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O vs PSA
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Realty Income Corporation (O) vs. Public Storage (PSA) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- Realty Income (O) is a net-lease REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) with over 15,450 properties, known as "The Monthly Dividend Company," supported by 98.9% portfolio occupancy and 113 consecutive quarterly dividend increases.
- Public Storage (PSA) is the largest self-storage REIT in the United States, commanding industry-leading same-store NOI (Net Operating Income) margins of 78.4% and holding elite A2/A credit ratings.
- Realty Income is in an expansionary phase, deploying $6.3 billion in 2025 investments and guiding for $8 billion in 2026, while Public Storage is navigating a stabilization period with flat-to-slightly-declining same-store revenue.
- PSA carries a stronger balance sheet with lower leverage (4.2x net debt to EBITDA versus O's 5.4x), but O offers higher dividend visibility through long-term net leases and a monthly payout structure.
- Both stocks delivered positive Core FFO (Funds From Operations) growth in 2025, though PSA's 2026 guidance implies a potential Core FFO per share decline, while O projects approximately 2.8% year-over-year AFFO (Adjusted Funds From Operations) growth.
- Institutional sentiment and analyst coverage remain broadly neutral-to-constructive on both names, with O receiving a consensus "Hold" rating and PSA carrying a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) as of recent assessments.
Introduction
Investors seeking reliable income streams and real estate exposure frequently turn to REITs, and few names command as much attention as O and PSA. Realty Income Corporation dominates the net-lease retail and industrial space, while Public Storage is synonymous with self-storage across America. Although both operate under the REIT umbrella, their business models, growth engines, and risk profiles diverge meaningfully. This comparison is especially relevant for income-oriented investors evaluating dividend durability and for total-return seekers weighing growth trajectories in a shifting interest-rate environment. Understanding where these two industry leaders stand relative to one another can help market participants make more informed allocation decisions.
O Overview and Recent Performance
Realty Income Corporation, widely recognized as "The Monthly Dividend Company," is an S&P 500 member and Dividend Aristocrat that owns and manages a diversified portfolio of over 15,450 commercial properties under long-term net-lease agreements. Its tenant base spans 91 industries and approximately 1,630 clients, with exposure concentrated in retail, industrial, and increasingly, European markets. The company closed 2025 with AFFO of $4.28 per share, supported by a 98.9% portfolio occupancy rate and a rent recapture rate of 103.9% on re-leased properties. Full-year investment volume reached approximately $6.3 billion at a weighted average initial cash yield of 7.3%, with a growing European footprint accounting for a meaningful share of deployment.
In recent months, Realty Income has accelerated its strategic ambitions. The company launched its inaugural perpetual-life U.S. open-end core plus fund, raising $1.5 billion in total commitments, and announced a build-to-suit development joint venture with GIC, a sovereign wealth fund, with combined commitments exceeding $1.5 billion. It also expanded into Mexico with a $200 million takeout commitment for a USD-denominated industrial portfolio. Management introduced 2026 AFFO per share guidance of $4.38 to $4.42, implying roughly 2.8% annual growth at the midpoint, and set an ambitious $8 billion investment volume target. The stock has benefited from stabilizing interest rate expectations and a clearly communicated growth roadmap, though it remains sensitive to capital market conditions that influence acquisition spreads.
PSA Overview and Recent Performance
Public Storage is the largest self-storage REIT globally, with interests in over 3,100 facilities across the United States and a significant equity stake in Shurgard Self Storage, which operates across Western Europe. The company's portfolio spans approximately 229 million net rentable square feet, serving both personal and business storage needs on a month-to-month lease basis. Public Storage reported full-year 2025 Core FFO of $16.97 per share, up 1.8% year over year, with total revenues of $4.82 billion. Its hallmark remains exceptional profitability, evidenced by a same-store NOI margin of 78.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The self-storage sector has been navigating a normalization phase following the outsized demand surge during the pandemic years. PSA's same-store revenues were essentially flat for full-year 2025, with occupancy averaging 92.0%, down 0.4 percentage points from the prior year. Encouragingly, the fourth quarter marked the first year-over-year occupancy increase in over four years, signaling potential fundamental stabilization. The company deployed $945.6 million on acquisitions in 2025 and has an additional 3.5 million net rentable square feet in its development pipeline. In a landmark move, Public Storage unveiled PS4.0, a generational leadership transition and strategic vision that includes CEO succession — Tom Boyle will assume the role on April 1, 2026 — and a renewed emphasis on customer experience, margin expansion, and technology-driven operations.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
Business Model and Revenue Visibility: Realty Income's net-lease model generates highly predictable rental income through long-term leases (weighted average remaining lease term of approximately 9 years), where tenants bear most property-level operating costs. Public Storage, by contrast, operates on month-to-month leases, offering greater pricing flexibility but exposing revenue to more frequent tenant turnover and seasonal demand fluctuations. O's revenue stream is inherently stickier; PSA's is more dynamic.
