STAG Industrial, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2023

Certain Definitions

In this report:

“Cash Rent Change” means the percentage change in the base rent of the lease commenced during the period compared to the base rent of the Comparable Lease for assets included in the Operating Portfolio. The calculation compares the first base rent payment due after the lease commencement date compared to the base rent of the last monthly payment due prior to the termination of the lease, excluding holdover rent. Rent under gross or similar type leases are converted to a net rent based on an estimate of the applicable recoverable expenses.

“Comparable Lease” means a lease in the same space with a similar lease structure as compared to the previous in-place lease, excluding new leases for space that was not occupied under our ownership.

“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.

“New Lease” means a lease that is signed for an initial term equal to or greater than 12 months for any vacant space, including a lease signed by a new tenant or an existing tenant that is expanding into new (additional) space.

“Occupancy rate” means the percentage of total leasable square footage for which either revenue recognition has commenced in accordance with GAAP or the lease term has commenced as of the close of the reporting period, whichever occurs earlier.

“Operating Portfolio” means all buildings that were acquired stabilized or have achieved Stabilization. The Operating Portfolio excludes non-core flex/office buildings, buildings contained in the Value Add Portfolio, and buildings classified as held for sale.

“Renewal Lease” means a lease signed by an existing tenant to extend the term for 12 months or more, including (i) a renewal of the same space as the current lease at lease expiration, (ii) a renewal of only a portion of the current space at lease expiration, or (iii) an early renewal or workout, which ultimately does extend the original term for 12 months or more.

“SL Rent Change” means the percentage change in the average monthly base rent over the term of the lease that commenced during the period compared to the Comparable Lease for assets included in the Operating Portfolio. Rent under gross or similar type leases are converted to a net rent based on an estimate of the applicable recoverable expenses, and this calculation excludes the impact of any holdover rent.

“Stabilization” for properties under development or being redeveloped means the earlier of achieving 90% occupancy or 12 months after completion. With respect to properties acquired and immediately added to the Value Add Portfolio, (i) if acquired with less than 75% occupancy as of the acquisition date, Stabilization will occur upon the earlier of achieving 90% occupancy or 12 months from the acquisition date; or (ii) if acquired and will be less than 75% occupied due to known move-outs within two years of the acquisition date, Stabilization will occur upon the earlier of achieving 90% occupancy after the known move-outs have occurred or 12 months after the known move-outs have occurred.

“Total annualized base rental revenue” means the contractual monthly base rent as of December 31, 2023 (which differs from rent calculated in accordance with GAAP) multiplied by 12. If a tenant is in a free rent period as of December 31, 2023, the total annualized base rental revenue is calculated based on the first contractual monthly base rent amount multiplied by 12.

“Value Add Portfolio” means our properties that meet any of the following criteria: (i) less than 75% occupied as of the acquisition date (ii) will be less than 75% occupied due to known move-outs within two years of the acquisition date; (iii) out of service with significant physical renovation of the asset; or (iv) development.

“Weighted Average Lease Term” means the contractual lease term in years, assuming that tenants exercise no renewal options, purchase options, or early termination rights, weighted by square footage.

Overview

We are a REIT focused on the acquisition, ownership, and operation of industrial properties throughout the United States. Our platform is designed to (i) identify properties for acquisition that offer relative value across CBRE-EA Tier 1 industrial real estate markets, industries, and tenants through the principled application of our proprietary risk assessment model, (ii) provide growth through sophisticated industrial operation and an attractive opportunity set, and (iii) capitalize our business appropriately given the characteristics of our assets.

We are organized and conduct our operations to maintain our qualification as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and generally are not subject to federal income tax to the extent we currently distribute our income to our stockholders and maintain our qualification as a REIT. We remain subject to state and local taxes on our income and property and to U.S. federal income and excise taxes on our undistributed income.

As of December 31, 2023, we owned 569 buildings in 41 states with approximately 112.3 million rentable square feet, consisting of 493 warehouse/distribution buildings, 70 light manufacturing buildings, one flex/office building, and five Value Add Portfolio buildings. In addition, as of December 31, 2023, we had six development projects (which are not included in the building count noted above). While the majority of our portfolio consists of single-tenant properties, we also own a growing number of multi-tenant properties. As of December 31, 2023, our buildings were approximately 98.2% leased, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 2.9% of our total annualized base rental revenue and no single industry accounting for more than approximately 11.0% of our total annualized base rental revenue. We intend to maintain a diversified mix of tenants to limit our exposure to any single tenant or industry.

As of December 31, 2023, our Operating Portfolio was approximately 98.4% leased. SL Rent Change on new and renewal leases together grew approximately 44.0% and 24.3% during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and our Cash Rent Change on new and renewal leases together grew approximately 31.0% and 14.3% during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

We have fully integrated acquisition, leasing and operations platforms led by a senior management team with decades of industrial real estate experience. Our mission is to deliver attractive long-term stockholder returns in all market environments by growing cash flow through disciplined investment in high-quality real estate while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

Our Strategy

Our primary business objectives are to own and operate a balanced and diversified portfolio that fits the needs of the markets we operate in, add value to the assets we acquire, and to enhance stockholder value over time by achieving sustainable long-term growth in distributable cash flow from operations.

We believe that our focus on owning and operating a portfolio of individually acquired industrial properties throughout CBRE-EA Tier 1 industrial markets in the United States will, when compared to other real estate portfolios, generate returns for our stockholders that are attractive in light of the associated risks for the following reasons.

• The acquisition of individual properties has historically been more cost effective versus competing with a larger pool of buyers who may need to deploy significant capital quickly on large portfolio transactions.
• Acquiring individually maintains our portfolio quality, as multi-asset portfolio acquisitions may include assets that are not desirable to us.
• The contribution of individual assets to an aggregated portfolio creates diversification, thereby lowering risk and creating value.
• Other institutional, industrial real estate buyers tend to focus on properties in a small number of super-primary markets. In contrast, we choose from a larger opportunity set of industrial properties across all CBRE-EA Tier 1 industrial markets in the United States.
• Our wider focus results in an advantage versus the local and regional buyers we compete with in many non-super-primary markets for acquisition opportunities who may not have the same access to debt or equity capital as us.
• Industrial properties generally require less capital expenditure than other commercial property types.

Regulation

General

We are subject to various laws, ordinances, rules and regulations of the United States and the states and local municipalities in which we own properties, including regulations relating to common areas and fire and safety requirements. We believe that we or our tenants, as applicable, have the necessary permits and approvals to operate each of our properties.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Our properties must comply with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (the “ADA”) to the extent that such properties are “public accommodations” as defined under the ADA. Under the ADA, places of public accommodation must meet certain federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. The ADA may require removal of structural barriers to access by persons with disabilities in certain public areas of our properties where such removal is readily achievable. Although we believe that the properties in our portfolio in the aggregate substantially comply with current requirements of the ADA, and we have not received any notice for correction from any regulatory agency, we have not conducted a comprehensive audit or investigation of all of our properties to determine whether we are in compliance and therefore we may own properties that are not in compliance with the ADA.

ADA compliance is dependent upon the tenant’s specific use of the property, and as the use of a property changes or improvements to existing spaces are made, we will take steps to ensure compliance. Noncompliance with the ADA could result in additional costs to attain compliance, the imposition of fines by the federal government or the award of damages or attorney’s fees to private litigants. The obligation to make readily achievable accommodations is an ongoing one, and we will continue to assess our properties and to make alterations to achieve compliance as necessary.

Environmental Matters

Our properties are subject to various federal, state and local environmental laws. Under these laws, courts and government agencies have the authority to require us, as the owner of a contaminated property, to clean up the property, even if we did not know of or were not responsible for the contamination. These laws also apply to persons who owned a property at the time it became contaminated, and therefore it is possible we could incur these costs even after we sell a property. In addition to the costs of cleanup, environmental contamination can affect the value of a property and, therefore, an owner’s ability to borrow using the property as collateral (directly or indirectly) or to sell the property. Under applicable environmental laws, courts and government agencies also have the authority to require that a person who sent waste to a waste disposal facility, such as a landfill or an incinerator, pay for the clean-up of that facility if it becomes contaminated and threatens human health or the environment. We invest in properties historically used for industrial, light manufacturing and commercial purposes. Some of our properties contain, or may have contained, or are adjacent to or near other properties that have contained or currently contain, underground storage tanks used to store petroleum products and other hazardous or toxic substances, which create a potential for the release of petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances. We also own properties that are on or are adjacent to or near other properties upon which other persons, including former owners or tenants of our properties, have engaged, or may in the future engage, in activities that may generate or release petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances.

Environmental laws in the United States also require that owners of buildings containing asbestos properly manage and maintain the asbestos, adequately inform or train those who may come into contact with asbestos and undertake special precautions, including removal or other abatement, in the event that asbestos is disturbed during building renovation or demolition. These laws may impose fines and penalties on owners or who fail to comply with these requirements and may allow third parties to seek recovery from owners for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos. Some of our buildings are known to have asbestos containing materials, and others, due to the age of the building and observed conditions, are suspected of having asbestos containing materials. We do not believe these conditions will materially and adversely affect us. In most or all instances, no immediate action was recommended to address the conditions.

Furthermore, various court decisions have established that third parties may recover damages for injury caused by property contamination. For instance, a person exposed to asbestos at one of our properties may seek to recover damages if he or she suffers injury from the asbestos. Lastly, some of these environmental laws restrict the use of a property or place conditions on various activities. An example would be laws that require a business using chemicals to manage them carefully and to notify local officials that the chemicals are being used.

We could be responsible for any of the costs discussed above. The costs to clean up a contaminated property, to defend against a claim, or to comply with environmental laws could be material and could adversely affect the funds available for distribution to our stockholders. All of our properties were subject to a Phase I or similar environmental assessment by independent environmental consultants at the time of acquisition. We generally expect to continue to obtain a Phase I or similar environmental assessment by independent environmental consultants on each property prior to acquiring it. However, these environmental assessments may not reveal all environmental costs that might have a material adverse effect on our business, assets, results of operations or liquidity and may not identify all potential environmental liabilities.

At the time of acquisition, we add each property to our portfolio environmental insurance policy that provides coverage for potential environmental liabilities, subject to the policy’s coverage conditions and limitations.

Compliance with these environmental laws, rules and regulations has not had, and is not expected to have, a material effect on our capital expenditures, results of operations and competitive position as compared to prior periods. We can make no assurances that future laws, ordinances or regulations will not impose material environmental liabilities on us, or the current environmental condition of our properties will not be affected by tenants, the condition of land or operations in the vicinity of our properties (such as releases from underground storage tanks), or by third parties unrelated to us.

Insurance

We carry comprehensive general liability, fire, extended coverage and rental loss insurance covering all of the properties in our portfolio under blanket insurance. In addition, we maintain a portfolio environmental insurance policy that provides coverage for potential environmental liabilities, subject to the policy’s coverage conditions and limitations. Generally, we do not carry insurance for certain losses, including, but not limited to, losses caused by floods (unless the property is located in a flood plain), earthquakes, acts of war, acts of terrorism or riots. We carry employment practices liability insurance that covers us against claims by employees, former employees or potential employees for various employment related matters including wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment in the workplace, hostile work environment, and retaliation, subject to the policy’s coverage conditions and limitations. We carry comprehensive cyber liability insurance coverage that covers us against claims related to certain first party and third party losses including data restoration costs, crisis management expenses, credit monitoring costs, failure to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures, invasion of customer’s privacy and negligence, subject to the policy’s coverage conditions and limitations. We also carry directors and officers insurance. We believe the policy specifications and insured limits are appropriate and adequate given the relative risk of loss, the cost of the coverage and standard industry practice; however, our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all of our losses.

Competition

In acquiring our target properties, we often compete with local or regional operators due to the smaller, single asset (versus portfolio) focus of our acquisition strategy. We also we compete with other public industrial property sector REITs, single-tenant REITs, income oriented non-traded REITs, and private real estate funds. Local real estate investors typically do not have the same access to capital that we do as a publicly traded institution. We also face significant competition from owners and managers of competing properties in leasing our properties to prospective tenants and in re-leasing space to existing tenants. Those owners and managers may be national, regional, or local operators, public or private.

Operating Segments

We manage our operations on an aggregated, single segment basis for purposes of assessing performance and making operating decisions, and accordingly, have only one reporting and operating segment. See Note 2 in the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under “Segment Reporting.”

Corporate Responsibility Program

We maintain a corporate responsibility program that incorporates environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) initiatives into our overall business, investment, and asset management strategies. We are also committed to reporting of our ESG initiatives. Since December 2021, we have published an annual “Environmental, Social and Governance Report”, which includes information regarding our ESG policies and programs, historic results, and performance targets, including our long-term greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal as approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). In addition, annually we participate in the public disclosure rating process of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, which is an entity that provides a ranking system to evaluate and compare ESG practices in the real estate industry.

Additional information regarding our corporate responsibility program will be included in our definitive Proxy Statement for our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and our 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance Report, or sustainability report, is currently available under the “Corporate Responsibility” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com (http://www.stagindustrial.com). However, the information located on, or accessible from, our website, including our sustainability report, is not, and should not be deemed to be, part of this report or incorporated into any other filing that we submit to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Human Capital Management

We believe that demonstrating strong financial performance while also promoting awareness and respect for fundamental human rights is important to long-term value creation, business continuity and corporate success. As part of our commitment to providing a work environment that attracts, develops and retains high-performing individuals and that treats employees with dignity and respect:

• We offer equal employment opportunities to all of our employees and seek to foster a diverse and vibrant workplace with employees who possess a broad range of experiences, backgrounds, and skills. We continually assess and strive to enhance employee satisfaction and engagement. Our employees, many of whom have a relatively long tenure with the Company, have regular opportunities to participate in personal growth and professional development programs and social or team building events. We seek to identify and develop future leaders within the Company and periodically review with our Chief Executive Officer and board of directors the identity, skills, and characteristics of those persons who could succeed to senior and executive positions.
• We endeavor to maintain a workplace free from discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, military or veteran status, and political affiliate or activities, among others. We conduct employee training to prevent discrimination and harassment and monitor and address employee conduct.
• We are committed to compensating our employees well and at competitive industry rates while, at the same time, monitoring our compensation programs to ensure that we are continuously attracting and retaining top talent. We also provide our employees with highly competitive health and wellness benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, and short-term disability insurance, with premiums that are entirely paid for by the Company. We also offer flexible spending accounts for medical expenses, a program to pay commuting and office parking costs with pre-tax income, and a competitive vacation policy, including paid holidays, personal time off, and other leave benefits.
• We seek to foster a corporate culture where our stakeholders, including our employees, engage in, and collaborate to extend resources towards, community development. In furtherance of this commitment, we partner with, and support, local charitable organizations that we believe are contributing to the growth and development of the community, particularly organizations assisting at-risk youth. Through our partnerships with these organizations, in recent years, our employees have committed significant time and resources to support children and young adults, including through personal donations, fundraising, and volunteer work.

