Broadstone Net Lease, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the period ended Sep 30, 2023

Except where the context suggests otherwise, as used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the terms “BNL,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and “our company” refer to Broadstone Net Lease, Inc., a Maryland corporation incorporated on October 18, 2007, and, as required by context, Broadstone Net Lease, LLC, a New York limited liability company, which we refer to as the or our "OP,” and to their respective subsidiaries.

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to help the reader understand our results of operations and financial condition. This MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements, which reflect our current views regarding our business, financial performance, growth prospects and strategies, market opportunities, and market trends, that are intended to be made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “projects,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. All of the forward-looking statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Assumptions relating to the foregoing involve judgments with respect to, among other things, future economic, competitive and market conditions, and future business decisions, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond our control. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, our actual results, performance, and achievements could differ materially from those expressed in or by the forward-looking statements and may be affected by a variety of risks and other factors. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements.

Important factors that could cause results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements are described in Item 1. “Business,” Item 1A. “Risk Factors,” and Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K, as filed with the SEC on February 23, 2023. The “Risk Factors” of our 2022 Annual Report should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with other cautionary statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the risk that actual results, performance, and achievements will differ materially from the expectations expressed in or referenced by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q will increase with the passage of time. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Regulation FD Disclosures

We use any of the following to comply with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, press releases, public conference calls, or our website. We routinely post important information on our website at www.broadstone.com (http://www.broadstone.com), including information that may be deemed material. We encourage our shareholders and others interested in our company to monitor these distribution channels for material disclosures. Our website address is included in this Quarterly Report as a textual reference only and the information on the website is not incorporated by reference in this Quarterly Report.

Explanatory Note and Certain Defined Terms

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms and phrases are used throughout this MD&A as described below:

• “annualized base rent” or “ABR” means the annualized contractual cash rent due for the last month of the reporting period, excluding the impacts of short-term rent deferrals, abatements, or free rent, and adjusted to remove rent from properties sold during the month and to include a full month of contractual cash rent for investments made during the month;
• “Investments” or amounts “invested” include real estate investments in new property acquisitions; revenue generating capital expenditures, whereby we agree to fund certain expenditures in exchange for increased rents that often include rent escalations and terms consistent with that of the underlying lease; and investments in development funding opportunities; and excludes capitalized costs.
• “cash capitalization rate” represents either (1) for acquisitions and new developments, the estimated first year cash yield to be generated on a real estate investment, which was estimated at the time of investment based on the contractually specified cash base rent for the first full year after the date of the investment, divided by the purchase price for the property excluding capitalized costs, or (2) for disposition properties, the estimated first year cash yield to be generated subsequent to disposition based on contractually specified cash base rent divided by the disposition price;
• “CPI” means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. City Average, All Items, as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, or other similar index which is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services;
• “occupancy” or a specified percentage of our portfolio that is “occupied” or “leased” means as of a specified date the quotient of (1) the total rentable square footage of our properties minus the square footage of our properties that are vacant and from which we are not receiving any rental payment, and (2) the total square footage of our properties; and
• “Revolving Credit Facility” means our $1.0 billion unsecured revolving credit facility, dated January 28, 2022, with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. and the other lenders party thereto.

Overview

We are an industrial-focused, diversified net lease real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that acquires, owns, and manages primarily single-tenant commercial real estate properties that are net leased on a long-term basis to a diversified group of tenants. As of September 30, 2023, our portfolio includes 800 properties, with 793 properties located in 44 U.S. states and seven properties located in four Canadian provinces.

We focus on investing in real estate that is operated by creditworthy single tenants in industries characterized by positive business drivers and trends. We target properties that are an integral part of the tenants’ businesses and are therefore opportunities to secure long-term net leases. Through long-term net leases, our tenants are able to retain operational control of their strategically important locations, while allocating their debt and equity capital to fund core business operations rather than real estate ownership.

• Diversified Portfolio. As of September 30, 2023, our portfolio comprised approximately 38.2 million rentable square feet of operational space, was highly diversified based on property type, geography, tenant, and industry, and is cross-diversified within each (e.g., property-type diversification within a geographic concentration):
• Property Type: We are diversified across industrial, healthcare, restaurant, and retail property types. Within these sectors, we have meaningful concentrations in manufacturing, distribution and warehouse, food processing, casual dining, clinical, quick service restaurants, and general merchandise.
• Geographic Diversification: Our properties are located in 44 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, with no single geographic concentration exceeding 9.9% of our ABR.
• Tenant and Industry Diversification: Our properties are occupied by approximately 220 different commercial tenants who operate 208 different brands that are diversified across 54 differing industries, with no single tenant accounting for more than 4.0% of our ABR.
• Strong In-Place Leases with Significant Remaining Lease Term. As of September 30, 2023, our portfolio was approximately 99.4% leased with an ABR weighted average remaining lease term of approximately 10.5 years, excluding renewal options.
• Standard Contractual Base Rent Escalation. Approximately 97.3% of our leases have contractual rent escalations, with an ABR weighted average minimum increase of 2.0%.
• Extensive Tenant Financial Reporting. Approximately 93.7% of our tenants, based on ABR, provide financial reporting, of which 86.2% are required to provide us with specified financial information on a periodic basis, and an additional 7.5% of our tenants report financial statements publicly, either through SEC filings or otherwise.