Growth Drivers: Realty Income is aggressively scaling through acquisitions, with $8 billion in targeted 2026 investments spanning the U.S., Europe, and now Mexico. Public Storage is pursuing a more measured growth path, leveraging acquisitions ($945.6 million in 2025), development projects, and third-party property management expansion. The scale of O's growth ambitions is significantly larger in absolute dollar terms, though both companies benefit from highly fragmented addressable markets.
Profitability and Margins: Public Storage enjoys structurally superior margins, with same-store NOI margins consistently near 78%, reflecting the low operating-cost intensity of self-storage facilities. Realty Income's net-lease model produces healthy but comparatively thinner margins, with its cost efficiency reflected in a cash G&A (General and Administrative) margin of just 3.2% relative to revenue. PSA's margin advantage is a durable competitive moat.
Balance Sheet Strength: Public Storage holds the edge with net debt to EBITDA of 4.2x and A2/A credit ratings from Moody's and S&P. Realty Income carries a higher leverage ratio of 5.4x but maintains investment-grade ratings and robust liquidity exceeding $4.1 billion. PSA's lower debt burden and superior credit profile offer greater resilience in a rising-rate or recessionary scenario.
Dividend Profile: Realty Income pays monthly dividends — a rare and attractive feature for income investors — and has raised its payout for 113 consecutive quarters. Its annualized dividend of $3.24 per share represented approximately 75.2% of 2025 AFFO, indicating healthy coverage. Public Storage pays quarterly dividends with a strong track record, though its payout ratio and yield structure cater more to total-return-oriented investors. O's monthly cadence and Aristocrat pedigree give it a distinct edge in pure income appeal.
Market Sentiment and Risks: Realty Income faces execution risk tied to its ambitious $8 billion investment plan and sensitivity to acquisition cap rate compression. Public Storage confronts near-term headwinds from moderating same-store revenue, reflected in its 2026 guidance for a potential 3.9% NOI decline at the low end. PSA also faces transitional uncertainty following its PS4.0 leadership overhaul. O's sentiment has been buoyed by global expansion momentum; PSA's sentiment reflects cautious optimism around stabilization and new strategic vision.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Based on observable trend consistency, relative positioning, and near-term catalysts, Tickeron's AI-driven analytical framework would likely tilt in favor of O in the current market environment. Realty Income's combination of accelerating investment activity, clearly defined 2026 AFFO growth of approximately 2.8%, expanding global footprint, and steady monthly dividend increases provides a more compelling near-to-medium-term profile. Public Storage's industry-leading margins and fortress balance sheet remain formidable strengths, but flat same-store revenue trends and 2026 guidance implying potential Core FFO contraction weigh on its relative momentum score. That said, the AI framework would likely acknowledge that PSA's PS4.0 initiative and leadership transition could serve as positive catalysts if execution meets stated ambitions. Ultimately, the probabilistic assessment favors O for trend consistency and forward growth visibility, while recognizing PSA as a high-quality defensive alternative that may outperform if self-storage fundamentals rebound more quickly than currently projected.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is O is a Buy and PSA is a StrongBuy.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
O’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whilePSA’s FA Score has 3 green FA rating(s).
- O’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- PSA’s FA Score: 3 green, 2 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
O’s TA Score shows that 6 TA indicator(s) are bullish while PSA’s TA Score has 6 bullish TA indicator(s).
- O’s TA Score: 6 bullish, 3 bearish.
- PSA’s TA Score: 6 bullish, 2 bearish.
