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Here are 1-3 brief analogies for Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT):

1. It's like Realty Income (O), often called "The Monthly Dividend Company," but instead of mostly retail stores, EPRT focuses on owning and leasing single-tenant properties for a wide variety of essential services like car washes, medical offices, and restaurants.

2. Think of it like American Tower (AMT), which owns and leases cell towers to mobile carriers. EPRT does something similar, but it owns the physical locations for thousands of diverse businesses, from convenience stores to early childhood education centers, and leases them out long-term.

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• Commercial Property Leasing: Essential Properties Realty Trust provides long-term rental agreements for single-tenant commercial properties to a diverse range of middle-market companies across the United States.

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Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT) leases its properties to a diverse portfolio of middle-market companies across various service-oriented sectors. Due to the highly diversified nature of its tenant base, which spanned 1,451 properties as of December 31, 2021, specific individual "major customers" (named companies) are generally not disclosed publicly unless they represent a significant concentration of revenue, which is not indicated in the company description. Instead, EPRT's customer base consists of companies operating in the following categories:

• Restaurants
• Car Washes
• Automotive Services
• Medical and Dental Services
• Convenience Stores
• Equipment Rental
• Entertainment
• Early Childhood Education
• Grocery
• Health and Fitness

As these are categories of businesses rather than specific named companies, public company symbols are not applicable.

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Peter Mavoides, President & Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Mavoides has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT) since 2018, having held similar positions at Essential Properties Realty Trust LLC since March 2016. Previously, he was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Spirit Realty Capital (SRC) from 2011 to 2015, where he played a key role in transforming the company from a private enterprise to a public REIT, overseeing approximately $2.0 billion in acquisitions. Prior to Spirit, Mr. Mavoides was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sovereign Investment Company from 2003 to 2011, a private equity firm specializing in long-term single-tenant sale-leaseback opportunities, which he grew from a startup into a leading investor. He also worked at Eastdil Realty and Citigroup, focusing on real estate capital markets and sale-leaseback structuring. He holds a B.S. from the United States Military Academy and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Robert W. Salisbury, CFA, Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President

Mr. Salisbury was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Essential Properties Realty Trust, effective January 1, 2026. He previously served as Senior Vice President within the Company’s finance department since 2023, where he was involved in capital markets and investor relations. Prior to joining Essential Properties, Mr. Salisbury was a Senior Vice President and Director of Research at Almanac Realty Investors, the real estate private equity arm of Neuberger Berman, focusing on public and private equity and credit investments. He also co-managed a real estate securities portfolio at Citadel Investment Group and worked as an investment analyst at V3 Capital Management and an equity research analyst at UBS, Bank of America, and Citigroup. He earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Duke University.

Max Jenkins, Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President

Mr. Jenkins joined Essential Properties in April 2018 and has been an Executive Vice President and Head of Investments since April 2021, and is listed as the Chief Operating Officer. Before joining the company, Mr. Jenkins served as an Infantry Officer and Captain with the 75th Ranger Regiment in the U.S. Army, including a deployment in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with a B.S. in Engineering Management.

Tim Earnshaw, Chief Accounting Officer, Treasurer & Senior Vice President

Mr. Earnshaw has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Essential Properties Realty Trust since January 2020, having been the Controller since April 2017. Before joining Essential Properties, he held various roles at AR Global from 2014 to 2017, including Assistant Vice President and Portfolio Controller for their healthcare-focused REITs.

AJ Peil, Chief Investment Officer, Executive Vice President

Mr. Peil holds the title of Chief Investment Officer and Executive Vice President at Essential Properties Realty Trust.

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Here are the key risks to Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT):

1. Tenant Concentration and Credit Risk of Middle-Market Tenants

Essential Properties Realty Trust focuses on leasing single-tenant properties primarily to middle-market companies. This strategy, while offering diversification across industries and geographies, carries an inherent risk due to the potential financial fragility of these tenants compared to larger, more established entities. While EPRT aims to limit exposure to any single tenant, with a goal of no more than 5% of annualized base rent from one tenant and no more than 1% from any single property, a significant default or bankruptcy by a key tenant, particularly during economic downturns, could materially impact revenue streams. The vast majority of EPRT's tenants are unrated, and their creditworthiness is assessed through internal underwriting methods, which may not always accurately capture the full extent of the investment-related credit risk. Specific sectors like car washes and restaurants are noted areas where tenant credit issues could become a concern.

2. Interest Rate Sensitivity and Economic Volatility

As a real estate investment trust, EPRT's performance is significantly influenced by macroeconomic conditions, especially interest rate fluctuations and overall economic volatility. Rising interest rates can lead to increased borrowing and operating costs for the company, and can also negatively impact the financial stability of its tenants, potentially leading to higher default rates. EPRT faces future refinancing risks, with approximately $430 million in debt maturing in 2027; any substantial increase in refinancing costs could translate to incremental interest expenses. Economic downturns, such as recessions or supply chain disruptions, can affect tenants' ability to pay rent, reduce demand for rental space, and impact property valuations.

