Rich Anderson

Marc said the NIH overhead-cap resolution drove last quarter's outsized institutional growth and there was no pullback, which is helpful for institutional demand; the more encouraging signal this quarter is broader mid-sized tenant activity.

Marc confirmed downtime expected but noted 35-36% already in early negotiations. Emphasized other portfolio leasing (vacant space, development, alt-use pivots) will help offset the impact.

Marc gave an example of a 160K sqft San Diego asset with strong tenant interest that prompted holding. Joel cited Minuteman as another case where a big LOI changed the calculus on disposition versus lease-up.

Joel described a mixed investor base including value investors, ETF investors, and industry-focused investors, calling the prior sell-off foolishness given consensus NAV significantly above trading price.

Joel reiterated the 10%+ target for non-income-producing assets, down from current 17%, noting this is different from the GFC era when there was no oversupply issue. Future growth will focus on Megacampus development.

Marc indicated room for up to 30-40% dividend cut based on taxable income, while the Board will evaluate retained cash flows, AFFO coverage, and capital needs.

Joel confirmed the 10-15% target but did not commit to a specific Investor Day timeline, referencing the 20% current level and noting the different circumstances versus the GFC era.

Joel walked through Page 46 pie chart showing the 15% non-Megacampus bucket will be sold, 26% of near-term unstabilized projects evaluated carefully, and some Megacampuses like San Bruno potentially exited.

Peter noted seller financing was used last year but none currently in process, though they remain open to it.

Joel said mega campus-adjacent land will be retained but non-core sites like the University Town Center parcel will be monetized in this market. Using a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.

Joel confirmed directly that leasing on upcoming expirations is running ahead of the Investor Day plan.

Joel expressed strong confidence in the new administration, citing favorable FDA nominees, NIH reform potential, and the end of adversarial FTC leadership.

Joel outlined broad G&A savings categories across legal, IT, payroll, benefits, and software, with Marc noting Q4 run rate supports 2025 guidance.

Hutchens rejected the premise, arguing the lack of frictional vacancy in senior housing makes near-100% occupancy the right target.

Management addressed the skepticism head on, citing broad-based occupancy gains across independent and assisted living, markets and operators.

Debbie explained sellers include PE funds with expiring hold periods, debt maturities, and operators who recognize Ventas can achieve better returns at scale.

Debbie agreed that new entrants lacking expertise and data capabilities will struggle and likely become sellers, creating additional opportunity.

Cafaro said senior housing cost is comparable to staying at home with in-home care but includes socialization and safety. Baby boomers are wealthiest generation. Residents can afford 7x the typical stay length.

Cafaro said even if development starts surge, 3-year construction cycle means new supply arrives into even stronger demand. Over-80 growth of 28% in 5 years dwarfs prior flat-to-low-single-digit periods.

Hutchens said March issue is old news, delivered best key selling season in 4 years with 230bps growth. Move-ins strong, move-outs moderated, maintained 270bps full-year guidance throughout.

Hutchens said institutional ownership only mid-teens, vast majority private equity and friends-and-family owned, plenty of runway for external growth. Cafaro confident in accelerating investment activity.

Audio broke up; Cafaro offered to take offline. Noted both converting and remaining assets performing well, with significant rent increase on lease renewal for remaining.

Hutchens said the broader sector is back to pre-pandemic and over half of Ventas' portfolio has recovered, but repositioned communities in the mix lower the average.

Hutchens explained the portfolio already has value-add via ~100 triple-net to SHOP conversions plus the Brookdale transition; acquisitions complement with immediate accretion.

Kelvin said the previously guided 100 bps lab occupancy gain (off 77% at year-end 2025) is already captured, with room for incremental gains through year-end.

Anderson asked about the cadence of lab occupancy improvement through year-end. Moses said already up 70bps sequentially to 77.7%, difficult to give quarter-by-quarter precision, but focused on year-end target with potential for incremental Q4 capture from the 2M sqft pipeline.

