grepcent public filings, reorganized for comparison

Public Storage (PSA) FY 2023 MD&A

Verbatim Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis from Public Storage's 10-K for fiscal year 2023. Filing date: 2024-02-20. Report date: 2023-12-31. Accession: 0001393311-24-000043.

This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.

Extracted structurally from real Item 7 body heading to real Item 7A/8 boundary. Confidence: high.

Company profile: PSA · All MD&A years: index · Previous year: FY 2022 · Next year: FY 2024

ITEM 7.    Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires us to make judgments, assumptions, and estimates that affect the amounts reported. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions are based on current facts, historical experience, and various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances to determine reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources.

We believe the following are our critical accounting estimates, because they are reasonably likely to have a material impact on the portrayal of our financial condition and results, and they require us to make judgments and estimates about matters that involve a significant level of uncertainty.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets: The analysis of impairment of our long-lived assets, including our real estate facilities, involves identification of indicators of impairment, including unfavorable operational results and significant cost overruns on construction, projections of future operating cash flows, and estimates of fair values, all of which require significant judgment and subjectivity. In particular, these estimates are sensitive to significant assumptions, such as the projections of future rental rates, stabilized occupancy level, future profit margin, discount rates, and capitalization rates, all of which could be affected by our expectations about future market or economic conditions. Others could come to materially different conclusions.

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Allocating Purchase Price for Acquired Real Estate Facilities: We estimate the fair values of the assets and liabilities of acquired real estate facilities, which consist principally of land, buildings and acquired customers in place, for purposes of allocating the aggregate purchase price of acquired real estate facilities. We estimate the fair value of land based upon price per square foot derived from observable transactions involving comparable land in similar locations as adjusted for location quality, parcel size, and date of sale associated with the acquired facilities. The fair value estimate of land is sensitive to the adjustments made to the land market transactions used in the estimate, particularly when there is a lack of recent comparable land market data. For large portfolio acquisitions, we estimate the fair value of buildings primarily using the income approach by estimating the fair value of hypothetical vacant acquired facilities and adjusting for the estimated fair value of land. For individual and small portfolio acquisitions, we estimate the fair value of buildings primarily based upon the estimated current replacement cost, which we calculate by estimating the replacement cost of new purpose-built self-storage facilities in similar geographic regions and adjusting for age, quality, amenities, and configuration associated with the buildings acquired. The fair value estimate of buildings is sensitive to assumptions used in both the income approach, such as lease-up period, future stabilized operating cash flows, capitalization rate and discount rate, and in the replacement cost approach, such as current cost adjustment, soft cost and developer profit estimates. We estimate the fair value of acquired customers in place using the income approach by estimating the foregone rent over the presumed period of time to absorb the occupied spaces as if they were vacant at the time of acquisition. The fair value estimate of the acquired customers in place is sensitive to the assumptions used in the income approach, such as market rent, lease-up period and discount rate. Others could come to materially different conclusions as to the estimated fair values of land, buildings and acquired customers in place, which would result in different depreciation and amortization expense, gains and losses on sale of real estate assets, as well as the level of land and buildings on our consolidated balance sheet.

Overview

Our self-storage operations generate most of our net income, and our earnings growth is impacted by the levels of growth within our Same Store Facilities (as defined below) as well as within our Acquired Facilities and Newly Developed and Expanded Facilities (both as defined below). Accordingly, a significant portion of management’s time is devoted to maximizing cash flows from our existing self-storage facility portfolio.

During 2023, revenues generated by our Same Store Facilities increased by 4.7% ($154.0 million), as compared to 2022, while Same Store cost of operations increased by 4.7% ($35.9 million). Demand and operating trends softened in the second half of 2022 continuing through 2023 as compared to what we experienced in 2020 and 2021, and we expect this to continue in 2024.

We have grown and plan to continue to grow through the acquisition and development of new facilities and expansion of our existing self-storage facilities. Since the beginning of 2021, we acquired a total of 470 facilities with 38.8 million net rentable square feet for $8.5 billion. Additionally, within our non-same store portfolio, our developed and expanded facilities include a total of 145 self-storage facilities of 17.1 million net rentable square feet. For development and expansions completed by December 31, 2023, we incurred a total cost of $1.6 billion. During 2023, combined net operating income generated by our Acquired Facilities and Newly Developed and Expanded Facilities increased 28.7% ($109.4 million), as compared to 2022.

On September 13, 2023, we acquired BREIT Simply Storage LLC, a self-storage company that owns and operates 127 self-storage facilities (9.4 million square feet) and manages 25 self-storage facilities for third parties, for a purchase price of $2.2 billion in cash (the “Simply Acquisition”). The 127 wholly-owned facilities are geographically diversified across 18 states and located in submarkets with strong demand drivers and other desirable characteristics.

In connection with the Simply Acquisition, on July 26, 2023, we completed a public offering of $2.2 billion aggregate principal amount of unsecured senior notes in various tranches and maturities.

We have experienced recent inflationary impacts on our cost of operations including labor, utilities, and repairs and maintenance, and costs of development and expansion activities, and we may continue to experience such impacts in the future. We have implemented various initiatives to manage the adverse impacts, such as enhancements in operational processes and investments in technology to reduce payroll hours, achievement of economies of scale from recent acquisitions with supervisory payroll and centralized management costs allocated over a broader number of self-storage facilities, and investments in solar power and LED lights to lower utility usage.

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In order to enhance the competitive position of certain of our facilities relative to local competitors (including newly developed facilities), we have embarked on our multi-year Property of Tomorrow program to (i) rebrand our properties with more pronounced, attractive, and clearly identifiable color schemes and signage, (ii) enhance the energy efficiency of our properties, and (iii) upgrade the configuration and layout of the offices and other customer zones to improve the customer experience. We expect to complete the program in 2024. We spent approximately $160 million on the program in 2023 and expect to spend approximately $150 million in 2024 on this effort. We have also embarked on a solar program under which we plan to install solar panels on over 1,000 of our self-storage facilities. We have completed the installations on 534 facilities through 2023. We spent approximately $51 million on the program in 2023 and expect to spend $100 million in 2024 on this effort.

Results of Operations

Operating Results for 2023 and 2022

In 2023, net income allocable to our common shareholders was $1.9 billion or $11.06 per diluted common share, compared to $4.1 billion or $23.50 per diluted common share in 2022, representing a decrease of $2.2 billion or $12.44 per diluted common share. The decrease is due primarily to (i) a $2.1 billion gain on sale of our equity investment in PS Business Parks, Inc. (“PSB”) in July 2022, (ii) a $149.5 million increase in foreign currency exchange losses primarily associated with our Euro denominated notes payable, (iii) a $79.1 million decrease in equity in earnings of unconsolidated real estate entities due to our sale of PSB in July 2022, and (iv) a $64.8 million increase in interest expense, partially offset by (v) a $231.8 million increase in self-storage net operating income and (vi) a $45.0 million increase in interest and other income.

The $231.8 million increase in self-storage net operating income in 2023 as compared to 2022 is a result of a $118.2 million increase attributable to our Same Store Facilities and a $113.6 million increase attributable to our non-same store facilities. Revenues for the Same Store Facilities increased 4.7% or $154.0 million in 2023 as compared to 2022, due primarily to higher realized annual rent per occupied square foot, partially offset by a decline in occupancy. Cost of operations for the Same Store Facilities increased by 4.7% or $35.9 million in 2023 as compared to 2022, due primarily to increased property tax expense, marketing expense, and other direct property costs. The increase in net operating income of $113.6 million for the non-same store facilities is due primarily to the impact of facilities acquired in 2021, 2022, and 2023 and the fill-up of recently developed and expanded facilities.

Operating Results for 2022 and 2021

In 2022, net income allocable to our common shareholders was $4.1 billion or $23.50 per diluted common share, compared to $1.7 billion or $9.87 per diluted common share in 2021, representing an increase of $2.4 billion or $13.63 per diluted common share. The increase is due primarily to (i) a $2.1 billion gain on sale of our equity investment in PSB and (ii) a $614.3 million increase in self-storage net operating income, partially offset by (iii) a $174.7 million increase in depreciation and amortization expense, (iv) a $125.1 million decrease in equity in earnings of unconsolidated real estate entities due to the sale of our equity investment in PSB, and (v) a $45.5 million increase in interest expense.

The $614.3 million increase in self-storage net operating income in 2022 as compared to 2021 is a result of a $390.6 million increase in our Same Store Facilities and a $223.7 million increase in our non-same store facilities. Revenues for the Same Store Facilities increased 15.2% or $432.2 million in 2022 as compared to 2021, due primarily to higher realized annual rent per available square foot, partially offset by a decline in occupancy. Cost of operations for the Same Store Facilities increased by 5.7% or $41.7 million in 2022 as compared to 2021, due primarily to increased property tax expense, marketing expense, other direct property costs, and centralized management costs. The increase in net operating income of $223.7 million for the non-same store facilities is due primarily to the impact of facilities acquired in 2021 and the fill-up of recently developed and expanded facilities.

