# W P Carey (WPC.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/WPC

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:33:10.673Z. Financial observations: FY1997–FY2025.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: pass; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $64.45 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

Estimated value: low $64.25 per share, central $73.03 per share, high $84.72 per share. Buy at or below the central value $73.03 per share. Valuation as of 2026-10-16T07:33:10.673Z; scenarios are not confidence intervals.

Expected annual return: 11.0% at the stated quote. About 11.0% a year at today's price (required return 10.0%). required return 10.0% a year (10% floor; US 10-year bond 5.1% + 4 points).

## Checklist

### understandable: pass

- 4 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 4

- Years with a net loss: 0

- Operating margin variation: 0.15×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 0.81×

- FY2017: 0.82×

- FY2018: 0.85×

- FY2019: 0.85×

- FY2020: 0.87×

- FY2021: 0.87×

- FY2022: 0.86×

- FY2023: 0.84×

- FY2024: 0.83×

- FY2025: 0.44×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- Recent gross margin fell 65.4pp below the typical margin (limit 4pp)

- ROIC, median of available years: 7.8%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: 4.6%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 65.4 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 94.1%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 28.6%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 8.9%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: 5.1%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 10.0%

- FY2017: 6.4%

- FY2018: 4.1%

- FY2019: 7.9%

- FY2020: 8.2%

- FY2021: 7.7%

- FY2022: 7.5%

- FY2023: 9.0%

- FY2024: 8.2%

- FY2025: 4.6%

### economics: fail

- working capital as a share of revenue rose more than 10pp and ends positive

- Owner earnings / net income, 5-yr: 1.85×

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: $4.9B

- Net income, five-year total: $2.6B

- Return on incremental invested capital: >100%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 7.1 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 67.0 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 50.2%

Chart: Annual owner cash / profit; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: 2.32×

- FY2022: 1.77×

- FY2023: 1.72×

- FY2024: 1.86×

- FY2025: 1.74×

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2016 to 2025 (9 years)

- buybacks unrelated to price (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 6.4% vs 8.2%

- Per-share earnings: 2.45 to 2.11 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- five-year and ten-year diluted share growth both above threshold

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 7.4%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 4.4%

- Market cap gain: $7.7B

- Cumulative retained earnings: -$2.6B

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 7.4%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 4.4%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2016

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value growth: -1.9%

- Per-share value change: -$0.34

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: $2.45

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: $2.11

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): -0.20

- Average buyback yield: 0.1%

- Buyback history: 4 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: No

- Acquisition spending: $2.8B

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: $4.4B

- ROIC, first three-year median: 6.4%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 8.2%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: $2.45

- FY2017: $2.51

- FY2018: $3.42

- FY2019: $1.75

- FY2020: $2.55

- FY2021: $2.24

- FY2022: $2.99

- FY2023: $3.28

- FY2024: $2.09

- FY2025: $2.11

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -4.5%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 1.35×

- Restructuring years, last five: 2

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 3.1%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 2.75×

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.43×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -3.3%

- FY2017: -2.9%

- FY2018: -0.7%

- FY2019: -3.6%

- FY2020: -2.4%

- FY2021: -3.3%

- FY2022: -2.2%

- FY2023: -2.0%

- FY2024: -7.8%

- FY2025: -4.5%

## Holders

- [Matthew McLennan](https://gigainvestors.com/FE): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

## Price story

Down 28% since Jul 2022 · sales +8.9%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:59:52.697Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

Price needs cash profits to shrink 0.7% a year for ten years

- 2025-11-10: W. P. Carey (WPC) Boosts 2025 Earnings Outlook Amid Strengthened Rent Collection Prospects ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/w-p-carey-wpc-boosts-201057670.html))

- 2026-04-29: WPC Q1 AFFO Tops Estimates on Investment Activity and Rent Growth ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/wpc-q1-affo-tops-estimates-143100471.html))

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales +8.9%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1025378/000102537826000036/wpc-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-11.

- FY2016: $909M 

- FY2017: $861M 

- FY2018: $923M 

- FY2019: $1.2B 

- FY2020: $1.2B 

- FY2021: $1.3B 

- FY2022: $1.5B 

- FY2023: $1.7B 

- FY2024: $1.6B 

- FY2025: $1.7B 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 28.6%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1025378/000102537826000036/wpc-20251231.htm; observed 2026-02-11.

