ESS vs. LAMR: Essex Property Trust vs. Lamar Advertising Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Essex Property Trust (ESS) and Lamar Advertising (LAMR) both fall under the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group, but ESS is classified in Residential REITs while LAMR is classified in Specialized REITs.

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) and Lamar Advertising (LAMR) 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

Lamar Advertising (LAMR) at 56.42% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 6.52%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

Neither Essex Property Trust (ESS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Lamar Advertising (LAMR) 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 Essex Property Trust (ESS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Lamar Advertising (LAMR) 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 Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 6.36% and Lamar Advertising (LAMR) at 2.68% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Essex Property Trust (ESS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Lamar Advertising (LAMR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 0.41 and Lamar Advertising (LAMR) at 0.59 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 1.21 is near its industry mid-range for debt-to-equity ratio, while Lamar Advertising (LAMR) at 4.82 sits above its benchmark range, pointing to a heavier debt load relative to equity.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Both Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 3.81% and Lamar Advertising (LAMR) at 4.07% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Essex Property Trust (ESS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Lamar Advertising (LAMR) 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 Essex Property Trust (ESS) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Lamar Advertising (LAMR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

Lamar Advertising (LAMR) at 6.70 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 9.48 sits in the pricier quartile — ESS costs more per dollar of sales.

Both look rich against book: Essex Property Trust (ESS) at 3.30 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Lamar Advertising (LAMR) at 15.58 prices even higher, above its industry range.

Valuation Metrics