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Funds from Operations and Core Funds from Operations

Funds from Operations (“FFO”) and FFO per share are non-GAAP measures defined by Nareit. We believe that FFO and FFO per share are useful to REIT investors and analysts in measuring our performance because Nareit’s definition of FFO excludes items included in net income that do not relate to or are not indicative of our operating and financial performance. FFO represents net income before real estate-related depreciation and amortization, which is excluded because it is based upon historical costs and assumes that building values diminish ratably over time, while we believe that real estate values fluctuate due to market conditions. FFO also excludes gains or losses on sale of real estate assets and real estate impairment charges, which are also based upon historical costs and are impacted by historical depreciation. FFO and FFO per share are not a substitute for net income or earnings per share. FFO is not a substitute for net cash flow in evaluating our liquidity or ability to pay dividends, because it excludes investing and financing activities presented on our consolidated statements of cash flows. In addition, other REITs may compute these measures differently, so comparisons among REITs may not be helpful.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, FFO was $16.60 per diluted common share as compared to $16.46 and $13.36 per diluted common share for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, representing an increase in 2023 of 0.9%, or $0.14 per diluted common share, as compared to 2022.

We also present “Core FFO” and “Core FFO per share” non-GAAP measures that represent FFO and FFO per share excluding the impact of (i) foreign currency exchange gains and losses, (ii) charges related to the redemption of preferred securities, and (iii) certain other non-cash and/or nonrecurring income or expense items primarily representing, with respect to the periods presented below, the impact of loss contingency accruals and resolutions, casualties, due diligence costs incurred in pursuit of strategic transactions, unrealized gain on private equity investments, UPREIT reorganization costs, Simply integration costs, amortization of acquired non real estate-related intangibles from the Simply Acquisition and our equity share of deferred tax benefits of a change in tax status, merger transaction costs, severance of a senior executive, lease termination income, and casualties from our equity investees. We review Core FFO and Core FFO per share to evaluate our ongoing operating performance and we believe they are used by investors and REIT analysts in a similar manner. However, Core FFO and Core FFO per share are not substitutes for net income and net income per share. Because other REITs may not compute Core FFO or Core FFO per share in the same manner as we do, may not use the same terminology or may not present such measures, Core FFO and Core FFO per share may not be comparable among REITs.

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The following table reconciles net income to FFO and Core FFO and reconciles diluted earnings per share to FFO per share and Core FFO per share:

Year Ended December 31,Year Ended December 31,
20232022Percentage Change20222021Percentage Change
(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)
Reconciliation of Net Income to FFO and Core FFO:
Net income allocable to common shareholders$1,948,741$4,142,288(53.0)%$4,142,288$1,732,444139.1%
Eliminate items excluded from FFO:
Real estate-related depreciation and amortization962,703881,569881,569709,349
Real estate-related depreciation from unconsolidated real estate investments36,76954,82254,82273,729
Real estate-related depreciation allocated to noncontrolling interests and restricted share unitholders(6,635)(6,622)(6,622)(4,415)
Gains on sale of real estate investments, including our equity share from investments(17,290)(54,403)(54,403)(165,272)
Gain on sale of equity investment in PS Business Parks, Inc.(2,116,839)(2,116,839)
FFO allocable to common shares$2,924,288$2,900,8150.8%$2,900,815$2,345,83523.7%
Eliminate the impact of items excluded from Core FFO, including our equity share from investments:
Foreign currency exchange loss (gain)51,197(98,314)(98,314)(111,787)
Preferred share redemption charge31,604
Property losses and tenant claims due to casualties4,8174,8174,909
Other items447(338)(338)(543)
Core FFO allocable to common shares$2,975,932$2,806,9806.0%$2,806,980$2,270,01823.7%
Reconciliation of Diluted Earnings per Share to FFO per Share and Core FFO per Share:
Diluted earnings per share$11.06$23.50(52.9)%$23.50$9.87138.1%
Eliminate amounts per share excluded from FFO:
Real estate-related depreciation and amortization5.645.275.274.44
Gains on sale of real estate investments, including our equity share from investments(0.10)(0.31)(0.31)(0.95)
Gain on sale of equity investment in PS Business Parks, Inc.(12.00)(12.00)
FFO per share$16.60$16.460.9%$16.46$13.3623.2%
Eliminate the per share impact of items excluded from Core FFO, including our equity share from investments:
Foreign currency exchange loss (gain)0.29(0.57)(0.57)(0.64)
Preferred share redemption charge0.18
Property losses and tenant claims due to casualties0.030.030.03
Other items
Core FFO per share$16.89$15.926.1%$15.92$12.9323.1%
Diluted weighted average common shares176,143176,280176,280175,568

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Analysis of Net Income — Self-Storage Operations

Our self-storage operations are analyzed in four groups: (i) the 2,339 facilities that we have owned and operated on a stabilized basis since January 1, 2021 (the “Same Store Facilities”), (ii) 470 facilities we acquired since January 1, 2021 (the “Acquired Facilities”), (iii) 145 facilities that have been newly developed or expanded, or that had commenced expansion by December 31, 2023 (the “Newly Developed and Expanded Facilities”), and (iv) 90 other facilities, which are otherwise not stabilized with respect to occupancies or rental rates since January 1, 2021 (the “Other Non-same Store Facilities”). See Note 14 to our December 31, 2023 consolidated financial statements “Segment Information,” for a reconciliation of the amounts in the tables below to our total net income.

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Self-Storage Operations
SummaryYear Ended December 31,Year Ended December 31,
20232022Percentage Change20222021Percentage Change
(Dollar amounts and square footage in thousands)
Revenues:
Same Store Facilities$3,427,867$3,273,8234.7%$3,273,823$2,841,59815.2%
Acquired Facilities450,653327,24537.7%327,245106,474207.3%
Newly Developed and Expanded Facilities262,450230,99913.6%230,999167,11938.2%
Other Non-Same Store Facilities118,643113,9614.1%113,96188,37529.0%
4,259,6133,946,0287.9%3,946,0283,203,56623.2%
Cost of operations:
Same Store Facilities802,269766,4054.7%766,405724,7485.7%
Acquired Facilities144,498109,74431.7%109,74432,705235.6%
Newly Developed and Expanded Facilities78,53167,80515.8%67,80558,89015.1%
Other Non-Same Store Facilities36,65236,2551.1%36,25535,6871.6%
1,061,950980,2098.3%980,209852,03015.0%
Net operating income (a):
Same Store Facilities2,625,5982,507,4184.7%2,507,4182,116,85018.5%
Acquired Facilities306,155217,50140.8%217,50173,769194.8%
Newly Developed and Expanded Facilities183,919163,19412.7%163,194108,22950.8%
Other Non-Same Store Facilities81,99177,7065.5%77,70652,68847.5%
Total net operating income3,197,6632,965,8197.8%2,965,8192,351,53626.1%
Depreciation and amortization expense:
Same Store Facilities528,121501,1395.4%501,139483,2193.7%
Acquired Facilities323,796280,87115.3%280,871131,998112.8%
Newly Developed and Expanded Facilities61,42154,11513.5%54,11547,54913.8%
Other Non-Same Store Facilities56,71852,0219.0%52,02150,6622.7%
Total depreciation and amortization expense970,056888,1469.2%888,146713,42824.5%
Net income (loss):
Same Store Facilities2,097,4772,006,2794.5%2,006,2791,633,63122.8%
Acquired Facilities(17,641)(63,370)(72.2)%(63,370)(58,229)8.8%
Newly Developed and Expanded Facilities122,498109,07912.3%109,07960,68079.8%
Other Non-Same Store Facilities25,27325,685(1.6)%25,6852,0261167.8%
Total net income$2,227,607$2,077,6737.2%$2,077,673$1,638,10826.8%
Number of facilities at period end:
Same Store Facilities2,3392,339%2,3392,339%
Acquired Facilities47030653.6%30623231.9%
Newly Developed and Expanded Facilities1451348.2%1341266.3%
Other Non-Same Store Facilities9090%9090%
3,0442,8696.1%2,8692,7872.9%
Net rentable square footage at period end:
Same Store Facilities154,874154,874%154,874154,874%
Acquired Facilities38,81626,63445.7%26,63421,83022.0%
Newly Developed and Expanded Facilities17,10115,36611.3%15,36614,2737.7%
Other Non-Same Store Facilities7,2807,343(0.9)%7,3437,342%
218,071204,2176.8%204,217198,3193.0%

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(a)Net operating income or “NOI” is a non-GAAP financial measure that excludes the impact of depreciation and amortization expense, which is based upon historical real estate costs and assumes that building values diminish ratably over time, while we believe that real estate values fluctuate due to market conditions. We utilize NOI in determining current property values, evaluating property performance, and evaluating property operating trends. We believe that investors and analysts utilize NOI in a similar manner. NOI is not a substitute for net income, operating cash flow, or other related financial measures, in evaluating our operating results. See Note 14 to our December 31, 2023 consolidated financial statements for a reconciliation of NOI to our total net income for all periods presented.

