SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc.
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Whoever buys today is betting that the self-storage market recovers from its oversupply, that same-store rents pick up again and that the 2028 refinancing succeeds at bearable rates — with a dividend that leaves hardly any buffer until then. Whoever waits checks three spots in every quarterly report (10-Q): same-store revenue growth (does it climb above 2 percent?), the ratio of distributions to operating cash flow (does it fall meaningfully below 100 percent?) and adjusted FFO per quarter (does it hold the mark of roughly $29 million?). The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
SMA is not a cash-flow bargain but a fairly priced market newcomer with a cleanly deployed IPO billion: the scanner hit rested on a data gap; in reality the REIT costs roughly 16 times adjusted FFO. Behind it stands a robust rental business with 92.5 percent occupancy, nearly halved interest expense and a monthly dividend yielding just under 5 percent — but also meager organic growth, distributions near 100 percent of operating cash flow, a 2028 debt wall and $608 million in Canadian currency. Whoever buys the stock buys the dividend and the discipline of management — not the metric. Not investment advice.
Business model & portfolio
Tenth-largest U.S. self-storage operator with 177 owned facilities (92.5 percent occupancy, month-to-month leases) plus a capital-light management business spanning 273 third-party facilities — a robust, granular rental business without cluster tenants (10-K 2025).
The scanner metric FCF/market cap
Rank 16 (as of July 18, 2026) is a data artifact of the young listing: in reality the stock cost roughly 18 times its annual operating cash flow (about $1.8 billion against $98.7 million, data as of July 8, 2026) instead of at most 4 times — and at REITs, "free cash flow" captures neither the acquisitions (2025: a net $380.8 million in investing cash flow) nor the distribution requirement.
Earnings: GAAP vs. FFO
A GAAP loss of $8.8 million attributable to common stockholders (2025) and a $194.4 million accumulated deficit — but adjusted FFO of $95.5 million (+104 percent) and $28.8 million in Q1 2026, carried by nearly halved interest expense; the Q1 GAAP profit of $10.2 million contained $5.4 million of currency/derivative gains and $2.1 million of further one-off items (10-K 2025, 10-Q Q1 2026).
Distribution coverage
Distributions paid of $89.3 million exceeded 2025 operating cash flow of $85.0 million; in Q1 2026 the load stood at 99 percent (23.9 against $24.2 million), and at 83 percent measured against adjusted FFO — and the charter expressly permits distributions without limit from any source, from borrowings if need be (10-K 2025, Item 1A).
Balance sheet & refinancing
IPO proceeds paid off $647.1 million of expensive debt and $200 million of preferred capital; net debt fell to $1,098.2 million (94 percent fixed, rating BBB) — set against $459.0 million of 2028 maturities and $608.3 million in Canadian dollars with a computed $51.1 million book loss per 10 percent currency move (10-K 2025).
Valuation & source of growth
About 16 times annualized adjusted FFO and a dividend yield just under 5 percent (data as of July 8, 2026) are in line with the sector — but the 18.6 percent revenue increase stems almost entirely from capital-market-funded acquisitions while the same-store portfolio grew just 1.6 percent; further growth requires new capital (10-K 2025).
Worth Noting
SMA reached the research list via rank 16 in the in-house FCF/market-cap scanner (as of July 18, 2026; scanner data as of July 8, 2026) — the analysis deliberately discloses that this hit rests on the gappy data series of the young listing and that the metric is generally unfit as a buy signal for REITs.
REIT specifics: what matters is FFO/adjusted FFO, distribution coverage, same-store growth and refinancing costs — the price-to-earnings ratio and "free cash flow" are systematically distorted by real estate depreciation and the distribution requirement.
Price and valuation figures dated July 8, 2026 (about $32.80, roughly $1.8 billion market value); analyses are evergreen, daily prices are not a buy argument.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at SMA since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 29.60 $ to 38.70 $ · Last price: 32.70 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: REIT - Industrial
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. SMA | 1.8 | 97.1 | 17.5 | 66.1 | 21.5 | 18.6 | -11.2 |
| Prologis Inc PLD | 126.7 | 34.0 | 19.2 | 75.6 | 38.5 | 7.2 | 22.4 |
| Public Storage PSA | 52.6 | 32.1 | 19.6 | 74.4 | 46.0 | 2.7 | 7.8 |
| Extra Space Storage Inc EXR | 30.7 | 32.0 | 17.8 | 74.9 | 44.0 | 1.2 | -0.4 |
| EastGroup Properties Inc EGP | 10.9 | 37.5 | 22.0 | 73.6 | 40.2 | 13.0 | 25.7 |
| Lineage, Inc. LINE | 9.8 | – | 15.5 | 32.0 | 3.3 | 0.3 | -3.2 |
| CubeSmart CUBE | 9.3 | 29.3 | 17.7 | 70.7 | 40.3 | 5.3 | 3.1 |
| Rexford Industrial Realty Inc REXR | 8.9 | 41.6 | 1,829.1 | 76.8 | 41.5 | 7.1 | -4.7 |
| First Industrial Realty Trust Inc FR | 8.6 | 24.7 | 16.2 | 73.8 | 35.0 | 8.6 | 24.7 |
| Median of companies shown | 9.8 | 33.0 | 17.8 | 73.8 | 40.2 | 7.1 | 3.1 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 124 | -21 | -44 | -0.74 | 27 | 437 | 1,282 |
| 2021 | 169 | 17 | -17 | -0.21 | 59 | 610 | 1,618 |
| 2022 | 206 | 66 | 19 | 0.20 | 88 | 740 | 1,947 |
| 2023 | 233 | 71 | 10 | 0.10 | 73 | 672 | 1,896 |
| 2024 | 237 | 69 | -6 | -0.06 | 64 | 584 | 2,042 |
| 2025 | 281 | 59 | -2 | -0.03 | 85 | 1,180 | 2,432 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | 0.00 | -114.40 | 61 | 5.40 | -0.50 | 11 | 11 |
| 2025: Q1 | -0.05 | – | 65 | 14.70 | -12.90 | 11 | 11 |
