Kite Realty Lifts 2026 Core FFO Floor After Leasing Surge

The Tip Desk · October 30, 2026 · 3 min read

The grocery-anchored REIT raised its 2026 Core FFO range to $2.08–$2.12 a share after 1.2 million square feet of third-quarter leasing and a Fitch upgrade to BBB+.

Kite Realty Group Trust (KRG) raised its 2026 Core FFO and NAREIT FFO guidance to $2.08 to $2.12 a share from $2.06 to $2.12 a share after a third quarter in which leasing volume reached about 1.2 million square feet and the company lifted its full-year Same Property NOI growth floor.

The owner of open-air grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use assets said it expects 2026 Same Property NOI growth of 3.40% to 3.90%, versus a prior range of 3.00% to 4.00%. Net income guidance is now $0.88 to $0.92 a share, replacing the first-quarter range of $0.33 to $0.39 a share. The company also assumed interest expense, net of interest income and excluding unconsolidated joint ventures, of $116.4 million at the midpoint, up from $114.7 million.

Same Property NOI growth was 3.6% in the third quarter, matching the first quarter after 3.7% in the second. Same Property NOI was $132.0 million. Core FFO of the Operating Partnership was $107.0 million, or $0.52 a share, and NAREIT FFO was $107.9 million, or $0.53 a share. Net loss attributable to common shareholders was $13.3 million, or $0.07 a share.

Leasing accelerated. The company executed 160 new and renewal leases, versus 128 leases and about 1.0 million square feet in the second quarter. Blended cash leasing spreads on 129 comparable leases were 14.6%, including 33.7% on 30 comparable new leases, 18.3% on 43 comparable non-option renewals, and 7.6% on 56 comparable option renewals. Comparable new and non-option renewal spreads were 26.2%.

That volume lifted the signed-not-open NOI pipeline to about $38.8 million and the leased-to-occupied spread to an all-time high of 360 basis points at September 30, 2026, from about $37.3 million and 350 basis points at June 30. Retail portfolio leased percentage was 95.3%, up 140 basis points year over year. Anchor leased percentage was 96.9% and small shop 92.7%. Operating retail annualized base rent was $23.52 a square foot, up 6.4% from a year earlier.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John A. Kite said third-quarter results reflected tenant demand, portfolio quality and disciplined capital allocation.

Capital recycling continued. The company sold Tysons Corner in Vienna, Virginia, for $25.9 million and acquired the fee interest in land at Pelham Manor Shopping Plaza in the New York metropolitan area for $52.0 million. Subsequent to quarter end it sold the Carillon medical office building in Largo, Maryland, for a gross price of $33.2 million. It repurchased about 2.4 million common shares at an average $26.61 for $63.4 million. In 2025 and to date in 2026 it had repurchased about 22.0 million shares at an average $24.46 for $539.1 million.

On July 2 the operating partnership issued $345 million of 3.25% exchangeable senior notes due 2032, including a $45 million overallotment. The company used most of the proceeds, together with cash from recent asset sales, to redeem $300 million of 4.00% senior unsecured notes that were scheduled to mature on October 1, 2026, and repaid $100 million of 4.08% notes that matured on September 30. Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA was 5.2x at September 30. Fitch upgraded the corporate credit rating to BBB+ from BBB with a stable outlook.

The Board declared a fourth-quarter 2026 dividend of $0.29 a share. Total dividends declared for 2026 of $1.16 a share represent a 5.5% increase year over year. The fourth-quarter dividend is payable on or about January 15, 2027.