Key Highlights

  • Third quarter Net Income reached $49.8 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, compared with $0.37.
  • FFO per diluted share came in at $0.71, versus $0.69 a year earlier.
  • Same Property NOI increased to $114.3 million from $111.3 million.
  • Adjusted EBITDA totaled $111.4 million, up from $103.8 million.
  • The quarterly Dividend was $0.32 per share, compared with $0.305.

Earnings and FFO edge higher

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) is a self-managed real estate Investment trust that owns, operates and develops properties close to important U.S. Government defense installations and missions, a group it refers to as its Defense/IT Portfolio. The company released its third quarter 2026 Earnings report and supplemental package covering the period ended September 30, 2026.

Net income came to $49.8 million, up from $43.7 million a year earlier and $48.6 million in the second quarter. Diluted EPS was $0.41, versus $0.37 and $0.40. FFO per diluted share was $0.71 in both the third and second quarters, against $0.69 a year earlier.

Nine-month net income reached $138.5 million compared with $120.1 million, diluted EPS was $1.15 versus $1.01, and FFO per share was $2.11 versus $2.02.

Same Property results soften sequentially

NOI from real estate operations totaled $120.3 million, compared with $111.8 million a year earlier. Same Property NOI was $114.3 million, up 2.7% year over year on a calculated basis, though below the $115.0 million booked in the second quarter.

Same Property cash NOI came to $110.3 million, versus $106.9 million a year earlier and $112.3 million in the second quarter. For the nine months, same property cash NOI grew to $328.8 million from $312.2 million, a calculated gain of about 5.3%.

Adjusted EBITDA reached $111.4 million, up from $103.8 million a year earlier and $110.7 million in the second quarter.

Dividend growth and cash earnings

The quarterly dividend per common share was $0.32, compared with $0.305 a year earlier, a calculated increase of about 4.9%. Nine-month dividends totaled $0.96 per share versus $0.915.

Diluted AFFO available to common share and unit holders was $65.4 million, compared with $63.3 million a year earlier, but below the $69.1 million reported in the second quarter. Nine-month AFFO was $199.6 million versus $177.1 million.

FFO per NAREIT was $85.8 million in aggregate, against $82.1 million.

Growth rates on a calculated basis

Nine-month net income rose about 15.3% and nine-month FFO per share rose about 4.5%. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was up about 7.3% year over year, and the quarterly dividend of $0.32 equals about 45% of the $0.71 FFO per share.

These figures suggest cash earnings are growing more slowly than GAAP net income, which is typical for real estate companies carrying large Depreciation charges.

Nine-month operating trends

NOI from real estate operations for the nine months came to $355.6 million versus $331.7 million, a calculated gain of about 7.2%. Same Property NOI for the period was $339.6 million versus $330.2 million, up about 2.8%, while adjusted EBITDA reached $329.9 million versus $307.6 million.

The gap between 7.2% total NOI growth and 2.8% same property growth indicates that acquisitions and development projects placed in service added meaningfully beyond the existing portfolio.

Balance sheet and portfolio focus

Total Assets stood at $4.57 billion on September 30, 2026, compared with $4.52 billion on June 30, 2026 and $4.35 billion a year earlier. The company's focus on properties near defense installations ties its portfolio to government mission activity.

The supplemental package also includes leasing data, Lease expirations, development projects, Acquisition summaries and Debt analysis for readers who want property-level detail.

Investors will likely watch whether same property cash NOI rebounds from the sequential decline and how dividend growth tracks AFFO.