Ventas NYSE: VTR executives emphasized accelerating senior housing fundamentals and growing acquisition momentum during the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call, highlighting stronger occupancy, double-digit net operating income (NOI) growth in its Senior Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP), and a higher full-year outlook.
Management points to “inflection point” in senior housing demand
Chairman and CEO Debra A. Cafaro said Ventas is entering what she described as “a new and positive inflection point when demographic demand jumps and growth remains elevated for over a decade.” Cafaro noted the company is in its “fifth consecutive year of double-digit annual growth” in SHOP and framed SHOP as the company’s primary growth engine.
Cafaro said Ventas delivered 9% year-over-year growth in total same-store property NOI and normalized funds from operations (FFO) per share in the quarter, driven by SHOP performance and contributions from senior housing investments. SHOP NOI grew more than 15% year over year, while U.S. occupancy increased 370 basis points, which Cafaro attributed to “broad-based demand” and the company’s Ventas OI operating initiatives.
She added that Ventas has “already grown senior housing to over 60% of our business,” with communities serving nearly 100,000 residents, and positioned the company’s scale as an advantage in a fragmented operating landscape.
SHOP results: occupancy gains, pricing strength, and operating leverage
Justin Hutchens, executive vice president of Senior Housing and chief investment officer, said SHOP same-store NOI increased more than 15% year over year in the first quarter, powered by “a powerful combination of occupancy growth, pricing strength, and operating leverage.” He said occupancy remains the main driver.
Hutchens reported same-store average occupancy rose 310 basis points year over year to 90.4%. In the U.S. portfolio, same-store occupancy increased 370 basis points and, according to Hutchens, outperformed the NIC top 99 markets by 150 basis points.
On pricing, Hutchens said revenue per occupied room (RevPOR) increased 5% year over year, reflecting in-house rate increases “running at nearly 8%” and improving street rates. Operating expenses increased 5.8% year over year, which he said was “largely driven by higher occupancy levels and winter storm-related costs.”
Hutchens said NOI margins expanded 170 basis points year over year to 30%, with incremental margins at 50%. He discussed asset management priorities including refresh capital expenditures, “price-volume optimization guidance,” and strengthening sales culture with a goal of “zero lost revenue days” in highly occupied communities.
Updated 2026 outlook raised on SHOP and investment activity
Chief Financial Officer Bob Probst said normalized FFO for the first quarter was $0.94 per share, up 9% year over year, citing nearly 9% total company same-store property growth and “accretive senior housing investments.”
Ventas raised full-year 2026 normalized FFO guidance to a range of $3.82 to $3.89 per share, or $3.86 at the midpoint, a $0.03 increase from its prior midpoint. Probst said the increase was driven by stronger organic property performance led by SHOP and accretive senior housing investment activity, partially offset by higher interest rate assumptions.
Hutchens said Ventas increased its 2026 SHOP outlook to 16% same-store NOI growth at the midpoint, up from 15%, driven by an occupancy growth expectation of roughly 300 basis points and revenue growth expectations of approximately 8.75%. He reiterated that the key selling season is May through September, adding that performance during that period will determine the full-year outcome.
Acquisitions: $1.7 billion closed year-to-date; guidance lifted to $3 billion
Management repeatedly pointed to a stronger acquisition environment for senior housing and Ventas’ ability to source deals. Cafaro said Ventas sees “an outstanding private-to-public arbitrage opportunity” and has already closed $1.7 billion of senior housing investments in 2026, following more than $6 billion since the beginning of 2024.
Ventas raised 2026 investment volume guidance to $3 billion. Hutchens said more than 90% of the $1.7 billion closed year-to-date was relationship-driven, more than 60% was sourced off market, and more than 40% involved repeat sellers.
He also described cap rates “drift[ing] down” from around 7% into the 6% range. Hutchens said Ventas reported “around 6.5% all in,” including the Revel deal, and 6.9% excluding it, and that the company expects “high 6%” for the rest of the year. He added that despite cap rate compression, targeted IRRs have stayed “solid,” which he attributed in part to value-add opportunities.
Revel acquisition outlined as value-add lease-up opportunity
Hutchens highlighted a $540 million acquisition of the Revel portfolio, describing it as a value-add lease-up opportunity consisting of “newly built luxury independent living communities” in affluent, high-growth markets across the Western U.S. He said the portfolio’s in-place occupancy is in the “mid 70% range” and that Ventas sees “significant embedded occupancy upside.”
In response to analyst questions about the portfolio’s underperformance, Hutchens said there is “no structural issue” with the product and noted that vacancy is more concentrated in more recent deliveries, while some earlier communities are already stabilized. He said the company sees opportunities in “sales execution” and “price sophistication,” supported by the Ventas OI platform and “boots on the ground” engagement.
Hutchens also said the seller retained a 25% interest through a joint venture structure, and he described the transaction as sourced “completely off market.”
Other segment performance, balance sheet, and capital actions
Probst said Ventas’ outpatient medical and research (OMAR) portfolio delivered 2.4% same-store cash NOI growth, led by outpatient medical growth of 3.1%. He said outpatient medical occupancy reached “almost 91%,” up 50 basis points year over year and representing the seventh consecutive quarter of occupancy growth.
In triple net, Probst said same-store cash NOI grew 1.6% and benefited from a “35% Brookdale cash rent escalator” effective Jan. 1, 2026.
On the balance sheet, Probst said net debt to EBITDA improved to 5.0x at quarter-end, a 20 basis point sequential improvement, with additional improvement expected through the year. Liquidity totaled $5.5 billion. To fund investment activity, Probst said Ventas raised about $2.4 billion of equity designated for 2026 investments, including $800 million settled in the first quarter and $1.6 billion available through forward equity sales agreements.
Management also discussed portfolio recycling and operations. Hutchens said Ventas typically targets a “few hundred million” of dispositions annually, including some senior housing assets, and will continue evaluating assets that do not fit its desired growth profile. On expenses, Hutchens attributed first-quarter SHOP expense growth largely to weather, while Probst said the primary driver of the full-year operating expense guide increase to 5.5% is volume.
On demand dynamics, Hutchens said development economics remain challenging, stating that rents would need to be “20%-40%” higher in many markets for new projects to pencil, suggesting new supply still does not appear imminent near term. He also said Ventas is “certainly focused on acquisitions” rather than development at this time.
Cafaro closed the call by recognizing Pete Bulgarelli, who is retiring after eight years leading Ventas’ OMAR business.
About Ventas NYSE: VTR
Ventas, Inc NYSE: VTR is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.
Ventas' business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.
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