As of December 31, 2023, we had 95 employees, none represented by a labor union.

Additional information regarding our human capital programs and initiatives will be included in our definitive Proxy Statement for our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is currently available under the “Corporate Responsibility” section of our website at www.stagindustrial.com (http://www.stagindustrial.com). However, the information located on, or accessible from, our website is not, and should not be deemed to be, part of this report or incorporated into any other filing that we submit to the SEC.

Our Corporate Structure

STAG Industrial, Inc. was incorporated in Maryland on July 21, 2010. Shares of our common stock are publicly traded on the NYSE New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “STAG.”

Our Operating Partnership was formed as a Delaware limited partnership on December 21, 2009. We own all of our properties and conduct substantially all of our business through our Operating Partnership. We are the sole member of the sole general partner of our Operating Partnership. As of December 31, 2023, we owned approximately 97.9% of the common units of limited partnership interest in our Operating Partnership (“common units”), and our current and former executive officers, directors, employees and their affiliates, and third parties owned the remaining 2.1%. The common units are not publicly traded, but each common unit receives the same distribution as a share of our common stock, the value of each common unit is tied to the value of a share of our common stock, and each common unit, after one year, generally may be redeemed (that is, exchanged) for cash in an amount equivalent to the value of a share of our common stock or, if we choose, for a share of common stock on a one-for-one basis. When redeeming common units for cash, the value of a share of our common stock is calculated as the average common stock closing price on the NYSE for the 10 trading days immediately preceding the redemption notice date.

We are structured as an umbrella partnership REIT, also known as an “UPREIT,” with our publicly-traded entity, STAG Industrial, Inc., operating as the REIT in the UPREIT structure, and our Operating Partnership operating as the umbrella partnership. This UPREIT structure provides us an opportunity to acquire properties on a tax-deferred basis by issuing common units in our Operating Partnership in exchange for properties.

The following is a simplified diagram of our UPREIT structure at December 31, 2023.

Additional Information

Our principal executive offices are located at One Federal Street, 23rd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02110. Our telephone number is (617) 574-4777.

Our website is www.stagindustrial.com (http://www.stagindustrial.com). Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to any of those reports that we file with the SEC are available free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable through our website at www.stagindustrial.com (http://www.stagindustrial.com). Also posted on our website, and available in print upon request, are charters of each independent committee of the board of directors, our code of business conduct and ethics and our corporate governance guidelines. Within the time period required by the SEC, we will post on our website any amendment to the code of business conduct and ethics and any waiver applicable to any executive officer, director or senior financial officer. The information found on, or otherwise accessible through, our website is not incorporated into, and does not form a part of, this report or any other report or document we file with or furnish to the SEC.

All reports, proxy and information statements and other information we file with the SEC are also available free of charge through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov (http://www.sec.gov).

The following risk factors and other information included in this report should be carefully considered. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we may currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations.

Risks Related to Our Business and Operations

Adverse economic conditions may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Our operating results and financial condition may be affected by market and economic challenges and uncertainties, which may result from a general economic downturn experienced by the nation as a whole, by the local economies where our properties are located or our tenants conduct business, or by the real estate industry, including the following: (i) poor economic conditions may result in tenant defaults under leases and extended vacancies at our properties; (ii) re-leasing may require concessions or reduced rental rates under the new leases due to reduced demand; (iii) adverse capital and credit market conditions may restrict our operating activities; and (iv) constricted access to credit may result in tenant defaults, non-renewals under leases or inability of potential buyers to acquire properties held for sale.

Also, to the extent we purchase real estate in an unstable market, we are subject to the risk that if the real estate market ceases to attract the same level of capital investment in the future, or the number of companies seeking to acquire properties decreases, the value of our investments may not appreciate or may decrease significantly below the amount we paid for these investments. Our operating results and financial condition could be negatively affected to the extent that an economic slowdown or downturn is prolonged or becomes more severe.

Recent macroeconomic trends, including inflation and rising interest rates, and developments affecting the financial services industry, may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Beginning in 2021 and continuing into the year ended December 31, 2023, inflation in the United States accelerated and, while moderating compared to year-over-year increases in 2021 and 2022, may continue at a relatively elevated level in the near-term. Beginning in 2022, in an effort to combat inflation and restore price stability, the Federal Reserve significantly raised its benchmark federal funds rate, which led to increases in interest rates in the credit markets. The Federal Reserve may continue to raise the federal funds rate, which will likely lead to higher interest rates in the credit markets and the possibility of slowing economic growth and/or a recession. Additionally, U.S. government policies implemented to address inflation, including actions by the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates, could negatively impact consumer spending, our tenants’ businesses, and/or future demand for industrial space.

Rising inflation could also have an adverse impact on our financing costs (either through near-term borrowings on our variable rate debt, including our unsecured credit facility, or refinancing of existing debt at higher interest rates), and general and administrative expenses and property operating expenses, as these costs could increase at a rate higher than our rental and other revenue. To the extent our exposure to increases in interest rates is not eliminated through interest rate swaps or other protection agreements, such increases may also result in higher debt service costs, which will adversely affect our cash flows. Historically, during periods of increasing interest rates, real estate valuations have generally decreased due to rising capitalization rates, which tend to move directionally with interest rates. Consequently, prolonged periods of higher interest rates may negatively impact the valuation of our real estate assets and could result in the decline of the market price of our common stock, which may adversely impact our ability and willingness to raise equity capital on favorable terms, including through our at-the-market (“ATM”) common stock offering program. Although the extent of any prolonged periods of higher interest rates remains unknown at this time, negative impacts to our cost of capital may adversely affect our future business plans and growth, at least in the near term.

Actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. For example, on March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. Similarly, on March 12, 2023, Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital Corp. were each swept into receivership. In addition, if any parties with whom we conduct business are unable to access funds pursuant to such instruments or lending arrangements with such a financial institution, such parties’ ability to pay their obligations to us or to enter into new commercial arrangements requiring additional payments to us could be adversely affected. Although we assess our banking relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our access to funding sources and other credit arrangements in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect us, the financial services industry or economy in general. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets, or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry.

Our investments are concentrated in the industrial real estate sector, and we would be adversely affected by an economic downturn in that sector.

As of December 31, 2023, the majority of our buildings were industrial properties. This concentration may expose us to the risk of economic downturns in the industrial real estate sector to a greater extent than if our properties were more diversified across other sectors of the real estate industry.

We are subject to geographic and industry concentrations that make us susceptible to adverse events with respect to certain markets and industries.

We are subject to certain geographic and industry concentrations with respect to our properties. As a result of these concentrations, any adverse event or downturn in local economic conditions or industry conditions, changes in state or local governmental rules and regulations, acts of nature, epidemics, pandemics or other public health crises and actions taken in response thereto, and other factors affecting these markets or industries could adversely affect us and our tenants operating in those markets or industries. If any tenant is unable to withstand such adverse event or downturn or is otherwise unable to compete effectively in its market or business, it may be unable to meet its rental obligations, seek rental concessions, be unable to enter into new leases or forced to declare bankruptcy and reject our leases, which could materially and adversely affect us.

We have owned many of our properties for a limited time, and we may not be aware of characteristics or deficiencies involving any one or all of them.

Of the properties in our portfolio at December 31, 2023, 231 buildings totaling approximately 44.7 million rentable square feet have been acquired in the past five years. These properties may have characteristics or deficiencies unknown to us that could affect their valuation or revenue potential and such properties may not ultimately perform up to our expectations. We cannot assure you that the operating performance of the properties will not decline under our management.

Our growth depends upon future acquisitions of properties, and we may be unable to consummate acquisitions on advantageous terms and acquisitions may not perform as we expect.

The acquisition of properties entails various risks, including the risk that our investments may not perform as we expect. Our ability to continue to acquire properties in our pipeline that we believe to be suitable and compatible with our growth strategy may be constrained by numerous factors, including our ability to negotiate and execute a mutually-acceptable definitive purchase and sale agreement with the seller, our completion of satisfactory due diligence and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the receipt of third-party consents and approvals. Further, we face competition for attractive investment opportunities from other well-capitalized real estate investors, including publicly-traded and non-traded REITs, private equity investors and other institutional investment funds that may have greater financial resources and a greater ability to borrow funds to acquire properties, the ability to offer more attractive terms to prospective tenants and the willingness to accept greater risk or lower returns than we can prudently manage. This competition may increase the demand for our target properties and, therefore, reduce the number of, or increase the price for, suitable acquisition opportunities, all of which could materially and adversely affect us. This competition will increase as investments in real estate become increasingly attractive relative to other forms of investment. In addition, we expect to finance future acquisitions through a combination of secured and unsecured borrowings, proceeds from equity or debt offerings by us or our Operating Partnership or its subsidiaries and proceeds from property contributions and divestitures which may not be available and which could adversely affect our cash flows.

We may face risks associated with acquiring properties in unfamiliar markets.

We have acquired, and may continue to acquire, properties in markets that are new to us. When we acquire properties located in these markets, we face risks associated with a lack of market knowledge or understanding of the local economy (including that competitors and counterparties may have much greater knowledge and understanding), forging new business relationships in the area and unfamiliarity with local government and laws.

A significant portion of our properties have leases that expire in the next two years and we may be unable to renew leases, lease vacant space or re-lease space on favorable terms.

Our operating results, cash flows, cash available for distribution, and the market price of our securities would be adversely affected if we are unable to lease, on economically favorable terms, a significant amount of space in our properties. Our properties may have some level of vacancy at the time of our acquisition and may incur a vacancy either by the continued default of a tenant under its lease or the expiration of one of our leases. As of December 31, 2023, leases with respect to approximately 18.9% (excluding month-to-month leases) of our total annualized base rental revenue will expire before December 31, 2025. We cannot assure you that expiring leases will be renewed or that our properties will be re-leased at base rental rates equal to or above the current market rental rates. In addition, our ability to release space at attractive rental rates will depend on (i) whether the property is specifically suited to the particular needs of a tenant, and (ii) the number of vacant or partially vacant industrial properties in a market or sub-market. In connection with a vacancy at one of our properties, we may face difficulty obtaining, or be unable to obtain, a new tenant for the vacant space. If the vacancy continues for a long period of time, we may suffer reduced revenue resulting in less cash available for distribution to stockholders and the resale value of the property could be diminished.

We face significant competition for tenants, which may negatively impact the occupancy and rental rates at our properties.

We compete with other owners, operators and developers of real estate, some of which own industrial properties in the same markets and sub-markets in which our properties are located. If our competitors offer space at rental rates below current market rates or below the rental rates we currently charge our tenants, we may lose potential tenants, and we may be pressured to lower our rental rates or to offer more substantial tenant improvements, early termination rights, below-market renewal options or other lease incentive payments to remain competitive. Competition for tenants could negatively impact the occupancy and rental rates of our properties.

Default by one or more of our tenants could materially and adversely affect us, and bankruptcy laws limit our remedies in the event of a tenant default.

The success of our tenants in operating their businesses will continue to be impacted by many current economic challenges, which impact their cost of doing business, including, but not limited to, inflation, labor shortages, supply chain constraints and increasing energy prices and interest rates. Additionally, macroeconomic and geopolitical risks create challenges that may exacerbate current market conditions in the United States. Any of our tenants may experience an adverse event or downturn in its business at any time that may significantly weaken its financial condition or cause its failure. As a result, such a tenant may fail to make rental payments when due, decline to extend or renew its lease upon expiration and/or declare bankruptcy and reject our lease. The default, financial distress or bankruptcy of a tenant could cause interruptions in the receipt of rental revenue and/or result in a vacancy, which is, in the case of a single-tenant property, likely to result in the complete reduction in the operating cash flows generated by the property and may decrease the value of that property. In addition, a majority of our leases generally require the tenant to pay all or substantially all of the operating expenses associated with the ownership of the property, such as utilities, real estate taxes, insurance and routine maintenance. Following a vacancy at a single-tenant property, we will be responsible for all of the operating costs at such property until it can be re-let, if at all.

The bankruptcy or insolvency of a tenant could diminish the income we receive from that tenant’s lease and we may not be able to evict a tenant solely because of its bankruptcy filing. On the other hand, a bankruptcy court might authorize the tenant to terminate its lease with us. If that happens, our claim against the bankrupt tenant for unpaid future rent would be an unsecured pre-petition claim, subject to statutory limitations, and therefore such amounts received in bankruptcy are likely to be substantially less than the remaining rent we otherwise were owed under the lease. In addition, any claim we have for unpaid past rent could be substantially less than the amount owed.

If our tenants are unable to obtain financing necessary to continue to operate their businesses and pay us rent, we could be materially and adversely affected.

Many of our tenants rely on external sources of financing to operate their businesses. The U.S. financial and credit markets have recently experienced liquidity disruptions, resulting in volatility in the markets and the unavailability of financing for many businesses. If such disruptions worsen or continue for a prolonged period of time, any of these tenants may be unable to obtain financing necessary to continue to operate its business, unable to meet its rental obligations, unable to enter into new leases or forced to declare bankruptcy and reject our leases, which could materially and adversely affect us.

Any future public health crisis, pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of infectious disease could have material and adverse effects on our business, operating results, financial condition and cash flows.

Any future public health crisis, pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of infectious disease, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, could have material and adverse effects on our business, operating results, financial condition and cash flows due to, among other factors: (i) government authorities requiring the closure of offices or other businesses or instituting quarantines of personnel; (ii) disruption in global supply and delivery chains; (iii) a general decline in business activity and demand for real estate; (iv) repurposing or redevelopment of defunct retail properties into industrial properties; (v) reduced economic activity, general economic decline or recession, which may impact our tenants’ businesses and may cause one or more of our tenants to be unable to make rent payments to us timely, or at all, or to otherwise seek modifications of lease obligations; (vi) difficulty accessing debt and equity capital on attractive terms, or at all; and (vii) the potential negative impact on the health of our personnel or our ability to recruit and retain key employees.

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

Our growth depends on external sources of capital, which are outside of our control and affect our ability to finance acquisitions, take advantage of strategic opportunities, satisfy debt obligations and make distributions to stockholders.

In order to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we are generally required under the Code to annually distribute at least 90% of our net taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gain. In addition, we will be subject to federal income tax at regular corporate rates to the extent that we distribute less than 100% of our net taxable income, including any net capital gains. Because of these requirements, we may not be able to fund future capital needs, including acquisition financing, from operating cash flow and rely on third-party sources to fund our capital needs. Our access to third-party sources of capital depends, in part, on general market conditions, the market’s perception of our growth potential, our current debt levels, our current and expected future earnings, our cash flow and distributions and the market price of our common stock. If we cannot raise equity or obtain financing from third-party sources on favorable terms, or at all, we may not be able to acquire properties when opportunities exist, meet the capital and operating needs of our existing properties or satisfy our debt service obligations. To the extent that capital is not available to acquire properties, profits may not be realized or their realization may be delayed, which could result in an earnings stream that is less predictable than some of our competitors or a failure to meet our projected earnings and distributable cash flow levels in a particular reporting period. Further, in order to meet the REIT distribution requirements and avoid the payment of income and excise taxes, we may need to borrow funds on a short-term basis even if the then-prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings. These short-term borrowing needs could result from differences in timing between the actual receipt of cash and inclusion of income for federal income tax purposes or the effect of non-deductible capital expenditures, the creation of reserves, certain restrictions on distributions under loan documents or required debt or amortization payments.