Same Store Facilities

The Same Store Facilities consist of facilities we have owned and operated on a stabilized level of occupancy, revenues, and cost of operations since January 1, 2021. The composition of our Same Store Facilities allows us more effectively to evaluate the ongoing performance of our self-storage portfolio in 2021, 2022, and 2023 and exclude the impact of fill-up of unstabilized facilities, which can significantly affect operating trends. We believe investors and analysts use Same Store Facilities information in a similar manner. However, because other REITs may not compute Same Store Facilities in the same manner as we do, may not use the same terminology or may not present such a measure, Same Store Facilities may not be comparable among REITs.

The following table summarizes the historical operating results (for all periods presented) of these 2,339 facilities (154.9 million net rentable square feet) that represent approximately 71% of the aggregate net rentable square feet of our U.S. consolidated self-storage portfolio at December 31, 2023. It includes various measures and detail that we do not include in the analysis of the developed, acquired, and other non-same store facilities, due to the relative magnitude and importance of the Same Store Facilities relative to our other self-storage facilities.

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Selected Operating Data for the Same Store Facilities (2,339 facilities)

Year Ended December 31,Year Ended December 31,
20232022Percentage Change20222021Percentage Change
(Dollar amounts in thousands, except for per square foot data)
Revenues (a):
Rental income$3,312,597$3,169,1324.5%$3,169,132$2,756,75215.0%
Late charges and administrative fees115,270104,69110.1%104,69184,84623.4%
Total revenues3,427,8673,273,8234.7%3,273,8232,841,59815.2%
Direct cost of operations (a):
Property taxes300,505290,6053.4%290,605279,1424.1%
On-site property manager payroll126,830123,3722.8%123,372118,0854.5%
Repairs and maintenance64,56560,3177.0%60,31754,35911.0%
Utilities44,77545,578(1.8)%45,57842,4177.5%
Marketing69,15847,86344.5%47,86341,44615.5%
Other direct property costs90,99083,6158.8%83,61575,95910.1%
Total direct cost of operations696,823651,3507.0%651,350611,4086.5%
Direct net operating income (b)2,731,0442,622,4734.1%2,622,4732,230,19017.6%
Indirect cost of operations (a):
Supervisory payroll(33,846)(36,327)(6.8)%(36,327)(38,487)(5.6)%
Centralized management costs(60,861)(64,053)(5.0)%(64,053)(57,021)12.3%
Share-based compensation(10,739)(14,675)(26.8)%(14,675)(17,832)(17.7)%
Net operating income2,625,5982,507,4184.7%2,507,4182,116,85018.5%
Depreciation and amortization expense(528,121)(501,139)5.4%(501,139)(483,219)3.7%
Net income$2,097,477$2,006,2794.5%$2,006,279$1,633,63122.8%
Gross margin (before indirect costs, depreciation and amortization expense)79.7%80.1%(0.5)%80.1%78.5%2.0%
Gross margin (before depreciation and amortization expense)76.6%76.6%—%76.6%74.5%2.8%
Weighted average for the period:
Square foot occupancy93.3%94.8%(1.6)%94.8%96.2%(1.5)%
Realized annual rental income per (c):
Occupied square foot$22.93$21.586.3%$21.58$18.4916.7%
Available square foot$21.38$20.454.5%$20.45$17.7915.0%
At December 31:
Square foot occupancy91.6%92.3%(0.8)%92.3%94.7%(2.5)%
Annual contract rent per occupied square foot (d)$23.04$22.880.7%$22.88$19.8115.5%

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(a)Revenues and cost of operations do not include tenant reinsurance and merchandise sale revenues and expenses generated at the facilities. See “Ancillary Operations” below for more information.

(b)Direct net operating income (“Direct NOI”), a subtotal within NOI, is a non-GAAP financial measure that excludes the impact of supervisory payroll, centralized management costs, and share-based compensation in addition to depreciation and amortization expense. We utilize direct net operating income in evaluating property performance and in evaluating property operating trends as compared to our competitors.

(c)Realized annual rent per occupied square foot is computed by dividing rental income, before late charges and administrative fees, by the weighted average occupied square feet for the period. Realized annual rent per available square foot (“REVPAF”) is computed by dividing rental income, before late charges and administrative fees, by the total available net rentable square feet for the period. These measures exclude late charges and administrative fees in order to provide a better measure of our ongoing level of revenue. Late charges are dependent upon the level of delinquency, and administrative fees are dependent upon the level of move-ins. In addition, the rates charged for late charges and administrative fees can vary independently from rental rates. These measures take into consideration promotional discounts, which reduce rental income.

(d)Annual contract rent represents the agreed upon monthly rate that is paid by our tenants in place at the time of measurement. Contract rates are initially set in the lease agreement upon move-in, and we adjust them from time to time with notice. Contract rent excludes other fees that are charged on a per-item basis, such as late charges and administrative fees, does not reflect the impact of promotional discounts, and does not reflect the impact of rents that are written off as uncollectible.

Analysis of Same Store Revenue

We believe a balanced occupancy and rate strategy maximizes our revenues over time. We regularly adjust rental rates and promotional discounts offered (generally, “$1.00 rent for the first month”), as well as our marketing efforts to maximize revenue from new tenants to replace tenants that vacate.

We typically increase rental rates to our long-term tenants (generally, those who have been with us for at least a year) every six to twelve months. As a result, the number of long-term tenants we have in our facilities is an important factor in our revenue growth. The level of rate increases to long-term tenants is based upon evaluating the additional revenue from the increase against the negative impact of incremental move-outs, by considering customers’ in-place rent and prevailing market rents, among other factors.

Revenues generated by our Same Store Facilities increased 4.7% and 15.2% in 2023 and 2022, respectively, in each case as compared to the previous year. The increase in 2023 is due primarily to (i) a 6.3% increase in realized annual rent per occupied square foot for 2023 as compared to 2022, partially offset by (ii) a 1.6% decrease in average occupancy for 2023 as compared to 2022. The increase in 2022 is due primarily to (i) a 16.7% increase in realized annual rent per occupied square foot for 2022 as compared to 2021, partially offset by (ii) a 1.5% decrease in average occupancy for 2022 as compared to 2021.

The increase in realized annual rent per occupied square foot in 2023 as compared to 2022 was due to cumulative rate increases to existing long-term tenants over the past twelve months, partially offset by a 13.9% decrease in average rates per square foot charged to new tenants moving in who replaced tenants moving out with higher rental rates. The growth rate in realized annual rent per occupied square foot has decelerated since the second half of 2022 from lower move-in rates and increased promotion discounts offered in order to replace tenants that vacate. At December 31, 2023, annual contract rent per occupied square foot was 0.7% higher as compared to December 31, 2022.

Occupancy levels have gradually declined since the second half of 2022 and are returning to 2019 levels as move-out activity increased and customer demand softened. The weighted average square foot occupancy for our Same Store Facilities was 93.3% for 2023, representing a decrease of 1.6%, as compared to 2022. During 2023, we lowered move-in rental rates and increased promotional activity and advertising spending to increase move-in activity at our facilities, which led to a year-over-year 8.8% increase in move-in volumes that more than offset the year-over-year 5.9% increase in move-out volumes. Move-in volumes net of move-out volumes were higher in 2023 as compared to 2022, which reduced the year-over-year decline in occupancy levels between December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023.

Move-out activities from our tenants were higher in 2023 as compared to 2022, returning to 2019 levels, which were not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Average length of stay of our tenants remained at similar high levels in 2023 as compared to 2022, which supported our revenue growth by contributing to the number of tenants eligible for rental rate increases.

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Demand in the summer months of 2023 was impacted by the lower home-moving activities due to limited housing market transaction volumes leading to less seasonality than we typically experience. Typical seasonal demand patterns returned in the second half of 2023 with decreased demand during the fall and winter months. Demand fluctuates due to various local and regional factors, including the overall economy. Demand for our facilities is also impacted by new supply of self-storage space and alternatives to self-storage.

Industry-wide demand from new customers for storage space at the beginning of 2024 is below the level at the beginning of 2023. We will mitigate this lower demand by continuing to support new customer move-ins with increased marketing expense, lower rental rates to new customers, and increased promotional discounting. We expect industry-wide demand from new customers to stabilize during the year due to improving macroeconomic conditions. We also anticipate fewer completions of new self-storage facilities nationally, reducing the competitive impact of new supply on customer acquisition. As a result of stabilizing new customer demand during the year, stable existing customer behavior, and lower impact from new competitive supply, we anticipate same store revenues in 2024 will be similar to those earned in 2023.

Late Charges and Administrative Fees

Late charges and administrative fees increased 10.1% and 23.4% in 2023 and 2022, in each case as compared to the previous year. The increase in 2023 is due to (i) higher late charges collected on delinquent accounts driven by more delinquent accounts and to a lesser extent (ii) higher administrative fees resulting from higher move-in volumes. The increase in 2022 is due to (i) higher late charges collected on delinquent accounts driven by more delinquent accounts compared to 2021 and to a lesser extent (ii) higher administrative fees charged per move-in combined with higher move-in volumes. Delinquency levels at our Same Store Facilities remain below 2019 levels at December 31, 2023.

