First Industrial raised its 2026 profit outlook as cash rents on new leases rose 39 percent

Thirty-nine percent. That is how much cash rental rates rose on the new and renewal leases First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE: FR) started in the second quarter, the industrial landlord reported on July 22. Diluted earnings were $0.58 a share, up from $0.42 a year earlier, and funds from operations, the profit measure the REIT industry prefers, were $0.82 a share against $0.76. The company raised the midpoint of its full-year FFO guidance by two cents.

Total revenues rose to $194.9m from $180.2m, and in-service occupancy edged up to 94.9 percent from 94.3 percent at the end of the first quarter. Cash same-store net operating income, a measure of rent from buildings held across both years, rose 6.7 percent. Chief Executive Peter Baccile credited leasing wins, including a fully leased 708,000 square-foot facility in central Pennsylvania and full-building deals at two recently completed projects. The company also started building a 613,000 square-foot facility near Philadelphia, at an estimated cost of $77m.

The full-year picture rests partly on asset sales. First Industrial's 2026 net-income guidance of $2.48 to $2.56 a share includes about $0.90 of gains from selling buildings, which is why the FFO figure, now guided to $3.08 to $3.16, is the steadier gauge of the operating business. Two other items sit in the results. The quarterly dividend is $0.50 a share, up from $0.445 a year ago, and a contested proxy campaign has cost the company $5.6m in advisory fees so far this year.