Agree Realty: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors

On its third-quarter 2026 earnings call, held on Oct. 21, 2026, Agree Realty (NYSE:ADC) announced updated full-year 2026 investment volume guidance of approximately $1.6 billion, reflecting management's adjustment for higher borrowing costs. The real estate investment trust maintains a property portfolio occupied at 99.8%, providing stable rental revenue while leadership recalibrates its capital deployment strategy. Three things management said stand out.

1. Management Chooses Yield Over Investment Volume

Higher borrowing costs prompted leadership to lower 2026 acquisition guidance to approximately $1.6 billion and to push for higher acquisition cap rates, which represent net initial yields on property purchases. Rather than chasing transaction volume at lower yields, the company is repricing its deal pipeline to protect profit margins.

While we have raised $1.1 billion of attractive capital this year, including forward equity at approximately $75 per share and a recently completed 10-year unsecured bond offering at just under 5.4%, we are in no rush to deploy at yesteryear's pricing.
-- Joey Agree, President and Chief Executive Officer

2. Development Platform Projects Doubled Year over Year

Development activity offers higher initial returns than standard property purchases, creating a key growth channel in a tight market. The company committed over $255 million across 26 projects in the first nine months of the year through its developer funding platform (DFP), where it funds custom construction for major retail tenants.

Through September 30th, we have commenced projects totaling approximately $163 million, nearly doubling the level achieved in the prior period. We continue to make progress toward our medium-term objective of $250 million in annual development and developer funding platform commencements.
-- Joey Agree, President and Chief Executive Officer

3. Conservative Balance Sheet Provides Liquidity Firepower

The company holds $2 billion in total liquidity with no material debt maturities until 2028, shielding operations from credit market fluctuations. Its net debt-to-recurring EBITDA -- a metric comparing debt obligations to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization -- stands at 3.9 times on a pro forma basis.

Pro forma for the settlement of all outstanding forward equity, net debt to recurring EBITDA was approximately 3.9x, reflecting our conservative and well-positioned balance sheet.
-- Peter Coughenour, Chief Financial Officer

Looking Ahead

High occupancy and long-term leases continue to protect organic revenue across all 50 states. The company maintains a 99.8% occupied retail portfolio with 65% investment-grade tenant exposure, giving leadership the flexibility to reprice prospective deals rather than compromise on underlying credit quality.

Our best-in-class retail portfolio with highly durable cash flows and limited lease rollover, in conjunction with our fortress balance sheet, provide for a meaningful competitive advantage.
-- Joey Agree, President and Chief Executive Officer

A flexible liquidity cushion allows management to pursue higher-yielding developments while recycling capital from lower-yielding assets. That structural balance underpins leadership's expectations for consistent adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per-share growth into 2027.

That foundation positions us to generate the mid-single AFFO growth per share and double-digit operational returns in 2027 that we have consistently delivered over the past few years.
-- Joey Agree, President and Chief Executive Officer

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