Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA)
Real Estate · $13.9B market cap · SEC CIK 0000912595
ahead of 28% of the S&P 500 · #17 of 30 in Real Estate
Next reports on Feb 2, 2027, after the close, with analysts expecting $0.86 in earnings per share.
52-week range $113.95 to $144.41. 18% below its 52-week high and 4% above its low.
The case for MAA
- Generated $718M of free cash flow in FY2025, 32% of revenue.
- Pays a 4.6% dividend while you wait.
- Gross margin of 58% absorbs cost shocks.
- Moves less than the market (beta 0.68).
The case against
- Expensive for its growth: 34.4× earnings, where 6% a year of growth would justify about 17×.
- Earnings per share down 29.3%.
- Near the bottom of its 52-week range, 18% below the high. Falling prices usually have a reason; find it first.
- Priced at 6.3× sales with revenue growing only 0.8%.
- Revenue was flat on the year (+0.8%).
- Return on equity of only 7%.
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Real Estate companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings and cash, against the growth you get | 57 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 31 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 52 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 27 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 80 |
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 30 Real Estate companies.
The financials
Revenue growth
Is the business growing? No, flat
| Last 12 months | +0.8% |
|---|---|
| Over 5 years | +5.7% a year |
| FY2025 revenue | $2.2B (+1%) |
Free cash flow
Is it generating real cash? Yes, plenty
| FY2025 free cash flow | $718M |
|---|---|
| Of revenue | 32% |
| Of profit | 161% |
Profit margins
Is profitability improving? No, slipping
| Gross margin | 58% |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 24% |
| Net margin, FY24 → FY25 → now | 24.1% → 20.2% → 18.2% |
Debt vs. cash
Is the balance sheet healthy? Mostly, with some debt to carry
| Cash | $60.3M |
|---|---|
| Long-term debt | n/a |
| Net cash | n/a |
| Years to repay | n/a |
| Debt / equity | 1.04× |
Valuation
Is the stock price reasonable? Mixed: dear on earnings, fair on cash flow
| P/E | 34.4× |
|---|---|
| Fair P/E for its growth | 17× |
| Price / operating cash flow | 12.9× |
| Forward P/E | 36.1× |
| EV / EBITDA | 16.6× |
At 34.4× earnings it trades well above the 17× that 6% a year of growth would justify. At 12.9× operating cash flow it trades below that same mark; for a REIT that counts for more than earnings, since depreciation makes its P/E look worse than the business is.
The financials, five years deep
Pulled from Mid-America Apartment Communities's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | |||||
| Revenue | $2.2B | $2.2B | $2.1B | $2.0B | $1.8B |
| Change on the year | +1% | +2% | +6% | +14% | — |
| Free cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow | $718M | $776M | $796M | $762M | $615M |
| Of revenue | 32% | 35% | 37% | 38% | 35% |
| Profit margins | |||||
| Net margin | 20.2% | 24.1% | 25.7% | 31.6% | 30.0% |
| Debt vs. cash | |||||
| Cash | $60.3M | $43.0M | $41.3M | $38.7M | $54.3M |
Filings
The text of this 10-K could not be read automatically. The original is linked below.