Price Growth
O (@Real Estate Investment Trusts) experienced а -0.17% price change this week, while PSA (@Miscellaneous Manufacturing) price change was +1.40% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Real Estate Investment Trusts industry was -2.06%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -0.42%, and the average quarterly price growth was +17.10%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Miscellaneous Manufacturing industry was -1.49%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +5.51%, and the average quarterly price growth was +20.79%.
Reported Earning Dates
O is expected to report earnings on Aug 05, 2026.
PSA is expected to report earnings on Jul 29, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Real Estate Investment Trusts (-2.06% weekly)A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company any that owns, and in most cases, operates, income-producing real estate – ranging from office and apartment buildings to warehouses, hospitals, shopping centers, hotels and timberlands. Some REITs are involved in financing real estate. Equity REITs invest in and own properties, while mortgage REITs own and invest in property mortgages. REITs are required by law to pay out at least 90% of their annual taxable income (excluding capital gains) to shareholders in the form of dividends. Some REITs could be more cyclical than others; for example, when an economy is undergoing a recession, hotel REITs could be more vulnerable, compared to say healthcare REIT given that healthcare needs are less likely to depend on economic cycles. American Tower Corporation, Prologis, Inc. and Crown Castle International Corp are some of the biggest REIT companies in the U.S.
@Miscellaneous Manufacturing (-1.49% weekly)Miscellaneous manufacturing refers to a diverse range of products that cannot readily be categorized into other specific sectors of manufacturing. Major U.S. players in this industry include AMETEK, Inc.( analytical instruments, precision components and specialty materials), Dover Corporation (solutions for efficiency and safety of extracting oil and gas, e.g. rod lifts, progressing cavity pumps, gas lifts etc.; solutions for the transportation/transformation of solid waste; products for safe handling of critical fluids for various industries; systems for commercial-refrigeration, heating and cooling, and food and beverage packaging), and Carlisle Companies Incorporated (niche markets including commercial roofing, energy, lawn and garden, mining and construction equipment, aerospace and electronics, dining and food delivery, and healthcare), among others.
| O | PSA | O / PSA | |
| Capitalization | 61.2B | 60.2B | 102% |
| EBITDA | 4.91B | 3.38B | 145% |
| Gain YTD | 19.431 | 26.701 | 73% |
| P/E Ratio | 53.77 | 166.57 | 32% |
| Revenue | 5.88B | 4.86B | 121% |
| Total Cash | N/A | N/A | - |
| Total Debt | 30.2B | 10B | 302% |
O | PSA | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 77 | 67 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 60 Fair valued | 48 Fair valued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 61 | 66 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 89 | 30 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 25 | 29 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 46 | 4 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 65 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
PSA's Valuation (48) in the Real Estate Investment Trusts industry is in the same range as O (60). This means that PSA’s stock grew similarly to O’s over the last 12 months.
O's Profit vs Risk Rating (61) in the Real Estate Investment Trusts industry is in the same range as PSA (66). This means that O’s stock grew similarly to PSA’s over the last 12 months.
PSA's SMR Rating (30) in the Real Estate Investment Trusts industry is somewhat better than the same rating for O (89). This means that PSA’s stock grew somewhat faster than O’s over the last 12 months.
O's Price Growth Rating (25) in the Real Estate Investment Trusts industry is in the same range as PSA (29). This means that O’s stock grew similarly to PSA’s over the last 12 months.
PSA's P/E Growth Rating (4) in the Real Estate Investment Trusts industry is somewhat better than the same rating for O (46). This means that PSA’s stock grew somewhat faster than O’s over the last 12 months.
| O | PSA | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | N/A | N/A |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 48% | 3 days ago 51% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 58% | 3 days ago 63% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 54% | 3 days ago 48% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 49% | 3 days ago 58% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 49% | 3 days ago 53% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 14 days ago 47% | 3 days ago 58% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 49% | 6 days ago 57% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 47% | 3 days ago 60% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 40% | 4 days ago 50% |
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O and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, O has been closely correlated with NNN. These tickers have moved in lockstep 78% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if O jumps, then NNN could also see price increases.
PSA and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, PSA has been closely correlated with EXR. These tickers have moved in lockstep 88% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if PSA jumps, then EXR could also see price increases.