Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) used its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call to highlight improved year-end execution, outline five priorities for 2026, and frame a cautious outlook amid continued cold-storage industry headwinds. Management emphasized sequential occupancy gains in the fourth quarter, ongoing cost and portfolio actions, and a strategic push to diversify demand while pursuing balance sheet deleveraging.
Fourth-quarter results show sequential occupancy improvement
Americold reported fourth-quarter AFFO of $0.38 per share, which management said was slightly ahead of expectations and higher than the prior year. The company also posted year-over-year growth in fourth-quarter core EBITDA and total company NOI. For the full year, Americold delivered AFFO of $1.43 per share, which management said was in line with expectations.
Pricing trends were mixed but positive in the quarter. Services revenue per pallet rose 2.4%, which management attributed to efforts to protect margin and ensure adequate compensation for value-added services. Storage revenue per pallet increased 0.3%, reflecting what management described as competitive market pressures.
Leadership changes and 2025 milestones
CEO Rob Chambers announced that Chris Papa will join the executive team as CFO in the following week. Chambers described Papa as a seasoned real estate executive with prior CFO roles at CenterPoint Properties, Post Properties, and Liberty Property Trust.
Reviewing 2025, Chambers said the company reached a goal of generating about 60% of rent and storage revenues from fixed commitment contracts, up from less than 40% when the initiative began a few years ago. Operationally, Americold delivered fourth-quarter services margins of nearly 14%, while full-year services margin was 12.7%, up nearly 1,000 basis points over the past two years.
Americold also cited customer recognitions for facilities in Clearfield and Russellville and said it completed three expansion and development projects during 2025—Allentown, Kansas City, and Dubai—on time and on budget.
2026 outlook: AFFO expected to decline amid pricing and occupancy pressure
Management said demand and supply headwinds are expected to continue pressuring revenue in 2026, particularly in the food distribution node where the industry has seen the most speculative development. The company guided to 2026 AFFO of $1.20 to $1.30 per share. Scott Henderson, Americold’s Chief Investment Officer and interim CFO during the call, said the outlook does not assume an increase in consumer demand and does not include any unannounced transactions.
Within the outlook, Americold expects:
- Revenue per pallet to be down about 100 to 200 basis points in 2026.
- Economic occupancy to be flat to down by as much as 300 basis points, reflecting customers reevaluating space at renewal.
- Same-store revenue of approximately $2.2 billion to $2.27 billion.
- Same-store NOI of $735 million to $785 million.
- Total company NOI of $780 million to $845 million.
- Core SG&A of $218 million to $228 million.
- Core EBITDA of $570 million to $620 million.
- Interest expense of $170 million to $180 million.
- Maintenance capex of $60 million to $70 million.
Henderson said the first quarter is typically the lowest AFFO quarter of the year, with sequential improvement expected through the year due to harvest and holiday seasonality.
Five priorities: deleveraging, portfolio actions, organic growth, disciplined development, and cost cuts
Chambers outlined five key priorities for 2026 that management said are intended to position the company through near-term headwinds and build a foundation for longer-term growth.
1) Delever the balance sheet. Americold ended the fourth quarter at 6.8x leverage (net debt to pro forma core EBITDA) and said it is evaluating options including a traditional REIT joint venture or selling non-strategic assets. Management reiterated its commitment to maintaining an investment-grade profile and said it expects to share more details during the first half of the year. In Q&A, management framed the target as reducing leverage “materially” to six or below. When asked, Henderson said any unannounced asset sales or deleveraging transactions are not included in 2026 guidance.
2) Maximize profitability through portfolio management. The company said it exited its Brazil joint venture during 2025 and strategically exited or idled 10 sites in North America, removing more than 22 million cubic feet of capacity (more than 65,000 pallet positions). For 2026, it identified nine sites as candidates, with two closed in the first quarter. Management also discussed exploring NNN leases as a potential way to increase occupancy, describing it as an area not traditionally emphasized by Americold.
3) Drive organic growth by expanding into new sectors. Chambers highlighted momentum in “store support” solutions, including a fixed commitment win in Houston with a major retailer, expansion into Europe with supermarket operators in Portugal and the Netherlands, and a new customer win with On the Run, an Australian gas and convenience store chain. Americold said it has since expanded that relationship to support nearly 600 locations across Australia. Management also said teams are pursuing adjacent sectors including pet food, floral, e-commerce, and pharmacy, and noted it has already closed a couple of small deals in the floral sector.
4) Maintain discipline on inorganic growth and development. Management said it will focus on lower-risk developments that are customer- or partner-driven and is limiting near-term development spend until leverage is reduced. It cited four in-process developments—Port Saint John, Dallas-Fort Worth, Christchurch (New Zealand), and Sydney (Australia)—as on time and on budget, and said it is looking forward to the Port Saint John grand opening later in the year.
5) Rightsize the cost structure. Americold said it began executing a plan in the second half of 2025 to unlock $30 million in annualized cost savings across indirect labor and SG&A, and that these actions are largely complete. Management also expects to reduce Project Orion and transformation-related cash spend by approximately $50 million in 2026, which Henderson said does not impact AFFO but frees up capital.
Market conditions: U.S. supply pressure, fixed-contract renewals, and dividend focus
On the demand backdrop, Chambers said customer conversations suggest net sales growth projections for most of 2026 are “flattish,” with price increases offset by volume declines. He also said customers are focused on promotions and innovation, and that successful product launches could drive safety stock—though management did not assume a demand rebound in guidance.
Regarding fixed commitment contracts, Chambers said Americold is seeing high retention among customers using the structure, but customers are narrowing the gap between committed space and actual usage—renewing at lower pallet levels when utilization has been below commitment.
On supply, management said excess capacity has been largely concentrated in the U.S., with less pronounced dynamics in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Chambers said the company believes it is past peak deliveries, and that new announcements have slowed materially. He described the recent multi-year capacity growth as “in excess of 15%” in pallet positions, driven in part by new entrants.
In capital markets activity, Henderson said Americold entered into a $250 million term loan at the end of December, used proceeds to repay its U.S. revolver to zero and add cash. After year-end, the company used cash and revolver borrowings to repay a $200 million Series A maturity on January 8.
When asked about dividend policy, management said it views maintaining the dividend and maintaining an investment-grade rating as “mission-critical,” and said its capital allocation and deleveraging approach is intended to support both.
About Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD)
Americold Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust specializing in temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics solutions. The company owns, operates, and develops a global network of cold storage facilities designed to support the storage, handling, and distribution of perishable products. Services include blast freezing, repacking, labeling, cross-docking, and transportation management, all integrated to streamline clients’ cold chain operations and help ensure product quality and safety from origin to point of consumption.
With roots dating back to the early 20th century, Americold has expanded through strategic acquisitions and facility development to become one of the world’s largest publicly traded cold storage providers.
