SmartStop Raises Same-Store NOI Guidance for Fourth Time

The Tip Desk · November 11, 2026 · 4 min read

Same-store NOI rose 4.9% year over year in the third quarter as the self-storage REIT posted $0.51 of adjusted FFO a share and OP unit.

SmartStop Self Storage REIT (SMA) raised its full-year same-store net operating income guidance for the fourth time in 2026 after same-store NOI growth accelerated to 4.9% in the three months ended September 30, from 3.7% in the prior quarter and 2.0% in the quarter before that.

The self-managed self-storage company said 2.0% same-store revenue growth and a 3.8% reduction in same-store operating expenses expanded operating margin by 190 basis points, its third consecutive quarter of margin improvement. Same-store revenue growth had been 1.3% in the second quarter after 1.5% in the first. Property operating expenses had fallen 3.4% year over year in the second quarter after a 0.6% increase in the first.

Same-store annualized rent per occupied square foot was about $20.99, up 2.6% from a year earlier, faster than the 1.9% increase in the second quarter and the 1.2% increase in the first. Same-store average physical occupancy was 92.2%, down about 0.4% year over year, a smaller decline than the 0.6% drop in the second quarter after occupancy was unchanged year over year in the first.

On a constant-currency basis for Canadian properties in the wholly-owned same-store pool, aggregate same-store revenues rose 2.1%, expenses fell 3.6%, and NOI rose 5.1%.

Total self storage-related revenues were about $68.2 million, up about $3.6 million from a year earlier. Net income attributable to common stockholders was about $9.0 million, up about $3.8 million from a year earlier, or $0.16 a share. FFO as adjusted attributable to common stockholders and OP unit holders was about $30.3 million, or $0.51 a share and OP unit on a diluted basis, after $0.49 in each of the two prior quarters.

Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer H. Michael Schwartz said the company delivered sector-leading same-store NOI growth and FFO as adjusted per share growth of over 9% even with a currency headwind. He said the results allowed the company to raise full-year same-store NOI guidance for the fourth time this year.

SmartStop also put its Deca Initiative to work, Schwartz said, expanding its Canadian platform by over 30% through a pending investment in Strategic Storage Canada, launching a programmatic investment partnership, and issuing a $200 million CAD Maple Bond at attractive long-term pricing while reducing leverage.

On September 29, the company agreed to invest about $74.3 million CAD (about $52.3 million USD as of September 30) into the Canadian joint venture fund, taking a 50% general partner interest and an expected about 34% limited partnership interest in 14 self-storage properties comprising about 961,000 net rentable square feet and 9,600 units. The portfolio is in early lease-up and about 50% physically occupied. SmartStop committed to additional investments of up to $228.0 million CAD (about $160.5 million USD) over three years after closing. The company said the investment is expected to position it as Canada’s third-largest self-storage operator, with 70 operating properties. Closing is subject to Canadian Competition Act approval and other conditions; SmartStop anticipated completing the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The company initiated a strategic asset management program targeting $75 million to $125 million of opportunistic dispositions of wholly-owned properties in non-core markets beginning in early 2027, with net proceeds intended to recycle capital into core markets. It is under contract to acquire two stabilized properties in Las Vegas and Asheville for about $37 million, expected to close in the fourth quarter.

During the quarter, SmartStop closed a $200 million CAD (about $140.8 million USD) Series C senior unsecured notes due 2031 at about 4.32% and sold about 2.4 million shares on a forward basis at an initial gross average price of $32.01 for gross proceeds of up to about $78.1 million. It also closed two preferred investments with AXCS Capital totaling $18.2 million and one bridge loan of $16.7 million, with a weighted average yield of about 17.6% before AXCS Capital’s management fee and promoted interest. The board approved a distribution equivalent to an annualized $1.60 a share for September, October and November.