Certain provisions of our governing documents and Maryland law may delay or prevent a transaction or a change of control that might be in the best interest of stockholders.

Our charter and bylaws, the Operating Partnership agreement and Maryland law contain provisions that may delay or prevent a transaction or a change of control, including, among other provisions, the following:

Our charter contains 9.8% ownership limits. Our charter, subject to certain exceptions, authorizes our directors to take such actions as are necessary and desirable to limit any person to actual or constructive ownership of no more than 9.8% in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of our capital stock and no more than 9.8% in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of our common stock. While our board of directors, in its sole discretion, may exempt a proposed transferee from the ownership limits, it may not grant an exemption to any proposed transferee whose ownership could jeopardize our REIT status. These ownership limits may delay or prevent a transaction or a change of control that might be in the best interest of stockholders.

Our board of directors may create and issue a class or series of preferred stock without stockholder approval. Our board of directors may amend our charter, without stockholder approval, to (i) increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of common stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series, (ii) designate and issue from time to time one or more classes or series of preferred stock, (iii) classify or reclassify any unissued shares of stock, and (iv) determine the relative rights, preferences and privileges of any class or series of preferred stock. The issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying or preventing a transaction or a change of control that might be in the best interests of stockholders.

Certain provisions in the Operating Partnership agreement may delay or prevent a change of control. Provisions in the Operating Partnership agreement could discourage third parties from making proposals involving an unsolicited acquisition or change of control transaction, although some stockholders might consider such proposals, if made, desirable. These provisions include, among others, redemption rights, transfer restrictions on the common units, the ability of the general partner to amend certain provisions in the Operating Partnership agreement without the consent of limited partners and the right of limited partners to consent to certain mergers and transfers of the general partnership interest. In addition, any potential change of control transaction may be further limited as a result of provisions related to the limited partnership interests designated as “LTIP Units” in our Operating Partnership (“LTIP units”) granted under the STAG Industrial, Inc. 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended and restated (the “2011 Plan”), which require us to preserve the rights of LTIP unit holders and may restrict us from amending the Operating Partnership agreement in a manner that would have an adverse effect on the rights of LTIP unit holders.

Certain provisions of Maryland law could delay or prevent a change in control. Title 8, Subtitle 3 of the Maryland General Corporation Law (“MGCL”), permits our board of directors, without stockholder approval, to implement certain takeover defenses, some of which (for example, a classified board) we do not currently have. These provisions and other provisions of Maryland law may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making an acquisition proposal or delaying or preventing a change of control under circumstances that might be in the best interest of stockholders.

Our board of directors can take many actions without stockholder approval.

Our board of directors has the general authority to oversee our operations and determine our major corporate policies. This authority includes significant flexibility and allows the board to take many actions, without stockholder approval, that could increase our operating expenses, impact our ability to make distributions or reduce the value of our assets. For example, our board of directors can, among other things, (i) change our investment, financing and borrowing strategies and our policies with respect to all other activities, including distributions, leasing, debt, capitalization and operations (including creditworthiness standards with respect to our tenants), (ii) subject to provisions in our charter, prevent the ownership, transfer and accumulation of shares in order to protect our status as a REIT or for any other reason deemed to be in the best interests of us and our stockholders, (iii) issue additional shares (which could dilute the ownership of existing stockholders) and increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares or the number of shares of any class or series or classify or reclassify any unissued shares, without obtaining stockholder approval, and (iv) determine that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT.

Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited.

Maryland law provides that a director or officer has no liability in that capacity if he or she performs his or her duties in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in our best interests and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. In addition, our charter eliminates our directors’ and officers’ liability to us and our stockholders for monetary damages, except for liability resulting from actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment and which is material to the cause of action. Our bylaws require us to indemnify our directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law for liability actually incurred in connection with any proceeding to which they may be made, or threatened to be made, a party, except to the extent that the act or omission of the director or officer was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and was either committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, the director or officer actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services, or, in the case of any criminal proceeding, the director or officer had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful. Additionally, the Operating Partnership agreement limits our liability and requires our Operating Partnership to indemnify us and our directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted by Delaware law against all claims that relate to the operations of our Operating Partnership, except for actions taken in bad faith, or with gross negligence or willful misconduct. As a result, we and our stockholders may have more limited rights against our directors and officers than might otherwise exist under common law. In addition, we may be obligated to fund the defense costs incurred by our directors and officers.

Our fiduciary duties as sole member of the general partner of our Operating Partnership could create conflicts of interest, which may impede business decisions that could benefit our stockholders.

We have fiduciary duties to the other limited partners in our Operating Partnership, including members of our management team and board of directors, the discharge of which may conflict with the interests of our stockholders. In addition, those persons holding common units will have the right to vote on certain amendments to the Operating Partnership agreement. These voting rights may be exercised in a manner that conflicts with the interests of our stockholders. For example, we are unable to modify the rights of limited partners to receive distributions as set forth in the Operating Partnership agreement in a manner that adversely affects their rights without their consent, even though such modification might be in the best interest of our stockholders.

Conflicts also may arise when the interests of our stockholders and the limited partners of our Operating Partnership diverge, particularly in circumstances in which there may be an adverse tax consequence to the limited partners. As a result of unrealized built-in gain attributable to contributed properties at the time of contribution, some holders of common units, including members of our management team, may suffer more adverse tax consequences than our stockholders upon the sale or refinancing of certain properties, including disproportionately greater allocations of items of taxable income and gain upon a realization event. As those holders will not receive a correspondingly greater distribution of cash proceeds, they may have different objectives regarding the appropriate pricing, timing and other material terms of any sale or refinancing of certain properties, or whether to sell or refinance such properties at all.

We are subject to financial reporting and other requirements for which our accounting, internal audit and other systems and resources may not be adequately prepared and we may not be able to accurately report our financial results.

We are subject to reporting and other obligations under the Exchange Act, including the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting and a report by our independent registered public accounting firm addressing these assessments. These reporting and other obligations place significant demands on our management, administrative, operational, internal audit and accounting resources and cause us to incur significant expenses. We may need to upgrade our systems, implement additional financial and management controls and procedures, expand our internal audit function, or hire additional accounting, internal audit and finance staff. Any failure to maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and market prices of our securities.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile.

The market price for our common stock has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations, often without regard to our operating performance. If the market price of our common stock declines significantly, you may be unable to sell your shares at or above the price at which you acquired them. A number of factors could negatively affect the market price or trading volume of our common stock, many of which are out of our control, including:

• actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results or those of our competitors;
• publication of research reports about us, our competitors, our tenants or the real estate industry;
• changes in our distribution policy;
• increases in market interest rates that lead purchasers of our shares to demand a higher yield;
• the market’s perception of equity investments in REITs and changes in market valuations of similar REITs;
• difficulties or inability to access capital or extend or refinance existing debt or an adverse market reaction to any increased indebtedness we incur in the future;
• a change in credit ratings issued by analysts or nationally recognized statistical rating organizations;
• additions or departures of key management personnel;
• actions by institutional stockholders or speculation in the press or investment community; and
• general U.S. and worldwide market and economic conditions.

The cash available for distribution to stockholders may not be sufficient to make distributions at expected levels, nor can we assure you of our ability to make distributions in the future.

Distributions will be authorized and determined by our board of directors in its sole discretion from time to time and will depend upon a number of factors, including cash available for distribution, our operating results, operating expenses and financial condition (especially in relation to our anticipated future capital needs), REIT distribution requirements under the Code and other factors the board deems relevant. Consequently, our distribution levels may fluctuate. In addition, to the extent that we make distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, such distributions would generally be considered a return of capital for federal income tax purposes to the extent of the holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares. A return of capital is not taxable, but it has the effect of reducing the holder’s adjusted tax basis in its investment. To the extent that distributions exceed the adjusted tax basis of a holder’s shares, they will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such stock. Further, if we borrow funds to make distributions, our future interest costs would increase, thereby reducing our earnings and cash available for distribution from what they otherwise would have been.

The number of shares of our common stock available for future sale, and future offerings of debt or equity securities may be dilutive to existing stockholders and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Our ability to execute our business strategy depends on our access to an appropriate blend of equity and debt financing, including common and preferred stock, debt securities, lines of credit and other forms of secured and unsecured debt. We have filed a registration statement with the SEC allowing us to offer, from time to time, an indefinite amount of equity and debt securities on an as-needed basis, including shares under our ATM common stock offering program. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock (or the perception that such sales might occur), the vesting of equity awards under the 2011 Plan, the issuance of common stock or common units in connection with acquisitions, and other equity issuances may dilute the holdings of our existing stockholders or reduce the market prices of our securities, or both. Holders of our common stock are not entitled to preemptive rights or other protections against dilution. In addition, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by issuing preferred stock or debt securities (including commercial paper, medium-term notes and senior or subordinated notes). Any future issuances of preferred stock will rank senior to our common stock with respect to distributions and liquidation rights, which could limit our ability to make distributions to holders of common stock. In addition, upon liquidation, holders of debt securities would receive a distribution of our available assets prior to any distribution to the holders of common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing, or nature of our future offerings. Thus, our stockholders bear the risk of future offerings reducing the market prices of our securities and diluting their proportionate ownership.

We have in the past entered, and may in the future enter, into forward sale transactions that subject us to certain risks.

We have previously entered into forward sale agreements and may in the future enter into additional forward sale agreements, including under our ATM common stock offering program, that subject us to certain risks. The future issuance of any shares of common stock upon settlement of any forward sale agreement will result in dilution to our earnings per share, return on equity, and dividends per share. The purchase of common stock in connection with the unwinding of the forward purchaser’s hedge position could cause our stock price to increase (or prevent a decrease) over such time, thereby increasing the amount of cash we would owe (or decreasing the amount of cash owed to us) upon a cash settlement. In addition, pursuant to each forward sale agreement, the relevant forward purchaser will have the right to accelerate the settlement of the forward sale agreement in connection with certain specified events. In such cases, we could be required to settle that particular forward sale agreement and issue common stock irrespective of our capital needs.

Under Section 1032 of the Code, generally, no gains and losses are recognized by a corporation in dealing in its own shares, including pursuant to a “securities futures contract” as defined in the Code. However, because it is not clear whether a forward sale agreement qualifies as a “securities futures contract,” the U.S. federal income tax treatment of any cash settlement payment is uncertain. In the event that we recognize a significant gain from a forward sale agreement, we may not be able to satisfy the gross income requirements applicable to REITs under the Code, may not be able to rely upon certain relief provisions and could lose our REIT status under the Code. Even if relief provisions apply, we would be subject to a tax based on the amount of non-qualifying income.

General Real Estate Risks

Our performance is subject to general economic conditions and risks associated with our real estate assets.

The investment returns available from equity investments in real estate depend on the amount of income earned and capital appreciation generated by the properties, as well as the expenses incurred in connection with the properties. If our properties do not generate income sufficient to meet operating expenses, including debt service and capital expenditures, then our ability to make distributions to stockholders could be adversely affected. In addition, there are significant expenditures associated with an investment in real estate (such as debt payments, real estate taxes and maintenance costs) that generally do not decline when circumstances reduce the income from the property. Income from and the value of our properties may be adversely affected by, among other things:

• a global economic crisis that results in increased budget deficits and weakened financial condition of international, national and local governments, which may lead to reduced governmental spending, tax increases, public sector job losses, increased interest rates, currency devaluations, defaults on debt obligations or other adverse economic events;
• other periods of economic slowdown or recession, rising interest rates or declining demand for real estate, or the public perception that any of these events may occur;
• tenant turnover, the attractiveness of our properties to potential tenants and changes in supply of, or demand for, similar or competing properties in an area (including from general overbuilding or excess supply in the market);
• technological changes, such as reconfiguration of supply chains, autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics, 3D printing, online marketplaces for industrial space, or other developments;
• our ability to control rental rates and changes in operating costs and expenses, including costs of compliance with tax, real estate, environmental and zoning laws, rules and regulations and our potential liability thereunder;
• changes in the cost or availability of insurance, including coverage for mold or asbestos;
• unanticipated changes in costs associated with known adverse environmental conditions or retained liabilities for such conditions;
• periods of high interest rates and tight money supply;
• future terrorist attacks, which may result in declining economic activity, which could reduce the demand for, and the value of, our properties, and may adversely affect our tenants’ business and their ability to continue to honor their existing lease; and
• disruptions in the global supply chain caused by political, regulatory or other factors, including geopolitical developments outside the United States.

In addition, our investments could be materially adversely affected by changes in national and international political, environmental and socioeconomic circumstances, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, the possibility of such conflicts widening and their impact on macroeconomic conditions. Coupled with changes in Federal Reserve policies on interest rates and other economic disruptions, such circumstances may exacerbate inflation and adversely affect economic and market conditions, the level and volatility of real estate and securities prices and the liquidity of our investments. As military conflicts and related economic sanctions continue to evolve, it has become increasingly difficult to predict the impact of these events.

Real estate investments are not as liquid as other types of investments.

The lack of liquidity in real estate investments may limit our ability to vary our portfolio and react promptly to changes in economic or other conditions. In addition, significant expenditures associated with real estate investments, such as mortgage payments, real estate taxes and maintenance costs, are generally not reduced when circumstances cause a reduction in income from the investments. We intend to comply with the safe harbor rules relating to the number of properties that can be sold each year, the tax basis and the costs of improvements made to such sale properties, and other items that enable a REIT to avoid punitive taxation on property sales. Thus, our ability at any time to sell properties or contribute properties to real estate funds or other entities in which we have an ownership interest may be restricted.

Uninsured losses may adversely affect your returns.

There are certain losses, including losses from floods, earthquakes, acts of war, acts of terrorism or riots, that are not generally insured against or that are not generally fully insured against because it is not deemed economically feasible or prudent to do so. In addition, changes in the cost or availability of insurance could expose us to uninsured casualty losses. In the event that any of our properties incurs a casualty loss that is not fully covered by insurance, the value of our assets will be reduced by the amount of any such uninsured loss, we could experience a significant loss of invested capital and potential revenue in the property, we could remain obligated under any recourse debt associated with the property, and we may have no source of funding to repair or reconstruct the damaged property. Moreover, we may be liable for our Operating Partnership’s unsatisfied recourse obligations, including any obligations incurred by our Operating Partnership as the general partner of joint ventures.

Environmentally hazardous conditions may adversely affect our operating results.

Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, a current or previous owner of real property may be liable for the cost of remediation or removing hazardous or toxic substances on such property. Such laws often impose liability whether or not the owner knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. Even if more than one person may have been responsible for the contamination, each person covered by the environmental laws may be held responsible for all of the clean‑up costs incurred. In addition, third parties may sue the property owner for damages based on personal injury, natural resources, property damage or other costs, including investigation and clean‑up costs, resulting from the environmental contamination. The presence of hazardous or toxic substances on one of our properties, or the failure to properly remediate a contaminated property, could give rise to a lien in favor of the government for costs it may incur to address the contamination, or otherwise adversely affect our ability to sell or lease the property or borrow using the property as collateral. Environmental laws also may impose restrictions on the manner in which property may be used or businesses may be operated. A property owner who violates environmental laws may be subject to sanctions which may be enforced by governmental agencies or, in certain circumstances, private parties. In connection with the acquisition and ownership of our properties, we may be exposed to such costs. The costs of compliance with environmental regulatory requirements, defending against environmental claims or remediation of any contaminated property could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and cash available for distribution to stockholders.

Some of our properties contain asbestos‑containing building materials. Environmental laws require owners of buildings containing asbestos properly manage and maintain the asbestos, adequately inform or train those who may come into contact with asbestos and undertake special precautions in the event that asbestos is disturbed during building renovation or demolition. These laws may impose fines and penalties on owners who fail to comply with these requirements and may allow third parties to seek recovery from owners for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos. In addition, some of our properties contain, or may have contained, or are adjacent to or near other properties that have contained or currently contain, underground storage tanks used to store petroleum products and other hazardous or toxic substances, which create a potential for the release of petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances. We also own properties that are on or are adjacent to or near other properties upon which other persons, including former owners or tenants of our properties, have engaged, or may in the future engage, in activities that may release petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances.

Before acquiring a property, we typically obtain a preliminary assessment of environmental conditions at the property, often referred to as “Phase I environmental site assessment.” However, this environmental assessment does not include soil sampling or subsurface investigations and typically does not include an asbestos survey. We may acquire properties with known adverse environmental conditions and/or material environmental conditions, liabilities or compliance concerns may arise after the environmental assessment has been completed. Further, in connection with property dispositions, we may agree to remain responsible for, and to bear the cost of, remediating or monitoring certain environmental conditions on the properties. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future laws, ordinances or regulations will not impose any material environmental liability, or the current environmental condition of our properties will not be affected by tenants, by the condition of land or operations in the vicinity of our properties (such as releases from underground storage tanks), or by third parties unrelated to us.

We are exposed to the potential impacts of future climate change and climate change-related risks.

Our properties may be exposed to rare catastrophic weather events, such as severe storms, floods or wildfires. If the frequency of extreme weather events increases due to climate change, our exposure to these events could increase. In addition, in connection with any development, redevelopment or renovation project, we may be harmed by potential changes to the supply chain or stricter energy efficiency standards for industrial buildings. To the extent climate change causes shifts in weather patterns, our markets could experience negative consequences, including declining demand for industrial space and our inability to operate our buildings. Climate change may also have indirect negative effects on our business by increasing the cost of, or decreasing the availability of, property insurance on terms we find acceptable and increasing the cost of energy, building materials and snow removal at our properties. In addition, compliance with new laws or regulations relating to climate change, including “green” building codes, may require us to make improvements to our existing properties or result in increased operating costs. Any such laws or regulations could also impose substantial costs on our tenants, thereby impacting their financial condition and ability to meet their obligations and to lease or re-lease our properties.

Compliance or failure to comply with the ADA and other regulations could result in substantial costs.

Under the ADA, places of public accommodation must meet certain federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Noncompliance with these requirements could result in additional costs to attain compliance, the imposition of fines by the federal government or the award of damages or attorney’s fees to private litigants. If we are required to make unanticipated expenditures to comply with the ADA or other regulations, including removing access barriers, then our cash flows and cash available for distribution may be adversely affected. In addition, changes to the requirements set forth in the ADA or other regulations or the adoption of new requirements could require us to make significant unanticipated expenditures.

The ownership of properties subject to ground leases exposes us to certain risks.

We currently own and may acquire additional properties subject to ground leases, or leasehold interests in the land underlying the building. As lessee under a ground lease, we are exposed to the possibility of losing the property upon expiration, or an earlier breach by us, of the ground lease. Our ground leases may also contain provisions that limit our ability to sell the property or require us to obtain the consent of the landlord in order to assign or transfer our rights and obligations under the ground lease in connection with a sale of the property, which could adversely impact the price realized from any such sale. We also own properties that benefit from payment in lieu of tax (“PILOT”) programs or similar programs through leasehold interests with the relevant municipality serving as lessor. While we have the right to purchase the fee interests in these properties for a nominal purchase price, in the event of such a conversion, any preferential tax treatment offered by the PILOT programs will be lost.

We may be unable to sell properties, including as a result of uncertain market conditions.

We expect to hold our properties until a sale or other disposition is appropriate given our investment objectives. Our ability to dispose of any property on advantageous terms depends on factors beyond our control, including competition from other sellers and the availability of attractive financing for potential buyers. Due to the uncertainty of market conditions that may affect future property dispositions, we cannot assure you that we will be able to sell our properties at a profit. Accordingly, the extent to which you will receive cash distributions and realize potential appreciation on our investments will be dependent upon fluctuating market conditions. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that we will have the funds that may be required to correct defects or to make improvements before a property can be sold.

If we sell properties and provide financing to purchasers, defaults by the purchasers would adversely affect our cash flows.

Under certain circumstances, we may sell properties by providing financing to purchasers. If we provide financing to purchasers, we will bear the risk that the purchaser may default, which could adversely affect our cash flows and ability to make distributions to stockholders and may result in litigation and increased expenses. Even in the absence of a purchaser default, the reinvestment or distribution of the sales proceeds will be delayed until the promissory notes (or other property we may accept upon a sale) are actually paid, sold or refinanced.

Joint venture investments could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on co-venturers’ financial condition and disputes between us and our co-venturers.

We may in the future selectively acquire, own and/or develop properties through partnerships, joint ventures or other co-investment entities with third parties when we deem such transactions are warranted by the circumstances. In such event, we would not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the property, partnership, joint venture or other entity and would be subject to risks not present were a third party not involved, including the possibility that partners might become bankrupt or fail to fund required capital contributions. Partners may have economic or other business interests that are inconsistent with our objectives, take actions contrary to our policies, or have other conflicts of interest. Such investments may also have the potential risk of impasses on decisions, such as a sale, because neither we nor the partner would have full control over the partnership or joint venture. In addition, prior consent of the partner may be required for a sale or transfer to a third party of our interests in the joint venture, which would restrict our ability to dispose of our interest. In addition, in certain circumstances, we may be liable for the actions of our third-party partners. Joint ventures may be subject to debt and, in volatile credit markets, the refinancing of such debt may require equity capital calls.

Risks Related to Our Debt Financings

Our operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected if we are unable to make payments on our debt.

Our charter and bylaws do not limit the amount of indebtedness we may incur, and we are subject to risks normally associated with debt financing, including the risk that our cash flows will be insufficient to meet required payments of principal and interest. There can be no assurance that we will be able to refinance any maturing indebtedness, that such refinancing would be on terms as favorable as the terms of the maturing indebtedness or that we will be able to otherwise obtain funds by selling assets or raising equity to make required payments on maturing indebtedness. In particular, loans obtained to fund property acquisitions may be secured by first mortgages on such properties. If we are unable to make our debt service payments as required, a lender could foreclose on the properties securing its debt, which would cause us to lose part or all of our investment. Certain of our existing secured indebtedness is, and future secured indebtedness may be, cross-collateralized and, consequently, a default on this indebtedness could cause us to lose part or all of our investment in multiple properties.

Increases in interest rates could increase our required debt payments and adversely affect our ability to make distributions to stockholders.

As of December 31, 2023, we had total outstanding debt of approximately $2.6 billion, including approximately $402.0 million of debt subject to variable interest rates (excluding amounts that were hedged to fix rates), and we expect that we will incur additional indebtedness in the future. Interest we pay on outstanding debt reduces our cash available for distribution. Since we have incurred and may continue to incur variable rate debt, increases in interest rates by the Federal Reserve or changes in the Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“Term SOFR”) would raise our interest costs, which reduces our cash flows and our ability to make distributions. If we are unable to refinance our indebtedness at maturity or meet our payment obligations, our financial condition and cash flows would be adversely affected, and we may lose the properties securing such indebtedness. In addition, if we need to repay existing debt during periods of rising interest rates, we could be required to sell one or more of our properties at times which may not permit realization of the maximum return on such investments.

The phase-out of LIBOR and transition to Term SOFR as a benchmark interest rate will have uncertain and possibly adverse effects.

In advance of the cessation of LIBOR on June 30, 2023, we amended our unsecured credit facility and term loans to be based on one-month Term SOFR, and as of December 31, 2023, we had no LIBOR-based debt or financial contracts. Due to the broad use of LIBOR as a reference rate, the impact of this transition to Term SOFR could adversely affect our financing costs, including spread pricing on our unsecured credit facility, unsecured term loans and any other variable rate debt obligations, as well as our operations and cash flows. There is no guarantee that the transition from LIBOR to Term SOFR will not result in financial market disruptions, significant increases in benchmark rates, or borrowing costs to borrowers, any of which could affect our interest expense and earnings and may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and stock price. Whether or not Term SOFR attains market acceptance as a LIBOR replacement tool remains uncertain.

Our loan covenants could limit our flexibility and adversely affect our financial condition and ability to make distributions.

Our existing mortgage notes and unsecured loan agreements require us to comply with certain financial and other covenants, including loan-to-value, debt service coverage, leverage and fixed charge coverage ratios and, in the case of an event of default, limitations on distributions. In addition, our existing unsecured loan agreements contain, and future agreements may contain, cross-default provisions which are triggered in the event that other material indebtedness is in default. These cross-default provisions may require us to repay or restructure the facilities in addition to any other debt that is in default. Future indebtedness may contain financial or other covenants more restrictive than those in our existing loan agreements.

We are a holding company and conduct substantially all of our business through our Operating Partnership. As a result, we rely on distributions from our Operating Partnership to pay dividends and meet our debt service and other obligations. The ability of our Operating Partnership to make distributions to us depends on the operating results of our Operating Partnership and the terms of any loans that encumber our properties. Such loans may contain lock box arrangements, reserve requirements, financial covenants, and other provisions that restrict the distribution of funds in the event of a default.

If debt is unavailable at reasonable rates, we may not be able to finance acquisitions or refinance our existing debt.

If debt is unavailable at reasonable rates, we may not be able to finance acquisitions or refinance existing debt when the loans come due on favorable terms, or at all. Most of our financing arrangements require us to make a lump-sum or “balloon” payment at maturity. Our ability to make a payment at maturity is uncertain and, in the event that we do not have sufficient funds, we will need to refinance this debt. If interest rates are higher when we refinance such debt, our net income, cash flow, and, consequently, our cash available for distribution to stockholders could be reduced. If the credit environment is constrained at the time a payment is due, we may not be able to refinance the existing debt on acceptable terms and may be forced to choose from a number of unfavorable options, including accepting unfavorable financing terms, selling properties on disadvantageous terms or defaulting and permitting the lender to foreclose.

In addition, adverse developments affecting the financial services industry or investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and more restrictive financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all. Any decline in available funding or access to our cash and liquidity resources could, among other risks, adversely impact our ability to meet our financial or other obligations or reduce our net income and cash available for distribution to stockholders.

Our hedging strategies may not be successful in mitigating our risks associated with interest rates.

Our various derivative financial instruments involve certain risks, such as the risk that the counterparties fail to honor their obligations, that these arrangements may not be effective in reducing our exposure to interest rate changes, and that a court rules that such agreements are not legally enforceable. In addition, the nature, timing and costs of hedging transactions may influence the effectiveness of our hedging strategies. Poorly designed strategies or improperly executed transactions could actually increase our risk and losses. We cannot assure you that our hedging strategies and derivative financial instruments will adequately offset the risk of interest rate volatility or that such instruments will not result in losses that may adversely impact our financial condition.

Adverse changes in our credit ratings could negatively affect our financing activity.

The credit ratings of our unsecured debt are based on our operating performance, liquidity and leverage ratios, overall financial position and other factors employed by the credit rating agencies. Our credit ratings can affect the amount of capital we can access, as well as the terms and pricing of our debt. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our current credit ratings, and in the event our credit ratings are downgraded, we would incur greater borrowing costs and may encounter difficulty in obtaining additional financing. Also, a downgrade in our credit ratings may trigger additional payments or other negative consequences under our unsecured credit facility and other debt instruments. Adverse changes in our credit ratings could harm our capital market activities, ability to manage debt maturities, future growth and acquisition activity.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Risks

Failure to qualify as a REIT would reduce our net earnings available for investment or distribution.

Our qualification as a REIT will depend upon our ability to meet requirements regarding our organization and ownership, distributions of our income, the nature and diversification of our income and assets and other tests imposed by the Code. If we fail to qualify as a REIT for any taxable year after electing REIT status, we will be subject to federal income tax on our taxable income at regular corporate rates. In addition, we would generally be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year in which we failed to qualify as a REIT. Losing our REIT status would reduce our net earnings available for investment or distribution to stockholders because of the additional tax liability. In addition, dividends to stockholders would no longer qualify for the dividends‑paid deduction and we would no longer be required to make distributions. If this occurs, we might be required to borrow funds or liquidate some investments in order to pay the applicable tax.

Even if we maintain our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we may be subject to other tax liabilities that reduce our cash flow and our ability to make distributions to stockholders.

Even if we maintain our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we may be subject to some federal, state and local taxes.

For example, (i) we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on the undistributed income to the extent that we satisfy the REIT distribution requirements but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, (ii) we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which distributions we pay in any calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of our ordinary income, 95% of our capital gain net income and 100% of our undistributed income from prior years, (iii) we will be subject to the highest corporate income tax rate if we have net income from the sale of foreclosure property that we hold primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business or other non‑qualifying income from foreclosure property, (iv) we will be subject to a 100% “prohibited transaction” tax on our gain from an asset sale, other than foreclosure property, that we hold primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, unless such sale were made by our taxable REIT subsidiary (“TRS”) or if we qualify for a safe harbor; and (v) our TRS will be subject to federal, state and local income tax at regular corporate rates on any income that it earns.

REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan.

From time to time, we may generate taxable income greater than our income for financial reporting purposes, or our taxable income may be greater than our cash available for distribution to stockholders. If we do not have other funds available in these situations, we could be required to borrow or raise equity on unfavorable terms, sell investments at disadvantageous prices, make taxable distributions of our stock or debt securities or find another alternative source of funds to distribute enough of our taxable income to satisfy the REIT distribution requirement and to avoid corporate income tax and the 4% excise tax in a particular year. These alternatives could increase our costs or reduce the value of our equity. In addition, to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we must satisfy certain tests on an ongoing basis concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, nature of our assets and the amounts we distribute to our stockholders. We may be required to make distributions to stockholders at times when it would be more advantageous to reinvest cash in our business or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our ability to operate solely on the basis of maximizing profits and the value of our stockholders’ investment.

