return, contractual growth that compounds over time. Two years ago, our embedded rent escalators were just 156 basis points.

Today, they stand at 182 basis points. As we advance towards our 200 basis point target, that trajectory is driven by factors within our control. Strong lease structures, disciplined merchandising, and the deliberate reshaping of our portfolio. Simply put, KRG is an inceptional position. We have a better portfolio, a rock-solid balance sheet, a more durable growth profile, and a team that continues to execute with urgency, discipline, and focus. I want to thank the entire KRG team for the hard work that got us here, And for the continued energy commitment and conviction required to keep raising the bar.

I'll now turn it over to Heath.

Thank you, and good afternoon. After the first quarter, KRG is exactly where we want to be, on offense, on plan, and operating from a position of strength. We are elevating the portfolio, sharpening the platform, and building momentum for another highly productive year.

Turning to our results, KRG generated $0.52 of NARID FFO per share and $0.52 of core FFO per share in the first quarter. Same property NOI increased 3.6% in the first quarter, driven primarily by a 250 basis point contribution from higher minimum rents, a 55 basis point improvement in net recoveries, and a 45 basis point improvement in overage rent. On our last call, I indicated our expectation for same property NOI growth in 2026 to be lower in the first half of the year and accelerate the second half. It's important to note that the 3.6% result in Q1 exceeded our expectations as a result of higher than anticipated old bridge rent, lower than anticipated bad debt, and the reversal of a large real estate tax reserve.

As for the trajectory of same property NOI for the balance of the year, we anticipate a moderation into the second quarter, followed by a reacceleration to the back half of the year as the rents from our large signed-not-open pipelines begin to commence.

Due to outperformance in Q1, we are increasing our 2026 same property NOI range by 25 basis points at the midpoint. As illustrated on page 5 of our investor deck, the uptick in our same-store guidance is being offset by a corresponding reduction in our recurring but unpredictable items. As a result, we are affirming our NARIT FFO and core FFO guidance of $2.06 to $2.12 per share, based on a same property and a wide growth range of 2.5% to 3.5%, a band debt reserve of 95 basis points of total revenues at midpoint, reflecting our actual First quarter results blended with a continuing assumption of 100 basis points for the balance of the year.

And interest expense, net of interest income, excluding unconsulted joint ventures, of $121.2 million at the midpoint up from $121 million. This guidance fully incorporates the incremental $100 million of stock we have repurchased since our last earnings call, And further contemplates $170 million of 1031 acquisitions scheduled to close in the second quarter. This represents a $60 million increase as compared to original guidance. And $145 million of non-COR and or tax law strip dispositions, with $12.5 million closed in the first quarter and the balance closing in the back half of the year. This represents a $30 million increase in the disposition pool as compared to original guidance. As a reminder, to the extent the aforementioned 1031 acquisitions or non-course sales are not completed, it could result in a special dividend for 2026.

The changes in our transaction assumptions are opportunistic and a continuation of our disciplined focus on matching sources and uses in an earnings-friendly manner.

John alluded to, moving to the back half of the year, we will continue to evaluate opportunities to further refine our portfolio, Thank you. Thank you to the KRG team for the relentless efforts in driving our results and creating long-term value for our stakeholders. Operator, this concludes our prepared remarks. Please open the line for questions.

Sure, Hank, Uber. Yeah I think as we said in the prepared remarks we going to continue to evaluate the market and evaluate the opportunities We want to execute what we have in front of us in terms of the 1031 opportunities to try to close on in the next quarter. And it's always going to be a function of where cost of capital is, what the opportunities are to reposition the capital. So I think we're trying to make it clear that we're reviewing that. That's a potential opportunity. You know, if you go and look at what we've done in the last year, and you include in what Heath had said is in the guidance, I mean, you're talking about if we execute on that, that's like 750 million approximately of sales.

So this is significant. We continue to try to do that in a very meaningful way in the sense of how we manage the total portfolio, We can manage the balance sheet and manage protecting earnings as good as we can. So that's a long-winded answer of saying, yeah, that's a possibility, but a lot of factors involved in that. Heath, you want to add to that?