Selected Key Statistical Data

The following table sets forth average annual contract rent per square foot and total square footage for tenants moving in and moving out during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021. It also includes promotional discounts, which vary based upon the move-in contractual rates, move-in volume, and percentage of tenants moving in who receive the discount.

Year Ended December 31,Year Ended December 31,
20232022Change20222021Change
(Amounts in thousands, except for per square foot amounts)
Tenants moving in during the period:
Average annual contract rent per square foot$15.61$18.12(13.9)%$18.12$17.086.1%
Square footage110,958101,9568.8%101,95697,4874.6%
Contract rents gained from move-ins$1,732,054$1,847,443(6.2)%$1,847,443$1,665,07811.0%
Promotional discounts given$57,778$52,11410.9%$52,114$43,43320.0%
Tenants moving out during the period:
Average annual contract rent per square foot$21.34$20.633.4%$20.63$17.4718.1%
Square footage111,882105,6635.9%105,66396,2349.8%
Contract rents lost from move-outs$2,387,562$2,179,8289.5%$2,179,828$1,681,20829.7%

33

Analysis of Same Store Cost of Operations

Cost of operations (excluding depreciation and amortization) increased 4.7% and 5.7% in 2023 and 2022, respectively, in each case as compared to the previous year. The increase in 2023 is due primarily to increased property tax expense, marketing expense, and other direct property costs, while the increase in 2022 is due primarily to increased property tax expense, marketing expense, other direct property costs, and centralized management costs.

Property tax expense increased 3.4% and 4.1% in 2023 and 2022, respectively, in each case as compared to the previous year, as a result of higher assessed values.

Marketing expense includes Internet advertising and the operating costs of our telephone reservation center. Internet advertising expense, comprising keyword search fees assessed on a “per click” basis, varies based upon demand for self-storage space, the quantity of people inquiring about self-storage through online search, occupancy levels, the number and aggressiveness of bidding competitors, and other factors. These factors are volatile; accordingly, Internet advertising can increase or decrease significantly in the short-term. We increased marketing expense by 44.5% and 15.5% in 2023 and 2022, respectively, in each case as compared to the previous year, by utilizing a higher volume of online paid search programs to attract new tenants. We plan to continue to use internet advertising and other advertising channels to support move-in volumes in 2024.

Other direct property costs include administrative expenses specific to each self-storage facility, such as property loss, telephone and data communication lines, business license costs, bank charges related to processing the facilities’ cash receipts, tenant mailings, credit card fees, eviction costs, and the cost of operating each property’s rental office. These costs increased 8.8% in 2023 as compared to 2022 and 10.1% in 2022 as compared to 2021. These increases were due primarily to an increase in credit card fees as a result of year-over-year increases in revenues, combined with a long-term trend of more customers paying with credit cards rather than cash, checks, or other methods of payment with lower transaction costs.

Centralized management costs represents administrative and cash compensation expenses for shared general corporate functions to the extent their efforts are devoted to self-storage operations. Such functions include information technology support, hardware, and software, as well as centralized administration of payroll, benefits, training, repairs and maintenance, customer service, pricing and marketing, operational accounting and finance, legal costs, and costs from field management executives. Centralized management costs decreased 5.0% in 2023 as compared to 2022 and increased 12.3% in 2022 as compared to 2021. The decrease in 2023 was primarily driven by achievement of economies of scale from recent acquisitions with centralized management costs allocated over a broader number of self-storage facilities including non-same store facilities. The increase in 2022 was due primarily to an increase in technology and data team costs that support property operations.

34

Analysis of Market Trends

The following tables set forth selected market trends in our Same Store Facilities:

Same Store Facilities Operating Trends by Market

As of December 31, 2023Year Ended December 31,
Number of FacilitiesSquare Feet (millions)Realized Rent per Occupied Square FootAverage OccupancyRealized Rent per Available Square Foot
20232022Change20232022Change20232022Change
Los Angeles21415.5$35.92$32.4010.9%95.4%96.9%(1.5)%$34.28$31.389.2%
San Francisco1297.932.4131.283.6%94.4%95.2%(0.8)%30.5929.782.7%
New York926.832.1330.515.3%93.3%94.3%(1.1)%29.9928.784.2%
Miami866.230.1028.097.2%93.6%95.6%(2.1)%28.1626.864.8%
Seattle-Tacoma896.026.0525.064.0%92.6%94.1%(1.6)%24.1123.572.3%
Washington DC905.526.5525.424.4%92.7%93.4%(0.7)%24.6023.743.6%
Dallas-Ft. Worth1117.618.4917.167.8%92.2%94.4%(2.3)%17.0516.215.2%
Chicago1308.220.2419.275.0%93.0%93.6%(0.6)%18.8318.044.4%
Atlanta1026.718.0117.264.3%90.9%93.7%(3.0)%16.3716.181.2%
Houston1017.516.9915.797.6%92.0%93.5%(1.6)%15.6214.775.8%
Orlando-Daytona694.419.6517.969.4%93.3%95.9%(2.7)%18.3417.226.5%
Philadelphia563.521.4820.922.7%93.0%94.4%(1.5)%19.9919.751.2%
West Palm Beach392.826.4525.015.8%93.6%95.8%(2.3)%24.7523.963.3%
Tampa533.519.9718.875.8%91.9%95.1%(3.4)%18.3517.942.3%
Charlotte523.916.1314.997.6%93.0%95.0%(2.1)%15.0014.245.3%
All other markets92658.918.6817.775.1%93.3%94.7%(1.5)%17.4316.833.6%
Totals2,339154.9$22.93$21.586.3%93.3%94.8%(1.6)%$21.38$20.454.5%

35

Same Store Facilities Operating Trends by Market (Continued)

Year Ended December 31,
Revenues ($000's)Direct Expenses ($000's)Indirect Expenses ($000's)Net Operating Income ($000's)
20232022Change20232022Change20232022Change20232022Change
Los Angeles$544,762$498,0619.4%$71,101$64,05211.0%$10,876$11,814(7.9)%$462,785$422,1959.6%
San Francisco246,744240,0982.8%38,24535,4018.0%5,9366,680(11.1)%202,563198,0172.3%
New York208,547199,7494.4%50,18347,1896.3%4,7715,566(14.3)%153,593146,9944.5%
Miami179,868170,9615.2%34,24330,38412.7%4,0234,211(4.5)%141,602136,3663.8%
Seattle-Tacoma149,262145,9242.3%26,99624,7109.3%3,8314,097(6.5)%118,435117,1171.1%
Washington DC140,686135,4833.8%28,92327,8503.9%4,0294,140(2.7)%107,734103,4934.1%
Dallas-Ft. Worth135,451128,4685.4%29,18928,7711.5%4,5634,844(5.8)%101,69994,8537.2%
Chicago159,959152,8594.6%60,44857,2855.5%5,5125,956(7.5)%93,99989,6184.9%
Atlanta115,727113,8631.6%23,41022,4744.2%4,4794,795(6.6)%87,83886,5941.4%
Houston121,981115,1425.9%31,62031,5340.3%4,2624,637(8.1)%86,09978,9719.0%
Orlando-Daytona83,77478,6226.6%16,42914,88310.4%3,1723,487(9.0)%64,17360,2526.5%
Philadelphia73,61172,5971.4%15,87415,6851.2%2,4892,717(8.4)%55,24854,1951.9%
West Palm Beach71,44169,1223.4%15,55113,84712.3%1,9822,022(2.0)%53,90853,2531.2%
Tampa66,99665,3972.4%15,09713,57411.2%2,3522,478(5.1)%49,54749,3450.4%
Charlotte61,70558,4245.6%11,2469,75215.3%2,0732,413(14.1)%48,38646,2594.6%
All other markets1,067,3531,029,0533.7%228,268213,9596.7%41,09645,198(9.1)%797,989769,8963.6%
Totals$3,427,867$3,273,8234.7%$696,823$651,3507.0%$105,446$115,055(8.4)%$2,625,598$2,507,4184.7%

36

Same Store Facilities Operating Trends by Market (Continued)

As of December 31, 2023Year Ended December 31,
Number of FacilitiesSquare Feet (millions)Realized Rent per Occupied Square FootAverage OccupancyRealized Rent per Available Square Foot
20222021Change20222021Change20222021Change
Los Angeles21415.5$32.40$27.1719.2%96.9%98.1%(1.2)%$31.38$26.6617.7%
San Francisco1297.931.2827.9312.0%95.2%97.2%(2.1)%29.7827.139.8%
New York926.830.5127.2512.0%94.3%96.1%(1.9)%28.7826.209.8%
Miami866.228.0922.3725.6%95.6%97.0%(1.4)%26.8621.7023.8%
Seattle-Tacoma896.025.0621.8414.7%94.1%95.2%(1.2)%23.5720.7913.4%
Washington DC905.525.4222.6512.2%93.4%95.3%(2.0)%23.7421.5810.0%
Dallas-Ft. Worth1117.617.1614.5118.3%94.4%95.6%(1.3)%16.2113.8617.0%
Chicago1308.219.2716.6116.0%93.6%95.7%(2.2)%18.0415.9013.5%
Atlanta1026.717.2614.3520.3%93.7%96.0%(2.4)%16.1813.7817.4%
Houston1017.515.7913.3818.0%93.5%94.2%(0.7)%14.7712.6117.1%
Orlando-Daytona694.417.9614.8720.8%95.9%95.7%0.2%17.2214.2321.0%
Philadelphia563.520.9218.5512.8%94.4%97.1%(2.8)%19.7518.029.6%
West Palm Beach392.825.0120.8020.2%95.8%96.9%(1.1)%23.9620.1518.9%
Tampa533.518.8715.4921.8%95.1%96.2%(1.1)%17.9414.9020.4%
Charlotte523.914.9912.4120.8%95.0%95.9%(0.9)%14.2411.9019.7%
All other markets92658.917.7715.3415.8%94.7%96.1%(1.5)%16.8314.7414.2%
Totals2,339154.9$21.58$18.4916.7%94.8%96.2%(1.5)%$20.45$17.7915.0%