- FY2016: 93.2% 

- FY2017: 94.5% 

- FY2018: 95.4% 

- FY2019: 93.6% 

- FY2020: 95.4% 

- FY2021: 95.4% 

- FY2022: 94.7% 

- FY2023: 92.0% 

- FY2024: 92.4% 

- FY2025: 28.6% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in property rentals; annual sales are USD 1.7 billion.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1025378/000102537826000036/wpc-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-11); FY2025: revenue 1716485000; grossProfit 491486000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); WPC.US: W. P. Carey Inc. ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate. It includes 1,748 net lease properties covering approximately 188 million square feet as of June 30, 2026. With offices in New York, London, Amsterdam and Dallas, the company remains focused on investing primarily in single-tenant, industrial, warehouse and retail properties located in the U.S. and Europe, under long-term net leases with built-in rent escalations. W. P. Carey Inc. was incorporated in 1973 in Maryland, USA.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 28.6% to 92.4% during 2023–25; it earns 7.8% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 92%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 92.4%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1025378/000102537826000036/wpc-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-11); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 28.6%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,0.0999107680775912],[2017,0.06415897608473695],[2018,0.0413385617148821],[2019,0.07912211590084048],[2020,0.08185211680717666],[2021,0.07692699285330423],[2022,0.07534108989065497],[2023,0.08978910917439287],[2024,0.08205782398411637],[2025,0.0455263600968878]]; median 0.07802455437707236. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Reinvests 0.4% of cash earnings; paid dividends in 10 of 10 years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2016: growth capex 0; upkeep 8899999; owner earnings 541862001. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2017: growth capex 0; upkeep 78920000; owner earnings 514835000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2018: growth capex 0; upkeep 107684000; owner earnings 653180000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2019: growth capex 30289000; upkeep 544908000; owner earnings 305243000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.0992291387517486.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2020: growth capex 0; upkeep 656313000; owner earnings 307992000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2021: growth capex 0; upkeep 8293000; owner earnings 949327000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2022: growth capex 0; upkeep 104441000; cash acquisitions 509749000; owner earnings 1057688000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.4819464719274493.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2023: growth capex 0; upkeep 121625000; cash acquisitions 27735000; owner earnings 1214833000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.022830298485470843.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); FY2024: growth capex 0; upkeep 135327000; cash acquisitions 15734000; owner earnings 857090000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.018357465377031583.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1025378/000102537826000036/wpc-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-11); FY2025: growth capex 0; upkeep 191213000; cash acquisitions 2853000; owner earnings 812791000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.0035101274497380017.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); Dividend observations: [[2016,416655000],[2017,431182000],[2018,440431000],[2019,704396000],[2020,726955000],[2021,764281000],[2022,835257000],[2023,916530000],[2024,765146000],[2025,790032000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1025378/000102537826000036/wpc-20251231.htm (filed 2026-02-11); FY2025: cash repurchases 14873000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 1% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); WPC.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 0.984 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price assumes cash profits shrink 0.7% yearly over ten years; actual decline was 1.8%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-02-11); Ten-year compound average after fade. Initial solved rate -0.02237157407423146. Price 64.45; FX 1; discount 0.1; same standard ten-year fade to terminal 0.03. FY2015 owner earnings/share 4.421113969994027 → FY2025 3.6759187161252234. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2016-10: $60.71 per share