Sure. I mean, we think we're bullish on our ability to continue to push occupancy higher, both economic and least rate. We are year over year. We're up, obviously, sequentially slightly down, which is not unusual in the first quarter. If you look back over the past four or five years, I think five years probably, three of those first quarters are slightly down sequentially, but what we're focused on is the year-over-year growth. We do think there's real opportunity based on lack of supply and continued strong demand, but as we tried to point out, we're very focused in on proper merchandising, and we're very focused in on getting the right retailers in the right spaces. And trying to pursue this embedded rent growth that is going to pay dividends in the future.

So, you know, we're not in a super hurry to hit any particular number, but we do feel like there is really strong demand. And that's part of what we're doing in terms of repositioning the portfolio, in the sense that this stronger portfolio will be able to maintain higher occupancy over longer periods of time. So, again, yes, we believe we have plenty of room to run.

I would add a lot of attention, questions, and comments have been around the transactional activity and refining the portfolio. But at the end of the day, one of the biggest opportunities in front of us is that core opportunity of leasing. And if you look across the pure set, as you said in your question, Cooper, we've got the most room to run in terms of just growing organically. So while all this other stuff is certainly moving us along, let's not lose focus at the fact that we've got the most occupancy run left.

I'll start with that, Samir. I mean, there is a strong demand for open-air retail, and it's coming from really many, many avenues. And I would say in the last, you know, six months, you know, nine months, but even six weeks, you see a lot more institutional capital positioning to want to be in the space, you know, a rotation, if you will.

So that obviously puts, you know, that puts pressure on cap rates to move down over time. And we really still haven't seen a movement in interest rates, so if that happens in addition, that would be additional fuel. But really, even without that, the demand is strong. I think when people look at their portfolio and they look at how they balance it and they look at risk-adjusted returns, you know, our product screens well. So you have seen that. I mean, you know, but we still have this ability, we hope to continue to do what we're doing, which is to, if we're going to recycle, Capital, we want to recycle it into higher growth assets, and honestly, if you look at page six of our investor deck, it kind of shows you, you know, what we're doing, and then I think a couple pages later, which is the page six shows the increase and decrease, you know, that we've had in various product types, and then a couple pages later, you see the embedded rent growth, and it just, you can chart that that's going up.

You know, and as long as we're able to sell these lower growth assets at, you know, yields, you know, well inside the stock yield, that's attractive. Now, how we deploy that capital comes down to a complex set of, you know, a complex set of items based on taxable income and 1031 opportunities and stock price, et cetera. But it's really a real estate exercise. I want to remind everybody of that. We are very focused on the real estate exercise, but obviously the equation relates in the sum of what do we do with the capital. So it's complex, but right now we think there's opportunities.

Heath, do you want to? I would just say, Samir, there isn't a pocket of historical retail capital that hasn't been reignited. So the breadth of the demand is just incredible. And frankly, it's better to be a seller right now than it is to be a buyer.

With that said, we do have some traction on some of these 1031 acquisitions that we've been talking about. The market is very, very constructive right now.

On page 5, you'll see that the same store did boost us up half a penny on a full year basis, but then that was offset by a corresponding reduction in a recurring but unpredictable item. Basically, that item is still there. It's just being pushed into 2027. So timing-wise, we thought it was 26, and it's being pushed into early 27. So nothing happening there. So that's why the same store bump didn't flow through the FFO.

Another thing I would add to that, Samir, is obviously we held Q2, Q3, Q4, bad debt at 100 basis points. I think the first quarter was closer to 75, but I think we view it as very early in the year. I think we're always reticent in the first quarter to really jump on to too much. You've still got 75% of the year to unfold. So I think you can look at it as prudent, in my opinion, to not jump on a lot of these things that may or may not happen. And I think bad debt and then just, you know, recurring but unpredictable are two big categories. I mean, especially on recurring unpredictable, I think if you look at last year, we were like 21 million.

I think our guidance is closer to 10. So, you know, we'll see how the year plays out. A lot of things left to happen, but the core business is very strong.

Hey, Todd, I mean, as you know, our goal is always to kind of pair these things. You know, we've got this saying where we like to do stuff in pods, you know, buying and selling. But, of course, we're also opportunistic, and if we think that there's a really excellent opportunity to recycle out of a lower growth asset at an attractive yield versus other yields, then that is possible that we would do that in front of knowing exactly where that capital would go. So, again, this is what a really strong balance sheet affords you, that opportunity to be, you know, to be forward thinking. But, you know, the goal is to always try to couple these things.