Re-characterization of sale‑leaseback transactions may cause us to lose our REIT status.

In certain circumstances, we expect to purchase properties and lease them back to the sellers of such properties. While we intend to structure such a sale‑leaseback transaction such that the lease will be characterized as a “true lease” for tax purposes, we cannot assure you that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) will not challenge such characterization. In the event that any such sale‑leaseback transaction is challenged and re-characterized as a financing transaction or loan for federal income tax purposes, deductions for depreciation and cost recovery relating to such property would be disallowed. If a sale‑leaseback transaction were so re-characterized, we might fail to satisfy the REIT qualification “asset tests” or “income tests” and, consequently, lose our REIT status effective with the year of re-characterization. Alternatively, the amount of our REIT taxable income could be recalculated which might also cause us to fail to meet the distribution requirement for a taxable year.

The prohibited transactions tax may limit our ability to engage in certain transactions.

A REIT’s net income from prohibited transactions is subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are dispositions of property, other than foreclosure property, held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. Although a safe harbor to the characterization of a disposition as a prohibited transaction is available, we cannot assure you that we can comply with the safe harbor or that we will avoid owning property that may be characterized as held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. Consequently, we may choose not to engage in certain dispositions or may conduct such dispositions through a TRS.

We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory tax changes.

Federal income taxation rules are constantly under review by the IRS, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and persons involved in the legislative process. Changes to tax laws, with or without retroactive application, through new legislation, Treasury Regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions could adversely affect us or our stockholders, including by negatively affecting our ability to qualify as a REIT or the federal income tax consequences of such qualification, or reducing the relative attractiveness of an investment in a REIT compared to a corporation not qualified as a REIT. We cannot predict the long-term effect of future law changes on us or our stockholders.

Other General Risks

We face risks associated with system failures through security breaches or cyber-attacks, as well as other significant disruptions of our information technology (“IT”) networks and related systems.

We face risks associated with security breaches, cyber-attacks, and other significant disruptions of our IT networks and related systems. The risk of a security breach, cyber-attack or disruption has increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks from around the world have increased. There can be no assurance that our security measures taken to manage the risk of a security breach, cyber-attack or disruption will be effective or that attempted security breaches, cyber-attacks or disruptions would not be successful or damaging. Any failure of our IT networks and related systems could (i) disrupt the proper functioning of our networks and systems, (ii) result in misstated financial reports, violations of loan covenants or missed reporting deadlines, (iii) disrupt our inability to monitor our compliance with REIT requirements, (iv) result in the unauthorized access to, and destruction, loss, theft, misappropriation or release of proprietary, confidential, sensitive or otherwise valuable information, (v) require significant management attention and resources to remedy any damages that result, (vi) subject us to claims for breach of contract or failure to safeguard personal information or termination of leases or other agreements, or (vii) damage our reputation among our tenants and investors generally.

We depend on key personnel; the loss of their full service could adversely affect us.

Our success depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of certain key personnel including, but not limited to, our executive officers, whose continued service is not guaranteed, and each of whom would be difficult to replace. Our ability to retain our management team or to attract suitable replacements should any members of the management team leave is dependent on the competitive nature of the employment market. Each executive officer may terminate his employment at any time and, under certain conditions, may receive cash severance, immediate vesting of equity awards and other benefits and may not be restricted from competing with us after their departure. The loss of services from key members of the management team or a limitation in their availability could be negatively perceived in the capital markets and may adversely impact our operating results, financial condition and cash flows. As of December 31, 2023, we have not obtained and do not expect to obtain key man life insurance on any of our key personnel. We also believe that, as we expand, our future success will depend upon our ability to hire and retain highly skilled managerial, investment, financing, operational, and marketing personnel. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we cannot assure you that we will be successful in attracting and retaining such skilled personnel.

An increased focus on metrics and reporting related to corporate responsibility, specifically related to ESG factors, may impose additional costs and expose us to new risks.

Investors and other stakeholders are focused on a variety of ESG matters and refer to rating systems developed by third party groups to compare companies. We do not participate, or may not score well, in some of these rating systems. Further, the criteria used in these rating systems change frequently, and our scores may drop as the criteria changes. We supplement our participation in these ratings systems with public disclosures regarding our ESG activities, but investors and other stakeholders may look for specific disclosures that we do not provide. Our failure to engage in certain ESG initiatives, to provide certain ESG disclosures or to participate, or score well, in certain ratings systems could result in reputational harm and could cause certain investors to be unwilling to invest in our stock, which could impair our ability to raise capital.

Our compensation plans may not be tied to or correspond with our improved financial results or the market prices for our securities, which may adversely affect us.

The compensation committee of our board of directors is responsible for overseeing our executive compensation plans. The compensation committee has significant discretion in structuring these compensation packages and may make compensation decisions based on any number of factors. As a result, compensation awards may not be tied to or correspond with improved financial results at the Company or the market prices for our securities.

Introduction

We recognize the importance of maintaining the trust and confidence of our tenants, business partners and employees with respect to the integrity of our IT network and related systems. We seek to address cybersecurity risks and preserve the confidentiality, security and availability of the information collected and stored on our IT networks and related systems through a comprehensive approach focused on (i) identifying, evaluating and managing our cybersecurity risks, (ii) preventing or mitigating potential threats, and (iii) responding appropriately to security breaches, cyber-attacks, IT network failures and other incidents, if and when they occur. While risk management is primarily the responsibility of our senior management team, our board of directors plays a role in overseeing our cybersecurity risk management program. Our board of directors administers this oversight function directly and with support from its audit committee, which has been delegated the responsibility to evaluate our major financial risks, including our policies and practices to govern the process by which risk assessment and management is undertaken.

As of the date of this report, we are not aware of any cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior cybersecurity incidents, that have materially and adversely affected the Company (including our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition), nor are such threats reasonably likely to materially and adversely affect the same.

For additional information regarding our cybersecurity risks, see “Item 1.A. Risk Factors—Other General Risks—We face risks associated with system failures through security breaches or cyber-attacks, as well as other significant disruptions of our information technology (“IT”) networks and related systems” above.

Risk Management and Strategy

Our cybersecurity risk management program is focused on the key areas below:

• Governance. In fulfilling its oversight responsibility, our board of directors receives regular reports from our senior management team on our cybersecurity risks and exposures, infrastructure and countermeasures, and other monitoring, testing and recovery systems.
• Collaborative Approach. We use a comprehensive, cross-departmental approach for identifying, evaluating, preventing and/or mitigating cybersecurity threats and incidents, and have implemented controls and procedures that

provide for the prompt escalation of significant cybersecurity incidents so that decisions regarding reporting and public disclosure of such incidents can be made in a timely manner.

• Technical Safeguards. We deploy technical safeguards intended to protect our IT networks and related systems from cybersecurity threats, including firewalls, intrusion prevention, detection and isolation systems, anti-virus and malware functionality, backup functionality. and access controls. These technical safeguards are regularly evaluated and improved through vulnerability assessments, network penetration testing and threat intelligence, including by third-party consultants, who also continually monitor our information security. Any significant developments related to our technical safeguards, including the results of any vulnerability assessments or network penetration testing, are reported to our board of directors, and we adjust our cybersecurity risk management policies and practices as necessary.
• Management of Third-Party Risks. We use a risk-based approach to evaluating cybersecurity risks presented by third parties, such as vendors, service providers, and external users of our IT networks and related systems, as well as risks related to our use of third-party systems that could adversely affect our business in the event of a cybersecurity incident centered on those systems.
• Education and Awareness. We provide regular, mandatory cybersecurity training for our employees to help them identify and avoid potential cybersecurity threats and understand our policies and guidelines related to our IT network and related systems. As part of this training program, we regularly test our employees for information security awareness, including through random electronic communications designed to simulate how a threat actor might attempt to compromise our IT network and related systems.
• Cybersecurity Insurance. We carry comprehensive cyber liability insurance coverage that covers us against claims related to certain first-party and third-party losses, including data restoration costs and crisis management expenses, subject to the policy’s coverage conditions and limitations.

Governance

Our board of directors, together with the audit committee of our board of directors, oversees our cybersecurity risk management program. In addition, the audit committee is responsible for reviewing with management the effectiveness of our internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting systems, including, among other things, our internal controls designed to assess, identify, and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats.

On regular basis, our board of directors receives a presentation on cybersecurity risks from our senior management team, which may, depending on relevance at the time of the report, address topics such as prevailing cybersecurity threats, vulnerability assessments and/or network integrity testing, infrastructure and practice updates, and other considerations applicable to our IT network and related systems and other third-party systems.

Members of management work collaboratively to develop and implement policies, practices and procedures to protect our IT networks and related systems from cybersecurity threats and to respond appropriately and timely to any cybersecurity incidents. The members of management responsible for our cybersecurity risk management program include our Vice President–Information Technology, our Chief Financial Officer, our General Counsel, our Chief Accounting Officer, our Head of Data, Analytics and Technology, and our Vice President–Financial Reporting and Accounting. Through ongoing communications from employees in each of our Data, Analytics and Technology and Information Technology departments, such members of management monitor our assessment of material cybersecurity risks, our prevention and detection of cybersecurity threats, and, if a cybersecurity incident were to occur, our mitigation and remediation of such incident.

We believe the members of our management team involved in assessing and managing material cybersecurity risks have the experience needed to perform their duties, including through education, certification, work experience or a combination thereof. For example, our Vice President–Information Technology has approximately 25 years of IT experience in various roles, the majority of which has been at publicly-reporting real estate companies. In addition, the other members of our management team identified above have from 14 years to 29 years of work experience managing risks or control environments, including experience at the Company and other professional businesses, or, as third-party advisors, helping businesses manage risks or control environments.

As of December 31, 2023, we owned the properties in the following table.

25

26

27

28

29

30

Not reflected in the table above are six buildings under development.

As of December 31, 2023, one of our 569 buildings was encumbered by mortgage indebtedness totaling approximately $4.5 million (excluding unamortized deferred financing fees, debt issuance costs, and fair market value premiums or discounts). See Note 4 in the accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Schedule III for additional information.

Top Markets

The following table summarizes information about the 20 largest markets in our portfolio based on total annualized base rental revenue as of December 31, 2023.

(1) Market classification based on CBRE-EA industrial market geographies.

Top Industries

The following table summarizes information about the 20 largest tenant industries in our portfolio based on total annualized base rental revenue as of December 31, 2023.

(1) Industry classification based on Global Industry Classification Standard methodology.

Top Tenants

The following table summarizes information about the 20 largest tenants in our portfolio based on total annualized base rental revenue as of December 31, 2023.

(1) Includes tenants, guarantors, and/or non-guarantor parents.

Scheduled Lease Expirations

As of December 31, 2023, our Weighted Average Lease Term was approximately 4.5 years. The following table summarizes lease expirations for leases in place as of December 31, 2023, plus available space, for each of the ten calendar years beginning with 2024 and thereafter in our portfolio.

(1) The month-to-month total rentable square footage includes a 40,000 square foot secondary short-term lease occupied by another tenant, whose lease count is included in their original long-term suite.

(2) Leases previously scheduled to expire in 2024, totaling approximately 7.0 million square feet, have been amended to extend their lease expiration date as of December 31, 2023. These leases amended are excluded from 2024 expirations and are reflected in the new year of expiration.

From time to time, we are a party to various lawsuits, claims and other legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business. We are not currently a party, as plaintiff or defendant, to any legal proceedings that, individually or in the aggregate, would be expected to have a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations if determined adversely to us.

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report. For the definitions of certain terms used in the following discussion, refer to Item 1, “Business - Certain Definitions” included elsewhere in this report.

Overview

We are a REIT focused on the acquisition, ownership, and operation of industrial properties throughout the United States. Our platform is designed to (i) identify properties for acquisition that offer relative value across CBRE-EA Tier 1 industrial property types and tenants through the principled application of our proprietary risk assessment model, (ii) provide growth through sophisticated industrial operation and an attractive opportunity set, and (iii) capitalize our business appropriately given the characteristics of our assets. We are a Maryland corporation and our common stock is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol “STAG.”

We are organized and conduct our operations to maintain our qualification as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Code, and generally are not subject to federal income tax to the extent we currently distribute our income to our stockholders and maintain our qualification as a REIT. We remain subject to state and local taxes on our income and property and to U.S. federal income and excise taxes on our undistributed income.

Our qualification and taxation as a REIT depend upon our ability to meet on a continuing basis, through actual annual operating results, qualification tests in the federal income tax laws. Those tests involve the percentage of income that we earn from specified sources, the percentage of our assets that falls within specified categories, the diversity of our capital stock ownership and the percentage of our earnings that we distribute.

As of December 31, 2023, we owned 569 buildings in 41 states with approximately 112.3 million rentable square feet, consisting of 493 warehouse/distribution buildings, 70 light manufacturing buildings, one flex/office building, and five Value Add Portfolio buildings. We own both single- and multi-tenant properties, although the majority of our portfolio is single-tenant.

As of December 31, 2023, our buildings were approximately 98.2% leased, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 2.9% of our total annualized base rental revenue and no single industry accounting for more than approximately 11.0% of our total annualized base rental revenue.

We own all of our properties and conduct substantially all of our business through our Operating Partnership, which we control and manage. As of December 31, 2023, we owned approximately 97.9% of the common units in our Operating Partnership, and our current and former executive officers, directors, senior employees and their affiliates, and other third parties owned the remaining 2.1%.

In connection with the successful completion of the previously announced management succession plan, (i) on June 30, 2023, the term of Benjamin S. Butcher as Executive Chairman ended, and he continues to serve on our board of directors as a non-management director, and (ii) on July 1, 2023, Larry T. Guillemette become the independent Chairman of the Board. In addition, on March 31, 2023, Steven T. Kimball joined our Company as Executive Vice President–Real Estate Operations.

Factors That May Influence Future Results of Operations

Our ability to increase revenues or cash flow will depend in part on our (i) external growth, specifically acquisition activity, and (ii) internal growth, specifically occupancy and rental rates on our portfolio. A variety of other factors, including those noted below, also affect our future results of operations.

Outlook

The industrial real estate business is affected by the recent high inflationary, rising interest rate environment, disruption in the banking industry, and geopolitical tensions. These factors are key drivers of financial market volatility and raise concerns about a slowing global economy. While U.S. gross domestic product (“GDP”) declined during the first two quarters of 2022, GDP increased more than 2.0% during the year ended June 30, 2023 and surged in the third quarter of 2023 to a 4.9% annualized growth rate. Labor conditions held strong with a consistent 3.7% unemployment rate as of December 2023. Going forward, the general consensus among economists is to expect low growth in the United States with a continued historically elevated risk of recession. While the macro-economic conditions continue to evolve and could result in tighter credit conditions, weakening tenant cash flows, and rising vacancy rates, we believe we will continue to benefit from having a well-diversified portfolio across various markets, tenant industries, and lease terms. Additionally, we believe that recent moves toward more regional supply chains and geopolitical tensions have accelerated a number of trends that positively impact U.S. industrial demand. However, given the current uncertainty and events discussed above, our acquisition activity slowed in 2022 and 2023 relative to our historical acquisition pace.

