Ventas Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Ventas raised its 2026 outlook after strong second-quarter results, with normalized FFO reaching $0.97 per share and full-year guidance increasing to $3.85–$3.90 per share. The company also raised its 2026 investment target to $4.5 billion, primarily for senior housing. Senior housing operating portfolio performance led growth: U.S. SHOP NOI increased 18% year over year, occupancy rose 360 basis points, and same-store SHOP NOI grew 16%. Ventas maintained its 16% SHOP NOI growth target while lifting its occupancy-growth expectation to 300 basis points. Balance-sheet strength improved, with net debt to EBITDA falling to 4.7 times, the lowest level in more than a decade. Ventas plans to fund further investments through capital recycling, including approximately $700 million of dispositions and loan repayments focused on nonstrategic assets. Ventas raised its 2026 investment and earnings outlook after reporting second-quarter growth led by its senior housing operating portfolio, or SHOP, as occupancy gains and rent growth lifted property-level results. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Debra A. Cafaro said the company generated 10% total-company same-property net operating income, or NOI, growth in the quarter. U.S. SHOP NOI rose 18% year over year, accompanied by 360 basis points of occupancy growth, she said. Normalized funds from operations, or FFO, increased 9% from a year earlier to $0.97 per share. The company increased its full-year normalized FFO guidance to a range of $3.85 to $3.90 per share, representing projected growth of 8% to 10%. Ventas also lifted its expected 2026 investment volume to $4.5 billion from $3 billion, primarily focused on senior housing. Executive Vice President, Senior Housing and Chief Investment Officer Justin Hutchens said same-store SHOP NOI increased 16% year over year during the second quarter, with the U.S. portfolio contributing 18% growth. Same-store average occupancy rose 300 basis points across the portfolio and 360 basis points in the U.S. Within NIC’s top 99 markets, Ventas’ same-store communities outperformed industry occupancy averages by about 150 basis points, according to Hutchens. Revenue per occupied room, or RevPOR, increased 5%, reflecting both in-place rent increases and higher move-in rents. Same-store revenue grew nearly 9%, while operating expenses increased 5%. That combination expanded NOI margins by 210 basis points to 31%, while incremental margin flow-through reached 55%. Hutchens said the company’s U.S. senior housing portfolio is 87% occupied, while its non-same-store portfolio is 83% occupied. The non-same-store group represents about 25% of SHOP NOI and includes acquisitions, transitions and redevelopment projects. Ventas is maintaining its same-store SHOP NOI growth outlook of 16% at the midpoint. The company raised its full-year occupancy-growth target to 300 basis points from 270 basis points after a strong start to the year, and management said the May-through-September key selling season was tracking in line with its expectations. Hutchens highlighted performance at more highly occupied communities as evidence of further opportunity. The approximately half of U.S. same-store communities that were at least 90% occupied posted 25% NOI growth and 6% RevPOR growth. About 10% of the company’s SHOP communities were at or near full occupancy, and those U.S. properties were producing about 7% RevPOR growth and roughly 20% NOI growth, he said. Ventas completed more than $3 billion of senior housin