Equity Residential (EQR) Up 4.5% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

Core Viewpoint - Equity Residential has shown a positive performance with a 4.5% increase in shares since the last earnings report, outperforming the S&P 500 [1][2] Recent Earnings Report - For Q3 2025, Equity Residential reported a normalized FFO per share of $1.02, meeting estimates and reflecting a 4.1% year-over-year improvement [3] - Rental income reached $782.4 million, exceeding the consensus estimate of $781.4 million, and increased by 4.6% year over year [4] Financial Performance Details - Same-store revenues rose by 3% year over year, surpassing the estimate of 1.9%, while same-store expenses increased by 3.6% [5] - Same-store NOI grew by 2.8% year over year, exceeding the estimate of 1.7% [5] - The average rental rate increased by 2.7% year over year to $3,218, with physical occupancy improving by 20 basis points to 96.3% [5] Portfolio Activity - In Q3 2025, Equity Residential acquired a 375-unit property in Arlington, TX, for nearly $103 million and sold two properties for approximately $247.9 million [7] Balance Sheet Overview - The company ended Q3 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $93.1 million, up from $31.3 million in the previous quarter [8] - The net debt to normalized EBITDAre ratio decreased to 4.41X from 4.45X [8] Share Repurchase - During Q3 2025, Equity Residential repurchased approximately 1.5 million common shares for a total value of $99.1 million [9] Revised Guidance - For Q4 2025, the company projects normalized FFO per share between $1.02 and $1.06 [10] - The full-year guidance for 2025 has been revised to a normalized FFO per share range of $3.98-$4.02, with expectations for same-store revenue growth of 2.5-3.0% and physical occupancy at 96.4% [11] Estimate Trends - Since the earnings release, there has been an upward trend in estimates for Equity Residential [12] VGM Scores - Equity Residential currently holds a subpar Growth Score of D and a similar score for momentum, with an aggregate VGM Score of F [13] Outlook - Estimates for the stock have been trending upward, and the company holds a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), indicating expectations for an in-line return in the coming months [14]