We believe that the current economic environment, while volatile, will provide us with an opportunity to demonstrate the diversification of our portfolio. Specifically, we believe our existing portfolio should benefit from competitive rental rates and strong occupancy. In addition to our diversified portfolio, we believe that certain characteristics of our business and capital structure should position us well in an uncertain environment, including our minimal floating rate debt exposure (taking into account our hedging activities), strong banking relationships, strong liquidity, access to capital, and the fact that many of our competitors for the assets we purchase tend to be smaller local and regional investors who may have been more heavily impacted by rising interest rates and lack of available capital.

Due to demographic/consumer trends, geopolitical uncertainty and recent legislation supporting U.S. infrastructure, we expect acceleration in a number of industrial specific trends to support stronger long term demand, including:

• the continued growth of e-commerce (as compared to the traditional retail store distribution model) and the concomitant demand by e-commerce industry participants for well-located, functional distribution space;
• the increasing attractiveness of the United States as a manufacturing and distribution location because of the size of the U.S. consumer market, an increase in overseas labor costs, a desire for greater supply chain resilience and redundancy which is driving higher inventory to sales ratios and greater domestic warehouse demand over the long term (i.e. the shortening and fattening of the supply chain); and
• the overall quality of the transportation infrastructure in the United States.

Our portfolio continues to benefit from historically low availability throughout the national industrial market. Demand moderated in 2023 relative to recent peaks, but remains solid across a broad array of our markets. Vacancy and availability rates, while rising, remain low by historical standards. The supply pipeline remains robust, albeit smaller and more notably concentrated in very large warehouses. Construction starts declined as a result of both moderating demand and volatile capital markets in 2023. The weakening global and U.S. economic trends could be a notable headwind and may result in relatively less demand for space and higher vacancy. We believe that the diversification of our portfolio by market, tenant industry, and tenant credit will prove to be a strength in this environment.

Conditions in Our Markets

The buildings in our portfolio are located in markets throughout the United States. Positive or negative changes in economic or other conditions, new supply, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, epidemics, and other factors in these markets may affect our overall performance.

Rental Income

We receive income primarily in the form of rental income from the tenants who occupy our buildings. The amount of rental income generated by the buildings in our portfolio depends principally on occupancy and rental rates.

Future economic downturns or regional downturns affecting our submarkets that impair our ability to renew or re-lease space and the ability of our tenants to fulfill their lease commitments, as in the case of tenant bankruptcies, could adversely affect our ability to maintain or increase rental rates at our buildings. Our ability to lease our properties and the attendant rental rate is dependent upon, among other things, (i) the overall economy, (ii) the supply/demand dynamic in our markets, (iii) the quality of our properties, including age, clear height, and configuration, and (iv) our tenants’ ability to meet their contractual obligations to us.

The following table summarizes our Operating Portfolio leases that commenced during the year ended December 31, 2023. Any rental concessions in such leases are accounted for on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

(1) “Total Costs” means the costs for improvements of vacant and renewal spaces, as well as the contingent-based legal fees and commissions for leasing transactions. Total Costs per square foot represent the total costs expected to be incurred on the leases that commenced during the period and do not reflect actual expenditures for the period.

(2) Represents the total rental concessions for the entire lease term.

Additionally, for the year ended December 31, 2023, leases related to the Value Add Portfolio and first generation leasing, with a total of 1,609,083 square feet, are excluded from the Operating Portfolio statistics above.

Property Operating Expenses

Our property operating expenses generally consist of utilities, real estate taxes, management fees, insurance, and site repair and maintenance costs. For the majority of our tenants, our property operating expenses are controlled, in part, by the triple net provisions in tenant leases. In our triple net leases, the tenant is responsible for all aspects of and costs related to the building and its operation during the lease term, including utilities, taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs, but typically excluding roof and building structure. However, we also have modified gross leases and gross leases, as well as leases with expense caps, in our building portfolio, which may require us to absorb certain building related expenses of our tenants. In our modified gross leases, we are responsible for certain building related expenses during the lease term, but most of the expenses are passed through to the tenant for reimbursement to us. In our gross leases, we are responsible for all expenses related to the building and its operation during the lease term. Our overall performance will be affected by the extent to which we are able to pass-through property operating expenses to our tenants.

Scheduled Lease Expirations

Our ability to re-lease space subject to expiring leases will impact our results of operations and is affected by economic and competitive conditions in our markets and by the desirability of our individual buildings. Leases that comprise approximately 7.6% of our total annualized base rental revenue will expire during the period from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, excluding month-to-month leases. We assume, based upon internal renewal probability estimates, that some of our tenants will renew and others will vacate and the associated space will be re-let subject to downtime assumptions. Using the aforementioned assumptions, we expect that, overall, the rental rates on the respective new leases will be greater than the rates under existing leases expiring during the period January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, thereby resulting in an increase in revenue from the same space.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported period. Certain estimates, judgments and assumptions are inherently subjective and based on the existing business and market conditions, and are therefore continually evaluated based upon available information and experience. The following items require significant estimation or judgement.

Purchase Price Accounting

We have determined that judgments regarding the allocation of the purchase price of properties based upon the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed represents a critical accounting estimate that has the potential to be material in future periods and has been material in all periods presented in this Form 10-K. As discussed below in “Critical Accounting Policies,” we allocate the purchase price of properties based upon the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, which generally consist of land, buildings, tenant improvements, mortgage debt assumed, and deferred leasing intangibles, which includes in-place leases, above market and below market leases, and tenant relationships, and therefore involves subjective analysis and uncertainty. The process for determining the allocation to these components requires estimates and assumptions, including rental rates, discount rates, exit capitalization rates, and land value per square foot. We do not believe that the conclusions we reached regarding the allocation of the purchase price of properties, in the current economic and operating environment, would result in a materially different conclusion within any reasonable range of assumptions that could have been applied. As discussed below, we continuously assess our portfolio for the impairment of tangible and intangible rental property and deferred leasing intangible liabilities.

Rental Property and Deferred Leasing Intangible Liabilities Impairment Assessment

We have determined that judgments regarding the impairment of tangible and intangible rental property and deferred leasing intangible liabilities represents a critical accounting estimate that has the potential to be material in future periods and has been material in certain periods presented in this Form 10-K. As discussed below in “Critical Accounting Policies,” we evaluate the carrying value of all tangible and intangible rental property assets and deferred leasing intangible liabilities (collectively, the “property”) held for use for possible impairment when an event or change in circumstance has occurred that indicates their carrying value may not be recoverable. The evaluation includes estimating and reviewing anticipated future undiscounted cash flows to be derived from the property. If such cash flows are less than the property’s carrying value, an impairment charge is recognized to the extent by which the asset’s carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value. Estimating future cash flows is highly subjective and is based in part on assumptions related to anticipated hold period, future occupancy, rental rates, capital requirements, and exit capitalization rates that could differ from actual results. The discount rate used to present value the cash flows for determining fair value is also subjective. We do not believe that the conclusions we reached regarding the assessment of our rental property assets for impairment, in the current economic and operating environment, would result in a materially different conclusion within any reasonable range of assumptions that could have been applied. Should economic conditions worsen, and the values of industrial assets decline in future periods, then the assumptions and estimates we may make in future impairment analyses, and potential future measurement of impairment charges, could be sensitive and could result in a material change in the range of potential outcomes.

Critical Accounting Policies

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to use judgment in the application of accounting policies, including making estimates and assumptions. 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 and 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. If our judgment or interpretation of the facts and circumstances relating to various transactions had been different, it is possible that different accounting policies would have been applied resulting in a different presentation of our financial statements. From time to time, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions. In the event estimates or assumptions prove to be different from actual results, adjustments are made in subsequent periods to reflect more current information. Below is a discussion of accounting policies that we consider critical in that they may require complex judgment in their application or require estimates about matters that are inherently uncertain.

Rental Property and Deferred Leasing Intangibles

Rental property is carried at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. Significant renovations and betterments that extend the economic useful lives of assets are capitalized.

We capitalize costs directly and indirectly related to the development, pre-development, redevelopment, or improvement of rental property. Real estate taxes, compensation costs of development personnel, insurance, interest, and other directly related costs during construction periods are capitalized as incurred, with depreciation commencing with the date the property is substantially completed. Such costs begin to be capitalized to the development projects from the point we are undergoing the necessary activities to get the development project ready for its intended use and cease when the development projects are substantially completed and held available for occupancy. Interest is capitalized based on actual capital expenditures from the period when development or redevelopment commences until the asset is ready for its intended use, at the weighted average borrowing rate of our unsecured indebtedness during the period.

For properties classified as held for sale, we cease depreciating and amortizing the rental property and value the rental property at the lower of depreciated and amortized cost or fair value less costs to dispose. We present those properties classified as held for sale with any qualifying assets and liabilities associated with those properties as held for sale in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Using information available at the time of acquisition, we allocate the purchase price of properties acquired based upon the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, which generally consist of land, buildings, tenant improvements, mortgage debt assumed, and deferred leasing intangibles, which includes in-place leases, above market and below market leases, and tenant relationships. The process for determining the allocation to these components requires estimates and assumptions, including rental rates, discount rates and exit capitalization rates, and land value per square foot, as well as available market information, and therefore involves subjective analysis and uncertainty. The fair value of the tangible assets of an acquired property considers the value of the property as if it were vacant. The portion of the purchase price that is allocated to above and below market leases is valued based on the present value of the difference between prevailing market rates and the in-place rates measured over a period equal to the remaining term of the lease term plus the term of any bargain renewal options. The purchase price is further allocated to in-place lease values and tenant relationships based on our evaluation of the specific characteristics of each tenant’s lease and its overall relationship with the respective tenant.

The above and below market lease values are amortized into rental income over the remaining lease term. The value of in-place lease intangibles and tenant relationships are amortized over the remaining lease term (and expected renewal period of the respective lease for tenant relationships) as increases to depreciation and amortization expense. The remaining lease terms are adjusted for bargain renewal options or assumed exercises of early termination options, as applicable. If a tenant subsequently terminates its lease, any unamortized portion of above and below market leases is accelerated into rental income and the in-place lease value and tenant relationships are accelerated into depreciation and amortization expense over the shortened lease term.

The purchase price allocated to deferred leasing intangible assets are included in rental property, net on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets, and the purchase price allocated to deferred leasing intangible liabilities are included in deferred leasing intangibles, net on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets under the liabilities section.

In determining the fair value of the debt assumed, we discount the spread between the future contractual interest payments and hypothetical future interest payments on mortgage debt based on a current market rate. The associated fair market value debt adjustment is amortized through interest expense over the life of the debt on a basis which approximates the effective interest method.

We evaluate the carrying value of all tangible and intangible rental property assets and deferred leasing intangible liabilities (collectively, the “property”) held for use for possible impairment when an event or change in circumstance has occurred that indicates their carrying value may not be recoverable. The evaluation includes estimating and reviewing anticipated future undiscounted cash flows to be derived from the property. If such cash flows are less than the property’s carrying value, an impairment charge is recognized to the extent by which the property’s carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value. Estimating future cash flows is highly subjective and is based in part on assumptions regarding anticipated hold period, future occupancy, rental rates, capital requirements, and exit capitalization rates that could differ from actual results. The discount rate used to present value the cash flows for determining fair value is also subjective.

Depreciation expense is computed using the straight-line method based on the following estimated useful lives.

Leases

For leases in which we are the lessee, we recognize a right-of-use asset and corresponding lease liability on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets equal to the present value of the fixed lease payments. In determining operating right-of-use asset and lease liability for our operating leases, we estimate an appropriate incremental borrowing rate on a fully-collateralized basis for the terms of the leases. We utilize a market-based approach to estimate the incremental borrowing rate for each individual lease. Since the terms under our ground leases are significantly longer than the terms of borrowings available to us on a fully-collateralized basis, the estimate of this rate requires significant judgment, and considers factors such as yields on outstanding public debt and other market based pricing on longer duration financing instruments.

Goodwill

The excess of the cost of an acquired business over the net of the amounts assigned to assets acquired (including identified intangible assets) and liabilities assumed is recorded as goodwill. Our goodwill of approximately $4.9 million represents amounts allocated to the assembled workforce from the acquired management company, and is presented in prepaid expenses and other assets on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Our goodwill has an indeterminate life and is not amortized, but is tested for impairment on an annual basis at December 31, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. We take a qualitative approach to consider whether an impairment of goodwill exists prior to quantitatively determining the fair value of the reporting unit in step one of the impairment test. We have recorded no impairments to goodwill as of December 31, 2023.

Use of Derivative Financial Instruments

We record all derivatives on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets at fair value. The accounting for changes in the fair value of derivatives depends on the intended use of the derivative, whether we have elected to designate a derivative in a hedging relationship and apply hedge accounting, and whether the hedging relationship has satisfied the criteria necessary to apply hedge accounting. Derivatives designated and qualifying as a hedge of the exposure to changes in the fair value of an asset, liability, or firm commitment attributable to a particular risk, such as interest rate risk, are considered fair value hedges. Derivatives designated and qualifying as a hedge of the exposure to variability in expected future cash flows, or other types of forecasted transactions, are considered cash flow hedges. Hedge accounting generally provides for the matching of the timing of gain or loss recognition on the hedging instrument with the recognition of the changes in the fair value of the hedged asset or liability that are attributable to the hedged risk in a fair value hedge or the earnings effect of the hedged forecasted transactions in a cash flow hedge. We may enter into derivative contracts that are intended to economically hedge certain of its risks, even though hedge accounting does not apply or we elect not to apply hedge accounting.

In accordance with fair value measurement guidance, we made an accounting policy election to measure the credit risk of our derivative financial instruments that are subject to master netting arrangements on a net basis by counterparty portfolio. Credit risk is the risk of failure of the counterparty to perform under the terms of the contract. We minimize the credit risk in our derivative financial instruments by entering into transactions with various high-quality counterparties. Our exposure to credit risk at any point is generally limited to amounts recorded as assets on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, tenant accounts receivable, interest rate swaps, accounts payable, accrued expenses, unsecured credit facility, unsecured term loans, unsecured notes, and mortgage notes. See Note 4 in the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for the fair value of our indebtedness. See Note 5 in the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for the fair value of our interest rate swaps.

We adopted fair value measurement provisions for our financial instruments recorded at fair value. The guidance establishes a three-tier value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

Incentive and Equity-Based Employee Compensation Plans

We grant equity-based compensation awards to our employees and directors in the form of restricted shares of common stock, LTIP units, and performance units. See Notes 6, 7 and 8 in the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of restricted shares of common stock, LTIP units, and performance units, respectively. We measure equity-based compensation expense based on the fair value of the awards on the grant date and recognize the expense ratably over the vesting period, and forfeitures are recognized in the period in which they occur.

