Independence Realty Trust, Inc., a multifamily apartment REIT focused on non-gateway U.S. markets, reported its second quarter 2026 financial results, with Core Funds From Operations (CFFO) per share of $0.28 coming in ahead of expectations. The company posted same-store portfolio Net Operating Income (NOI) growth of 1.2% year-over-year, supported by a 0.9% increase in rental revenues and a controlled 0.5% rise in property operating expenses. Rental and other property revenue for the quarter reached $167,126 thousand, compared to $161,891 thousand in the same period of the prior year. Earnings per diluted share (EPS) stood at $0.01 for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, compared to $0.03 for the quarter ended June 30, 2025.
"Market conditions are improving and momentum is building across the portfolio as we move through 2026," said Scott Schaeffer, Chairman and CEO. "Lead volume is up meaningfully, new lease rate growth is nearing breakeven, and same-store results are ahead of plan. This operating momentum will translate into durable earnings growth and value creation for shareholders."
Key Financial Metrics
The following table summarizes the company's key financial performance for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, compared to the prior-year period.
| Metric: |
Q2 2026 |
Q2 2025 |
| Rental & Other Property Revenue: |
$167,126 thousand |
$161,891 thousand |
| Property Operating Expenses: |
$63,375 thousand |
$60,935 thousand |
| NOI: |
$103,751 thousand |
$100,956 thousand |
| NOI Margin: |
62.1% |
62.4% |
| Adjusted EBITDA: |
$90,250 thousand |
$87,556 thousand |
| FFO per Share: |
$0.28 |
$0.28 |
| CFFO per Share: |
$0.28 |
$0.28 |
| EPS (diluted): |
$0.01 |
$0.03 |
| Net Income (available to common): |
$3.4 million |
$8.0 million |
Same-Store Portfolio Operating Results
The same-store portfolio comprises 109 properties containing 31,735 units. The table below highlights key same-store metrics for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to June 30, 2025.
| Metric: |
Q2 2026 vs Q2 2025 |
Six Months 2026 vs 2025 |
| Rental and Other Property Revenue: |
+0.9% |
+1.1% |
| Property Operating Expenses: |
+0.5% |
+1.2% |
| NOI: |
+1.2% |
+1.1% |
| Portfolio Average Occupancy: |
30 bps decrease to 95.0% |
20 bps decrease to 95.1% |
| Portfolio Average Rental Rate: |
+0.4% to $1,597 |
+0.3% to $1,595 |
| NOI Margin: |
20 bps increase to 62.7% |
No change at 62.8% |
Leasing spreads showed sequential improvement. For all leases, blended lease-over-lease effective rental rate growth reached 1.6% in Q2 2026, compared to (0.5%) in Q1 2026 and 0.5% in Q2 2025. New lease rates improved to (2.1%) in Q2 2026 from (5.1%) in Q1 2026, while renewal rates strengthened to 4.6% from 3.5% in Q1 2026.
Value Add Program and Capital Expenditures
During the three months ended June 30, 2026, the company completed renovations of 600 units under its Value Add Program, achieving a weighted average return on investment of 16.4%, with an average cost per unit of $20,477 and an average monthly rent increase of $279 per unit over unrenovated comparable units. For the six months ended June 30, 2026, 1,026 units were renovated, achieving a weighted average ROI of 15.9%, an average cost of $20,430 per unit, and an average monthly rent increase of $272 per unit.
Capital expenditure details for the three months ended June 30, 2026, are summarized below.
| CapEx Category: |
Q2 2026 |
Six Months 2026 |
| Recurring (per unit): |
$12.4 million ($360/unit) |
$18.5 million ($537/unit) |
| Value Add Program: |
$13.6 million |
$22.1 million |
| Non-Recurring: |
$12.9 million |
$18.4 million |
| Development: |
$0.3 million |
$0.2 million |
Balance Sheet, Liquidity, and Dividend
As of June 30, 2026, the company's net debt to Adjusted EBITDA stood at 6.5x. The weighted average effective interest rate on consolidated debt was 4.3%, with a weighted average maturity of 2.9 years, and 86.9% of debt was either fixed-rate or hedged. Liquidity totaled approximately $503.1 million through unrestricted cash and capacity under the unsecured revolver.
On May 13, 2026, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share of common stock, representing a 5.9% increase over the prior quarterly rate of $0.17 per share. The dividend was paid on July 17, 2026 to stockholders of record as of June 26, 2026. Fitch Ratings upgraded its outlook on the company to 'Positive,' reflecting the strength of the investment-grade balance sheet.
2026 Full-Year Guidance
The company affirmed the midpoint of its full-year 2026 guidance. The table below compares previous and current guidance.
| Metric: |
Previous Guidance |
Current Guidance |
| EPS (low–high): |
$0.21 – $0.28 |
$0.22 – $0.27 |
| FFO per Share (low–high): |
$1.15 – $1.19 |
$1.16 – $1.18 |
| CFFO per Share (low–high): |
$1.12 – $1.16 |
$1.13 – $1.15 |
| Same-Store Property Revenue Growth: |
1.0% – 2.4% |
1.5% – 1.9% |
| Same-Store NOI Growth: |
(0.6%) – 2.2% |
1.0% – 2.0% |
| Total Operating Expense Growth: |
2.9% – 3.9% |
1.6% – 2.4% |
| Controllable OpEx Growth: |
4.6% – 5.6% |
3.3% – 3.7% |
| Interest Expense: |
$93.0M – $97.0M |
$96.5M – $97.5M |
| Acquisition Volume: |
$145 million |
$145 million |
| Disposition Volume: |
$106M – $112M |
$106M – $112M |
Per share guidance is based on 241.8 million weighted average shares and units outstanding. As of June 30, 2026, the company had two properties classified as held for sale, and executed a purchase and sale agreement for the disposition of Stonebridge Crossings, with closing expected during the third quarter of 2026.
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