So we'll see how that plays out, Todd.

It does include CityCenter, Todd. And listen, we hope to transact on CityCenter by now, but as we said in the past, it's a complicated vertical asset, and the plan is still to transact before the end of the year.

Yeah, it was basically the outperformance was ratable between three things. It was bad debt overage and also that real estate tax reversal. And again, as I said in my opening remarks, you'll see it moderate into the second quarter and then re-accelerate to the back half of the year. So to your earlier point, it was higher than we'd anticipated.

And moving into the back three quarters, we still have an opportunity to outperform on bad debt. We had 75 basis points of bad debt in the quarter. We're still assuming 100. So there's still some things that we hope to be able to outperform in the same storyline as we move throughout the year.

For the record, I'm not complaining that the number is higher.

We weren't complaining either. We were happy.

Yeah, I mean, obviously, as we alluded to, that is one of the variables as we move through the year. As we sit here today we still in a pretty good position as it relates to discount NAV and core FFO yield relative to where we think we can sell assets that we would want to sell But that's a moving target, and we'll see how that goes. It's just kind of one of those things, it is what it is. We'll address it as it comes. But I think, you know, right now our strategy is, again, it's really real estate based and future growth based. So we want to figure out how to best do that. If this isn't part of the plan, there are other things we can do.

Obviously, last year we did pay a special dividend. We'll see how that goes in the future. But we'll just, it's just too many variables to really say, Michael, where that's going to be, you know, tomorrow or a month from now.

No, that's great.

It's really two elements there for one of its Legacy West and we have an annual same store concept. So Legacy West won't be in the same store bucket because we've owned it for a full calendar year. So you will see it in 2027 as part of the same store pool. The other piece that's not included in the same store are the leases that we're executing at Loudoun. So those are the two major components outside of same store that comprise the same, the sign-out open pipeline.

So, of course, there's no doubt that if we bring in a Trader Joe's, we bring in a Whole Foods, there's tremendous impact. And it's just that continual shop that occurs through the day. And both of those are tremendous drivers for us. So without question, when you have a new retailer, a new grocery like that, when new deals are going into committee, it helps tremendously. Plus that consistent shop helps drive additional sales throughout. So you have the cap rate compression component, and then in addition, you have the lease up through new committee deals, and you're driving sales inside your existing tenant base. So we always find a way to generate strong returns on these boxes, but if you carry that in, you know, that factor, you know, grows incrementally to a number, probably two to three times more than what that would start.

We'll start off with in terms of like 200, 300 basis points. So it's wildly attractive for us to reposition like that.

Floris, the returns we're generating on capital are like in the 30% range. Depends on the deal. Could be 20, could be 40. So, but generally speaking, that's just, you know, return on capital spent for that retailer. We don't look at it relative to how that might impact the adjacent space other than the ability, as Tom said, to drive a cap rate down by adding a grocer.

And again, it's not all about that. It's about merchandising, too. When you look at adding how much we've done in terms of adding Trader Joe's and adding Whole Foods, then the next thing you know, the quality of the surrounding shop grows. And maybe that's why our ABR and our sign not open is $28, right, versus the portfolio average of $23.50, I guess, somewhere close to that. So I think it's definitely moving us in the right direction.

Yeah, I mean, it's been a pretty good growth rate over the last five years, actually. I don't have it in front of me, but 6.5 is pretty strong. And, you know, when you look at our ABR and you add into that our embedded rent growth and you compare that to the peer group, it doesn't reflect where we trade.

You bet.

Hey, Michael. You know, we don't generally, as you know, we don't throw out a number at the beginning of the year and say we're going to, you know, we're going to spend X million on development, redevelopment, because we don't like people to chase a target versus, you know, chasing great opportunities. We have been pretty moderated on that in the last couple of years because of the significant spend that we have had in just the lease up portfolio, which is obviously on a risk adjusted basis a much higher return. But as we look out over the next three years, that begins to slow down in terms of the internal lease up capital because we are spending a little over We're going to be doing over $100 million a year right now over the next two and a half years.

And so when that moderates through this lease up, as he said earlier, then all of a sudden you have a lot more choices to deploy free cash flow. And we have a very long history in development and redevelopment, and we know how to do it, and we know how to judge risk. I would say we will pivot more to that over the next couple of years, and you are going to see us do some smaller projects over the next couple of years. I think our view is we would rather have more projects of smaller size than a couple of huge ones. Right now we have a large one in our development at One Loudon, but frankly it is very manageable against a $7 billion balance sheet.

