The Macerich Company said its malls posted $919 in sales per square foot over the trailing 12 months as of June 30, a company record, as the mall owner reported second-quarter 2026 results that included a narrower net loss and rising adjusted funds from operations (FFO). The Santa Monica, Calif.-based real estate investment trust (NYSE: MAC) detailed the results in an earnings release posted August 4, with the full financial supplement filed as an exhibit to an SEC Form 8-K.
For Macerich’s smaller “go-forward” portfolio β the properties the company has designated as long-term holds under its multiyear turnaround plan β trailing 12-month sales productivity reached $954 per square foot, the company said, calling the figures evidence that its mall repositioning strategy is working.
A mall REIT mid-turnaround
Macerich, one of the largest publicly traded owners of top-tier U.S. shopping malls, has spent the past several years executing what it calls the Path Forward Plan: selling off weaker assets, re-leasing space vacated by struggling department stores and other anchors, and leaning into higher-end tenants and experiential retail to drive foot traffic. The sector context matters here β mall landlords broadly have argued that a post-pandemic “flight to quality” has concentrated retailer demand on well-located, well-managed centers while pressuring lower-tier malls, and Macerich’s results are the latest data point companies and analysts will use to test that narrative.
The numbers
Macerich reported total revenues of $249.7 million for the quarter, roughly flat compared with $249.8 million in the second quarter of 2025. The company posted a net loss attributable to the company of $27.1 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, narrower than the $40.9 million net loss, or $0.16 per share, reported a year earlier. FFO as adjusted rose to $100.4 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, up from $88.4 million, or $0.34 per share, in the prior-year quarter.
Portfolio occupancy stood at 94.0% at quarter-end, up roughly 200 basis points year-over-year, while the go-forward portfolio’s occupancy reached 95.5%. Macerich said go-forward portfolio net operating income (NOI) grew 3.8% year-over-year in the quarter, excluding lease termination income, and that it signed roughly 1.3 million square feet of leases on a comparable-center basis during the period. The company’s signed-not-yet-open pipeline stood at $124 million in expected gross revenue, and Macerich said its “leasing speedometer” β an internal metric tracking progress toward its multiyear leasing targets β reached 88%, ahead of an 85% mid-year target.
On the capital side, Macerich said it closed the acquisition of Annapolis Mall, a roughly 1.4-million-square-foot center in Maryland, for $272 million, and completed a $448.2 million equity offering that included a forward sale of 16.1 million shares at $23.90 apiece. The company said it ended the quarter with roughly $1.2 billion in liquidity. Macerich’s board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, payable September 28, 2026.
What the CEO said
President and CEO Jackson (Jack) Hsieh characterized the quarter as continued execution of the company’s turnaround strategy, saying the results reflect the Path Forward Plan and emphasizing “conversion” β getting signed tenants built out, open and paying rent β as a key driver of center traffic and NOI growth, according to the earnings release.
What it means
The facts Macerich reported are clear: revenue was essentially flat, the net loss narrowed, adjusted FFO per share ticked up, occupancy improved, and the company says its sales-per-square-foot figures are records. Macerich’s own framing β that the results validate its mall-elevation strategy and the broader flight-to-quality thesis for retail real estate β is the company’s interpretation, not an independently audited conclusion, and RealtyWire has not verified the “record” designation against Macerich’s full historical sales-productivity data beyond what the company disclosed. Flat revenue alongside a still-present net loss also underscores that Macerich’s turnaround remains a work in progress rather than a completed transformation.
Broadly, Macerich’s results track with a pattern seen elsewhere in retail-focused real estate this earnings season, including Regency Centers’ recent decision to raise its 2026 guidance amid steady leasing demand β a sign that landlords with well-located centers are continuing to find tenant demand even as e-commerce competition persists. It also comes as mall portfolios keep changing hands more broadly, as seen in the recent $201.5 million sale of Westfield Plaza Bonita in National City, California.
What to watch
Investors and analysts will be watching whether Macerich can convert its signed-not-open leasing pipeline into open, rent-paying stores on schedule, and whether go-forward portfolio NOI growth holds at or above the company’s stated 3% full-year target. The pace of additional mall acquisitions β following the Annapolis Mall deal β and further progress narrowing the company’s net loss toward profitability will also be key markers in coming quarters. Macerich’s next scheduled update will come with third-quarter 2026 results.
