Kimco Realty (NYSE:KIM) used its fourth-quarter earnings call to outline what management described as a “banner year” in 2025, highlighted by record leasing milestones, improving occupancy, and growth in funds from operations. Executives also detailed priorities for 2026 that center on capital recycling, operational restructuring, and continued leasing momentum in what the company called a supply-constrained open-air retail environment.
2025 results: FFO growth, record leasing, and balance sheet upgrade
CEO Conor Flynn said Kimco delivered NAREIT FFO per share growth of 6.7% in 2025 and noted the company was “one of the only shopping center REITs” to exceed 5% FFO growth in 2024 and 6% growth in 2025. CFO Glenn Cohen reported fourth-quarter FFO of $294.3 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, up 4.8% year-over-year, and full-year FFO of approximately $1.2 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share.
On the balance sheet, Cohen said Kimco ended 2025 with more than $2.2 billion of immediate liquidity, including $213 million of cash and full availability on a $2 billion unsecured revolving credit facility. Consolidated net debt to EBITDA finished at 5.4x (5.7x on a look-through basis including pro rata JV debt and preferred stock outstanding). During the quarter, Moody’s upgraded Kimco’s unsecured debt rating to A3, which management said put the company in a select group of REITs with A-minus level ratings across the major rating agencies. Cohen also said Kimco established a commercial paper program to add flexibility to its financing toolkit.
Occupancy and leasing: all-time highs and a larger “signed-not-open” pipeline
Flynn pointed to a series of operating records in the fourth quarter and at year-end, including overall portfolio occupancy of 96.4%, matching an all-time high. He also cited the highest quarterly new leasing volume in more than a decade with 1.2 million square feet leased, a 90-basis-point sequential increase in anchor occupancy, and a new all-time high in small shop occupancy of 92.7%.
Chief Operating Officer Dave Jamieson said fourth-quarter leasing included 30 anchor leases, the most Kimco has ever signed, and the lowest volume of vacates in more than six years, including only three anchor vacates. Jamieson said leasing demand was broad-based across grocery, off-price, fitness, furniture, and general merchandise.
Management emphasized the “signed but not open” (SNO) pipeline as a source of visibility into future growth. Jamieson said the same-site NOI pipeline reached a record 390 basis points, representing $73 million of future annual base rent, up $17 million, or 30%, versus the prior year. He added that Kimco recognized $31 million in rent commencements during 2025, exceeding the initial budget by 15%.
Capital allocation and recycling: narrowing the public-private valuation gap
Flynn said a key 2026 objective is closing what management described as a gap between Kimco’s public market valuation and private market pricing for open-air retail. He cited examples of shopping center REITs going private at cap rates in the mid-5% to low-6% range, while Kimco’s implied cap rate was described as in the low- to mid-7% range. Flynn said the company believes it can sell assets at blended cap rates in the 5% to 6% range and redeploy proceeds into higher-return opportunities, including potential share repurchases that management said currently offer roughly a 9% FFO yield.
President and CIO Ross Cooper said Kimco identified a $300 million to $500 million disposition pipeline, primarily consisting of flat ground leases, lower-growth multi-tenant centers, and non-income-producing land and entitlements. Cooper said the company is also evaluating portions of its multifamily program as potential monetization opportunities.
On the acquisition side, Cooper said competition for open-air retail has intensified, which makes sourcing from the company’s joint venture platform and structured investment program “a meaningful differentiator.” He said Kimco anticipates acquiring a similar amount of shopping centers as it sells, at cap rates roughly 100 basis points higher at the midpoint than the disposition cap rates, and expects acquisitions to carry approximately 200 basis points of incremental compounded annual growth on average.
Cooper also discussed a modest planned expansion of the structured investment book, with net growth of about $100 million at the midpoint and a blended average yield around 9%. Responding to a question on repayments, Cooper said Kimco does not anticipate any significant single repayments in 2026 and expressed confidence in the company’s ability to grow the book on a net basis.
In the fourth quarter, Cooper said Kimco converted another structured investment by acquiring the common members’ interest in Shops at 82nd Street in Jackson Heights, Queens. He described the property as grocery-anchored with tenants including Target, Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Starbucks, and Northwell Medical, and said Kimco used the transaction as part of a 1031 exchange strategy tied to selling flat ground leases.
2026 guidance: modest acceleration after a weaker first quarter comparison
Cohen provided initial 2026 FFO per share guidance of $1.80 to $1.84, representing 2.3% to 4.5% growth over 2025. The outlook includes same-property NOI growth of 2.5% to 3.5%. Cohen said the first quarter is expected to be the low point for same-property NOI growth as Kimco laps prior-year rental income from tenants such as Jo-Ann, Party City, Rite Aid, and Big Lots, with accelerating growth expected later in the year from rent commencements tied to the SNO pipeline.
Other guidance assumptions Cohen cited included:
- Credit loss of 75 to 100 basis points
- Lease termination income of $7 million to $15 million (with Cohen saying the company had visibility into roughly $5 million to $7 million early in the year)
- Non-cash GAAP revenue (including straight-line rent and above/below market amortization) of $45 million to $50 million
- Net mortgage and financing income of $45 million to $55 million
- Consolidated G&A of $128 million to $132 million
- Consolidated interest expense plus preferred dividends of $370 million to $377 million
Cohen also said Kimco has over $800 million of consolidated maturities in 2026 at an average effective rate of about 2.65%, which he described as a manageable headwind given the company’s ratings and liquidity.
Operational changes, technology initiatives, and potential special dividend
Flynn said Kimco is flattening its organization and modernizing its operating platform to improve efficiency, targeting $3 million of G&A savings at the midpoint in 2026 while still investing in personnel and systems. Jamieson later described a shift from a regional structure to functional leadership teams for national leasing and asset management, aiming to improve consistency and speed of execution without incremental costs.
Will Teichman added that Kimco formed an Office of Innovation and Transformation and is pursuing automation initiatives, data visualization tools, and an internal chatbot that pairs property and lease data with OpenAI’s GPT models. He said early benefits are expected primarily on the expense side, including reduced use of professional services vendors and vendor consolidation.
During Q&A, management also addressed the possibility of a special dividend tied to taxable gains from asset sales. Flynn said Kimco’s low tax basis on many assets could generate sizable taxable gains when selling properties, and while the company is focused on using 1031 exchanges to defer gains, failure to fully shield those gains could trigger a special dividend at year-end.
Cohen also noted an executive transition: Chief Accounting Officer Paul Westbrook plans to retire at the end of March, and Kathleen Thayer will become Executive Vice President, Treasurer, and Chief Accounting Officer on April 1.
About Kimco Realty (NYSE:KIM)
Founded in 1958 by Milton Cooper and headquartered in Jericho, New York, Kimco Realty Corporation (NYSE: KIM) is a leading publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership, operation and development of open-air shopping centers. The company’s portfolio, concentrated on neighborhood and community centers anchored by grocery stores, encompasses approximately 400 properties across the United States, with selective holdings in Canada and Mexico.
Kimco’s core business activities include acquiring, repositioning and managing retail real estate assets that serve as daily-need destinations for consumers.
