SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SMA)

Key figures

The last twelve months reported, with the latest price and balance sheet.

Revenue, last twelve months

$306.5M

Revenue growth

21.1%

Net income, last twelve months

$28.8M

Earnings per share

$0.51

Gross margin

59.8%

Operating margin

21.4%

Net margin

9.4%

Return on equity

2.5%

Market value

$1.9B

Price to earnings

69.0x

Dividend yield

1.7%

Cash

$38.2M

Debt

$1.1B

Debt to equity

0.97

Shares outstanding

55.4M

Financial statements

Revenue, profit and cash flow by fiscal year, each year linked to its annual report.

By quarter

What the company said with its results

From the second quarter 2026 results, filed 5 August 2026.

• FFO as adjusted per share rose 17.6%. Management cited a 17.6% year-over-year rise in FFO, as adjusted, per share. Total FFO, as adjusted, was $29.3 million, up $4.9 million from the year-earlier quarter.
• Net income rose to $11.2 million. Diluted EPS was $0.20 against a $0.16 loss a year earlier. Net income attributable to common stockholders rose about $19.6 million on the year.
• Six-month FFO rose $22.5 million. Six-month FFO, as adjusted, was $58.1 million. Six-month FFO, as adjusted, per share and OP unit was $0.98, up $0.15.
• Self storage revenue rose $4.9 million. Six-month self storage-related revenues were $130.7 million, up $10.6 million. Non same-store facilities contributed $8.1 million of quarterly revenue, against $4.0 million a year earlier.
• Same-store NOI rose 3.7%. Same-store revenue rose 1.3%. Six-month same-store revenue rose 1.4%, and six-month same-store net operating income rose 2.9%.
• Same-store margin reached 67.3%. Same-store operating margin was 67.3%, up 150 basis points year over year. Management tied the gain to revenue management, store teams, scale and expense control.
• Occupancy eased slightly. Same-store occupancy was 93.1% a year earlier. Six-month same-store occupancy was 92.5%, down about 0.2%.
• Non same-store facilities increased to 25. Non same-store facilities numbered 25, against 16 a year earlier, with 86.8% average occupancy and $21.10 annualized rent per occupied square foot.
• Rent growth offset lower occupancy. Management attributed same-store revenue growth mainly to higher annualized rent per occupied square foot, partly offset by lower occupancy, with higher administrative and late fees also contributing.
• Tenant protection revenue at same-store sites. Tenant Protection Program related expense was $248 thousand, against $110 thousand a year earlier, on total program revenue of about $2.6 million.
• Managed Platform revenue rose to $6.7m. Managed Platform expenses were $3.7 million, against $3.3 million. Reimbursable costs from the platform were $6.7 million, against $1.9 million a year earlier.
• Managed REIT assets near $1.0 billion. Assets under management were $1,055.8 million at March 31. At June 30 the Managed REITs held 52 operating properties, down from 53.
• Property expenses fell on insurance. Same-store property operating expenses fell about $0.6 million, or 3.4%, for the quarter. Six-month same-store expenses fell 1.4%.
• G&A costs fell year over year. G&A was $9.9 million, against $11.7 million a year earlier. Six-month G&A was $19.0 million, against $19.5 million. Depreciation rose to $16.5 million from $15.4 million.

Revenue by segment

As the company reports it in the segment note of its annual report.

By business, FY2025

By product, FY2025

Company events

The newest 8-K filings of 266 held.

Every filing

The newest filings with the SEC of 426 held.

Insider trades

Form 4 trades by officers, directors and 10% owners, last 12 months.

Planned insider sales

Form 144 notices, filed when the sell order goes to the broker.

Large holders

Schedule 13D and 13G filings by holders of more than 5% of the voting shares.

Trades by members of the House

From each member's periodic transaction report.

Short interest

Shares sold short and not yet bought back, on each FINRA settlement date.

Funds that hold it

From each fund's latest Form 13F.

290 funds held it at 30 Jun 2026: 134 added and 85 trimmed in the quarter. The largest:

Peers

Companies in the same industry.

