IRM vs. PSA: Iron Mountain vs. Public Storage Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Iron Mountain (IRM) and Public Storage (PSA) both belong to the Specialized REITs industry, though IRM is classified under Other Specialized REITs while PSA falls under Self-Storage REITs.

Both Iron Mountain (IRM) and Public Storage (PSA) 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

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Public Storage (PSA) earns 15.60% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Iron Mountain (IRM) has no ROE this period.

Neither Iron Mountain (IRM) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Public Storage (PSA) 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 Iron Mountain (IRM) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Public Storage (PSA) 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

Iron Mountain (IRM) at 12.23% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Public Storage (PSA) at 2.74% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for IRM.

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Iron Mountain (IRM) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Public Storage (PSA) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Iron Mountain (IRM) at 0.56 and Public Storage (PSA) at 0.37 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Public Storage (PSA) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80 against its industry range, while Iron Mountain (IRM) reports no figure this period.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Both Iron Mountain (IRM) at 3.28% and Public Storage (PSA) at 3.52% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Iron Mountain (IRM) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Public Storage (PSA) 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 Iron Mountain (IRM) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Public Storage (PSA) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

Iron Mountain (IRM) at 4.07 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Public Storage (PSA) at 12.50 sits in the pricier quartile — PSA costs more per dollar of sales.

Iron Mountain (IRM) reports a negative P/B ratio of -22.85, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Public Storage (PSA) reports 6.45, ranking against industry peers normally.

Valuation Metrics