Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) raised its 2026 earnings outlook again and increased its dividend. The mall and outlet owner reported on Nov. 5 that new leases in its U.S. malls and Premium Outlets are being signed at sharply higher rents.
In its third-quarter earnings release and supplemental filing, the Indianapolis-based REIT raised its full-year Real Estate FFO guidance (funds from operations, the REIT industry’s main earnings measure, before certain non-cash items) to $13.30 to $13.40 per diluted share. That is $0.10 above the previous range. Three months earlier the company had lifted the range to $13.20 to $13.30.
“Leasing momentum continued, rents and occupancy increased and shopper traffic growth accelerated for the third consecutive quarter, driving robust retailer sales growth across our portfolio,” said Eli Simon, chief executive officer, president and chief operating officer.
Quarter results
Real Estate FFO was $1.277 billion, or $3.37 per diluted share, up 4.7% from $3.22 a year earlier. Domestic property net operating income rose 6.6%, and portfolio NOI rose 6.7%.
The bottom line moved the other way. Net income attributable to common stockholders fell to $499.0 million, or $1.54 per diluted share, from $606.2 million, or $1.86, in the third quarter of 2025. Simon said that figure includes $99.6 million, or $0.27 per share, of non-cash after-tax losses from mark-to-market adjustments on its Klépierre exchangeable bonds and from revaluing an equity security that became publicly traded during the quarter. Total FFO, which includes those losses, was $3.09 per share, down from $3.25.
For the first nine months, Real Estate FFO was $9.82 per share, up 6.3% from $9.24.
Higher rents on new leases
The operating data in the supplemental filing shows how much pricing power Simon has. Occupancy at its U.S. malls and Premium Outlets was 96.5% at Sept. 30, up from 96.4% a year earlier and from 96.0% at the end of June. Base minimum rent averaged $62.75 per square foot, up 6.1% from $59.14. Reported retailer sales per square foot rose 14.8% to $852 over the trailing 12 months.
New deals came in well above the existing rent roll. For the first nine months of 2026, Simon signed 853 new leases at an average initial base rent of $76.03 per square foot, against $65.09 for 819 leases in the same period of 2025. By our calculation that is an increase of about 17%. Tenant allowances, the build-out money landlords give tenants, fell to $54.12 per square foot from $60.13. On our reading, higher starting rents with smaller concessions are the filing’s clearest sign that landlords hold the leverage in Simon’s centers.
The U.S. malls and Premium Outlets portfolio also grew, to 174 properties and 148.6 million square feet from 162 properties and 136.0 million square feet a year earlier. The Mills portfolio grew to 16 properties from 14, though its occupancy slipped to 98.9% from 99.4%.
Gap is the largest inline tenant by base rent, with 312 stores and 2.5% of U.S. base minimum rent. Macy’s is the largest anchor by space, with 111 stores and 11.6% of U.S. square footage.
Dividend, buybacks and redevelopment
The board declared a fourth-quarter common dividend of $2.30 per share, up $0.10, or 4.5%, from a year earlier. It is payable Dec. 31 to shareholders of record on Dec. 10. During the quarter Simon repurchased 1,137,182 shares at an average of $207.98, a total of $236.5 million.
The company also raised debt. It sold $800 million of senior notes in two tranches with a weighted-average coupon of 5.45% and a 7.7-year average term, and it closed seven secured loans totaling about $970 million at a weighted-average rate of 6.33%. It ended September with about $9.0 billion of liquidity.
Simon’s development schedule shows $1.15 billion of its share of net investment in redevelopment projects, at an expected stabilized return of 9%. It forecasts about $412 million of that spending in 2026 and $281 million in 2027.
Simon’s results follow other strong retail landlord reports, such as Regency Centers’ guidance raise in grocery-anchored centers. More retail and property coverage is on our commercial real estate page.
