Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) reported fourth-quarter funds from operations (FFO) of $0.71 per share, in line with consensus, and delivered full-year 2025 FFO of $2.84 per share, representing 5.6% growth over 2024, executives said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Friday. Management also introduced 2026 FFO guidance of $2.87 to $2.97 per share, with a midpoint of $2.92, implying roughly 2.8% growth year over year.
President and CEO Colin Connolly said 2025 leasing remained “robust,” highlighted by 700,000 square feet of leasing completed during the quarter—Cousins’ second-highest quarterly volume over the past four years—and the company’s 47th consecutive quarter of positive second-generation cash rent roll-ups. Connolly also pointed to an office market he described as improving, with return-to-office (RTO) trends gaining traction and new construction starts at “de minimis” levels.
Office market commentary: RTO, tightening supply, and Sunbelt migration
Management also said corporate migration to the Sunbelt has “reaccelerated,” and Cousins is seeing increased interest from West Coast and New York City-based companies. Connolly cited financial services and select large-cap technology firms as sources of demand, adding that some requirements represent significant regional hubs rather than full headquarters relocations.
Addressing concerns about a slowing labor market, Connolly said office-using employment growth during the pandemic left some companies with more employees than office space, since many hires were remote and “associated office space was never leased.” As RTO mandates spread, he said many firms lack sufficient space even after layoffs, creating what he described as a demand tailwind.
Operations: occupancy, lease economics, and market-level highlights
Executive Vice President of Operations Richard Hickson said Cousins ended the quarter at 90.7% leased and 88.3% occupied on an end-of-period and weighted-average basis, respectively. Occupancy was flat sequentially, with Charlotte the main exception due to the expiration of Bank of America’s lease at 201 North Tryon, which is now fully reflected in results. Hickson noted that 2026 lease expirations are low, totaling 4.8% of contractual rent.
Hickson said the company completed 39 office leases totaling 700,000 square feet in the quarter with a weighted average lease term of 9.6 years. For full-year 2025, Cousins signed more than 2.1 million square feet of leasing, its highest total since 2019. New and expansion leasing represented 70% of fourth-quarter activity and 55% for the full year.
Lease economics in the quarter were influenced by leasing at Northpark in Atlanta, including a 166,000-square-foot new lease with AT&T. Hickson said Northpark economics are generally lower than the rest of the portfolio, contributing to a quarter in which average net rent was $36.52, concessions were $10.58, and net effective rent was $23.18. Excluding Northpark, he said average net rent was $41.02, concessions were $10.03, and net effective rent was $27.96. Similarly, second-generation cash rents increased 0.2% in total, but rose 10.4% excluding Northpark, with every market posting increases on that basis.
Market-level updates included:
- Atlanta: Cousins signed 361,000 square feet of leases in the quarter, its highest Atlanta volume since the first quarter of 2019. Occupancy rose to 84.2%, and excluding Northpark, the Atlanta team achieved a 14.5% rent roll-up.
- Austin: Cousins signed 98,000 square feet in the quarter and ended the year 94.8% leased. Hickson noted technology companies played a meaningful role in Austin’s broader leasing activity.
- Charlotte: Management emphasized tightening conditions and no speculative development underway, which Hickson said bodes well for redevelopments at 201 North Tryon and 550 South. He said Cousins is in negotiations with a prospective 87,000-square-foot tenant at 550 South for 2026 occupancy.
- Phoenix: Cousins signed 177,000 square feet of leasing at Hayden Ferry in Tempe, largely with new customers relocating headquarters. Hickson said the project is now 95% leased.
Hickson added that Cousins’ late-stage pipeline remains elevated at over 1.1 million square feet of leases signed quarter-to-date or in negotiation, with the amount in lease negotiations the highest level in five years. He described the late-stage pipeline as historically highly reliable, with a typical conversion rate of 95% to 100%.
Investment activity: Charlotte acquisition and planned dispositions
Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Kennedy Hicks provided details on the company’s acquisition of 300 South Tryon in Uptown Charlotte, which closed earlier in the week. The 638,000-square-foot trophy office building is 100% leased and has served as Barings’ global headquarters since completion in 2017, with Barings leasing roughly 30% of the property. Hicks said the purchase was completed off-market for $317.5 million, or $497 per square foot, equating to a 7.3% cash cap rate and an 8.8% GAAP cap rate. The building has more than six years of weighted average remaining lease term, and Hicks said in-place rents are approximately 20% below current market rates.
On dispositions, Hicks said Cousins is under contract to sell Harbourview Plaza in Tampa’s Westshore submarket for $39.5 million, with an expected first-quarter close. The 2002-vintage building is approximately 81% leased and “due for a renovation,” he said. Cousins also has a 2.4-acre land parcel at 303 Tremont in Charlotte under contract to sell to a residential developer for $23.7 million, expected to close in the second half of the year.
Financial results, guidance assumptions, and capital markets
CFO Gregg Adzema said same-property fourth-quarter GAAP NOI increased 0.4% and Cash NOI increased 0.03% year over year, negatively impacted by the Bank of America departure at 201 North Tryon. Excluding that property, same-property Cash NOI increased 2% for the quarter, he said.
Adzema said the company recognized impairments on both assets held for sale during the quarter: a $13.3 million impairment at Harbourview Plaza that does not impact NAREIT-defined FFO, and a $1 million impairment at 303 Tremont that does run through FFO. He explained the Tremont impairment stemmed from $5.4 million of pre-development costs incurred after the parcel was purchased in 2021 for $18.9 million, despite a contract sale price of $23.7 million.
Adzema also noted the company received repayment at par of an $18.2 million mezzanine loan secured by an equity interest in the 110 East property in Charlotte’s South End submarket, and said the repayment was assumed in 2026 guidance. He added that Cousins has sold 2.9 million shares through its ATM program on a forward basis at an average gross price of $30.44 per share, with none of those shares settled yet.
For 2026, Adzema said guidance assumes a refinancing of approximately $465 million of debt maturing between August and October. He emphasized the company’s intention to refinance with unsecured debt and said Cousins’ unsecured bonds trade at the tightest spread to Treasuries among traditional office REITs, which he said provides a cost-of-capital advantage.
Guidance also assumes the 300 South Tryon acquisition is funded with proceeds from the Harbourview and Tremont sales, plus about $200 million in additional non-core asset sales for modeling purposes. Management reiterated it does not plan to issue new equity at current prices, and emphasized balance-sheet flexibility as a key funding option.
Finally, Connolly reiterated priorities for 2026 that include growing occupancy to 90% or higher by year-end—while noting timing of lease commencements is a key variable—pursuing additional accretive investments, and potentially identifying a development start for late 2026 or 2027. On development underwriting, Connolly told analysts the company would generally target around 50% pre-leasing and development yields roughly 150 to 200 basis points above stabilized cap rates, which he characterized as approximately the 8.5% to 9% range based on current conditions.
About Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ)
Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the development, acquisition and management of high-quality office and mixed-use properties. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company focuses on urban infill and suburban markets across the Sun Belt, with a strong presence in metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa. Its core activities encompass full-service property leasing, asset management and construction oversight, serving a diverse mix of corporate and institutional tenants.
Founded in 1958 as a privately held real estate concern, Cousins Properties completed its initial public offering in 1992.
