CluenexW. P. Carey WPC
W. P. Carey scores average on business quality (5.4 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What W. P. Carey does
W.P. Carey owns a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate, collecting rent from industrial, warehouse, and retail tenants across North America and Europe. Tenants sign long-term net leases, meaning they cover property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs.
- What it does best
W.P. Carey links its lease agreements directly to inflation indexes, capturing built-in rent bumps that protect cash flow when consumer prices rise. This pricing power stems from long-term master lease structures that tenants cannot easily exit without steep financial penalties.
- The main risk
Heavy capital expenditure outlays exceeding $2.5 billion recently have dragged free cash flow down to negative $1.3 billion, leaving the dividend payout and debt reduction dependent on continuous external financing or property sales.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margins hit a strong 51.9% in the top decile of its sector, yet a negative free cash flow margin of 2 percent highlights heavy capital demands. Scale does not immediately translate to cash conversion given high reinvestment needs.
The tenant base relies on mission-critical industrial and warehouse sites, creating high switching costs that secure steady occupancy. Gross margins sit in the top quartile at 90.2%, shielding baseline economics from inflationary cost spikes.
Revenue grew 8.4% to $1.8 billion, improving over prior annual dips. This top-line expansion is driven by inflation-linked rent escalators and recent property acquisitions, reversing earlier volatility.
Total debt sits at $8.7 billion against $155 million in cash, with an interest coverage ratio of 3.0x leaving limited breathing room. Free cash flow plunged to negative $1.3 billion amid heavy capital outlays, reflecting a softer liquidity profile.
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 WPC
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
W. P. Carey scores average on the Cluenex quality check (5.4 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat fair, growth steady and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Oct 27, 2026.
See WPC today
- Today's verdict on WPC, and why
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “W. P. Carey (WPC)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/wpc/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.