Real Estate Portfolio Information

The following charts summarize our portfolio diversification by property type, tenant, brand, industry, and geographic location as of September 30, 2023. The percentages below are calculated based on our ABR of $390 million as of September 30, 2023.

Diversification by Property Type

28

Diversification by Tenant

1 Tenant's properties include 20 Outback Steakhouse restaurants and two Carrabba's Italian Grill restaurants.

2 Nestle's ABR excludes $1.6 million of rent paid under a sub-lease for an additional property, which will convert to a prime lease no later than August 2024.

* Subject to a master lease.

** Includes properties leased by multiple tenants, some, not all, of which are subject to master leases.

Diversification by Brand

1 Brand includes one BEF Foods, Inc. property and 20 Bob Evans Restaurants, LLC properties.

* Subject to a master lease.

** Includes properties leased by multiple tenants, some, not all, of which are subject to master leases.

Diversification by Industry

30

Diversification by Geographic Location

31

Our Leases

The following chart sets forth our lease expirations based upon the terms of the leases in place as of September 30, 2023.

The following table presents certain information based on lease expirations by year. Amounts are in thousands, except for number of properties.

Substantially all of our leases provide for periodic contractual rent escalations. As of September 30, 2023, leases contributing 97.3% of our ABR provided for increases in future ABR, generally ranging from 1.5% to 3.0% annually, with an ABR weighted average annual minimum increase equal to 2.0% of base rent. Generally, our rent escalators increase rent on specified dates by a fixed percentage. Our escalations provide us with a source of organic revenue growth and a measure of inflation protection. Additional information on lease escalation frequency and weighted average annual escalation rates as of September 30, 2023 is displayed below:

(a) Represents the ABR weighted average annual minimum increase of the entire portfolio as if all escalations occurred annually. For leases where rent escalates by the greater of a stated fixed percentage or the change in CPI, we have assumed an escalation equal to the stated fixed percentage in the lease. As of September 30, 2023, leases contributing 5.2% of our ABR provide for rent increases equal to the lesser of a stated fixed percentage or the change in CPI. As any future increase in CPI is unknowable at this time, we have not included an increase in the rent pursuant to these leases in the weighted average annual minimum increase presented.

(b) Weighted by ABR.

The escalation provisions of our leases (by percentage of ABR) as of September 30, 2023, are displayed in the following chart:

Results of Operations

The following discussion includes the results of our operations for the periods presented.

Three Months Ended September 30, 2023 Compared to Three Months Ended June 30, 2023

Lease Revenues, net

(in thousands)

The increase in Lease revenues, net, was primarily attributable to an increase in operating expenses billed to tenants of $0.6 million combined with a decrease in bad debt (Adjustment to revenue recognized for uncollectible rental amounts billed, net). These amounts were offset by a decrease in GAAP revenues associated with net dispositions during the quarter.

Operating Expenses

(in thousands)

Depreciation and amortization

The decrease in depreciation and amortization for the three months ended September 30, 2023 was primarily due to net dispositions during the quarter.

Property and operating expense

The increase in property and operating expenses was primarily due to an increase in reimbursable expenses, with a corresponding offset in Lease revenues, net.

General and administrative

The increase in general and administrative expense is primarily driven by severance expense during the three months ended September 30, 2023.

Other income (expenses)

(in thousands)

Gain on sale of real estate

Our recognition of a gain or loss on the sale of real estate varies from transaction to transaction based on fluctuations in asset prices and demand in the real estate market. During the three months ended September 30, 2023, we recognized a gain of $15.2 million on the sale of two properties, compared to a gain of $29.5 million on the sale of four properties during the three months ended June 30, 2023.

Other income (expenses)

The increase in other income (expense) is due to the fluctuation of realized and unrealized foreign exchange gain/loss. For the three months ended September 30, 2023, there was a gain in realized and unrealized foreign exchange of $1.4 million compared to the three months ended June 30, 2023, where there was a loss of $1.7 million.