3. Competition for Acquisitions and Valuation Compression

EPRT operates in a highly competitive commercial real estate market, vying with various investors, including other public and private REITs, for property acquisitions. This intense competition can lead to compressed acquisition yields, making it more challenging for EPRT to acquire properties at attractive returns. Additionally, the company's valuation multiples have at times been higher than those of its peers, which could indicate a potential overvaluation. This elevated valuation may limit the room for further share price appreciation relative to its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share and could lead to volatility if market sentiment shifts or if EPRT's internal performance does not consistently outperform the broader sector.

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The clear emerging threat for Essential Properties Realty Trust is the potential for **changing physical footprint requirements for its tenants driven by evolving service delivery models.** Specifically, the accelerating trend of "ghost kitchens" or "dark kitchens" for restaurants and "dark stores" for grocery and other retail segments could reduce the demand for traditional, larger, consumer-facing single-tenant properties that constitute a significant portion of EPRT's portfolio. These new models prioritize smaller, often less visible, and more centrally located facilities focused on fulfillment and delivery rather than public interaction, potentially leading to reduced demand for EPRT's current asset types in the long run or pressure on rental rates upon lease expiration and renewal.

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Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT) leases properties to middle-market companies across various sectors in the United States. The addressable market sizes for these main products or services in the U.S. are as follows:

• Restaurants: The U.S. full-service restaurant market is predicted to value at US$ 371.9 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach US$ 715.8 billion by 2032. The broader U.S. food service market was valued at USD 1,286.65 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to USD 2,066.21 billion by 2032.
• Car Washes: The U.S. car wash services market size was estimated at USD 15.28 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 17.01 billion by 2033.
• Automotive Services: The U.S. Automotive Service Market size is estimated at USD 199.38 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 266.56 billion by 2030.
• Dental Services: The U.S. dental services market size was measured at USD 172.56 billion in 2025 and is forecasted to reach around USD 286.04 billion by 2035.
• Convenience Stores: The United States Convenience Stores Market reached USD 159.93 billion in 2024 and is estimated to attain USD 287.07 billion by 2033.
• Construction Equipment Rental: The U.S. construction equipment rental market generated a revenue of USD 57,505.4 million in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 82,463.9 million by 2033.
• Entertainment: The U.S. Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is valued at $649 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $808 billion by 2028.
• Early Childhood Education: The U.S. child care market size is anticipated to grow from USD 65.13 billion in 2025 to USD 99.23 billion by 2035.
• Grocery: The market size of Supermarkets & Grocery Stores in the U.S. was $900.6 billion in 2025 and is projected to be $912.4 billion in 2026.
• Health and Fitness: The market size of health and fitness clubs within the U.S. is estimated to be USD 45.8 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 71.5 billion in 2035.

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1. Strategic Acquisitions of Single-Tenant Properties: Essential Properties Realty Trust aims to continuously expand its portfolio through additional investments in single-tenant properties. The company anticipates investment activity of $1.2 billion-$1.5 billion in 2026 and $1.3 billion-$1.6 billion in 2027. This consistent acquisition strategy, often funded in a leverage-neutral manner, is a primary catalyst for increasing its asset base and, consequently, its rental income. The company's robust investment pipeline, with a significant portion sourced through existing tenant relationships, further supports this growth.
2. Contractual Rent Escalations in Existing Leases: A significant portion of EPRT's revenue growth is driven by built-in rent escalations within its long-term net leases. The company's portfolio benefits from a high proportion of leases with fixed annual escalations, with a weighted-average annual escalation rate of approximately 1.8% to 2.2% for new investments. This provides a stable and predictable organic growth in same-property net operating income.
3. Expansion within the Middle-Market Segment and Tenant Diversification: Essential Properties Realty Trust focuses on leasing properties to middle-market companies across various service-oriented and experience-based industries. This strategy includes a commitment to strong tenant diversification, with no single tenant contributing more than 3.4% of annualized base rent, which mitigates concentration risk and enhances the stability of cash flows. The company's focus on this often-underserved market segment allows for consistent growth opportunities.
4. Prudent Capital Management for Investment Funding: The company's ability to effectively manage its capital, including issuing equity and retaining free cash flow, is crucial for funding its acquisition strategy. EPRT has generated substantial net proceeds from common stock issuance and maintains a capital recycling mechanism that provides ample internal funding for future investments, enabling continued portfolio expansion and revenue growth.

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Share Issuance

• Essential Properties Realty Trust raised approximately $170 million in common equity through its At-The-Market (ATM) program in the fourth quarter of 2025, with $332 million in unsettled forward equity at year-end 2025.
• In February 2026, the company priced an upsized public offering of 10,869,565 shares of common stock at $32.20 per share, offered in connection with forward sale agreements.
• The company generated net proceeds from the issuance of common stock of $657.6 million in 2025, following $570.2 million in 2024, $507 million in 2023, and $403 million in 2022.

Capital Expenditures

• Essential Properties Realty Trust's investment guidance for 2026 is projected to be between $1.0 billion and $1.4 billion.
• The company closed $1.3 billion in investments during 2025, adding 270 properties to its portfolio.
• These capital expenditures primarily focus on acquiring single-tenant net lease properties in service-oriented and experience-based businesses, such as restaurants, car washes, and automotive services, often through sale-leaseback transactions.