Cousins Properties Q2 FFO Matches Estimates, '25 Guidance Raised

Cousins Properties CUZ reported second-quarter 2025 funds from operations (FFO) per share of 70 cents, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The figure increased 2.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Cousins Properties experienced healthy new and expansion leasing activity as well as a decline in rental property operating expenses in the quarter. However, the weighted average occupancy decreased, while interest expenses increased and marred the growth tempo. CUZ also raised its 2025 outlook for FFO per share, with the new midpoint denoting a 4.8% growth rate over the last year.

Rental property revenues rose 12.4% year over year to $237.7 million. However, it missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $242.5 million. Total revenues grew 12.7% year over year to $240.1 million.

Along with the second-quarter earnings release, Cousins Properties also announced that it acquired The Link — a 292,000-square-foot lifestyle office property in Uptown Dallas — for $218.0 million.

CUZ’s Q2 in Detail

Cousins Properties executed leases for 334,000 square feet of office space in the second quarter, including 268,000 square feet of new and expansion leases, representing 80% of total leasing activity.

Same-property rental property revenues on a cash basis declined 0.6% year over year to $192.1 million. Same-property rental property operating expenses on a cash basis fell 3.7% to $69.0 million in the second quarter of 2025. As a result, the same-property net operating income on a cash basis climbed 1.2% to $123.0 million from the prior-year period.

The weighted average occupancy of the same-property portfolio was 88.4%, down 10 basis points from a year ago.

CUZ ended the quarter with the same-property portfolio being leased 91.1%, down from 91.2% at the end of the year-ago period. The second-generation net rent per square foot (cash basis) climbed 10.9%.

However, interest expenses jumped 29.5% to $38.5 million year over year.

CUZ’s Balance Sheet

CUZ exited the second quarter of 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $416.8 million, well ahead of $7.3 million as of Dec. 31, 2024.

The company’s net debt-to-annualized EBITDAre ratio in the quarter was 5.11 compared with 4.87 in the prior quarter. Fixed charges coverage (EBITDAre) was 3.73X, down from 4.05X in the prior quarter.

CUZ’s 2025 Outlook Revision

Cousins Properties now expects 2025 FFO per share between $2.79 and $2.85, up from the earlier guided range of $2.75-$2.83. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is presently pegged at $2.80, within the guided range.

CUZ’s Zacks Rank

CUZ currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Cousins Properties Incorporated Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Cousins Properties Incorporated price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Cousins Properties Incorporated Quote

Performance of Other Office REITs

BXP Inc.’s BXP second-quarter 2025 FFO per share of $1.71 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.67. However, the reported figure fell 3.4% year over year. BXP’s quarterly results reflect better-than-anticipated revenues on healthy leasing activity. However, lower occupancy and higher interest expenses during the quarter marred its year-over-year FFO per share growth. BXP also revised its guidance for 2025 FFO per share.

SL Green Realty Corp. SLG reported second-quarter 2025 FFO per share of $1.63, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.37. The company reported an FFO of $2.05 per share in the year-ago period, including 69 cents of gains on discounted debt extinguishment at 280 Park Avenue and 719 Seventh Avenue, and 2 cents of positive non-cash fair value adjustments on mark-to-market derivatives. SL Green’s results reflected improved average rental rates on the Manhattan office leases signed in this period. However, elevated interest expenses undermined the results to some extent. SL Green raised its 2025 outlook.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research