Net income and Net earnings per diluted share

(in thousands, except per share data)

The decrease in net income is primarily attributable to a $14.3 million decrease in gain on the sale of real estate and a $0.6 million decrease in operating lease revenue, partially offset by a $3.1 million increase in other income (expense) and a $0.5 million decrease in depreciation and amortization.

GAAP net income includes items such as gain or loss on sale of real estate and provisions for impairment, among others, which can vary from quarter to quarter and impact period-over-period comparisons.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023 Compared to Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022

Lease Revenues, net

(in thousands)

The increase in Lease revenues, net was primarily attributable to growth in our real estate portfolio through property acquisitions closed since September 30, 2022. During the twelve months ended September 30, 2023, we invested $362.5 million, excluding capitalized acquisition costs, in 28 properties at a weighted average initial cash capitalization rate of 6.7%. The increase is also attributable to an increase in lease termination income.

Operating Expenses

(in thousands)

Depreciation and amortization

The increase in depreciation and amortization for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 was primarily due to growth in our real estate portfolio.

General and administrative

The increase in general and administrative expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 was primarily due to increased stock-based compensation expense associated with an additional annual grant during the first quarter of 2023, and an increase in payroll expense related to general annual cost of living adjustments.

Property and operating expense

The increase in property and operating expense is primarily due to the growth in our real estate portfolio. The increase was mostly offset by tenant reimbursements recognized as operating expenses billed to tenants in lease revenues, net above.

Provision for impairment of investment in rental properties

The following table presents the impairment charges for the respective periods:

(in thousands, except number of properties)

The timing and amount of impairment fluctuates from period to period depending on the specific facts and circumstances.

Other income (expenses)

(in thousands)

Interest expense

The increase in interest expense reflects an increase in our weighted average cost of borrowings. At September 30, 2023, the one-month SOFR rate was 5.32%, compared with 3.04% at September 30, 2022. This is offset with decreased average outstanding borrowings. Since September 30, 2022, we decreased total outstanding borrowings by $160.8 million. Of our $1.9 billion of total outstanding indebtedness, the amount held on the United States Dollar (”USD”) Revolving Credit Facility borrowings is variable and unhedged and therefore subject to the impact of fluctuations in interest rates.

Gain on sale of real estate

Our recognition of a gain or loss on the sale of real estate varies from transaction to transaction based on fluctuations in asset prices and demand in the real estate market. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, we recognized a gain of $48.0 million on the sale of nine properties, compared to a gain of $5.3 million on the sale of five properties during the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Other income (expenses)

The decrease in other (expenses) income during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 was primarily due to a $0.3 million unrealized foreign exchange loss recognized on the quarterly remeasurement of our $100 million Canadian Dollars ("CAD") Revolving Credit Facility borrowings, compared to a $6.4 million unrealized foreign exchange gain recognized during the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Net income and Net earnings per diluted share

(in thousands, except per share data)

The increase in net income is primarily due to an increase on gain on sale of real estate of $42.7 million, a $42.5 million increase in revenue, and a $4.1 million decrease in the provision for impairment of investment in rental properties. These factors were partially offset by a $10.1 million increase in depreciation and amortization, a $6.6 million decrease in other (expenses) income, a $6.2 million increase in interest expense, a $2.0 million increase in general and administrative expense, and a $1.2 million increase in property and operating expenses.

GAAP net income includes items such as gain or loss on sale of real estate and provisions for impairment, among others, which can vary from quarter to quarter and impact period-over-period comparisons.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

General

We acquire real estate using a combination of debt and equity capital, cash from operations that is not otherwise distributed to our stockholders, and proceeds from the disposition of real estate properties. Our focus is on maximizing the risk-adjusted return to our stockholders through an appropriate balance of debt and equity in our capital structure. We are committed to maintaining an investment grade balance sheet through active management of our leverage profile and overall liquidity position. We believe our leverage strategy has allowed us to take advantage of the lower cost of debt while simultaneously strengthening our balance sheet, as evidenced by our current investment grade credit ratings of ‘BBB’ from S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) and ‘Baa2’ from Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”). We manage our leverage profile using a ratio of Net Debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre, a non-GAAP financial measure, which we believe is a useful measure of our ability to repay debt and a relative measure of leverage, and is used in communications with lenders and with rating agencies regarding our credit rating. We seek to maintain on a sustained basis a Net Debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre ratio that is generally less than 6.0x. As of September 30, 2023, we had total debt outstanding of $1.9 billion, Net Debt of $1.9 billion, and a Net Debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre ratio of 4.9x.