37

Same Store Facilities Operating Trends by Market (Continued)

Year Ended December 31,
Revenues ($000's)Direct Expenses ($000's)Indirect Expenses ($000's)Net Operating Income ($000's)
20222021Change20222021Change20222021Change20222021Change
Los Angeles$498,061$422,05018.0%$64,052$59,7517.2%$11,814$11,1386.1%$422,195$351,16120.2%
San Francisco240,098218,10510.1%35,40134,1843.6%6,6806,847(2.4)%198,017177,07411.8%
New York199,749181,7419.9%47,18944,8905.1%5,5665,705(2.4)%146,994131,14612.1%
Miami170,961138,18423.7%30,38427,9488.7%4,2114,405(4.4)%136,366105,83128.9%
Seattle-Tacoma145,924128,51713.5%24,71023,6844.3%4,0974,271(4.1)%117,117100,56216.5%
Washington DC135,483122,90210.2%27,85026,5315.0%4,1404,0791.5%103,49392,29212.1%
Dallas-Ft. Worth128,468109,60717.2%28,77126,5988.2%4,8444,972(2.6)%94,85378,03721.5%
Chicago152,859134,39213.7%57,28552,4159.3%5,9565,8342.1%89,61876,14317.7%
Atlanta113,86396,69817.8%22,47419,23616.8%4,7954,923(2.6)%86,59472,53919.4%
Houston115,14297,86817.7%31,53430,1794.5%4,6374,770(2.8)%78,97162,91925.5%
Orlando-Daytona78,62264,98221.0%14,88313,5439.9%3,4873,2846.2%60,25248,15525.1%
Philadelphia72,59766,00010.0%15,68515,1053.8%2,7172,730(0.5)%54,19548,16512.5%
West Palm Beach69,12258,02119.1%13,84712,21813.3%2,0222,119(4.6)%53,25343,68421.9%
Tampa65,39754,28920.5%13,57412,25910.7%2,4782,495(0.7)%49,34539,53524.8%
Charlotte58,42448,73519.9%9,7529,4603.1%2,4132,2895.4%46,25936,98625.1%
All other markets1,029,053899,50714.4%213,959203,4075.2%45,19843,4794.0%769,896652,62118.0%
Totals$3,273,823$2,841,59815.2%$651,350$611,4086.5%$115,055$113,3401.5%$2,507,418$2,116,85018.5%

38

Acquired Facilities

The Acquired Facilities represent 470 facilities that we acquired in 2021, 2022, and 2023. As a result of the stabilization process and timing of when these facilities were acquired, year-over-year changes can be significant. The following table summarizes operating data with respect to the Acquired Facilities:

ACQUIRED FACILITIESYear Ended December 31,Year Ended December 31,
20232022Change (a)20222021Change (a)
($ amounts in thousands, except for per square foot amounts)
Revenues (b):
2021 Acquisitions$345,061$312,300$32,761$312,300$106,474$205,826
2022 Acquisitions50,10514,94535,16014,94514,945
2023 Acquisitions55,48755,487
Total revenues450,653327,245123,408327,245106,474220,771
Cost of operations (b):
2021 Acquisitions104,665101,8592,806101,85932,70569,154
2022 Acquisitions19,9117,88512,0267,8857,885
2023 Acquisitions19,92219,922
Total cost of operations144,498109,74434,754109,74432,70577,039
Net operating income:
2021 Acquisitions240,396210,44129,955210,44173,769136,672
2022 Acquisitions30,1947,06023,1347,0607,060
2023 Acquisitions35,56535,565
Net operating income306,155217,50188,654217,50173,769143,732
Depreciation and amortization expense(323,796)(280,871)(42,925)(280,871)(131,998)(148,873)
Net (loss) income$(17,641)$(63,370)$45,729$(63,370)$(58,229)$(5,141)
At December 31:
Square foot occupancy:
2021 Acquisitions81.5%83.1%(1.9)%83.1%79.9%4.0%
2022 Acquisitions82.2%79.4%3.5%79.4%—%—%
2023 Acquisitions83.1%—%—%—%—%—%
82.1%82.5%(0.5)%82.5%79.9%3.3%
Annual contract rent per occupied square foot:
2021 Acquisitions$18.72$17.815.1%$17.81$15.6214.0%
2022 Acquisitions13.0611.4813.8%11.48—%
2023 Acquisitions16.78—%—%
$17.41$16.734.1%$16.73$15.627.1%
Number of facilities:
2021 Acquisitions232232232232
2022 Acquisitions74747474
2023 Acquisitions164164
47030616430623274
Net rentable square feet (in thousands):
2021 Acquisitions (c)22,00921,90810121,90821,83078
2022 Acquisitions4,7404,726144,7264,726
2023 Acquisitions12,06712,067
38,81626,63412,18226,63421,8304,804

39

ACQUIRED FACILITIES (Continued)

As of December 31, 2023
Costs to acquire (in thousands):
2021 Acquisitions (c)$5,115,276
2022 Acquisitions730,957
2023 Acquisitions (d)2,674,840
$8,521,073

(a)Represents the percentage change with respect to square foot occupancy and annual contract rent per occupied square foot, and the absolute nominal change with respect to all other items.

(b)Revenues and cost of operations do not include tenant reinsurance and merchandise sale revenues and expenses generated at the facilities. See “Ancillary Operations” below for more information.

(c)We have completed the expansion projects on facilities acquired in 2021 for $26.9 million, adding 179,000 net rentable square feet of storage space as of December 31, 2023.

(d)The amount includes the costs allocated to land, buildings and intangible assets associated with the 127 self-storage facilities from the Simply Acquisition.

We have been active in acquiring facilities in recent years. Since the beginning of 2021, we acquired a total of 470 facilities with 38.8 million net rentable square feet for $8.5 billion. During 2023, these facilities contributed net operating income of $306.2 million, consistent with our original underwritten expectations.

During 2023, we acquired BREIT Simply Storage LLC, a self-storage company that owns and operates 127 self-storage facilities (9.4 million square feet) and manages 25 self-storage facilities (1.8 million square feet) for third parties, for a purchase price of $2.2 billion in cash. Included in the 2023 Acquisition results in the table above are the Simply portfolio self-storage revenues of $44.4 million, NOI of $29.4 million (including Direct NOI of $31.2 million), and average square footage occupancy of 87.7% for 2023 since the acquisition on September 13, 2023.

During 2021, we acquired the ezStorage portfolio, consisting of 48 properties (4.1 million net rentable square feet) for acquisition cost of $1.8 billion. As of December 31, 2023, we have completed the expansion projects on four properties of this portfolio for $26.5 million, adding 169,000 net rentable square feet of storage space. Included in the 2021 Acquisition results in the table above are ezStorage portfolio revenues of $105.1 million, NOI of $82.2 million (including Direct NOI of $84.5 million), and average square footage occupancy of 86.3% for 2023.

During 2021, we acquired the All Storage portfolio, consisting of 56 properties (7.5 million net rentable square feet) for $1.5 billion. Included in the 2021 Acquisition results in the table above are All Storage portfolio revenues of $89.1 million, NOI of $59.0 million (including Direct NOI of $61.8 million), and average square footage occupancy of 77.9% for 2023.

We remain active in seeking to acquire additional self-storage facilities. Future acquisition volume is likely to be impacted by increasing cost of capital requirements and overall macro-economic uncertainties.