• Welltower Inc. (WELL): revenue $13.8B, market value $166.2B
• Prologis, Inc. (PLD): revenue $9.4B, market value $119.1B
• Equinix Inc. (EQIX): revenue $10.1B, market value $100.0B
• American Tower Corp. (AMT): revenue $11.0B, market value $85.3B
• Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG): revenue $6.9B, market value $68.4B
• Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR): revenue $6.8B, market value $66.6B
• Public Storage (PSA): revenue $5.0B, market value $58.0B
• Realty Income Corp. (O): revenue $6.1B, market value $53.2B
• Ventas, Inc. (VTR): revenue $6.8B, market value $42.9B
• Crown Castle Inc. (CCI): revenue –, market value $37.4B

What the company does

SmartStop Self Storage REIT is a self-managed, fully integrated self storage real estate investment trust. It was formed on 8 January 2013 as a Maryland corporation, and its common stock has traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SMA since 2 April 2025. As of 31 December 2025 it wholly owned 177 operating self storage properties in 19 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, with approximately 122,000 units and 13.9 million net rentable square feet. It also manages 273 properties that it does not own. Based on the Inside Self Storage Top-Operators List for 2025, it ranks as the 10th largest owner and operator of self storage in the United States by rentable square footage.

What it owns

The company focuses on buying, owning and operating self storage properties located mainly within the top 100 metropolitan statistical areas of the United States and Canada. It looks at properties that are physically stabilized, recently developed, in various stages of lease up, or at certificate of occupancy. It also seeks undermanaged facilities that institutional operators do not run, where it can apply its own management methods and technology.

It holds a 50% equity interest in 13 unconsolidated real estate ventures in Canada. At year end these held 10 operating self storage properties and three properties being developed into self storage. Under one arrangement, SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust has generally handled development while the company manages the finished facilities. A separate joint venture built a property in Nantucket, Massachusetts, which became operational in late December 2025, and the company manages it.

The Managed Platform

The company reports two segments: self storage operations, and the Managed Platform business. The Managed Platform covers management services for properties owned by others, including property management, asset management, and construction and development management.

It sponsors three programs, which it calls the Managed REITs: Strategic Storage Trust VI, Strategic Storage Growth Trust III and Strategic Storage Trust X. Together with properties held by Delaware statutory trusts sponsored by one of them, these account for 52 managed properties with approximately 41,000 units and 4.5 million rentable square feet.

Effective 1 October 2025 the company acquired Argus Professional Storage Management, LLC, a third-party manager based in Tucson, Arizona. The Third Party Platform it formed from Argus manages 221 properties with 15.9 million rentable square feet. The company has also lent money to the Managed REITs as mezzanine loans, bridge loans, promissory notes and preferred equity.

How it makes money

The filing lists four main sources of revenue:

- Rent from self storage tenant leases. - Fees from the Managed Platform. - Its Tenant Protection Programs. - Sales of packing and storage-related supplies at its facilities.

From the Managed REITs it earns asset management, property management and acquisition fees and substantially all of their tenant protection program revenue. From third-party owners it mainly earns property management fees and a portion of tenant protection program revenue. It is also reimbursed for certain costs of providing these services.

Who rents from it

Self storage means month-to-month rental of enclosed, secure units. Typical sizes run from 5x5 feet to 10x30 feet, and customers usually have access 18 hours a day, with some facilities offering 24-hour access. Rates depend on location, unit size, security and whether the unit is climate controlled.

Most customers are local residents, typically within a 3- to 5-mile radius. They store furniture, household items, cars, boats and recreational vehicles. Commercial customers include small business owners who store records, inventory or seasonal goods. Military and student users make up a smaller share, higher near bases and universities.

How it competes

The filing describes the industry as highly fragmented. It cites the 2025 Self Storage Almanac figure of approximately 58,000 facilities in the United States, with 2.7 billion rentable square feet. Most are run locally by non-institutional groups. The company describes competition in its markets as significant.

On the operating side, it runs an in-house call center that takes new business by phone, email, web chat and text. It also uses digital marketing to find customers. Where it has bought facilities in clusters within a region, the company says it sees management efficiencies. The company says it expects only minor seasonal swings, with occupancy slightly higher in summer because of moving activity.

Structure, rules and people

The company elected to be taxed as a REIT beginning with the taxable year ended 31 December 2014. To keep that status it must distribute at least 90% of its taxable income each year. Its properties are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act in the United States, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act in Ontario, and environmental, zoning and fire and life safety rules.

As of 31 December 2025 it had more than 1,000 employees, none covered by a collective bargaining agreement. The Argus acquisition brought management contracts and 400 employees as of 1 October 2025. The company says it plans to keep expanding its third-party management platform in Canada and the United States.

*From SmartStop Self Storage REIT's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025. [The filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1585389/000119312526082573/ck0001585389-20251231.htm)*

From the company's 10-K.