DLR vs. MAA: Digital Realty Trust vs. Mid-America Apartment Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) and Mid-America Apartment (MAA) both fall under the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group, but DLR is classified in Specialized REITs while MAA is classified in Residential REITs.

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) and Mid-America Apartment (MAA) are REITs — read their payout ratios and P/E alongside FFO (funds from operations) rather than at face value.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 3.34% and Mid-America Apartment (MAA) at 6.91% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Neither Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Mid-America Apartment (MAA) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is well served by net margin: heavy depreciation makes net income a poor profitability proxy in their businesses, where FFO-based measures are the standard read.

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Mid-America Apartment (MAA) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), funding costs are part of the core business, so net margin and ROE are the cleaner profitability reads.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 10.04% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Mid-America Apartment (MAA) at 0.83% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for DLR.

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Mid-America Apartment (MAA) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 0.58 and Mid-America Apartment (MAA) at 0.06 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 0.69 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while Mid-America Apartment (MAA) at 1.08 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Mid-America Apartment (MAA) at 5.02% pays a yield in its industry’s typical range, while Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 2.79% falls in the bottom quartile of its peers.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Mid-America Apartment (MAA) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): their distributions are mandated and conventionally measured against FFO, so the accounting-earnings ratio overstates both.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

P/E ratio is not a meaningful valuation yardstick for either Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Mid-America Apartment (MAA) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

Mid-America Apartment (MAA) at 6.36 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 9.47 sits in the pricier quartile — DLR costs more per dollar of sales.

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 2.39 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Mid-America Apartment (MAA) at 2.61 carries an above-peer premium to book — MAA is pricier on assets.

Valuation Metrics