Net Debt and Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre are non-GAAP financial measures, and Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre is calculated based upon EBITDA, EBITDAre, and Adjusted EBITDAre, each of which is also a non-GAAP financial measure. Refer to Non-GAAP Measures below for further details concerning our calculation of non-GAAP measures and reconciliations to the comparable GAAP measure.

Liquidity/REIT Requirements

Liquidity is a measure of our ability to meet potential cash requirements, including our ongoing commitments to repay debt, fund our operations, acquire properties, make distributions to our stockholders, and other general business needs. As a REIT, we are required to distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gains, on an annual basis. As a result, it is unlikely that we will be able to retain substantial cash balances to meet our long-term liquidity needs, including repayment of debt and the acquisition of additional properties, from our annual taxable income. Instead, we expect to meet our long-term liquidity needs primarily by relying upon external sources of capital.

Short-term Liquidity Requirements

Our short-term liquidity requirements consist primarily of funds necessary to pay for our operating expenses, including our general and administrative expenses and interest payments on our outstanding debt, to pay distributions, to fund our acquisitions that are under control or expected to close within a short time period, and to pay for commitments to fund development opportunities, tenant improvements, and revenue generating capital expenditures. Under leases where we are required to bear the cost of structural repairs and replacements, we do not currently anticipate making significant capital expenditures or incurring other significant property costs, including as a result of inflationary pressures in the current economic environment, because of the strong occupancy levels across our portfolio and the net lease nature of our leases. We expect to meet our short-term liquidity requirements primarily from cash and cash equivalents balances and net cash provided by operating activities, supplemented by borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility. We intend to match fund our acquisitions with an appropriate mix of debt and equity capital. We use cash on hand and borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility to initially fund acquisitions, which are subsequently repaid or replaced with proceeds from our equity and debt capital markets activities as well as proceeds from dispositions.

As detailed in the contractual obligations table below, we have approximately $247.2 million of expected obligations due throughout the remainder of 2023, primarily consisting of $173.4 million of commitments to fund investments, $54.9 million of dividends declared, $18.3 million of interest expense due, and $0.6 million of mortgage amortization. We expect our cash provided by operating activities, as discussed below, will be sufficient to pay for our current obligations including interest and mortgage amortization. We expect to pay for commitments to fund investments and our dividends declared using our Revolving Credit Facility. As of September 30, 2023, we have $925.9 million of available capacity under our Revolving Credit Facility.

Long-term Liquidity Requirements

Our long-term liquidity requirements consist primarily of funds necessary to repay debt and invest in additional revenue generating properties. We expect to source debt capital from unsecured term loans from commercial banks, revolving credit facilities, private placement senior unsecured notes, and public bond offerings.

The source and mix of our debt capital in the future will be impacted by market conditions as well as our continued focus on lengthening our debt maturity profile to better align with our portfolio’s long-term leases, staggering debt maturities to reduce the risk that a significant amount of debt will mature in any single year in the future, and managing our exposure to interest rate risk. We have no material debt maturities until 2026, as detailed in the table below.

We expect to meet our long-term liquidity requirements primarily from borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility, future debt and equity financings, and proceeds from limited sales of our properties. Our ability to access these capital sources may be impacted by unfavorable market conditions, particularly in the debt and equity capital markets, that are outside of our control. In addition, our success will depend on our operating performance, our borrowing restrictions, our degree of leverage, and other factors. Our acquisition growth strategy significantly depends on our ability to obtain acquisition financing on favorable terms. We seek to reduce the risk that long-term debt capital may be unavailable to us by strengthening our balance sheet by investing in real estate with creditworthy tenants and lease guarantors, and by maintaining an appropriate mix of debt and equity capitalization. We also, from time to time, obtain or assume non-recourse mortgage financing from banks and insurance companies secured by mortgages on the corresponding specific property subject to limitations imposed by our Revolving Credit Facility covenants and our investment grade credit rating. We have no material debt maturities until 2026.

Equity Capital Resources

Our equity capital is primarily provided through our at-the-market common equity offering program (“ATM Program”), as well as follow-on equity offerings. Under the terms of our ATM Program we may, from time to time, publicly offer and sell shares of our common stock having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $400 million. The ATM Program provides for forward sale agreements, enabling us to set the price of shares upon pricing the offering while delaying the issuance of shares and the receipt of the net proceeds. We did not raise any equity on our ATM Program during the nine months ended September 30, 2023, and have approximately $145.4 million of capacity remaining on the ATM Program as of September 30, 2023.

Our public offerings have been used to repay debt, fund acquisitions, and for other general corporate purposes.

Unsecured Indebtedness as of September 30, 2023

The following table sets forth our outstanding revolving credit facility, unsecured term loans and senior unsecured notes at September 30, 2023.

