Equity Residential (EQR)
Equity Residential is a major American landlord that owns and manages high-quality apartment buildings in busy, urban city centres.
Is Equity Residential a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Owns high-quality assets in desirable, supply-constrained cities. Worth weighing: High sensitivity to interest rate changes which affect borrowing costs.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
What does Equity Residential do?
Think of Equity Residential as a professional landlord that focuses on renting out apartments in expensive, popular US cities like New York and San Francisco. Monthly rent gathered from thousands of tenants brings in the money, with well-maintained buildings keeping it flowing. How well they keep their apartments full, and whether they can keep nudging rents higher in a competitive housing market, is what to follow.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on quality and income, and weakest on growth.
- ✓Pays a dividend - about 4.3% a year
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 2% over the year
- ✓Very profitable - turns about 28% of sales into profit
- —
- Value screens low
- Growth screens low
Does Equity Residential pay a dividend?
Yes - Equity Residential currently pays a dividend of about 4.3% a year, which is £43 a year for every £1,000 invested (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it. An ISA doesn't shelter the US tax on this one →
What do the numbers say about Equity Residential's dividend?
There's no rating here, and we don't judge whether the dividend will continue - that would be advice. Here are the figures income investors usually look at, and what each one means, so you can weigh it up yourself.
Figures are from the latest available data and can be distorted by one-off results. Past payments don't predict future ones, and a dividend can be cut at any time. This lays out the numbers to help you understand them - it is not a view on what will happen.
Most recent ex-dividend date: 29 Jun 2026. To receive a dividend you must already own the shares before the ex-dividend date; become a holder on or after it and the previous owner keeps that payment. Why the price usually falls that morning →
What do Equity Residential's numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-08-21. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has Equity Residential actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Equity Residential fell as much as −26% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
How much money does Equity Residential make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Where does each £100 of Equity Residential's sales go?
A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £38 covers making the product or service, £34 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £28 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.
When does Equity Residential report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Equity Residential is next scheduled to report on about 2026-10-21 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-22 | $0.36 | $0.34 | Missed -5% |
| 2026-04-28 | $0.29 | $0.23 | Missed -20% |
| 2026-02-05 | $0.38 | $0.28 | Missed -25% |
| 2025-10-28 | $0.42 | $0.37 | Missed -11% |
| 2025-08-04 | $0.30 | $0.34 | Beat +13% |
| 2025-04-29 | $0.27 | $0.26 | Missed -5% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, Equity Residential came in ahead of what analysts expected 1 time. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for Equity Residential?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
Long-term urbanisation continues to drive up property values.
Persistent high interest rates make borrowing costs too expensive.
What are the pros and cons of Equity Residential?
A balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Owns high-quality assets in desirable, supply-constrained cities
- Provides a steady income stream through regular dividends
- Professional management with a long track record in the sector
- High sensitivity to interest rate changes which affect borrowing costs
- Earnings growth has been negative recently
- Limited ability to quickly change the location of their properties
- Economic downturns could lead to higher tenant turnover
- Over-supply of new apartments in their key markets could limit rent growth
- Regulatory changes regarding rent control could impact future profits
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A sustained, significant drop in urban population growth
- A major shift in government policy that caps rental income across all their markets
Common questions about Equity Residential
Does Equity Residential pay a dividend?
Yes - Equity Residential currently pays a dividend of about 4.3% a year. Dividends are a share of profit paid to holders; the yield moves with the price and payouts can be cut.
When does Equity Residential report earnings next?
Equity Residential is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-10-21. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
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This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.