40

Developed and Expanded Facilities

The developed and expanded facilities include 57 facilities that were developed on new sites since January 1, 2018, and 88 facilities expanded to increase their net rentable square footage. Of these expansions, 61 were completed before 2022, 22 were completed in 2022 or 2023, and five are currently in process at December 31, 2023. The following table summarizes operating data with respect to the Developed and Expanded Facilities:

DEVELOPED AND EXPANDED FACILITIES
Year Ended December 31,Year Ended December 31,
20232022Change (a)20222021Change (a)
($ amounts in thousands, except for per square foot amounts)
Revenues (b):
Developed in 2018$40,206$36,789$3,417$36,789$28,308$8,481
Developed in 201918,08116,4441,63716,44411,9214,523
Developed in 20207,6216,8387836,8383,4053,433
Developed in 202111,1348,3332,8018,3331,6026,731
Developed in 20226,8936876,206687687
Developed in 20231,0321,032
Expansions completed before 2022138,629127,29011,339127,29088,16839,122
Expansions completed in 2022 or 202327,69820,9146,78420,91420,400514
Expansions in process11,15613,704(2,548)13,70413,315389
Total revenues262,450230,99931,451230,999167,11963,880
Cost of operations (b):
Developed in 201811,66210,74292010,7429,983759
Developed in 20195,6085,622(14)5,6225,240382
Developed in 20201,8841,7021821,7021,67923
Developed in 20213,8493,5393103,5391,5461,993
Developed in 20223,5637382,825738738
Developed in 20231,6381,638
Expansions completed before 202238,88537,5021,38337,50232,9454,557
Expansions completed in 2022 or 20239,6445,8053,8395,8055,370435
Expansions in process1,7982,155(357)2,1552,12728
Total cost of operations78,53167,80510,72667,80558,8908,915
Net operating income (loss):
Developed in 201828,54426,0472,49726,04718,3257,722
Developed in 201912,47310,8221,65110,8226,6814,141
Developed in 20205,7375,1366015,1361,7263,410
Developed in 20217,2854,7942,4914,794564,738
Developed in 20223,330(51)3,381(51)(51)
Developed in 2023(606)(606)
Expansions completed before 202299,74489,7889,95689,78855,22334,565
Expansions completed in 2022 or 202318,05415,1092,94515,10915,03079
Expansions in process9,35811,549(2,191)11,54911,188361
Net operating income183,919163,19420,725163,194108,22954,965
Depreciation and amortization expense(61,421)(54,115)(7,306)(54,115)(47,549)(6,566)
Net income$122,498$109,079$13,419$109,079$60,680$48,399

41

DEVELOPED AND EXPANDED FACILITIES (Continued)
As of December 31,As of December 31,
20232022Change (a)20222021Change (a)
($ amounts in thousands, except for per square foot amounts)
Square foot occupancy:
Developed in 201886.7%87.5%(0.9)%87.5%88.6%(1.2)%
Developed in 201984.6%87.3%(3.1)%87.3%87.3%—%
Developed in 202089.4%94.3%(5.2)%94.3%88.9%6.1%
Developed in 202181.5%82.4%(1.1)%82.4%48.8%68.9%
Developed in 202277.7%43.6%78.2%43.6%—%—%
Developed in 202327.9%—%—%—%—%—%
Expansions completed before 202286.4%87.0%(0.7)%87.0%85.0%2.4%
Expansions completed in 2022 or 202370.4%71.4%(1.4)%71.4%84.8%(15.8)%
Expansions in process63.4%86.2%(26.5)%86.2%96.5%(10.7)%
79.3%83.4%(4.9)%83.4%84.4%(1.2)%
Annual contract rent per occupied square foot:
Developed in 2018$21.32$20.842.3%$20.84$17.0822.0%
Developed in 201918.8318.193.5%18.1914.5824.8%
Developed in 202022.7321.754.5%21.7517.6723.1%
Developed in 202119.7818.049.6%18.0415.4117.1%
Developed in 202216.2013.8417.1%13.84—%
Developed in 20239.61—%—%
Expansions completed before 202218.3617.892.6%17.8914.9219.9%
Expansions completed in 2022 or 202318.8818.720.9%18.7218.192.9%
Expansions in process28.6630.93(7.3)%30.9328.299.3%
$18.67$18.371.6%$18.37$15.6517.4%
Number of facilities:
Developed in 201818181818
Developed in 201911111111
Developed in 20203333
Developed in 20216666
Developed in 20228888
Developed in 20231111
Expansions completed before 202261616161
Expansions completed in 2022 or 202322222222
Expansions in process5555
145134111341268
Net rentable square feet (in thousands):
Developed in 20182,0692,0692,0692,069
Developed in 20191,0571,0571,0571,057
Developed in 2020347347347347
Developed in 2021681681681681
Developed in 2022631631631631
Developed in 20231,0981,098
Expansions completed before 20228,3908,38288,3828,413(31)
Expansions completed in 2022 or 20232,3531,7715821,7711,216555
Expansions in process47542847428490(62)
17,10115,3661,73515,36614,2731,093

42

As of December 31, 2023
Costs to develop (in thousands):
Developed in 2018$262,187
Developed in 2019150,387
Developed in 202042,063
Developed in 2021115,632
Developed in 2022100,089
Developed in 2023193,766
Expansions completed before 2022 (c)506,594
Expansions completed in 2022 or 2023 (c)268,449
$1,639,167

(a)Represents the percentage change with respect to square foot occupancy and annual contract rent per occupied square foot, and the absolute nominal change with respect to all other items.

(b)Revenues and cost of operations do not include tenant reinsurance and merchandise sales generated at the facilities. See “Ancillary Operations” below for more information.

(c)These amounts only include the direct cost incurred to expand and renovate these facilities, and do not include (i) the original cost to develop or acquire the facility or (ii) the lost revenue on space demolished during the construction and fill-up period.

Our Developed and Expanded Facilities includes a total of 145 self-storage facilities of 17.1 million net rentable square feet. For development and expansions completed by December 31, 2023, we incurred a total cost of $1.6 billion. During 2023, Developed and Expanded Facilities contributed net operating income of $183.9 million.

It typically takes at least three to four years for a newly developed or expanded self-storage facility to stabilize with respect to revenues. Physical occupancy can be achieved as early as two to three years following completion of the development or expansion through offering lower rental rates during fill-up. As a result, even after achieving high occupancy, there can still be a period of elevated revenue growth as the tenant base matures and higher rental rates are achieved.

We believe that our development and redevelopment activities generate favorable risk-adjusted returns over the long run. However, in the short run, our earnings are diluted during the construction and stabilization period due to the cost of capital to fund the development cost, the related construction and development overhead expenses included in general and administrative expense, and the net operating loss from newly developed facilities undergoing fill-up.

We typically underwrite new developments to stabilize at approximately an 8.0% NOI yield on cost. Our developed facilities have thus far leased up as expected and are at various stages of their revenue stabilization periods. The actual annualized yields that we may achieve on these facilities upon stabilization will depend on many factors, including local and current market conditions in the vicinity of each property and the level of new and existing supply.

The facilities under “expansions completed” represent those facilities where the expansions have been completed at December 31, 2023. We incurred a total of $775.0 million in direct cost to expand these facilities, demolished a total of 1.3 million net rentable square feet of storage space, and built a total of 6.8 million net rentable square feet of new storage space.

At December 31, 2023, we had 23 additional facilities in development, which will have a total of 2.3 million net rentable square feet of storage space and have an aggregate development cost totaling approximately $461.4 million. We expect these facilities to open over the next 18 to 24 months.

The facilities under “expansion in process” represent those facilities where construction is in process at December 31, 2023, and together with additional future expansion activities primarily related to our Same Store Facilities at December 31, 2023, we expect to add a total of 1.3 million net rentable square feet of storage space by expanding existing self-storage facilities for an aggregate direct development cost of $304.8 million.

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Other Non-Same Store Facilities

The “Other Non-Same Store Facilities” represent facilities which, while not newly acquired, developed, or expanded, are not fully stabilized since January 1, 2021, including facilities undergoing fill-up as well as facilities damaged in casualty events such as hurricanes, floods, and fires.

The Other Non-Same Store Facilities have an aggregate of 7.3 million net rentable square feet, including 1.3 million in Texas, 0.5 million in Pennsylvania, 0.4 million in each of California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Washington, 0.3 million in each of Arizona, Georgia, and South Carolina, 0.2 million in each of Alabama, Colorado, Missouri, and Virginia, and 1.0 million in other states.

During 2023, 2022, and 2021, the average occupancy for these facilities totaled 88.1%, 90.2%, and 84.8%, respectively, and the realized rent per occupied square foot totaled $18.51, $17.10, and $13.96, respectively.

Depreciation and amortization expense

Depreciation and amortization expense for Self-Storage Operations increased $81.9 million in 2023 as compared to 2022 and increased $174.7 million in 2022 as compared to 2021, due to elevated levels of capital expenditures and new facilities that are recently acquired and developed. We expect continued increases in depreciation expense in 2024 as a result of elevated levels of capital expenditures and new facilities that are acquired, developed or expanded in 2024.

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The following discussion and analysis of the components of net income, including Ancillary Operations and certain items not allocated to segments, present a comparison for the year ended December 31, 2023 to the year ended December 31, 2022. The results of these components for the years ended December 31, 2022 compared to December 31, 2021 was included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 on page 22, under Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” which was filed with the SEC on February 21, 2023.