(in thousands, except interest rates)

(a) At September 30, 2023, the balance includes $100 million CAD borrowings remeasured to $74.1 million USD, and was subject to the one-month Canadian Dollar Offered Rate of 5.39%.

(b) Effective July 1, 2023, the loan converted into a one-month SOFR borrowing concurrent with LIBOR's cessation.

(c) At September 30, 2023, one-month SOFR was 5.32%.

(d) Our Revolving Credit Facility contains two six-month extension options subject to certain conditions, including the payment of an extension fee equal to 0.0625% of the revolving commitments.

Debt Covenants

We are subject to various covenants and financial reporting requirements pursuant to our debt facilities, which are summarized below. As of September 30, 2023, we believe we were in compliance with all of our covenants on all outstanding borrowings. In the event of default, either through default on payments or breach of covenants, we may be restricted from paying dividends to our stockholders in excess of dividends required to maintain our REIT qualification. For each of the previous three years, we paid dividends out of our cash flows from operations in excess of the distribution amounts required to maintain our REIT qualification.

Contractual Obligations

The following table provides information with respect to our contractual commitments and obligations as of September 30, 2023 (in thousands). Refer to the discussion in the Liquidity and Capital Resources section above for further discussion over our short and long-term obligations.

(a) Our Revolving Credit Facility contains two six-month extension options subject to certain conditions, including the payment of an extension fee equal to 0.0625% of the revolving commitments.

(b) Interest expense is projected based on the outstanding borrowings and interest rates in effect as of September 30, 2023. This amount includes the impact of interest rate swap agreements.

(c) Amounts include dividends declared as of September 30, 2023 of $0.28 per common share and OP Unit. Future undeclared dividends have been excluded.

(d) Amounts include acquisitions under control, defined as under contract or executed letter of intent, and commitments to fund revenue generating capital expenditures and development opportunities.

At September 30, 2023 investment in rental property of $121.2 million was pledged as collateral against our mortgages.

Additionally, we are a party to two separate tax protection agreements with the contributing members of two distinct UPREIT transactions and a third tax protection agreement in connection with our internalization. The tax protection agreements require us to indemnify the beneficiaries in the event of a sale, exchange, transfer, or other disposal of the contributed property, and in the case of the tax protection agreement entered into in connection with our internalization, the entire Company, in a taxable transaction that would cause such beneficiaries to recognize a gain that is protected under the agreements, subject to certain exceptions. Based on values as of September 30, 2023, taxable sales of the applicable properties would trigger liability under the three agreements of approximately $20.4 million. Based on information available, we do not believe that the events resulting in liability as detailed above have occurred or are likely to occur in the foreseeable future. Accordingly, we have excluded these commitments from the contractual commitments table above.

In the normal course of business, we enter into various types of commitments to purchase real estate properties. These commitments are generally subject to our customary due diligence process and, accordingly, a number of specific conditions must be met before we are obligated to purchase the properties.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

We are exposed to interest rate risk arising from changes in interest rates on the floating-rate borrowings under our unsecured credit facilities. Borrowings pursuant to our unsecured credit facilities bear interest at floating rates based on SOFR, or CDOR plus an applicable margin. Accordingly, fluctuations in market interest rates may increase or decrease our interest expense, which will in turn, increase or decrease our net income and cash flow.

We attempt to manage the interest rate risk on variable rate borrowings by entering into interest rate swaps. As of September 30, 2023, we had 32 interest rate swaps outstanding with an aggregate notional amount of $974.1 million. Under these agreements, we receive monthly payments from the counterparties equal to the related variable interest rates multiplied by the outstanding notional amounts. In turn, we pay the counterparties each month an amount equal to a fixed interest rate multiplied by the related outstanding notional amounts. The intended net impact of these transactions is that we pay a fixed interest rate on our variable-rate borrowings. The interest rate swaps have been designated by us as cash flow hedges for accounting purposes and are reported at fair value. We assess, both at inception and on an ongoing basis, the effectiveness of our qualifying cash flow hedges. We have not entered, and do not intend to enter, into derivative or interest rate transactions for speculative purposes.

In addition, we own investments in Canada, and as a result are subject to risk from the effects of exchange rate movements in the Canadian dollar, which may affect future costs and cash flows. We funded a significant portion of our Canadian investments through Canadian dollar borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility, which is intended to act as a natural hedge against our Canadian dollar investments. The Canadian dollar revolving borrowings are remeasured each reporting period, with the unrealized foreign currency gains and losses flowing through earnings. These unrealized foreign currency gains and losses do not impact our cash flows from operations until settled, and are expected to directly offset the changes in the value of our net investments as a result of changes in the Canadian dollar. Our Canadian investments are recorded at their historical exchange rates, and therefore are not impacted by changes in the value of the Canadian dollar.