| 2025: Q2 | -0.16 | – | 67 | 12.90 | -6.90 | 8 | 8 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.09 | – | 70 | 16.90 | 7.40 | 52 | 52 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.05 | – | 78 | 29.40 | 201.00 | 14 | 14 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.17 | – | 78 | 19.70 | 12.20 | 24 | 24 |
| 2026: Q2 | – | – | 79 | 18.70 | 14.10 | 20 | 20 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 6 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Quality & Balance Sheet
Momentum & Trend
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 0.63 | 0.54 – 0.70 | 317 | 215.2% | 3 |
| 12/31/2027 | 0.60 | 0.53 – 0.68 | 335 | 6.0% | 2 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 5.0% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $110.3M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $1.81B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $180.1M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 52.4% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow grew by 26.0% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Geprüft am 18.07.2026 gegen den Geschäftsbericht (10-K) GJ 2025 (eingereicht 27.02.2026), den 10-K GJ 2024 (12.03.2025) und die vier jüngsten Quartalsberichte (10-Q, zuletzt zum 31.03.2026): In den ausgewerteten SEC-Filings von SmartStop Self Storage REIT findet sich kein wesentlicher KI-Bezug. Die einzigen Erwähnungen von „artificial intelligence“ stehen in den generischen Risikofaktoren beider 10-K (Item 1A): einmal als Cybersecurity-Floskel („Information security risks … have generally increased … because of the proliferation of new technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence“; „new technologies such as artificial intelligence may be more capable at evading any safeguard measures“) und einmal als allgemeines Technologie-Adoptionsrisiko („Our use of or inability to adopt and deliver new technological capabilities … including artificial intelligence and machine learning, may put us at a competitive disadvantage“). Das sind Boilerplate-Formulierungen ohne konkreten Bezug zum Self-Storage-Geschäftsmodell — weder KI-Umsatzquelle noch belegter operativer KI-Einsatz noch ein konkretes KI-Geschäftsrisiko fürs eigene Modell; die vier 10-Q enthalten gar keine KI-Treffer. Nach dem Kriterienkatalog bleibt es damit bei „neutral“ (dokumentierter Negativ-Befund).
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-05-08 · 10-Q 2025-11-07 · 10-Q 2025-08-08 · 10-Q 2025-05-09 · 10-K 2026-02-27 · 10-K 2025-03-12
Rated on July 18, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 10.9%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 5.8%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -19.9%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") -64.2%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 9.3%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 2.9%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 7.8 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 220 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 2.5%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 0.4%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
5/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 17.8%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 9.2%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% –
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 9.2%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 17.7x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 5
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 16.4%
- Return on equity > 15% -0.1%
- ROCE > 15% 2.5%
- Expected return > 10% 14.3%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 2026 | Mueller David J | Director | Sell | 425 | 33.70 | 14,323 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Look Nicholas | General Counsel and Secretary | Sell | 1,025 | 34.36 | 35,219 |
| Jul 16, 2026 | Mueller David J | Director | Sell | 425 | 33.38 | 14,187 |
The company
About the Company
SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. ist ein selbstverwalteter REIT mit einem vollständig integrierten Betriebsteam aus über 1.000 Self-Storage-Fachkräften, das sich auf den Ausbau der Marke SmartStop Self Storage konzentriert.
- CEO Insider Trades (12 Mo.)
- buying own stock
- Employees
- 1,000
- Headquarters
- Ladera Ranch, CA
- Address
- 10 Terrace Road, 92694 Ladera Ranch, United States
- Phone
- 866 418 5144
- Website
- smartstopselfstorage.com
- IPO Date
- 04/02/2025
- ISIN
- US83192D4025
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| H. Michael Schwartz | Founder, President, CEO & Chairman of the Board | 1969 |
| James R. Barry | CFO & Treasurer | 1990 |
| Joseph H. Robinson | Chief Operations Officer | 1975 |
| Wayne Johnson | Chief Investment Officer & Director | 1958 |
| Michael O. Terjung CPA | Chief Accounting Officer | 1977 |
| David Steven Corak C.F.A. | Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance & Strategy | – |
| Nicholas M. Look | Compliance Officer, General Counsel & Secretary | 1983 |
| Gerald Valle | Senior Vice President of Self Storage Operations | 1969 |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 09/09/2026 SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SMA): Regulation FD Disclosure SEC ↗
- 09/03/2026 SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SMA): Other Events SEC ↗
- 08/18/2026 SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SMA): Regulation FD Disclosure; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/13/2026 SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SMA): Regulation FD Disclosure; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/05/2026 SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SMA): Other Events SEC ↗
- 08/05/2026 SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SMA): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 07/20/2026 SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SMA): Regulation FD Disclosure; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.