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Think of Cousins Properties as a Marriott, but for upscale office buildings instead of hotels. They develop, own, and manage Class A office towers primarily in growing cities across the Sun Belt.

It's like the Ritz-Carlton of commercial real estate – they focus on developing and managing top-tier, 'trophy' office buildings, particularly in high-growth Sun Belt markets.

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• Office Property Development: Creating new Class A office buildings primarily in high-growth Sun Belt markets.
• Office Property Acquisition: Investing in and purchasing existing Class A office towers within its target markets.
• Office Property Leasing: Renting out space within its Class A office buildings to generate rental income from tenants.
• Office Property Management: Providing operational management, maintenance, and strategic oversight for its portfolio of Class A office properties.

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Colin Connolly President and Chief Executive Officer

Colin Connolly joined Cousins Properties in September 2011, initially as Senior Vice President, focusing on acquisitions and dispositions. He progressed through various leadership roles, including Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He was elected President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2019, and to the Board of Directors in February 2019. Before joining Cousins, Mr. Connolly served as Executive Director and Vice President with Morgan Stanley from December 2006 to August 2011. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he worked in the Investments Group at CarrAmerica Realty Corporation, focusing on the acquisition and disposition of office properties.

Gregg Adzema Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Gregg Adzema is responsible for accounting, tax, treasury, banking and finance, capital markets, financial planning and modeling, investor relations, and information technology for Cousins Properties. He joined Cousins in 2010, bringing over 31 years of experience in senior financial, investment, and advisory roles in commercial real estate. From 1996 to 2005, Mr. Adzema was with Summit Properties, a publicly traded apartment REIT, serving the last four years as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, where he led Summit's successful sale to Camden Property Trust. His prior experience includes roles at Arthur Andersen, PulteGroup, and Wells Fargo. Immediately before Cousins, he served as Chief Investment Officer and Executive Vice President for two advisory and real estate firms in Charlotte, NC.

Kennedy Hicks Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director

Kennedy Hicks serves as the Chief Investment Officer for Cousins Properties, overseeing acquisitions, dispositions, development investments, and portfolio strategy. In July 2020, she also took on the role of Managing Director for the Atlanta market, responsible for operations and business development in the company's Atlanta portfolio. Prior to joining Cousins in 2018, Ms. Hicks was a Managing Director with Eastdil Secured, a global real estate investment banking company, where she was instrumental in securing and executing over $22 billion in office sale or joint venture assignments for institutional office properties across the Sun Belt. She also previously worked as a Director of Finance with CBRE's Southeast Office Investment Team.

Richard Hickson IV Executive Vice President, Operations

Richard Hickson IV joined Cousins Properties in 2016 and is responsible for all leasing, property operations, and asset management for the company's existing Sun Belt portfolio. He has over 20 years of experience in commercial real estate, finance, and transactional activities. This includes multiple operations, investments, and finance roles held between 2004 and 2012 at Parkway Properties, Inc., another publicly-traded REIT, where he served for two years as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Hickson began his career in investment banking.

Pamela Roper Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Pamela Roper is responsible for Cousins Properties' legal and regulatory compliance, corporate governance, and risk management and mitigation. She also oversees the execution of all of Cousins' transactions, including debt financings, acquisitions, dispositions, and joint ventures.

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The key risks to Cousins Properties (CUZ) are primarily centered around the evolving landscape of office demand, financial market conditions, and its concentrated market exposure.

1. Secular Office Demand Decline and Remote Work Trends: A significant long-term risk for Cousins Properties stems from the permanent shift towards remote and hybrid work models. These trends could lead to sustained lower demand for office space, potentially depressing long-term leasing volumes and average rents in Sun Belt markets beyond current projections. This directly impacts the company's core business of investing in and managing Class A office towers.