On January 7, 2021, we adopted the STAG Industrial, Inc. Employee Retirement Vesting Program (the “Vesting Program”) to provide supplemental retirement benefits for eligible employees. For those employees who are retirement eligible or will become retirement eligible during the applicable vesting period under the terms of the Vesting Program, we accelerate equity-based compensation through the employee’s six-month retirement notification period or retirement eligibility date, respectively.

Revenue Recognition

All current leases are classified as operating leases and rental income is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease (and expected bargain renewal terms or assumed exercise of early termination options) when collectability is reasonably assured. Differences between rental income earned and amounts due under the lease are charged or credited, as applicable, to accrued rental income.

We determined that for all leases where we are the lessor, that the timing and pattern of transfer of the non-lease components and associated lease components are the same, and that the lease components, if accounted for separately, would be classified as an operating lease. Accordingly, we have made an accounting policy election to recognize the combined component in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842 as rental income on the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Rental income recognition commences when the tenant takes possession of or controls the physical use of the leased space and the leased space is substantially complete and ready for its intended use. In order to determine whether the leased space is substantially complete and ready for its intended use, we determine whether we or the tenant own the tenant improvements. When it is determined that we are the owner of the tenant improvements, rental income recognition begins when the tenant takes possession of or controls the physical use of the finished space, which is generally when our owned tenant improvements are completed. In instances when it is determined that the tenant is the owner of tenant improvements, rental income recognition begins when the tenant takes possession of or controls the physical use of the leased space.

When we are the owner of tenant improvements or other capital items, the cost to construct the tenant improvements or other capital items, including costs paid for or reimbursed by the tenants, is recorded as capital assets. For these tenant improvements or other capital items, the amount funded by or reimbursed by the tenants are recorded as deferred revenue, which is amortized on a straight-line basis as income over the shorter of the useful life of the capital asset or the term of the related lease.

Early lease termination fees are recorded in rental income on a straight-line basis from the notification date of such termination to the then remaining (not the original) lease term, if any, or upon collection if collection is not reasonably assured.

We evaluate cash basis versus accrual basis of rental income recognition based on the collectability of future lease payments.

Results of Operations

The following discussion of the results of our same store (as defined below) net operating income (“NOI”) should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements included in this report. For a detailed discussion of NOI, including the reasons management believes NOI is useful to investors, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below. Same store results are considered to be useful to investors in evaluating our performance because they provide information relating to changes in building-level operating performance without taking into account the effects of acquisitions or dispositions. We encourage the reader to not only look at our same store results, but also our total portfolio results, due to historic and future growth.

We define same store properties as properties that were in the Operating Portfolio for the entirety of the comparative periods presented. The results for same store properties exclude termination fees, solar income, and other income adjustments. Same store properties exclude Operating Portfolio properties with expansions placed into service after December 31, 2021. On December 31, 2023, we owned 513 industrial buildings consisting of approximately 101.7 million square feet, which represents approximately 90.6% of our total portfolio, that are considered our same store portfolio in the analysis below. Same store occupancy decreased approximately 0.7% to 98.4% as of December 31, 2023 compared to 99.1% as of December 31, 2022.

Discussions of selected operating information for our same store portfolio and our total portfolio for the comparison of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023.

Comparison of the year ended December 31, 2023 to the year ended December 31, 2022

The following table summarizes selected operating information for our same store portfolio and our total portfolio for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (dollars in thousands). This table includes a reconciliation from our same store portfolio to our total portfolio by also providing information for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 with respect to the buildings acquired and sold after December 31, 2021, Operating Portfolio buildings with expansions placed into service or transferred from the Value Add Portfolio to the Operating Portfolio after December 31, 2021, flex/office buildings, Value Add Portfolio buildings, and buildings classified as held for sale.

(1) For a detailed discussion of NOI, including the reasons management believes NOI is useful to investors, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below.

Net Income

Net income for our total portfolio increased by approximately $15.0 million or 8.2% to approximately $197.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to approximately $182.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Same Store Total Operating Revenue

Same store total operating revenue consists primarily of rental income consisting of (i) fixed lease payments, variable lease payments, straight-line rental income, and above and below market lease amortization from our properties (“lease income”), and (ii) other tenant billings for insurance, real estate taxes and certain other expenses (“other billings”).

For a detailed reconciliation of our same store total operating revenue to net income, see the table above.

Same store rental income, which is comprised of lease income and other billings as discussed below, increased by approximately $32.5 million or 5.4% to approximately $634.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to approximately $601.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Same store lease income increased approximately $22.8 million or 4.6% to approximately $518.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to approximately $495.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase in rental income of approximately $29.8 million from the execution of new leases and lease renewals with existing tenants. This increase was partially offset by the reduction of base rent of approximately $5.5 million due to tenant vacancies and a net increase in the amortization of net above market leases of approximately $0.5 million. Additionally, there was a decrease in same store lease income of approximately $1.0 million which was primarily attributable to management’s evaluation of operating leases to determine the probability of collecting substantially all of the lessee’s remaining lease payments under the lease term. For those that are not probable of collection, we convert to the cash basis of accounting. Management determined two tenants should be converted from the cash basis of accounting back to the accrual basis of accounting, for which approximately $1.5 million of straight-line rental income was recognized. This was offset by certain other tenants converting from the accrual basis of accounting to the cash basis of accounting, for which approximately $2.5 million of straight-line rental income was either reversed or was not recognized.

Same store other billings increased approximately $9.7 million or 9.2% to approximately $115.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to approximately $105.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was attributable to (i) an increase of approximately $5.7 million of real estate tax reimbursements due to an increase in real estate taxes levied by the taxing authority for certain tenants for which we pay the real estate taxes on their behalf, (ii) changes to lease terms where we began paying the real estate taxes on behalf of tenants that had previously paid the taxes directly to the taxing authorities, and (iii) occupancy of previously vacant buildings. The increase was also attributable to an increase of approximately $4.0 million in other expense reimbursements which was primarily due to an increase in corresponding expenses.

Same Store Operating Expenses

Same store operating expenses consist primarily of property operating expenses and real estate taxes and insurance.

For a detailed reconciliation of our same store portfolio operating expenses to net income, see the table above.

Total same store operating expenses increased approximately $8.7 million or 7.5% to approximately $124.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to approximately $115.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase was due to increases in real estate tax, insurance, repairs and maintenance, other expenses, and utilities expense of approximately $4.0 million, $2.5 million, $1.4 million, $1.4 million, and $0.2 million, respectively. These increases were partially offset by a reduction of snow removal expense of approximately $0.8 million.

Acquisitions and Dispositions Net Operating Income

For a detailed reconciliation of our acquisitions and dispositions NOI to net income, see the table above.

Subsequent to December 31, 2021, we acquired 35 buildings consisting of approximately 5.4 million square feet (excluding seven buildings that were included in the Value Add Portfolio at December 31, 2023 or transferred from the Value Add Portfolio to the Operating Portfolio after December 31, 2021), and sold 18 buildings consisting of approximately 3.8 million square feet. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the buildings acquired after December 31, 2021 contributed approximately $28.2 million and $16.0 million to NOI, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the buildings sold after December 31, 2021 contributed approximately $3.2 million and $10.9 million to NOI, respectively. Refer to Note 3 in the accompanying Notes to consolidated Financial Statements for additional discussion regarding buildings acquired or sold.

Other Net Operating Income

Our other assets include our flex/office buildings, Value Add Portfolio, buildings classified as held for sale, and Operating Portfolio buildings with expansions placed in service or transferred from the Value Add Portfolio to the Operating Portfolio after December 31, 2021. Other NOI also includes termination, solar, and other income adjustments from buildings in our same store portfolio.

For a detailed reconciliation of our other NOI to net income, see the table above.

These buildings contributed approximately $23.1 million and $14.0 million to NOI for the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. Additionally, there was approximately $4.1 million and $4.7 million of termination, solar, and other income adjustments from certain buildings in our same store portfolio for the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively.

Total Other Expenses

Total other expenses consist of general and administrative, depreciation and amortization, loss on impairment, and other expenses.

Total other expenses increased approximately $2.5 million or 0.8% for the year ended December 31, 2023 to approximately $330.6 million compared to approximately $328.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase was primarily attributable to an increase in depreciation and amortization of approximately $3.4 million due to an increase in the depreciable asset base from net acquisitions after December 31, 2022, as well as an increase in general and administrative expenses of approximately $0.5 million primarily due to increases in compensation and other payroll costs and professional fees. Other expenses also increased approximately $0.3 million due to the relinquishment of an acquisition deposit of approximately $2.5 million related to the termination of an acquisition contract in January 2023, whereas the relinquishment of an acquisition deposit of approximately $2.1 million related to a terminated acquisition contract was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2022. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in loss on impairment of approximately $1.8 million, as there was no loss on impairment recognized during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to a loss on impairment recognized at one building during the year ended December 31, 2022.

Total Other Income (Expense)

Total other income (expense) consists of interest and other income, interest expense, debt extinguishment and modification expenses, and gain on the sales of rental property, net. Interest expense includes interest incurred during the period as well as adjustments related to amortization of financing fees and debt issuance costs, and amortization of fair market value adjustments associated with the assumption of debt.

Total net other expense increased approximately $19.1 million or 90.0% to approximately $40.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to approximately $21.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase was primarily attributable to an increase in interest expense of approximately $16.6 million which was primarily attributable to the issuance of $400.0 million of unsecured notes on June 28, 2022, an additional $50.0 million (net) of unsecured term loans on July 26, 2022, and an increase in one-month Term SOFR. This increase was also attributable to a decrease in the gain on the sales of rental property, net of approximately $3.4 million. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in debt and modification expenses of approximately $0.8 million, as there were no debt and modification expenses during the year ended December 31, 2023.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this report, we disclose funds from operations (“FFO”) and NOI, which meet the definition of “non-GAAP financial measures” as set forth in Item 10(e) of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC. As a result, we are required to include in this report a statement of why management believes that presentation of these measures provides useful information to investors.

Funds From Operations

FFO should not be considered as an alternative to net income (determined in accordance with GAAP) as an indication of our performance, and we believe that to understand our performance further, FFO should be compared with our reported net income (loss) in accordance with GAAP, as presented in our consolidated financial statements included in this report.

We calculate FFO in accordance with the standards established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“Nareit”). FFO represents GAAP net income (loss), excluding gains (or losses) from sales of depreciable operating buildings, impairment write-downs of depreciable real estate, real estate related depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs and fair market value of debt adjustment) and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures.

Management uses FFO as a supplemental performance measure because it is a widely recognized measure of the performance of REITs. FFO may be used by investors as a basis to compare our operating performance with that of other REITs.

However, because FFO excludes depreciation and amortization and captures neither the changes in the value of our buildings that result from use or market conditions nor the level of capital expenditures and leasing commissions necessary to maintain the operating performance of our buildings, all of which have real economic effects and could materially impact our results from operations, the utility of FFO as a measure of our performance is limited. In addition, other REITs may not calculate FFO in accordance with the Nareit definition, and, accordingly, our FFO may not be comparable to such other REITs’ FFO. FFO should not be used as a measure of our liquidity, and is not indicative of funds available for our cash needs, including our ability to pay dividends.

The following table summarizes a reconciliation of our FFO attributable to common stockholders and unit holders for the periods presented to net income, the nearest GAAP equivalent.

Net Operating Income

We consider NOI to be an appropriate supplemental performance measure to net income (loss) because we believe it helps investors and management understand the core operations of our buildings. NOI is defined as rental income, which includes billings for common area maintenance, real estate taxes and insurance, less property expenses, real estate tax expense and insurance expense. NOI should not be viewed as an alternative measure of our financial performance since it excludes expenses which could materially impact our results of operations. Further, our NOI may not be comparable to that of other real estate companies, as they may use different methodologies for calculating NOI.

The following table summarizes a reconciliation of our NOI for the periods presented to net income, the nearest GAAP equivalent.

Cash Flows

Comparison of the year ended December 31, 2023 to the year ended December 31, 2022

The following table summarizes our cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022.

Net cash provided by operating activities increased approximately $3.2 million to approximately $391.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to approximately $387.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to incremental operating cash flows from property acquisitions completed after December 31, 2022, and operating performance at existing properties. These increases were partially offset by the loss of cash flows from property dispositions completed after December 31, 2022 and fluctuations in working capital due to timing of payments and rental receipts.

Net cash used in investing activities decreased approximately $127.2 million to approximately $320.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to approximately $447.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily attributable to the acquisition of 16 buildings during the year ended December 31, 2023 of approximately $321.9 million, compared to the acquisition of 26 buildings during the year ended December 31, 2022 of approximately $472.6 million. Additionally, there was a decrease in cash paid for additions of land and building and improvements of approximately $3.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. These decreases in net cash used in investing activities were partially offset by decrease in proceeds from sales of rental property, net of approximately $29.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022.

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities decreased approximately $138.9 million to approximately $75.7 million net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to approximately $63.2 million net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022. This decrease was primarily attributable to the funding of the $400.0 million unsecured notes on June 28, 2022 and the $50.0 million (net) unsecured term loans on July 26, 2022, that did not occur during the year ended December 31, 2023, as well as the redemption of $100.0 million of unsecured notes on January 5, 2023 that did not occur during the year ended December 31, 2022. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in net borrowings of approximately $348.0 million under our unsecured credit facility and an increase in proceeds from sales of common stock, net of approximately $14.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. Additionally, we paid in full a mortgage note of approximately $3.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, in which we paid in full a mortgage note in the amount of approximately $46.6 million.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We believe that our liquidity needs will be satisfied through cash flows generated by operations, disposition proceeds, and financing activities. Operating cash flow from rental income, expense recoveries from tenants, and other income from operations is our principal source of funds to pay operating expenses, debt service, recurring capital expenditures, and the distributions required to maintain our REIT qualification. We primarily rely on the capital markets (equity and debt securities) to fund our acquisition activity. We seek to increase cash flows from our properties by maintaining quality building standards that promote high occupancy rates and permit increases in rental rates, while reducing tenant turnover and controlling operating expenses. We believe that our revenue, together with proceeds from building sales and equity and debt financings, will continue to provide funds for our short-term and medium-term liquidity needs.

Our short-term liquidity requirements consist primarily of funds necessary to pay for operating expenses and other expenditures directly associated with our buildings, including interest expense, interest rate swap payments, scheduled principal payments on outstanding indebtedness, property acquisitions under contract, general and administrative expenses, and capital expenditures including development projects, tenant improvements and leasing commissions.

Our long-term liquidity needs, in addition to recurring short-term liquidity needs as discussed above, consist primarily of funds necessary to pay for property acquisitions and scheduled debt maturities. We intend to satisfy our long-term liquidity needs through cash flow from operations, the issuance of equity or debt securities, other borrowings, property dispositions, or, in connection with acquisitions of certain additional buildings, the issuance of common units in our Operating Partnership.

