Welltower (NYSE: WELL) raises outlook and same-store senior housing NOI jumps 21.0%

What happened

Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) raised its 2026 earnings guidance after third-quarter normalized funds from operations per share rose 24.6% year over year. The company reported $1.67 per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from $1.34.

Net income was $415 million, or $0.54 per diluted share attributable to common stockholders. A year earlier it was $282 million, or $0.41. This year's figure includes a $114.68 million gain on real estate dispositions and acquisitions of controlling interests, against about $4 million a year earlier.

Management lifted full-year normalized FFO guidance to $6.47 to $6.53 per diluted share from $6.36 to $6.44. Net income guidance rose to $3.31 to $3.37 per diluted share from $3.11 to $3.19.

Key numbers

Metric	Latest	Change	Source
Normalized FFO per diluted share, Q3	$1.67	from $1.34, +24.6%	SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Net income attributable to common stockholders per diluted share, Q3	$0.54	from $0.41, +$0.13	SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Total portfolio same-store NOI growth, Q3 year over year	15.8%		SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Seniors Housing Operating same-store NOI growth, Q3 year over year	21.0%		SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
2026 normalized FFO guidance per diluted share (prior $6.36 to $6.44)	$6.47 to $6.53		SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Expected pro rata disposition proceeds, next twelve months	$1.9 billion		SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1

Read more: Welltower (WELL) company research

Where the growth came from

Same-store net operating income for the total portfolio grew 15.8% year over year. The Seniors Housing Operating segment led at 21.0%. Organic same-store revenue in that segment rose 9.1%, which the company attributes to 320 basis points of average occupancy growth and 5.3% growth in revenue per occupied room.

The other segments grew more slowly. Seniors Housing Triple-net rose 4.2%, Outpatient Medical 2.4% and Skilled Nursing 2.8%. For the full year, the company expects blended same-store NOI growth of 15.0% to 16.25%, with Seniors Housing Operating at 20.25% to 21.75%.

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How the growth is funded

Welltower has closed or has under contract $21.0 billion of pro rata gross investments this year, excluding development funding. Of that, $13.3 billion was completed in the nine months ended Sept. 30. Another $7.7 billion was closed or under contract after quarter end, subject to customary closing conditions.

In the third quarter, the company completed $2.7 billion of pro rata gross investments across 43 seniors housing properties. It raised more than $4 billion of capital globally during the quarter to fund what it calls accretive deployment.

One piece was a July issuance of C$1.15 billion of senior unsecured notes at a weighted-average coupon of 3.95%. It had two parts: C$750 million of 3.850% notes due Aug. 15, 2031 and C$400 million of 4.150% notes due Aug. 15, 2033.

Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA stood at 3.02x on Sept. 30, and net debt was 9.2% of consolidated enterprise value. Available liquidity was about $9.5 billion, including expected proceeds from property sales and loan payoffs. Total assets reached $73.71 billion, up from $59.50 billion a year earlier. Cash and equivalents fell to $2.27 billion from $6.81 billion.

Why it matters

OptimistFi has argued that Welltower works only if it turns its scale and balance sheet into accretive growth, not just a larger asset base. The quarter supports that view. Normalized FFO per share grew even though average diluted shares rose to 754.9 million from 685.4 million a year earlier.

The quality of that growth is the caveat. Normalizing items added $187.72 million to the quarter's normalized FFO, up from $94.87 million a year earlier. The quarter's $124.69 million of other expenses, which the company normalizes out, mostly relate to non-capitalizable transaction costs and legal fees, including the HC-One Group operator restructuring.

The outlook shows the same gap. Guidance for NAREIT-defined FFO fell to $6.07 to $6.13 per diluted share from $6.21 to $6.29, even as normalized guidance rose. Normalizing items in the outlook climbed to $298 million from $111 million.

Guidance also leans on deals not yet done. The company completed $4.1 billion of pro rata dispositions and loan repayments this year, including $484 million in the third quarter. It expects $1.9 billion of pro rata disposition proceeds over the next twelve months at a blended yield of 6.5%. That includes about $1.5 billion from property sales and $328 million from loan repayments.

The company says guidance includes only acquisitions announced or closed to date. It excludes any additional investments, dispositions or capital transactions, as well as unanticipated loan loss reserve additions and other normalizing items.

What's next

Welltower holds a conference call on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss results, industry trends and portfolio performance. The company says it will give more detail on its 2026 outlook and assumptions then.

The $0.85 per share dividend, the 222nd consecutive quarterly cash dividend, is payable Nov. 19 to stockholders of record Nov. 10. It equals 51% of the quarter's normalized FFO per share, against 55% a year earlier.

The case would strengthen if the deals closed or under contract after quarter end settle and the expected sales proceeds arrive at the stated yield. It would weaken if closings slip or normalizing items keep growing faster than the NAREIT FFO outlook.

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