2. Interest Rate and Financing Risk: Cousins Properties faces considerable interest rate and financing risk due to its high leverage. Elevated interest rates amplify refinancing risk and increase interest expense sensitivity if rates remain high or funding conditions tighten. This can put downward pressure on future Funds From Operations (FFO) and the company's ability to achieve a positive spread between its weighted average cost of capital and property capitalization rates.

3. Concentration Risk in Key Markets and Tech Tenants: The company's strategy of focusing on Class A office properties in high-growth Sun Belt markets, coupled with a notable exposure to technology tenants, presents a concentration risk. Economic downturns or adverse market conditions specifically within these key regions or the technology sector could disproportionately affect Cousins Properties' performance, leading to decreased occupancy rates and leasing activity.

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Cousins Properties (CUZ) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through a combination of robust leasing activity, strategic market positioning, portfolio expansion, increasing occupancy rates, and favorable market dynamics.

1. Strong Leasing Momentum and Rent Growth: Cousins Properties has demonstrated strong leasing activity with significant square footage leased in recent quarters and a healthy leasing pipeline of over 1.1 million square feet. The company consistently reports positive cash rent roll-ups and is achieving higher asking rents, particularly for its modern, amenity-rich Class A properties. This indicates a strong ability to increase revenue through both new leases and rental rate increases on existing properties.
2. "Flight to Quality" and Sun Belt Migration: The company's strategic focus on premier Class A office towers in high-growth Sun Belt markets positions it to benefit from the ongoing "flight to quality" trend, where businesses seek top-tier office environments. Concurrently, the accelerating migration of companies and populations to the Sun Belt region is driving increased demand for office space in Cousins' key markets, such as Atlanta, Austin, and Charlotte.
3. Strategic Acquisitions and Development Pipeline: Cousins Properties is actively pursuing external growth opportunities through strategic acquisitions and a robust development pipeline. The company has sourced over $1.4 billion in new investments since 2024 and maintains an active development pipeline of 916,000 square feet, along with a 5.3 million square foot land bank for future mixed-use projects. These initiatives are expected to expand the company's revenue-generating asset base.
4. Increasing Occupancy Rates: Management is focused on increasing occupancy across its portfolio. The company aims to achieve 90% or higher occupancy by year-end 2026, leveraging its high-quality real estate and strong balance sheet to gain market share. Higher occupancy rates directly translate to increased rental income.
5. Limited New Supply in Key Markets: A diminishing supply of new office construction, particularly for high-quality spaces in its target markets, is creating a more favorable environment for Cousins Properties. This reduction in new competition enhances the demand and pricing power for Cousins' existing premium assets, contributing to revenue growth.

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Share Repurchases

• Cousins Properties' board authorized a share repurchase program of up to $250 million on February 17, 2026.
• The program is intended to be funded by a combination of non-core asset sales, retained cash, debt financing, and the settlement of common shares previously issued under an at-the-market (ATM) program.
• The repurchase program does not have an expiration date and does not obligate the company to repurchase any specific dollar amount or number of shares.

Outbound Investments

• In the fourth quarter of 2024, Cousins Properties invested almost $1 billion in "Trophy lifestyle office properties" within its Sunbelt markets, which were immediately accretive to earnings.
• The company acquired 300 South Tryon in Charlotte for $317.5 million, funded by proceeds from the sales of Harborview and Tremont properties, along with approximately $200 million in additional non-core asset sales.
• Cousins Properties noted over $1.4 billion of recent Sun Belt acquisitions in its March 2026 investor presentation.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures decreased by $26.8 million between 2024 and 2023.
• This decrease was primarily due to a reduction in development projects and related capitalized interest and salaries, following the Domain 9 development commencing initial operations in the first quarter of 2024.
• The decrease in capital expenditures was partially offset by increased spending on operating property redevelopments, including the full building redevelopment of Hayden Ferry I starting in the fourth quarter of 2023, and the substantial completion of renovations at 3350 Peachtree and Promenade Central in 2023.