DLR vs. VTR: Digital Realty Trust vs. Ventas Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) and Ventas (VTR) both fall under the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group, but DLR is classified in Specialized REITs while VTR is classified in Health Care REITs.

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) and Ventas (VTR) 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 Ventas (VTR) at 1.87% 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 Ventas (VTR) 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 Ventas (VTR) 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

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 10.04% and Ventas (VTR) at 18.47% sit in the top peer quartile for revenue growth, so each is growing its top line faster than typical industry peers.

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

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 0.58 and Ventas (VTR) at 0.37 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 Ventas (VTR) at 0.77 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 2.79% and Ventas (VTR) at 2.29% offer bottom-quartile dividend income relative to share price versus industry peers.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Ventas (VTR) 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 Ventas (VTR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

Ventas (VTR) at 6.96 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 Ventas (VTR) at 2.97 carries an above-peer premium to book — VTR is pricier on assets.

Valuation Metrics