Cash Flows

Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $50.5 million and $82.4 million at September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022, respectively. The table below shows information concerning cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022:

(In thousands)

The increase in net cash provided by operating activities was mainly due to growth in our real estate portfolio and associated incremental net lease revenues.

The increase in cash provided by investing activities was mainly due to decreased investment volume and increased disposition volume during the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

The decrease in net cash used in financing activities mainly reflects net repayments on the unsecured revolving credit facility and increased distributions paid to shareholders. Additionally, there were no proceeds from the issuance of common stock during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to proceeds of $226.5 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Non-GAAP Measures

FFO, Core FFO, and AFFO

We compute Funds From Operations (“FFO”) in accordance with the standards established by the Board of Governors of Nareit, the worldwide representative voice for REITs and publicly traded real estate companies with an interest in the U.S. real estate and capital markets. Nareit defines FFO as GAAP net income or loss adjusted to exclude net gains (losses) from sales of certain depreciated real estate assets, depreciation and amortization expense from real estate assets, gains and losses from change in control, and impairment charges related to certain previously depreciated real estate assets. FFO is used by management, investors, and analysts to facilitate meaningful comparisons of operating performance between periods and among our peers, primarily because it excludes the effect of real estate depreciation and amortization and net gains (losses) on sales, which are based on historical costs and implicitly assume that the value of real estate diminishes predictably over time, rather than fluctuating based on existing market conditions.

We compute Core Funds From Operations (“Core FFO”) by adjusting FFO, as defined by Nareit, to exclude certain GAAP income and expense amounts that we believe are infrequently recurring, unusual in nature, or not related to its core real estate operations, including write-offs or recoveries of accrued rental income, lease termination fees, gain on insurance recoveries, cost of debt extinguishments, unrealized and realized gains or losses on foreign currency transactions, severance and executive transition costs, and other extraordinary items. Exclusion of these items from similar FFO-type metrics is common within the equity REIT industry, and management believes that presentation of Core FFO provides investors with a metric to assist in their evaluation of our operating performance across multiple periods and in comparison to the operating performance of our peers, because it removes the effect of unusual items that are not expected to impact our operating performance on an ongoing basis.

We compute Adjusted Funds From Operations (“AFFO”), by adjusting Core FFO for certain non-cash revenues and expenses, including straight-line rents, amortization of lease intangibles, amortization of debt issuance costs, amortization of net mortgage premiums, (gain) loss on interest rate swaps and other non-cash interest expense, stock-based compensation, and other specified non-cash items. We believe that excluding such items assists management and investors in distinguishing whether changes in our operations are due to growth or decline of operations at our properties or from other factors. We use AFFO as a measure of our performance when we formulate corporate goals, and is a factor in determining management compensation. We believe that AFFO is a useful supplemental measure for investors to consider because it will help them to better assess our operating performance without the distortions created by non-cash revenues or expenses.

Specific to our adjustment for straight-line rents, our leases include cash rents that increase over the term of the lease to compensate us for anticipated increases in market rental rates over time. Our leases do not include significant front-loading or back-loading of payments, or significant rent-free periods. Therefore, we find it useful to evaluate rent on a contractual basis as it allows for comparison of existing rental rates to market rental rates.

FFO, Core FFO, and AFFO may not be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other REITs, and comparisons of our FFO, Core FFO, and AFFO with the same or similar measures disclosed by other REITs may not be meaningful.

Neither the SEC nor any other regulatory body has passed judgment on the acceptability of the adjustments to FFO that we use to calculate Core FFO and AFFO. In the future, the SEC, Nareit or another regulatory body may decide to standardize the allowable adjustments across the REIT industry and in response to such standardization we may have to adjust our calculation and characterization of Core FFO and AFFO accordingly.

The following table reconciles net income (which is the most comparable GAAP measure) to FFO, Core FFO, and AFFO:

(in thousands, except per share data)

(a) Amount includes $0.7 million and $0.2 million of employee severance costs and executive transition costs during the three months ended September 30, 2023, and June 30, 2023, respectively. Amount includes $1.4 million of employee severance costs and executive transition costs and $0.4 million of employee severance costs during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

(b) Amount includes $(1.4) million and $1.7 million of unrealized foreign exchange (gain) loss for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and June 30, 2023, respectively, and $0.3 million and $(6.4) million of unrealized foreign exchange loss (gain) for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, primarily associated with our Canadian dollar denominated revolving borrowings.