Ancillary Operations

Ancillary revenues and expenses include amounts associated with the reinsurance of policies against losses to goods stored by tenants in our self-storage facilities, sale of merchandise at our self-storage facilities, and management of property owned by unrelated third parties. The following table sets forth our ancillary operations:

Year Ended December 31,
20232022Change
(Amounts in thousands)
Revenues:
Tenant reinsurance premiums$203,503$188,201$15,302
Merchandise27,51128,303(792)
Third party property management27,06319,6317,432
Total revenues258,077236,13521,942
Cost of operations:
Tenant reinsurance42,36636,8305,536
Merchandise17,13717,11324
Third party property management26,49318,7557,738
Total cost of operations85,99672,69813,298
Net operating income:
Tenant reinsurance161,137151,3719,766
Merchandise10,37411,190(816)
Third party property management570876(306)
Total net operating income$172,081$163,437$8,644

Tenant reinsurance operations: Tenant reinsurance premium revenue increased $15.3 million or 8.1% in 2023 over 2022, as a result of an increase in our tenant base with respect to acquired, newly developed, and expanded facilities and the third party properties we manage, as well as the increase of tenant insurance participation at our same store facilities. Tenant reinsurance premium revenue generated from tenants at our Same-Store Facilities were $149.8 million and $144.4 million in 2023 and 2022, respectively, representing a 3.7% year over year increase in 2023.

We expect future growth will come primarily from customers of newly acquired and developed facilities and the increase of tenant insurance participation at our same store facilities.

Cost of operations primarily includes claims paid as well as claims adjustment expenses. Claims expenses vary based upon the number of insured tenants and the volume of events that drive covered customer losses, such as burglary, as well as catastrophic weather events affecting multiple properties such as hurricanes and floods. Tenant reinsurance cost of operations increased $5.5 million in 2023, as compared to 2022, primarily due to increased claim expenses related to burglary events.

Third-party property management: At December 31, 2023, in our third-party property management program, we managed 210 facilities for unrelated third parties, and were under contract to manage 114 additional facilities including 105 facilities that are currently under construction. During 2023, we added 152 facilities to the program (including 25 third-party facilities from the Simply Acquisition), acquired two facilities from the program, and had 18 properties exit the program. While we expect this business to increase in scope and size, we do not expect any significant changes in overall profitability of this business in the near term as we seek new properties to manage and are in the earlier stages of fill-up for newly managed properties.

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Analysis of items not allocated to segments

Equity in earnings of unconsolidated real estate entities

We account for the equity investments in Shurgard and PSB (prior to the sale of our investment in PSB) using the equity method and record our pro-rata share of the net income of these entities. The following table, and the discussion below, sets forth our equity in earnings of unconsolidated real estate entities:

Year Ended December 31,
20232022Change
(Amounts in thousands)
Equity in earnings:
Shurgard$27,897$26,385$1,512
PSB80,596(80,596)
Total equity in earnings$27,897$106,981$(79,084)

Investment in Shurgard: For purposes of recording our equity in earnings from Shurgard, the Euro was translated at exchange rates of approximately 1.104 U.S. Dollars per Euro at December 31, 2023 (1.070 at December 31, 2022), and average exchange rates of 1.081 for 2023 and 1.054 for 2022.

Included in our equity earnings from Shurgard for the year ended December 31, 2022 is our equity share of gains on sale of real estate totaling $3.5 million (none for 2023). Also included were $36.8 million and $33.4 million of our share of depreciation and amortization expense for 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Investment in PSB: On July 20, 2022, in connection with the closing of the merger of PSB with affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate, we completed the sale of our 41% common equity interest in PSB in its entirety. At the close of the merger transaction, we received a total of $2.7 billion of cash proceeds and recognized a gain of $2.1 billion during the third quarter of 2022.

Included in our equity earnings from PSB for 2022 is our equity share of gains on sale of real estate totaling $49.1 million. Our equity share of earnings from PSB contributed $57.7 million to Core FFO in 2022. Since the sale of PSB in July 2022, we no longer recognize equity in earnings from PSB.

Real estate acquisition and development expense: In 2023, 2022 and 2021, we incurred a total of $26.5 million, $28.7 million, and $12.9 million, respectively, of internal and external expenses related to our acquisition and development of real estate facilities. These amounts are net of $18.0 million, $17.4 million and $14.6 million in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, in development costs that were capitalized to newly developed and redeveloped self-storage facilities. During 2023 and 2022, we wrote off $11.7 million and $7.0 million, respectively, of accumulated development costs for cancelled development and redevelopment projects. During 2023, 2022 and 2021, we recognized a total of $1.2 million, $11.2 million, and $4.0 million, respectively, of share-based compensation expense related to real estate management personnel. The year-over-year changes in 2023 and 2022 were due primarily to the absence of comparable accelerated compensation expense recognized for awards granted to real estate management personnel who are eligible for immediate vesting of their outstanding awards upon retirement.

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General and administrative expense: The following table sets forth our general and administrative expense:

Year Ended December 31,Year Ended December 31,
20232022Change20222021Change
(Amounts in thousands)
Share-based compensation expense$25,399$26,661$(1,262)$26,661$33,729$(7,068)
Legal costs3,3044,014(710)4,0146,194(2,180)
Corporate management costs25,70821,8083,90021,80818,5943,214
Other costs26,22119,1897,03219,18917,4491,740
Total$80,632$71,672$8,960$71,672$75,966$(4,294)

General and administrative expense increased $9.0 million in 2023, as compared to 2022 due primarily to an increase in other costs driven by higher spending in IT applications and software development and costs incurred for our UPREIT reorganization and an increase in corporate management costs driven by higher payroll costs.

General and administrative expense decreased $4.3 million in 2022, as compared to 2021 due primarily to a decrease in share-based compensation expense driven by lower accelerated compensation expense recognized for awards granted to corporate management personnel who are eligible for immediate vesting of their outstanding awards upon retirement, partially offset by an increase in corporate management cost driven by higher payroll cost.

Interest and other income: The following table sets forth our interest and other income:

Year Ended December 31,
20232022Change
(Amounts in thousands)
Interest earned on cash balances$64,819$20,824$43,995
Commercial operations9,5319,846(315)
Unrealized gain on private equity investments2,8174,685(1,868)
Other8,4235,2123,211
Total$85,590$40,567$45,023

Interest earned on cash balances increased $44.0 million in 2023 over 2022 due primarily to higher average cash balances resulting from temporary cash held from the issuance of $2.2 billion unsecured senior notes on July 26, 2023 until the funding of the Simply Acquisition on September 13, 2023 and higher interest rates in the financial markets in 2023 as compared to 2022.

Interest expense: For 2023 and 2022, we incurred $210.4 million and $142.4 million, respectively, of interest on our outstanding notes payable. In determining interest expense, these amounts were offset by capitalized interest of $9.3 million and $6.0 million during 2023 and 2022, respectively, associated with our development activities. The increase of interest expense in 2023 as compared to 2022 is due to the issuance of $2.2 billion of notes payable in July 2023 and the increase of Compounded SOFR on our $700.0 million variable rate unsecured notes issued in April 2021, partially offset by the interest savings on the $500.0 million unsecured notes redeemed in August 2022. At December 31, 2023, we had $9.1 billion of notes payable outstanding, with a weighted average interest rate of approximately 3.1%.

Foreign currency exchange (loss) gain: For 2023, we recorded foreign currency losses of $51.2 million, representing primarily the changes in the U.S. Dollar equivalent of our Euro-denominated unsecured notes due to fluctuations in exchange rates (gains of $98.3 million for 2022). The Euro was translated at exchange rates of approximately 1.104 U.S. Dollars per Euro at December 31, 2023 and 1.070 at December 31, 2022. Future gains and losses on foreign currency will be dependent upon changes in the relative value of the Euro to the U.S. Dollar and the level of Euro-denominated notes payable outstanding.

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Gain on sale of real estate: During 2023, we completed a real estate transaction with a third-party, through which we sold an operating self-storage facility with a net book value of $7.1 million for gross proceeds of $40.0 million and acquired a nearby land parcel for $13.5 million. At the close of the transaction, we entered into a leaseback of the self-storage facility until we complete development of the acquired land into a self-storage facility, no later than December 31, 2026. Of the $40.0 million in gross proceeds, $24.3 million was allocated to the sale of the property based on its estimated fair value, resulting a net gain on sale of real estate of $17.1 million after direct transaction costs, and $15.7 million was classified as a reduction of costs to develop the acquired land included in construction in process.

During 2023, we also sold a land parcel for $0.1 million in cash and recorded a related gain on sale of real estate of $0.1 million. In 2022, we recorded gains totaling $1.5 million, in connection with the partial sale of real estate facilities pursuant to eminent domain proceedings.

Income tax expense: We operate as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, we are generally not subject to U.S. federal income taxes on our taxable income distributed to stockholders. In 2023, 2022, and 2021, we recorded income tax expense totaling $10.8 million, $14.3 million and $12.4 million, respectively, related to our taxable REIT subsidiaries and in the state and local jurisdictions in which we operate. The year-over-year changes of income tax expense in 2023 and 2022 were primarily driven by changes in state income tax, due to fluctuations of taxable income in certain states where there are differences between federal and state tax laws.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview and our Sources of Capital

While operating as a REIT allows us to minimize the payment of U.S. federal corporate income tax expense, we are required to distribute at least 90% of our taxable income to our shareholders. Notwithstanding this requirement, our annual operating retained cash flow increased from $200 million to $300 million per year in recent years to approximately $700 million in 2021, $1 billion in 2022 and $480 million for 2023 after a 50% increase in annual dividend in 2023. Retained operating cash flow represents our expected cash flow provided by operating activities (including property operating costs and interest payments described below), less shareholder distributions and capital expenditures. We expect retained cash flow of approximately $450 million for 2024.