As of December 31, 2023, we had total immediate liquidity of approximately $615.4 million, comprised of approximately $20.7 million of cash and cash equivalents and approximately $594.7 million of immediate availability on our unsecured credit facility. When incorporating our total immediate liquidity of $615.4 million and approximately $41.3 million of forward sale proceeds available to us under our ATM common stock offering program through December 14, 2024, our total liquidity was approximately $656.7 million as of December 31, 2023.

In addition, we require funds to pay dividends to holders of our common stock and common units in our Operating Partnership. Any future dividends on our common stock are declared in the sole discretion of our board of directors, subject to the distribution requirements to maintain our REIT status for federal income tax purposes, and may be reduced or stopped for any reason, including to use funds for other liquidity requirements.

Indebtedness Outstanding

The following table summarizes certain information with respect to our indebtedness outstanding as of December 31, 2023.

(1) Interest rate as of December 31, 2023. At December 31, 2023, the one-month Term SOFR was 5.35472%. The current interest rate is not adjusted to include the amortization of deferred financing fees or debt issuance costs incurred in obtaining debt or any unamortized fair market value premiums or discounts. The spread over the applicable rate for our unsecured credit facility and unsecured term loans is based on our debt rating and leverage ratio, as defined in the respective loan agreements.

(2) Our unsecured credit facility has a stated rate of one-month Term SOFR plus a 0.10% adjustment and a spread of 0.775%, less a sustainability-related interest rate adjustment of 0.02%. Our unsecured term loans have a stated interest rate of one-month Term SOFR plus a 0.10% adjustment and a spread of 0.85%, less a sustainability-related interest rate adjustment of 0.02%. As of December 31, 2023, one-month Term SOFR for the Unsecured Term Loans A, F, G, H, and I was swapped to a fixed rate of 1.31%, 2.11%, 0.95%, 2.90%, and 2.66%, respectively (which includes the 0.10% adjustment). One-month Term SOFR for the Unsecured Term Loan H will be swapped to a fixed rate of 2.50% effective January 12, 2024.

(3) Prepayment terms consist of (i) pre-payable with no penalty; and (ii) pre-payable with penalty.

(4) The capacity of our unsecured credit facility is $1.0 billion. The initial maturity date is October 24, 2025, or such later date which may be extended pursuant to two six-month extension options exercisable by us in our discretion upon advance written notice. Exercise of each six-month option is subject to the following conditions: (i) absence of a default immediately before the extension and immediately after giving effect to the extension, (ii) accuracy of representations and warranties as of the extension date (both immediately before and after the extension), as if made on the extension date, and (iii) payment of a fee. Neither extension option is subject to lender consent, assuming proper notice and satisfaction of the conditions. We are required to pay a facility fee on the aggregate commitment amount (currently $1.0 billion) at a rate per annum of 0.1% to 0.3%, depending on our debt rating, as defined in the credit agreement. The facility fee is due and payable quarterly.

(5) The weighted average interest rate was calculated using the fixed interest rate swapped on the notional amount of $1,025.0 million of debt and is not adjusted to include the amortization of deferred financing fees or debt issuance costs incurred in obtaining debt or any unamortized fair market value premiums or discounts.

The aggregate undrawn nominal commitments on our unsecured credit facility as of December 31, 2023 was approximately $594.7 million, including issued letters of credit. Our actual borrowing capacity at any given point in time may be less and is restricted to a maximum amount based on our debt covenant compliance.

On December 15, 2023, the mortgage note associated with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in the amount of approximately $3.2 million was repaid in full.

On January 19, 2023, the sustainability-related interest rate adjustment for our Unsecured Term Loan H and Unsecured Term Loan I went into effect in connection with our 2022 public disclosure assessment score of “A” from the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). The interest rate adjustment, a 0.02% interest rate reduction for each instrument, will end on June 29, 2024, in accordance with the respective loan agreements.

On January 5, 2023, we redeemed in full at maturity the $100.0 million in aggregate principal amount of the Series F Unsecured Notes with a fixed interest rate of 3.98%.

The following table summarizes our debt capital structure as of December 31, 2023.

(1) “Net Debt” means amounts outstanding under our unsecured credit facility, unsecured term loans, unsecured notes, and mortgage notes, less cash and cash equivalents. “Real Estate Cost Basis” means the book value of rental property and deferred leasing intangibles, exclusive of the related accumulated depreciation and amortization.

We regularly pursue new financing opportunities to ensure an appropriate balance sheet position. As a result of these dedicated efforts, we are confident in our ability to meet future debt maturities and fund acquisitions. We believe that our current balance sheet is in an adequate position at the date of this filing, despite possible volatility in the credit markets.

Our interest rate exposure on our floating rate debt is managed through the use of interest rate swaps, which fix the rate of our long term floating rate debt. For a detailed discussion on our use of interest rate swaps, see “Interest Rate Risk” below.

Unsecured Indebtedness – Financial Covenants and Other Terms

The unsecured credit facility provides for a facility fee payable by us to the lenders at a rate per annum of 0.1% to 0.3%, depending on our debt rating, as defined in the credit agreement, of the aggregate commitments (currently $1.0 billion). The facility fee is due and payable quarterly.

Financial Covenants: Our ability to borrow, maintain borrowings and avoid default under our unsecured credit facility, unsecured term loans, and unsecured notes is subject to our ongoing compliance with a number of financial covenants, including:

• a maximum consolidated leverage ratio of not greater than 0.60:1.00;
• a maximum secured leverage ratio of not greater than 0.40:1.00;
• a maximum unencumbered leverage ratio of not greater than 0.60:1.00;
• a minimum fixed charge ratio of not less than or equal to 1.50:1.00;
• a minimum unsecured interest coverage ratio of not less than or equal to 1.75:1.00; and
• with respect to our unsecured notes, a minimum interest coverage ratio of not less than 1.50:1.00.

As of December 31, 2023, we were in compliance with the applicable financial covenants.

Pursuant to the terms of our unsecured debt agreements, we may not pay distributions that exceed the minimum amount required for us to qualify and maintain our status as a REIT if a default or event of default occurs and is continuing.

Pursuant to the terms of our unsecured loan agreements, if a default or event of default occurs and is continuing, we may not pay distributions that exceed the minimum amount required for us to qualify and maintain our status as a REIT.

Events of Default: Our unsecured credit facility and unsecured term loans contain customary events of default, including, but not limited to, non-payment of principal, interest, fees or other amounts, defaults in the compliance with the financial and other covenants contained in the applicable loan agreement, cross-defaults to other material debt, and bankruptcy or other insolvency events.

Borrower and Guarantors: Our Operating Partnership is the borrower under our unsecured credit facility and unsecured term loans and the issuer of the unsecured notes. The Company and certain of its subsidiaries guarantee the obligations under our unsecured loan agreements.

Supplemental Guarantor Information

We have filed a registration statement with the SEC allowing us to offer, from time to time, an indefinite amount of equity and debt securities on an as-needed basis, including debt securities of our Operating Partnership that are guaranteed by the Company. Any such guarantees issued by the Company will be full, irrevocable, unconditional, and absolute joint and several guarantees to the holders of each series of such outstanding guaranteed debt securities. Pursuant to Rule 3-10 of Regulation S-X, subsidiary issuers of obligations guaranteed by the parent are not required to provide separate financial statements, provided that the subsidiary obligor is consolidated into the parent company’s consolidated financial statements, the parent guarantee is “full and unconditional” and, subject to certain exceptions as set forth below, the alternative disclosure required by Rule 13-01 of Regulation S-X is provided, which includes narrative disclosure and summarized financial information. Accordingly, we have not presented separate consolidated financial statements of our Operating Partnership. Furthermore, as permitted under Rule 13-01(a)(4)(vi) of Regulation S-X, we have not presented summarized financial information for our Operating Partnership because the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of our Operating Partnership are not materially different than the corresponding amounts in the Company’s consolidated financial statements, and we believe the inclusion of such summarized financial information would be repetitive and would not provide incremental value to investors.

Equity

Preferred Stock

We are authorized to issue up to 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.

Common Stock

We are authorized to issue up to 300,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share.

Pursuant to the equity distribution agreements for our ATM common stock offering program, we may from time to time sell common stock through sales agents and their affiliates, including shares sold on a forward basis under forward sale agreements. The following table summarizes our ATM common stock offering program as of December 31, 2023.

There was no settled activity under the ATM common stock offering program during the three months ended December 31, 2023.

Subsequent to December 31, 2023, on January 9, 2024 we sold 567,112 shares on a forward basis under the ATM common stock offering program at a sale price of $38.8818 per share (an aggregate of approximately $22.1 million gross sale price), or $38.5058 per share net of commissions. We did not receive any proceeds from the sale of such shares on a forward basis. We expect to fully physically settle the applicable forward sale agreement on one or more dates prior to the scheduled maturity date of January 9, 2025, at which point we would receive the proceeds net of certain costs; provided, however, we may elect to cash settle or net share settle such forward sale agreement at any time through the scheduled maturity date.

On December 14, 2023, we sold 1,100,000 shares on a forward basis under the ATM common stock offering program at a sale price of $38.00 per share (an aggregate of approximately $41.8 million gross sale price), or $37.62 per share net of commissions. We did not receive any proceeds from the sale of such shares on a forward basis. We expect to fully physically settle the applicable forward sale agreement on one or more dates prior to the scheduled maturity date of December 14, 2024, at which point we would receive the proceeds net of certain costs; provided, however, we may elect to cash settle or net share settle such forward sale agreement at any time through the scheduled maturity date.

On June 16, 2023, we sold 992,295 shares on a forward basis under the ATM common stock offering program at a weighted average sale price of $36.5319 per share (an aggregate of approximately $36.3 million in gross sale price), or $36.1820 per share net of commissions. We did not initially receive any proceeds from the sale of shares on a forward basis. On July 27, 2023, we physically settled in full the forward sales agreements by issuing 992,295 shares of common stock for net proceeds of approximately $35.9 million, or $36.2046 per share.

On May 5, 2023, we sold 725,698 shares on a forward basis under the ATM common stock offering program at a sale price of $35.0458 per share (an aggregate of approximately $25.4 million in gross sale price), or $34.6953 per share net of commissions. We did not initially receive any proceeds from the sale of shares on a forward basis. On July 27, 2023, we physically settled in full the forward sales agreements by issuing 725,698 shares of common stock for net proceeds of approximately $25.2 million, or $34.7714 per share.

Noncontrolling Interests

We own all of our properties and conduct substantially all of our business through our Operating Partnership. We are the sole member of the sole general partner of our Operating Partnership. As of December 31, 2023, we owned approximately 97.9% of the common units in our Operating Partnership, and our current and former executive officers, directors, senior employees and their affiliates, and third parties that contributed properties to us in exchange for common units in our Operating Partnership owned the remaining 2.1%.

Interest Rate Risk

We use interest rate swaps to fix the rate of our variable rate debt. As of December 31, 2023, all of our outstanding variable rate debt, with the exception of our unsecured credit facility, was fixed with interest rate swaps through maturity.

We recognize all derivatives on the balance sheet at fair value. If the derivative is designated as a hedge, depending on the nature of the hedge, changes in the fair value of derivatives are either offset against the change in fair value of the hedged assets, liabilities, or firm commitments through earnings or recognized in other comprehensive income (loss), which is a component of equity. Derivatives that are not designated as hedges must be adjusted to fair value and the changes in fair value must be reflected as income or expense.

We have established criteria for suitable counterparties in relation to various specific types of risk. We only use counterparties that have a credit rating of no lower than investment grade at swap inception from Moody’s Investor Services, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings, or other nationally recognized rating agencies.

The swaps are all designated as cash flow hedges of interest rate risk, and all are valued as Level 2 financial instruments. Level 2 financial instruments are defined as significant other observable inputs. As of December 31, 2023, we had 21 interest rate swaps outstanding that were in an asset position of approximately $50.4 million, including any adjustment for nonperformance risk related to these agreements.

As of December 31, 2023, we had approximately $1.4 billion of variable rate debt. As of December 31, 2023, all of our outstanding variable rate debt, with the exception of our unsecured credit facility, was fixed with interest rate swaps through maturity. To the extent interest rates increase, interest costs on our floating rate debt not fixed with interest rate swaps will increase, which could adversely affect our cash flow and our ability to pay principal and interest on our debt and our ability to make distributions to our security holders. From time to time, we may enter into interest rate swap agreements and other interest rate hedging contracts, including swaps, caps and floors. In addition, an increase in interest rates could decrease the amounts third parties are willing to pay for our assets, thereby limiting our ability to change our portfolio promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions.

Off-balance Sheet Arrangements

As of December 31, 2023, we had letters of credit related to development projects and certain other agreements of approximately $3.3 million. As of December 31, 2023, we had no other material off-balance sheet arrangements.

Our future income, cash flows and fair values relevant to financial instruments are dependent upon prevailing market interest rates. Market risk refers to the risk of loss from adverse changes in market prices and interest rates. The primary market risk we are exposed to is interest rate risk. We have used derivative financial instruments to manage, or hedge, interest rate risks related to our borrowings, primarily through interest rate swaps.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $1.4 billion of variable rate debt. As of December 31, 2023, all of our outstanding variable rate debt, with the exception of our unsecured credit facility which had a balance of $402.0 million, was fixed with interest rate swaps through maturity. To the extent we undertake additional variable rate indebtedness, if interest rates increase, then so will the interest costs on our unhedged variable rate debt, which could adversely affect our cash flow and our ability to pay principal and interest on our debt and our ability to make distributions to our security holders. Further, rising interest rates could limit our ability to refinance existing debt when it matures or significantly increase our future interest expense. From time to time, we enter into interest rate swap agreements and other interest rate hedging contracts, including swaps, caps and floors. While these agreements are intended to lessen the impact of rising interest rates on us, they also expose us to the risk that the other parties to the agreements will not perform, we could incur significant costs associated with the settlement of the agreements, the agreements will be unenforceable and the underlying transactions will fail to qualify as highly-effective cash flow hedges under GAAP. In addition, an increase in interest rates could decrease the amounts third parties are willing to pay for our assets, thereby limiting our ability to change our portfolio promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions. In addition, an increase in interest rates could decrease the amounts third parties are willing to pay for our assets, thereby limiting our ability to change our portfolio promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions. If interest rates increased by 100 basis points and assuming we had an outstanding balance of $402.0 million on our unsecured credit facility for the year ended December 31, 2023, our interest expense would have increased by approximately $4.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As required by SEC Rule 13a-15(b), we have evaluated, under the supervision of and with the participation of management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act, as of December 31, 2023. Based on the foregoing, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures for the periods covered by this report were effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and 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.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on our evaluation under the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013), our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2023.

The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which appears on page F-2 of this report.

Changes in Internal Controls

There was no change to our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.