ELS vs. SUI: Equity LifeStyle Properties vs. Sun Communities Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI) are both classified in the Single-Family Residential REITs sub-industry within the broader Residential REITs industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Both Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI) are REITs — read their payout ratios and P/E alongside FFO (funds from operations) rather than at face value.

Company profile comparison for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI)
Profile Item	ELS	SUI
Name	Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.	Sun Communities, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Real Estate	Real Estate
GICS Industry Group	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
GICS Industry	Residential REITs	Residential REITs
GICS Sub-Industry	Single-Family Residential REITs	Single-Family Residential REITs
Market Capitalization	12.67 billion USD	14.93 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 25, 1993	December 9, 1993
Security Type	REIT	REIT

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ELS

SUI

GSPC

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. Sun Communities (SUI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI)
Metric	ELS	SUI
Total Return (1Y)	4.40%	-1.28%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	1.94%	6.25%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-3.06%	-5.75%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ELS

SUI

GSPC

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. Sun Communities (SUI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI)
Metric	ELS	SUI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	19.05%	21.19%
Beta (5Y)	0.57	0.72
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-32.51%	-48.72%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.77M	1.48M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ELS and SUI are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI)
Metric	ELS	SUI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.01	-0.26
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.01	-0.38

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 22.34% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Sun Communities (SUI) at 4.89% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for ELS.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

22.34%

Max: 22.74%
ELS: 22.34%
Q3: 10.54%
Median: 6.38%
Q1: 1.69%
Min: -10.86%

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

4.89%

Max: 22.74%
Q3: 10.54%
Median: 6.38%
SUI: 4.89%
Q1: 1.69%
Min: -10.86%

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their ROE against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Neither Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Sun Communities (SUI) 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.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Sun Communities (SUI) 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

Profitability metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI)
Metric	ELS	SUI
ROE (TTM)	22.34%	4.89%
ROA (TTM)	6.06%	2.74%
Net Margin (TTM)	--	--
Operating Margin (TTM)	--	--
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 1.18% and Sun Communities (SUI) at 0.77% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Sun Communities (SUI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI)
Metric	ELS	SUI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	1.18%	0.77%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	1.79%	-8.37%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	--
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Sun Communities (SUI) at 3.07 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 0.12 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.12

Max: 4.19
Q3: 2.11
Median: 1.31
Q1: 0.62
ELS: 0.12
Min: 0.06

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

3.07

Max: 4.19
SUI: 3.07
Q3: 2.11
Median: 1.31
Q1: 0.62
Min: 0.06

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their current ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Sun Communities (SUI) at 0.72 keeps leverage in the lower quartile, while Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 1.83 sits in the higher-leverage quartile.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

1.83

Max: 2.72
ELS: 1.83
Q3: 1.59
Median: 0.99
Q1: 0.72
Min: 0.20

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.72

Max: 2.72
Q3: 1.59
Median: 0.99
Q1: 0.72
SUI: 0.72
Min: 0.20

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI)
Metric	ELS	SUI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.12	3.07
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.83	0.72
Net Debt / EBITDA	4.23	3.02

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 3.40% and Sun Communities (SUI) at 3.60% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

3.40%

Max: 8.62%
Q3: 5.95%
Median: 4.34%
ELS: 3.40%
Q1: 3.26%
Min: 0.00%

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

3.60%

Max: 8.62%
Q3: 5.95%
Median: 4.34%
SUI: 3.60%
Q1: 3.26%
Min: 0.00%

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Sun Communities (SUI) 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

Dividend metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI)
Metric	ELS	SUI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	3.40%	3.60%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	--	--

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

P/E ratio is not a meaningful valuation yardstick for either Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Sun Communities (SUI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 7.96 and Sun Communities (SUI) at 6.39 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

7.96

Max: 14.47
Q3: 8.02
ELS: 7.96
Median: 5.98
Q1: 3.27
Min: 0.43

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

6.39

Max: 14.47
Q3: 8.02
SUI: 6.39
Median: 5.98
Q1: 3.27
Min: 0.43

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Sun Communities (SUI) at 2.76 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) at 6.99 prices even higher, above its industry range.

ELS

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

6.99

ELS: 6.99
Max: 4.06
Q3: 2.53
Median: 1.64
Q1: 1.06
Min: 0.21

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

2.76

Max: 4.06
SUI: 2.76
Q3: 2.53
Median: 1.64
Q1: 1.06
Min: 0.21

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) and Sun Communities (SUI)
Metric	ELS	SUI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	--	--
P/S Ratio (TTM)	7.96	6.39
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.99	2.76
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--