Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE: EPRT) is the growth engine of net lease. It runs a specialist playbook: sale-leasebacks with middle-market operators of service and experience businesses (car washes, early childhood education, medical-dental, quick-service food) that e-commerce cannot touch, at an average of just $3 million per property. The result is the sector’s best growth math paired with its most conservative balance sheet.
| Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT) Snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Share Price (delayed) | $31.18 -0.06% |
| Market Cap | $6.7B |
| Annualized Dividend | $1.24 (Quarterly) |
| Dividend Yield | 3.98% |
| Occupancy | 99.7% |
| Credit Rating | BBB (S&P) |
| Sector | Net Lease ยท Service Retail Net Lease |
Market data updates automatically several times daily. Last price refresh: Jul 12, 2026.
Portfolio and Business Model
As of Q1 2026 the portfolio was 99.7% leased with a 14.6-year weighted average lease term, the longest among all major net lease peers, and top-ten tenant concentration of just 16%, the lowest in the group. The signature discipline: 99% of leases require unit-level financial reporting, so EPRT sees the profitability of nearly every building it owns, an underwriting edge no large-cap peer can match. Small, fungible properties also mean easier re-leasing if a tenant fails.
Dividend Safety and Growth
Q1 2026 AFFO came in at $0.50 per share, with consensus 2026 AFFO growth of 8.4%, the fastest in net lease, roughly 2.5x the growth rate of Realty Income or NNN. Coverage is conservative and leverage is the group’s lowest at 3.5x net debt plus preferred to EBITDAre, meaning growth is equity-light and self-reinforcing.
The Honest Risk Section
The tenants are the trade. Middle-market service operators are almost entirely non-rated credits, and the model’s safety rests on unit-level coverage data and master leases rather than corporate guarantees, which works until a recession tests an entire category (car washes were 2024’s scare). The stock also habitually trades at a premium to NAV and one of the richest multiples in the group, so the growth is not free. A shorter public history (IPO 2018) means the model has been through exactly one crisis.
Peer Context
EPRT is the mirror image of Agree Realty: both run fortress balance sheets, but Agree buys rated national credit at low cap rates while EPRT buys non-rated service operators at high ones. Investors comparing the two are really choosing between credit quality and yield-plus-growth, the same decision a direct NNN buyer makes when choosing between an investment-grade tenant and a franchisee deal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Essential Properties invest in?
Single-tenant properties leased to service and experience businesses: car washes, early education centers, medical-dental offices, quick-service restaurants, and similar internet-resistant operators, mostly via sale-leasebacks with middle-market companies.
Is EPRT investment grade?
Yes, the company carries a BBB-range corporate rating and runs the lowest leverage of any major net lease REIT at roughly 3.5x EBITDAre.
Why does EPRT grow faster than other net lease REITs?
Higher acquisition cap rates from non-rated tenants, low leverage, and small deal sizes that scale: consensus 2026 AFFO growth of 8.4% leads the sector.
Analysis based on Q1 2026 SEC filings and the company’s peer supplemental. Live market data updates automatically. Independent research, not investment advice.
Why buy the REIT when you can own the asset?
Net lease REITs typically yield 4.5% to 6.5%. Direct ownership of a single-tenant NNN property leased to the same investment-grade tenants historically trades at 6% to 7.5% cap rates, plus depreciation benefits and 1031 exchange eligibility that REIT shareholders never receive.
Compare Direct NNN Ownership