- 2016-11: $58.09 per share

- 2016-12: $59.06 per share

- 2017-01: $61.91 per share

- 2017-02: $63.06 per share

- 2017-03: $62.19 per share

- 2017-04: $62.57 per share

- 2017-05: $65.20 per share

- 2017-06: $65.98 per share

- 2017-07: $68.48 per share

- 2017-08: $68.82 per share

- 2017-09: $67.36 per share

- 2017-10: $68.12 per share

- 2017-11: $71.15 per share

- 2017-12: $68.87 per share

- 2018-01: $64.78 per share

- 2018-02: $59.89 per share

- 2018-03: $61.96 per share

- 2018-04: $63.82 per share

- 2018-05: $67.18 per share

- 2018-06: $66.32 per share

- 2018-07: $65.35 per share

- 2018-08: $66.55 per share

- 2018-09: $64.28 per share

- 2018-10: $65.98 per share

- 2018-11: $67.72 per share

- 2018-12: $65.31 per share

- 2019-01: $74.86 per share

- 2019-02: $73.84 per share

- 2019-03: $78.29 per share

- 2019-04: $79.28 per share

- 2019-05: $82.97 per share

- 2019-06: $81.14 per share

- 2019-07: $86.50 per share

- 2019-08: $89.76 per share

- 2019-09: $89.46 per share

- 2019-10: $92.02 per share

- 2019-11: $83.38 per share

- 2019-12: $80.00 per share

- 2020-01: $84.08 per share

- 2020-02: $77.37 per share

- 2020-03: $58.05 per share

- 2020-04: $65.75 per share

- 2020-05: $59.88 per share

- 2020-06: $67.62 per share

- 2020-07: $71.34 per share

- 2020-08: $69.34 per share

- 2020-09: $65.13 per share

- 2020-10: $62.58 per share

- 2020-11: $69.18 per share

- 2020-12: $70.55 per share

- 2021-01: $66.37 per share

- 2021-02: $68.51 per share

- 2021-03: $70.73 per share

- 2021-04: $74.86 per share

- 2021-05: $75.42 per share

- 2021-06: $74.59 per share

- 2021-07: $80.65 per share

- 2021-08: $78.08 per share

- 2021-09: $73.01 per share

- 2021-10: $77.07 per share

- 2021-11: $76.32 per share

- 2021-12: $82.01 per share

- 2022-01: $77.56 per share

- 2022-02: $77.36 per share

- 2022-03: $80.80 per share

- 2022-04: $80.73 per share

- 2022-05: $84.10 per share

- 2022-06: $82.82 per share

- 2022-07: $89.26 per share

- 2022-08: $83.99 per share

- 2022-09: $69.77 per share

- 2022-10: $76.27 per share

- 2022-11: $78.76 per share

- 2022-12: $78.11 per share

- 2023-01: $85.49 per share

- 2023-02: $81.12 per share

- 2023-03: $77.41 per share

- 2023-04: $74.17 per share

- 2023-05: $69.33 per share

- 2023-06: $67.53 per share

- 2023-07: $67.50 per share

- 2023-08: $65.02 per share

- 2023-09: $54.06 per share

- 2023-10: $53.63 per share

- 2023-11: $62.24 per share

- 2023-12: $64.81 per share

- 2024-01: $61.96 per share

- 2024-02: $56.33 per share

- 2024-03: $56.44 per share

- 2024-04: $54.84 per share

- 2024-05: $56.40 per share

- 2024-06: $55.05 per share

- 2024-07: $57.81 per share

- 2024-08: $60.02 per share

- 2024-09: $62.30 per share

- 2024-10: $55.72 per share

- 2024-11: $57.06 per share

- 2024-12: $54.48 per share

- 2025-01: $55.91 per share

- 2025-02: $64.21 per share

- 2025-03: $63.11 per share

- 2025-04: $62.44 per share

- 2025-05: $62.76 per share

- 2025-06: $62.38 per share

- 2025-07: $64.16 per share

- 2025-08: $67.10 per share

- 2025-09: $67.57 per share

- 2025-10: $66.00 per share

- 2025-11: $67.37 per share

- 2025-12: $64.36 per share

- 2026-01: $69.75 per share

- 2026-02: $74.65 per share

- 2026-03: $67.96 per share

- 2026-04: $72.93 per share

- 2026-05: $74.42 per share

- 2026-06: $71.50 per share

- 2026-07: $73.60 per share

- 2026-08: $69.96 per share

- 2026-09: $64.63 per share

- 2026-10: $64.45 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

- FY2016: low $48.96 per share, central $55.54 per share, high $64.30 per share

- FY2017: low $49.87 per share, central $56.57 per share, high $65.48 per share

- FY2018: low $51.73 per share, central $58.64 per share, high $67.83 per share

- FY2019: low $46.16 per share, central $52.39 per share, high $60.69 per share

- FY2020: low $44.01 per share, central $49.90 per share, high $57.75 per share

- FY2021: low $45.86 per share, central $52.08 per share, high $60.36 per share

- FY2022: low $57.52 per share, central $65.36 per share, high $75.79 per share

- FY2023: low $64.32 per share, central $72.81 per share, high $84.11 per share

- FY2024: low $57.42 per share, central $64.96 per share, high $74.99 per share

- FY2025: low $59.91 per share, central $68.09 per share, high $78.98 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1025378/000102537826000036/wpc-20251231.htm); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-02-11.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.