(c) Amount includes $1.5 million of accelerated amortization of lease intangibles for an early lease termination of a property during the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

EBITDA, EBITDAre, Adjusted EBITDAre and Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre

We compute EBITDA as earnings before interest, income taxes and depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is a measure commonly used in our industry. We believe that this ratio provides investors and analysts with a measure of our performance that includes our operating results unaffected by the differences in capital structures, capital investment cycles and useful life of related assets compared to other companies in our industry. We compute EBITDAre in accordance with the definition adopted by Nareit, as EBITDA excluding gains (losses) from the sales of depreciable property and provisions for impairment on investment in real estate. We believe EBITDA and EBITDAre are useful to investors and analysts because they provide important supplemental information about our operating performance exclusive of certain non-cash and other costs. EBITDA and EBITDAre are not measures of financial performance under GAAP, and our EBITDA and EBITDAre may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. You should not consider our EBITDA and EBITDAre as alternatives to net income or cash flows from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP.

We are focused on a disciplined and targeted investment strategy, together with active asset management that includes selective sales of properties. We manage our leverage profile using a ratio of Net Debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre, each discussed further below, which we believe is a useful measure of our ability to repay debt and a relative measure of leverage, and is used in communications with our lenders and rating agencies regarding our credit rating. As we fund new investments using our unsecured Revolving Credit Facility, our leverage profile and Net Debt will be immediately impacted by current quarter investments. However, the full benefit of EBITDAre from new investments will not be received in the same quarter in which the properties are acquired. Additionally, EBITDAre for the quarter includes amounts generated by properties that have been sold during the quarter. Accordingly, the variability in EBITDAre caused by the timing of our investments and dispositions can temporarily distort our leverage ratios. We adjust EBITDAre (“Adjusted EBITDAre”) for the most recently completed quarter (i) to recalculate as if all investments and dispositions had occurred at the beginning of the quarter, (ii) to exclude certain GAAP income and expense amounts that are either non-cash, such as cost of debt extinguishments, realized or unrealized gains and losses on foreign currency transactions, or gains on insurance recoveries, or that we believe are one time, or unusual in nature because they relate to unique circumstances or transactions that had not previously occurred and which we do not anticipate occurring in the future, and (iii) to eliminate the impact of lease termination fees and other items that are not a result of normal operations. While investments in property developments have an immediate impact to Net Debt, we do not make an adjustment to EBITDAre until the quarter in which the lease commences. We then annualize quarterly Adjusted EBITDAre by multiplying it by four (“Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre”). You should not unduly rely on this measure as it is based on assumptions and estimates that may prove to be inaccurate. Our actual reported EBITDAre for future periods may be significantly different from our Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre. Adjusted EBITDAre and Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre are not measurements of performance under GAAP, and our Adjusted EBITDAre and Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. You should not consider our Adjusted EBITDAre and Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre as alternatives to net income or cash flows from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP.

The following table reconciles net income (which is the most comparable GAAP measure) to EBITDA, EBITDAre, and Adjusted EBITDAre. Information is also presented with respect to Annualized EBITDAre and Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre:

(in thousands)

(a) Reflects an adjustment to give effect to all investments during the quarter as if they had been made as of the beginning of the quarter.

(b) Reflects an adjustment to give effect to all dispositions during the quarter as if they had been sold as of the beginning of the quarter.

(c) Amount includes $0.7 million and $0.2 million of employee severance costs and executive transition costs during the three months ended September 30, 2023, and June 30, 2023, respectively.

Net Debt, Net Debt to Annualized EBITDAre and Net Debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre

We define Net Debt as gross debt (total reported debt plus debt issuance costs) less cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash. We believe that the presentation of Net Debt to Annualized EBITDAre and Net Debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre is useful to investors and analysts because these ratios provide information about gross debt less cash and cash equivalents, which could be used to repay debt, compared to our performance as measured using EBITDAre, and is used in communications with lenders and rating agencies regarding our credit rating. The following table reconciles total debt (which is the most comparable GAAP measure) to Net Debt, and presents the ratio of Net Debt to Annualized EBITDAre and Net Debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDAre, respectively:

(in thousands)

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is based upon our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses as well as other disclosures in the financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. These judgments affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates and assumptions; however, actual results may differ from these estimates and assumptions, which in turn could have a material impact on our financial statements. A summary of our significant accounting policies and procedures are included in Note 2, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," in the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. We believe there have been no significant changes during the nine months ended September 30, 2023, to the items that we disclosed as our critical accounting policies and estimates in our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K, except as noted below regarding long-lived asset impairment.