Brinker clarified Gateway is breakeven day one. Upside captured incrementally over 2-3 years. Won't reach 100% but significant vacancy absorption expected.

Moses said they will focus on 2026 maturities and be opportunistic on market pricing. No current plan to address 2027 early.

Brinker described broad buyer pool including health systems, private equity, and institutional investors for high-quality outpatient assets.

Brinker said core submarkets and big incumbents will recover first. During the call, one tenant acquired by Eli Lilly and another reported positive Phase III data with stock up 60%.

Brinker clarified distressed lab investments were targeting double-digit returns vs 8% buyback yield. Reassessing that pipeline but not abandoning it.

Brinker acknowledged potential timeline extension but noted market can shift quickly based on policy changes. Stability is most important driver.

Pete Scott explained midpoint assumes some deployment, high end assumes mid-5.5x leverage, low end assumes no investments done.

Brinker declined to discuss offer quality, simply stating intent to hold CCRCs for the foreseeable future. No recent conversations.

Pressed Angela on whether she was secretly expecting more from LA given her previous language about being 'just so close to 95%'. Also asked about the Camden SoCal portfolio process and what it informs about ESS's strategy.

Pressed Angela on whether she was secretly expecting more from LA given her previous language about being 'just so close to 95%'. Also asked about the Camden SoCal portfolio process and what it informs about ESS's strategy.

Asked directly whether West Coast jobs will outperform, match, or underperform national growth in 2026 considering AI impacts. Also raised the 1996 Atlanta Olympics hangover analogy asking if ESS would consider selling ahead of LA Olympics.

Asked directly whether West Coast jobs will outperform, match, or underperform national growth in 2026 considering AI impacts. Also raised the 1996 Atlanta Olympics hangover analogy asking if ESS would consider selling ahead of LA Olympics.

Rylan noted they underwrite all product but the few SF trades had upside priced in at low cap rates. Better relative value currently on the Peninsula.

Angela cited Northern region's higher long-term CAGR and noted tech already retrenched in 2022-23, so it's positioned for growth. Tech continued hiring through '08 and COVID.

Angela confirmed Northern California focus continues for upside potential but dispositions are property-specific, not city-driven. All markets generate above US average returns.

Barb noted insurance locked in through 2025 with no fire damage claims. Too early to forecast 2026, but noted insurance already up 50% over last two years.

Rylan confirmed negative leverage assumption and described healthy transaction market with $16B volume in California/Washington in 2024 and deep bidder pool.

Mitra pointed to specific business update slides on wealth concentration and affordability and said he is optimistic for the next 20 years.

Shankh declined investor relations discussion, refocusing on execution as the driver of investor interest; noted company has reached size where generalist investors are discovering it organically.

Shankh argued tech investment ROI flows through real estate P&L at significantly higher returns than real estate; average 18-24 month resident stay means only one rent increase per resident.

Shankh confirmed strategy of fewer, deeper operating partnerships with no pushback from international operations, citing Cogir and Care UK as examples.

Shankh emphasized long-term portfolio construction role of both segments, noting capital allocation depends on best risk-adjusted returns over long duration.

Acknowledged AI is hard to project, then drew the distinction: no speculative CBD office is being built, unlike spec lab supply.

Doug confirmed 2027 should be cleaner with same-store NOI growth better than 2026's 1.25-2.25% range. Most 2026 occupancy gains are back-half weighted, providing a full-year benefit in 2027. Mike added average 2026 occupancy up only ~100bp but ending 200bp+ higher, building on itself into 2027.

Doug noted BXP's average lease term of ~8 years with new leases 15-20 years means extensive pre-pandemic lease base, but growth comes from existing financial/professional services tenants expanding. Mike added no tenant over 150K sq ft expiring in next 2.5 years and more tenants expanding than contracting (85K sq ft net expansion this quarter).

Doug explained RTO is accelerating and positive, but corporate earnings growth is even more important. Going from 4 to 5 days doesn't necessarily increase space demand since firms cluster employees on same days.