First Industrial raises 2026 FFO guidance as third-quarter FFO rises to $0.81

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (FR) said Wednesday that diluted funds from operations, or FFO, rose to $0.81 per share in the third quarter of 2026 from $0.76 a year earlier. The company said in a press release furnished with a regulatory filing that diluted earnings per share were $0.44, down from $0.49.

Here's how the company did:

• Diluted earnings per share: $0.44 vs. $0.49 a year earlier
• Diluted FFO per share: $0.81 vs. $0.76 a year earlier
• Total revenues: $197.1 million vs. $181.4 million a year earlier

Net income available to common stockholders was $58.6 million, down from $65.3 million a year earlier. Total revenues were $197.1 million, up from $181.4 million.

Adjusted EBITDA, a measure of the ability to incur and service debt, was $138.2 million, up from $127.2 million. Adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, which the company uses to gauge its ability to fund dividends, was $84.8 million, down from $86.6 million.

Net operating income, or NOI, was $146.7 million, compared with $135.1 million a year earlier. Interest expense rose to $24.8 million from $21.7 million.

In-service occupancy was 94.1% at the end of the third quarter, compared with 94.9% at the end of the second quarter and 94.0% a year earlier.

Cash rental rates on commenced new and renewal leases increased 52% in the quarter, and 76% on a straight-line basis, the company said.

Cash same store net operating income before termination fees rose 5.6%. The increase primarily reflected higher rental rates on new and renewal leasing and contractual rent escalations, partly offset by lower average occupancy.

Leases signed to date that commence in 2026 show a cash rental rate increase of about 38%, covering 94% of 2026 expirations by square footage. Leases signed so far for 2027 show an increase of about 16%, covering 45% of 2027 expirations.

"Industrial real estate market fundamentals continued to improve in the third quarter, with strong net absorption reflecting the breadth of tenant demand in the marketplace," said Peter E. Baccile, First Industrial's president and chief executive officer. "We experienced a strong pace of early renewals from our tenants for our 2027 expirations and we are excited about our levels of overall prospect activity."

The company leased the remaining 32,000 square feet of its 136,000-square-foot First Park Miami Building 12 in South Florida, and the space commenced in the third quarter.

During the quarter the company acquired a fully leased 764,000-square-foot building in Central Pennsylvania for $120 million. It also bought a 32-acre land site in Dallas for $13 million, for a two-building project developable to 390,000 square feet.

Debt was $2.64 billion at Sept. 30, up from $2.55 billion at Dec. 31, 2025, and total assets were $5.87 billion. Common dividends were $0.500 per share in the quarter, compared with $0.445 a year earlier.

For the first nine months of 2026, diluted earnings per share were $2.10, up from $1.27, and diluted FFO per share was $2.31, up from $2.20. Gains on sales of real estate totaled $125.6 million, compared with $17.5 million a year earlier.

The company raised its 2026 NAREIT FFO guidance by $0.01 at the midpoint, to a range of $3.11 to $3.15 per share. Before advisory costs related to a contested proxy campaign, the range is $3.15 to $3.19.

"We increased our guidance by $0.01 at the midpoint based on our third quarter performance and outlook," Baccile said. "As always, our team is laser-focused on leasing and serving our current and new customers to drive future cash flow growth."

Full-year cash same store NOI growth guidance rose 75 basis points at the midpoint to 6.5%, within a range of 6.25% to 6.75%. The fourth-quarter range, before termination fees, is 4.0% to 6.0%.

Year-end in-service occupancy is expected at 94.5% to 96.5%, which implies a full-year quarter-end average of 94.5% to 95.0%, up 25 basis points at the midpoint. The guidance assumes 650,000 square feet of additional development leasing in December 2026.

General and administrative expense is expected at $42.0 million to $43.0 million, excluding $5.6 million of contested proxy campaign costs recognized in the first quarter. The company expects to capitalize $0.08 per share of interest in 2026.

The guidance does not include future investments, property sales, debt repurchases before maturity, debt or equity issuances, or stock repurchases after the date of the release.

The company will hold an investor conference call and webcast on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.

First Industrial owns and has under development about 72.9 million square feet of industrial space, concentrated in 15 target metropolitan statistical areas, as of Sept. 30, 2026.