Capital needs in excess of retained cash flow are met with: (i) medium and long-term debt, (ii) preferred equity, (iii) limited partnership interests, and (iv) common equity. We select among these sources of capital based upon relative cost, availability, the desire for leverage, and considering potential constraints caused by certain features of capital sources, such as debt covenants. We view our line of credit, as well as any short-term bank loans, as bridge financing.

Because raising capital is important to our growth, we endeavor to maintain a strong financial profile characterized by strong credit metrics, including low leverage relative to our total capitalization and operating cash flows. We are one of the highest rated REITs, as rated by major rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. Our senior notes payable have an “A” credit rating by Standard & Poor’s and “A2” by Moody’s. Our credit ratings on each of our series of preferred shares are “A3” by Moody’s and “BBB+” by Standard & Poor’s. Our credit profile enables us to effectively access both the public and private capital markets to raise capital.

On June 12, 2023, we amended our revolving line of credit, increasing the borrowing limit from $500 million to $1.5 billion. We increased the size of the revolving line of credit and its associated lender base given our increased levels of debt maturities in coming years and to serve as temporary “bridge” financing until we are able to raise longer term capital. As of December 31, 2023 and February 20, 2024, there were no borrowings outstanding on the revolving line of credit; however, we do have approximately $14.6 million of outstanding letters of credit, which limits our borrowing capacity to $1,485.4 million as of February 20, 2024. Our line of credit matures on June 12, 2027.

We believe that we have significant financial flexibility to adapt to changing conditions and opportunities, and we have significant access to sources of capital including debt and preferred equity. While the costs of financing have increased recently, based on our strong credit profile and our substantial current liquidity relative to our capital requirements noted below, we would not expect any potential capital market dislocations to have a material impact upon our expected capital and growth plans over the next 12 months. However, if capital market conditions deteriorate significantly for a long period of time, our access to or cost of debt and preferred equity capital could be negatively impacted and potentially affect future investment activities.

Our current and expected capital resources include: (i) $370.0 million of cash as of December 31, 2023 and (ii) approximately $450 million of expected retained operating cash flow over the next twelve months. Additionally, we have $1,485.4 million available borrowing capacity on our revolving line of credit, which can be used as temporary “bridge” financing until we are able to raise longer term capital. We believe that our cash provided by our operating activities will continue to be sufficient to enable us to meet our ongoing cash requirements for interest payments on debt, maintenance capital expenditures, and distributions to our shareholders for the foreseeable future.

As described below, our current committed cash requirements consist of (i) $420.7 million of remaining spending on our current development pipeline, which will be incurred primarily in the next 18 to 24 months and (ii) $810 million in scheduled principal repayments on our unsecured notes in the next twelve months, which we plan to refinance as they come due in April 2024. Our cash requirements may increase over the next year as we add projects to our development pipeline and acquire additional properties. Additional potential cash requirements could result from various activities including the redemption of outstanding preferred securities, repurchases of common stock, or merger and acquisition activities, as and to the extent we determine to engage in such activities.

Over the long term, to the extent that our cash requirements exceed our capital resources, we believe we have a variety of possibilities to raise additional capital including issuing common or preferred securities, debt, and limited partnership interests, or entering into joint venture arrangements to acquire or develop facilities.

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Cash Requirements

The following summarizes our expected material cash requirements, which comprise (i) contractually obligated expenditures, including payments of principal and interest, (ii) other essential expenditures, including property operating expenses, maintenance capital expenditures and dividends paid in accordance with REIT distribution requirements, and (iii) opportunistic expenditures, including acquisitions and developments and repurchases of our securities. We expect to satisfy these cash requirements through operating cash flow and opportunistic debt and equity financings.

Required Debt Repayments: As of December 31, 2023, the principal outstanding on our debt totaled approximately $9.2 billion, consisting of $7.5 billion of U.S. Dollar denominated unsecured notes payable, $1.7 billion of Euro-denominated unsecured notes payable, and $1.8 million of mortgage notes payable. Approximate principal maturities and interest payments (including $62.8 million in estimated interest on our $1.1 billion variable rate unsecured notes based on rates in effect at December 31, 2023) are as follows (amounts in thousands):

PrincipalInterestTotal
2024$810,496$250,656$1,061,152
2025667,247222,674889,921
20261,150,138196,5881,346,726
2027500,146184,643684,789
20281,200,129163,1521,363,281
Thereafter4,825,6341,103,8835,929,517
$9,153,790$2,121,596$11,275,386

We have $700 million of our U.S. Dollar denominated unsecured notes that mature on April 23, 2024 and €100 million of our Euro denominated unsecured notes that mature on April 12, 2024. We plan to refinance these unsecured notes as they come due in April 2024.

Capital Expenditure Requirements: Capital expenditures include general maintenance, major repairs, or replacements to elements of our facilities to keep our facilities in good operating condition and maintain their visual appeal. Capital expenditures do not include costs relating to the development of new facilities or redevelopment of existing facilities to increase their available rentable square footage.

We spent $237 million of capital expenditures to maintain real estate facilities in 2023 and expect to spend approximately $180 million in 2024. In addition to standard capital repairs of building elements reaching the end of their useful lives, our capital expenditures in recent years have included incremental expenditures to enhance the competitive position of certain of our facilities relative to local competitors pursuant to a multi-year program. Such investments include development of more pronounced, attractive, and clearly identifiable color schemes and signage and upgrades to the configuration and layout of the offices and other customer zones to improve the customer experience. We spent approximately $160 million in 2023 and expect to spend $150 million in 2024 on this effort. In addition, we have spent $65 million in LED lighting and the installation of solar panels in 2023 and we expect to spend $120 million in 2024.

We believe that these incremental investments improve customer satisfaction, the attractiveness and competitiveness of our facilities to new and existing customers and, in the case of LED lighting and solar panels, reduce operating costs.

Requirement to Pay Distributions: For all periods presented herein, we have elected to be treated as a REIT, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code. For each taxable year in which we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we will not be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our “REIT taxable income” (generally, taxable income subject to specified adjustments, including a deduction for dividends paid and excluding our net capital gain) that is distributed to our shareholders. We believe we have met these requirements in all periods presented herein, and we expect to continue to qualify as a REIT.

Our consistent, long-term dividend policy has been to distribute our taxable income. Future quarterly distributions with respect to the common shares will continue to be determined based upon our REIT distribution requirements after taking into consideration distributions to the preferred shareholders and will be funded with cash flows from operating activities.

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The annual distribution requirement with respect to our preferred shares outstanding at December 31, 2023 is approximately $194.7 million per year.

Real Estate Investment Activities: We continue to seek to acquire additional self-storage facilities from third parties. However, future acquisition volume will depend upon whether additional owners will be motivated to market their facilities, which will in turn depend upon factors such as economic conditions and the level of seller confidence.

As of December 31, 2023, we had development and expansion projects at a total cost of approximately $766.2 million. Costs incurred through December 31, 2023 were $345.5 million, with the remaining cost to complete of $420.7 million expected to be incurred primarily in the next 18 to 24 months. Some of these projects are subject to contingencies such as entitlement approval. We expect to continue to seek to add projects to maintain and increase our robust pipeline. Our ability to do so continues to be challenged by various constraints such as difficulty in finding projects that meet our risk-adjusted yield expectations and challenges in obtaining building permits for self-storage facilities in certain municipalities.

Property Operating Expenses: The direct and indirect cost of our operations impose significant cash requirements. Direct operating costs include property taxes, on-site property manager payroll, repairs and maintenance, utilities, and marketing. Indirect operating costs include supervisory payroll and centralized management costs. The cash requirements from these operating costs will vary year to year based on, among other things, changes in the size of our portfolio and changes in property tax rates and assessed values, wage rates, and marketing costs in our markets.

Redemption of Preferred Securities: Historically, we have taken advantage of refinancing higher coupon preferred securities with lower coupon preferred securities. In the future, we may also elect to finance the redemption of preferred securities with proceeds from the issuance of debt. As of February 20, 2024, we have three series of preferred securities that are eligible for redemption, at our option and with 30 days’ notice: our 5.150% Series F Preferred Shares ($280.0 million), 5.050% Series G Preferred Shares ($300.0 million), and 5.600% Series H Preferred Shares ($285.0 million). See Note 10 to our December 31, 2023 consolidated financial statements for the redemption dates of all of our series of preferred shares. Redemption of such preferred shares will depend upon many factors, including the rate at which we could issue replacement preferred securities. None of our preferred securities are redeemable at the option of the holders.

Repurchases of Common Shares: Our Board has authorized management to repurchase up to 35,000,000 of our common shares on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. During 2023, we did not repurchase any of our common shares. From the inception of the repurchase program through February 20, 2024, we have repurchased a total of 23,721,916 common shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $679.1 million. We have no current plans to repurchase shares; however future levels of common share repurchases will be dependent upon our available capital, investment alternatives and the trading price of our common shares.

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