Company Overview - Realty Income is a net lease REIT that owns single-tenant properties and rents them out under contracts that make tenants responsible for most property-level operating costs, providing them effective control of the property [3][5] - The company has a market capitalization of $53 billion, making it the largest player in the net lease REIT space, owning 15,600 properties, with approximately 75% of its rents coming from retail properties [6][7] Investment Strategy - Realty Income's investment strategy includes geographic diversification, with exposure to both North America and Europe, and it is exploring growth avenues such as offering services to institutional investors and providing debt financing to tenants [7][9] - The company has been investing in Europe, where the net lease approach is relatively new, to support long-term growth [9] Dividend Performance - Realty Income has a strong dividend track record, having increased its dividend annually for over 30 years, with a current monthly distribution that offers a 5.4% yield, appealing to income-focused investors [11][13] - The company has a streak of 111 consecutive quarters of dividend increases, making it a reliable source of income [11] Financial Strength - Realty Income benefits from its size, which provides greater access to capital markets and a strong investment-grade-rated balance sheet, allowing it to handle larger transactions that smaller peers may not be able to manage [10]

Shares of this industry giant fell hard along with the S&P 500 during the pandemic, but it didn't bounce back along with the S&P. It isn't an unreasonable fear to think that Realty Income's growth will be slow. But Realty Income is so large that slow and steady growth is actually the norm here, anyway. Moreover, its size and financial strength (it has an investment-grade rated balance sheet) actually give it advantageous access to capital markets. So, compared to competitors, it still has attractive access ...