CluenexCOPT Defense Properties CDP
COPT Defense Properties scores weak on business quality (4.0 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What COPT Defense Properties does
COPT Defense Properties owns and leases office and data center properties primarily to the United States Government and defense contractors. Tenants pay rent tied to national security and defense missions, providing specialized real estate.
- What it does best
COPT Defense Properties specializes in owning properties concentrated near defense installations. This focus creates a specialized asset base, contrasting with peers like VNO whose gross margin sits at 48.3% compared to CDP's 59.3%.
- The main risk
High leverage remains a central vulnerability, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.8x and interest coverage of 2.5x. Rising borrowing costs directly pressure net income and limit capital flexibility for new development.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin of 30.4% and an ROE of 10.8% show stable baseline earnings. FCF margin sits at 49th percentile. Scale does not rapidly expand cash generation due to heavy capex needs.
The moat relies on specialized defense relationships and tenant locations near military installations, placing operating margin in the sector's top half at the 57th percentile. Competitors cannot easily replicate these mission-critical hubs.
Revenue grew 1.5% to $784M, showing slow momentum compared to historical periods. Growth crawls in the bottom quartile of its sector at the 26th percentile.
Debt-to-equity sits at 1.8x with interest coverage of 2.5x, leaving little margin for error. Free cash flow stands at $53M after $257M in capex. The balance sheet remains heavily burdened.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on CDP
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
COPT Defense Properties scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (4.0 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat fair, growth slow and financial health weak.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Oct 29, 2026.
See CDP today
- Today's verdict on CDP, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “COPT Defense Properties (CDP)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/cdp/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.