Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT)

EPRT’s portfolio is centered on service-oriented and experience-based businesses, particularly middle-market tenants that use their real estate to generate sales directly. Properties are often freestanding locations where the tenant serves customers on site, such as restaurants, car washes, medical and dental service providers, convenience stores, automotive services, early education operators, and other local or regional business formats. The company seeks assets that are important to the tenant’s operations rather than generic space that could be easily abandoned.

Essential Properties commonly uses sale-leaseback transactions, acquiring properties from businesses that want to unlock capital while continuing to operate from the same locations under long-term leases. This approach can give the REIT access to a wide range of industries and tenants, while allowing operators to reinvest proceeds in their businesses.

As a net lease REIT, EPRT is often evaluated on portfolio diversification, tenant credit trends, lease duration, rent coverage, acquisition spreads, and balance sheet discipline. Its distinguishing feature is its focus on smaller and middle-market operators in operationally essential real estate, rather than relying mainly on large investment-grade retailers or broad retail centers.