European Deal Flow Rises: Is Realty Income Scaling Smartly?
Realty Income’s O European story is gaining weight. While some U.S. REITs still treat overseas markets carefully, Realty Income is presenting Europe as a repeatable source of net-lease deals, not an experiment. This matters because management said that Europe drove 2025 acquisition activity before U.S. momentum improved in the fourth quarter.
The base is already sizable. Realty Income has 618 European properties across nine countries with an 8.2-year weighted average lease term, generating about $1 billion of annualized base rent, and roughly 19% of companywide annualized base rent. It has invested more than $15 billion in the U.K. and continental European real estate since expanding internationally in 2019.
The appeal is structural, not temporary. Europe offers a bigger addressable market than the United States, a fragmented competitive field and attractive returns. In 2025, in total, Realty Income deployed $6.3 billion at a 7.3% initial weighted average cash yield, while fourth-quarter investment volume reached $2.4 billion at 7.1%, helped by opportunities.
Scaling smartly is not just about finding assets. It is also about funding them without pressuring returns. This is why the Apollo partnership matters. Apollo plans to invest $1 billion for a 49% stake in a joint venture holding 500 U.S. retail assets, giving Realty Income a capital source.
This flexibility could help Realty Income stay choosy in Europe rather than chase volume. The company now has a wider menu: public equity, private funds, GIC and Apollo capital. If European deal flow keeps rising, the test is whether management preserves spreads, underwriting discipline and portfolio quality while expanding across markets.
How Are Other Retail REITs Expanding?
Simon Property GroupSPG is expanding through a mix of redevelopment, acquisitions and selective international growth. In 2025, Simon Property opened Jakarta Premium Outlets in Indonesia, completed 23 major redevelopments, acquired about $2 billion of retail properties and bought the remaining 12% of Taubman Realty Group.
Kimco RealtyKIM is expanding in a more neighborhood-focused way. Kimco completed 21 redevelopment and anchor repositioning projects in 2025, added 657 multifamily entitlements to reach 14,196 units and bought the remaining 85% of Tanasbourne Village.
Simon Property is chasing scale and destination assets, while Kimco is leaning on grocery-anchored centers, mixed-use density and steady capital recycling.
O’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Realty Income have gained 15.5% so far in the year, underperforming the industry’s growth of 20.7%.
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From a valuation standpoint, O trades at a forward 12-month price-to-FFO of 14.48, below the industry but ahead of its one-year median of 13.34. It carries a Value Score of D.
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Over the past 30 days, estimates for O’s 2026 FFO per share have been tweaked marginally southward to $4.45, while estimates for 2027 have been revised upward to $4.60.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
At present, Realty Income carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
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