Long-lived Asset Impairment

We review long-lived assets to be held and used for possible impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. If, and when, such events or changes in circumstances are present, an impairment exists to the extent the carrying value of the long-lived asset or asset group exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the long-lived asset or asset group and its eventual disposition. Such cash flows include expected future operating income, as adjusted for trends and prospects, as well as the effects of demand, competition, and other factors. An impairment loss is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the long-lived asset or asset group exceeds the fair value.

Significant judgment is made to determine if and when impairment should be taken. Specifically, management’s decision of whether to hold or sell an asset is the most subjective and sensitive assumption in determining whether impairment exists. Generally speaking, the long-term nature of our net leases will produce significant undiscounted cash flows that, together with a property’s residual value, will often result in an asset being recoverable. To the extent we change our long-term hold strategy, our estimate of sales price becomes the primary source of undiscounted cash flows and therefore a significant input into our recoverability assessment. As of September 30, 2023, we evaluated a healthcare asset with a carrying value of $55.3 million for recoverability based on the tenant’s delay in meeting certain criteria necessary to operate the property as intended. As of September 30, 2023, our long-term hold strategy resulted in a conclusion that the asset was recoverable. Nonetheless, it is reasonably possible that the estimate of undiscounted cash flows may change in the near term resulting in the need to recognize impairment. Of note, continued delays in the current tenant’s ability to perform under the lease combined with an increase in management’s likelihood of selling the asset at a value below the carrying value could result in an impairment, which may be material.

Impact of Recent Accounting Pronouncements

For information on the impact of recent accounting pronouncements on our business, see Note 2 of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Interest Rate Risk

We are exposed to certain market risks, one of the most predominant of which is a change in interest rates. Increases in interest rates can result in increased interest expense under our Revolving Credit Facility and other variable-rate debt. Increases in interest rates can also result in increased interest expense when our fixed rate debt matures and needs to be refinanced. We attempt to manage interest rate risk by entering into long-term fixed rate debt, entering into interest rate swaps to convert certain variable-rate debt to a fixed rate, and staggering our debt maturities. We have designated the interest rate swaps as cash flow hedges for accounting purposes and they are reported at fair value. We have not entered, and do not intend to enter, into derivative or interest rate transactions for speculative purposes. Further information concerning our interest rate swaps can be found in Note 9 in our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements contained elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Our fixed-rate debt includes our senior unsecured notes, mortgages, and variable-rate debt converted to a fixed rate with the use of interest rate swaps. Our fixed-rate debt had a carrying value and fair value of approximately $1.9 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively, as of September 30, 2023. Changes in market interest rates impact the fair value of our fixed-rate debt, but they have no impact on interest incurred or on cash flows. For instance, if interest rates were to increase 1%, and the fixed-rate debt balance were to remain constant, we would expect the fair value of our debt to decrease, similar to how the price of a bond decreases as interest rates rise. A 1% increase in market interest rates would have resulted in a decrease in the fair value of our fixed-rate debt of approximately $64.1 million as of September 30, 2023.

Borrowings pursuant to our Revolving Credit Facility and other variable-rate debt bear interest at rates based on the applicable reference rate plus an applicable margin, and totaled $1.0 billion as of September 30, 2023. At September 30, 2023, all variable-rate debt was 100% swapped via interest rate swaps. Therefore, considering the effect of our interest rate swaps, a 1% increase or decrease in interest rates would have no effect in interest expense annually.

With the exception of our interest rate swap transactions, we have not engaged in transactions in derivative financial instruments or derivative commodity instruments.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

We own investments in Canada, and as a result are subject to risk from the effects of exchange rate movements in the Canadian dollar, which may affect future costs and cash flows. We funded a significant portion of our Canadian investments through Canadian dollar borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility, which is intended to act as a natural hedge against our Canadian dollar investments. To the extent that currency fluctuations increase or decrease rental revenues, as translated to U.S. dollars, the change in debt service (comprised of interest payments), as translated to U.S. dollars, will partially offset the effect of fluctuations in revenue and, to some extent, mitigate the risk from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. We believe the foreign currency exchange rate risk on the remaining cash flows is immaterial.

Additionally, our Canadian dollar revolving borrowings are remeasured each reporting period, with the unrealized foreign currency gains and losses flowing through earnings. These unrealized foreign currency gains and losses do not impact our cash flows from operations until settled, and are expected to directly offset the changes in the value of our net investments as a result of changes in the Canadian dollar. Our Canadian investments are recorded at their historical exchange rates, and therefore are not impacted by changes in the value of the Canadian dollar.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act), that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. As of and for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, we carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Based on the foregoing, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective and were operating at a reasonable assurance level.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended September 30, 2023 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

There have been no material changes from the risk factors set forth in our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.