Long-winded way of saying, I think we can lean into that as the lease-up firms up over the next two years.

I would add, we shouldn't construe the lower development spend now with the development opportunity in the portfolio. And lowest hanging fruit is allowed, and we still have 35 acres of land after we're done with this expansion. I think it includes another 1,100 multifamily units, another 1.7 million square feet of commercial. So we've got lots of opportunities in the portfolio, but as John said, the current priority right now is leasing. And when that spend starts to decline, that pipeline will pick up. No doubt. And Loudon's moving along very nicely in terms of lease up as well.

You know, we didn't give an exact cap rate range, Michael, but I think in terms of the 1031s, we continue to see opportunities for stuff that we want to own, very high-quality assets, kind of like in the 8% to 9% unlevered IRR range. That's kind of what we're pursuing. And as we've said before, the type of stuff that we're selling is kind of in the seven range, depending on what it is. So that's where the trade is currently.

Yeah, Alex, obviously we're always trying to accelerate the build-outs of these spaces in the S&O pipeline. You know, the majority of, or a lot of this, I should say, a lot of this space was former anchor space, right? So that's going to have a longer gestation period. And as you know, you know, those generally on average between lease signing and rent commencement could be, you know, 15 to 18 months. Depends on what it is. Depends on the level of construction. Also, don't forget that we have to deal with municipalities in multiple markets that slow you down, despite the narrative that that's changed. I don't think it's changed that much. So, yeah, we like to accelerate that.

We absolutely would. I mean, in one regard, you're just pulling forward something you know you're going to get, but NPV-wise, it makes sense. So we're pushing hard to accelerate, but I think it is what it is. And the good news is the demand is there, the snow is strong, and as I said earlier, if you look at the rents, it really reflects where we're going as a company. So that's a very positive thing to take out of that. But be assured, Alex, we're doing everything we can, whether it's permit expediters, starting drawings right out of real estate committee. We try to pull every lever, and it's a huge objective around here to move those up.

So, between you and John, Tom, I never have to worry about not moving quickly.

Yeah I mean I think obviously we do a robust analysis of the portfolio all the time There definitely are assets that we believe you know don fit the you know future the KRG I will now turn the call over to management for the KITE REALTY GROUP TRUST earnings conference call I will now turn the call over to management for the KITE REALTY GROUP TRUST earnings conference call You can see a couple of different things that we're selling about. You can see a couple of different properties that we're seeing at the bottom of the year. You mentioned Quorum, but there are a few that just didn't fit at all. There are a handful of properties like that.

Probably the bigger number would be the properties that just don't have the growth profile that we're looking for. I also think are potentially a little more tethered to at-risk future tenant issues. So there is a portion there, but it's not a huge portion, and this is more methodical around the underlying future growth and real estate quality.

I'll just add – I'm sorry, Alex, go ahead.

I was going to say, when we started this disposition program, we did the best we could to ensure folks this is not a multiyear program that's going to result in, you know, FFO dilution over three, four, five years. This was trying to get this done in 25 and 26, and as John said, there's a handful left, and if we can get it done, if we deploy the proceeds in a prudent manner, we will. But if we don't, that's okay, too. You know, we're always, you know, sort of cycling out of one, two, three assets a year, and that's sort of the expectation. But if we get it done this year, we will.

Yeah, thank you for that. Legacy West has performed marvelously. It's been a great asset for us and our partner. As you followed, I'm sure we've announced lots of new leases that we've signed since we bought it, and the mark-to-market on the rents has been exactly what we thought it would be. When we acquired the center, the ABR and the retail component was like $65 a foot, and we're doing deals north of $100 a foot routinely.

So that's spectacular. The multifamily side has picked up a lot in the last quarter quite well. The office is really strong. This is a really high-quality office and a very sought-after little slice of a fabulous sub-market in Plano. Obviously, AT&T has recently announced their global headquarters there, which is just one of a few major announcements that they've had in Plano. So we feel really good about that, and in terms of transferring of opportunities to other parts of the portfolio, it was another reason that we wanted to add it to our portfolio.

