Earnings

Cousins Raises 2026 FFO Guidance After NOI Rebound

The Tip Desk · October 31, 2026 · 3 min read

Same-property cash-basis NOI rose 7.4% in the third quarter as the Atlanta REIT lifted full-year FFO to $2.95–$2.99 a share.

Cousins Properties (CUZ), a self-administered REIT focused on Class A office buildings in Sun Belt markets, reported third-quarter funds from operations of $123.8 million, or $0.75 a share, compared with $116.5 million, or $0.69 a share, a year earlier.

The company raised its 2026 FFO outlook to $2.95 to $2.99 a share from $2.92 to $2.98, and lifted net income guidance to $0.14 to $0.18 a share from $0.08 to $0.14. It said the FFO increase is primarily driven by leasing activity and fee income that exceeded its prior forecast. Guidance excludes the settlement of 3.9 million common shares previously sold on a forward basis, assumes the sale of the 303 Tremont land parcel in the fourth quarter, and does not include speculative acquisitions, dispositions, or development starts.

Same-property cash-basis net operating income growth accelerated to 7.4% in the third quarter from 5.9% in the second quarter. Cash-basis second-generation net rent per square foot rose 19.8%, up from a 9.2% increase in the second quarter.

Office leasing volume slowed to 546,000 square feet from 924,000 square feet in the second quarter. New and expansion leases were 220,000 square feet, or 40.3% of third-quarter leasing. Net rent was $42.41 a square foot and net effective rent was $31.24 a square foot. Office percent leased ended the quarter at 93.0%, and weighted-average occupancy was 89.5%. Same-property percent leased was 92.6%.

President and Chief Executive Officer Colin Connolly said the third quarter was exceptionally strong and that, given strong office fundamentals, the company remains on track to achieve its 90% occupancy target by year end.

Net income available to common stockholders was $17.0 million, or $0.10 a share, versus $8.6 million, or $0.05 a share, a year earlier. Total revenues were $259.4 million, including rental property revenues of $257.3 million and fee income of $1.4 million. Interest expense was $45.6 million.

Consolidated operating properties were 35, down from 37 a year earlier. Consolidated rentable square feet were 19.9 million, down from 20.1 million in the second quarter. Total rentable square feet were 22.1 million.

The company sold One Eleven Congress, a 519,000-square-foot office property in Austin, for a gross sales price of $208.0 million. It acquired a preferred equity interest in 5th & Walsh, a 199,000-square-foot office building under development in Austin, with a $31.5 million funding commitment expected to be invested in the second half of 2027 and earning a 10% preferred return. It formed a joint venture to acquire 2.3 acres at 2401 McKinney in Uptown Dallas, contributing $50.0 million and holding a 97.5% equity interest.

It sold 917,000 shares under its ATM program at an average $31.37, bringing unsettled forward shares to 3.9 million at an average $30.66. It repaid a $99.2 million mortgage on Colorado Tower at par on September 1, 2026, and subsequently repaid a $115.9 million mortgage on 201 North Tryon at par on October 1, 2026.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, net income available to common stockholders was $18.3 million, or $0.11 a share, compared with $44.0 million, or $0.26 a share, a year earlier. The company said the decline is primarily attributable to an impairment charge. FFO for the nine months was $371.3 million, or $2.23 a share. Same-property cash-basis NOI increased 6.2% for the nine months, and second-generation cash-basis net rent per square foot increased 14.2%. The company executed 2.4 million square feet of office leases, including 1.1 million square feet of new and expansion leases.

More on CUZ

July 31, 2026 Earnings Cousins Properties Lifts FFO and Raises Full-Year Guidance

COUSINS PROPERTIES INC — all coverage and financials