Cannabis REIT Innovative Industrial Properties has soundly beat Wall Street’s expectations in the last two quarters.
This article originally appears on The Motley Fool, written by Beth McKenna
Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR), a cannabis industry-focused real estate investment trust (REIT), is slated to report its first-quarter 2020 results after the market close on Wednesday, May 6.
The company is going into its report on a strong note. Last quarter, it once again soundly beat Wall Street’s expectations on the top and bottom lines. The stock didn’t soar the next day, as it did after the release of the prior quarter results. In fact, it fell a slight 1%. However, that’s because last quarter’s release occurred during a day and a week — the last week of February — that the market got clobbered because of concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus.
In 2020, shares of Innovative Industrial Properties (which is also known as IIP) have returned more than 2%, through May 4. By contrast, the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:VOO) has returned negative 11.5% and most cannabis stocks are performing even worse. Shares of the group’s bellwether, Canopy Growth (TSE:WEED), are down more than 25% so far this year.
Here’s what to watch and expect in Innovative Industrial Properties’ report.
Innovative Industrial Properties’ key quarterly numbers
Here are IIP’s results from the year-ago quarter and Wall Street’s estimates to use as benchmarks.
| Metric | Q1 2019 Result | Wall Street’s Q1 2020 Consensus Estimate | Wall Street’s Projected Change (YOY) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6.6 million | $21.4 million | 224% |
| Earnings per share (EPS) | $0.33 | $0.75 | 127% |
| Adjusted funds from operations (FFO) | $0.54 | N/A | N/A |
Analysts are expecting IIP to continue to post robust growth. This growth is being largely driven by acquisitions, though contractual rental increases at some properties is helping. Notably, in every quarter last year, the company’s year-over-year revenue growth accelerated.
On Feb. 26, when IIP reported fourth-quarter results, it owned 51 properties located in 15 U.S. states where marijuana for medical use is legal. As of May 4, the company has acquired four additional properties — one each in Michigan, Massachusetts, Florida, and Illinois — according to a review of its press releases. If accurate, this marks a slowdown in the recent pace of acquisitions. The COVID-19 pandemic is probably at least partially responsible, as it’s thrown a wrench in business deals in general over the last two months.
For context, last quarter, IIP’s net rental revenue soared 269% year over year to $17.7 million. Earnings per share rocketed 225% to $0.78, and adjusted FFO per share jumped 211% to $1.18. Wall Street was looking for EPS of $0.57 on revenue of $14.4 million, so both results whizzed by analysts’ expectations.
Earnings call on May 7
Innovative Industrial Properties has scheduled an analyst conference call for the day after the earnings release, Thursday, May 7, at 1 p.m. EST.
This call is poised to be particularly meaty since management is sure to touch upon how the pandemic is affecting the cannabis industry. If you miss the live call, you can always listen to the recorded version that will be posted on the company’s investor relations site.
MyWallSt operates a full disclosure policy. MyWallSt staff currently hold long positions in companies mentioned above. Read our full disclosure policy here.
Beth McKenna has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Innovative Industrial Properties. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.