And when you now look at, for example, our top three lifestyle assets, Southlake, Legacy West, and Warren Loudoun, And you look at the NOI it's generating versus the, I think it's about 15% of our ABR now, just those three assets, but it's like, you know, 5% or 10% of our total GLA. It shows you the strength of that, and now we're doing deals across the portfolio, you know, with these high-quality tenants that now are very aware of KRG. So it's been a massive win for us, a massive win for our partner, and we're looking forward to trying to find more of those opportunities.

You know, we don't guide to occupancy, Craig, but we have said publicly before that, you know, we think by the end of this year, you know, we should be at occupancy levels that are approximating our historical highs, you know, right before COVID. I will now turn the call over to management for the KITE REALTY GROUP TRUST earnings conference call. The fact that this quarter on a sequential basis was related to Value City. But again, we are busy backfilling those boxes and making great progress. So we're very, very bullish on our occupancy opportunity. And again, it is the largest and most meaningful opportunity in the peer set. So we've got, as I said before in the past, everyone's on a peak on their occupancy gains in terms of their same store.

Ours is coming at a different time, and we're going to start seeing that in the back half of this year at the 27th.

One other thing that we've been doing, Craig, is we've been very proactive in terms of trying to improve the mix. So if somebody's coming off of a non-option scenario, I mean, what we'll do right away is we'll just say, hey, if we can do better, we're going to move them out and end up with a better quality tenant. So we've been doing a lot of that inside these numbers, and we'll continue to do it, but we're absolutely ending up with great decisions and great tenants.

Craig, I think you remember me talking a couple years ago about the fact that we're never going to lease space quickly. We're going to lease space in a very, very diligent way, and that's part of what Tom means is that, you know, can we take deals maybe faster by accepting a tenant that we don't love or a rent structure that we don't love, particularly rent growth?

Yeah, we could, but if you look at our statistics relative to the peers, I mean, there's no doubt we were, you know, in my opinion, I'm a market leader in rent growth in the small shop space, right? And if you look at where we were in, you know, 2019 versus where we are today in 4% a year small shop growth, it's incredible in terms of the number of tenants we've been able to convert, you know, to 4% or, you know, north of 3, right? So if you do a bunch of deals at 2% rent growth, you're going to do them faster.

But if you're diligent about this and you end up with the right tenants that are growing at 3.5% to 4% in the shops, you're going to thank me for that in a couple years.

No, what I said was if you look at what we sold last year and then you combine what Heath pointed out that we are, you know, targeting to sell this year, combined that's like I think close to $750 million. That's what I said there. So, you know, we'll see if we hit that. We still have to do another $130 million, I think, this year to get to that number. And that's just what we have identified, Craig.

Yeah, I mean, obviously everybody kind of classifies what's power versus what's a community center maybe a little differently. But if you look at how we have identified it in our investor presentation, you know, our power is down 500 basis points, and we're at about 19% of our portfolio relative to ABR is in power. You know, we've said we'd like to get that down, you know, to, I don't know, 12%, 13%, 14%. But there's some really high-quality assets in there. And then if you look at our regional community versus our neighborhood community and shop and grocery, we'd like to pivot that more to the neighborhood side as well.

You know, so maybe the same amount, maybe another 5% to 10%. But really, in the end, it's not going to be about, you know, oh, we've got this perfect composition on a percentage basis. It's going to be more about the embedded rent growth and the quality of the real estate, Craig. And again, I would challenge you to look at where we trade, where our ABR is, what our embedded rent growth is, and what the higher multiple guys are at. And it is what it is. As long as it's there, we'll continue to try to take advantage of that in the way that we can. And certainly the private institutional investors are well aware of that and well aware of what's going on in our space.

And it's odd to me, but it is what it is, which I keep saying. It's odd to me that we wouldn't actually, as a group, trade at a premium for the liquidity, but it's actually vice versa. You're trading at a discount for the liquidity, which is quite odd. But at any rate, I do think there's a real opportunity there to improve that, Craig. But we're going to have to take it one step at a time. We've identified what we have, and we'll see. We've still got three quarters of the year left. And as he said, if those opportunities avail themselves, we'll try to take advantage of that. And then after the end of this year, then we would think, man, we have the portfolio composition is really good.

And then, again, as he said, we're just back to the normal, you know, paired trades, a couple deals here, a couple deals there.

Well, I just again want to thank everyone for joining us today and have a great day.