O vs. WELL: Realty Income vs. Welltower Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Realty Income (O) and Welltower (WELL) both fall under the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group, but O is classified in Retail REITs while WELL is classified in Health Care REITs.

Both Realty Income (O) and Welltower (WELL) 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 Realty Income (O) at 2.83% and Welltower (WELL) at 3.67% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Neither Realty Income (O) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Welltower (WELL) 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 Realty Income (O) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Welltower (WELL) 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

Welltower (WELL) at 35.82% clears its industry range for revenue growth, far stronger top-line momentum than Realty Income (O) at 9.07%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Realty Income (O) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Welltower (WELL) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Welltower (WELL) at 1.65 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Realty Income (O) at 2.06 sits above its industry’s typical mid-range — comfortable liquidity, though possibly with more idle current assets relative to peers.

Both Realty Income (O) at 0.73 and Welltower (WELL) at 0.44 keep leverage in the lower quartile of their industries, with less balance-sheet debt relative to equity than most peers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Realty Income (O) at 4.96% pays a yield in its industry’s typical range, while Welltower (WELL) at 1.21% falls in the bottom quartile of its peers.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Realty Income (O) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Welltower (WELL) 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 Realty Income (O) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Welltower (WELL) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

Both Realty Income (O) at 10.22 and Welltower (WELL) at 14.78 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

Realty Income (O) at 1.55 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Welltower (WELL) at 3.96 carries an above-peer premium to book — WELL is pricier on assets.

Valuation Metrics