Safehold is like an American Tower (AMT) or Crown Castle (CCI), but for the land underneath prime commercial buildings instead of cell towers.

• Ground Leases: Safehold provides long-term leases for the land underlying commercial real estate properties, allowing property owners to acquire or develop buildings without owning the land.
• Capital Solutions: Through its ground lease model, Safehold offers a distinct financing alternative that enables real estate developers and owners to optimize their capital stack and reduce upfront equity requirements.

Safehold (NYSE: SAFE) sells primarily to other companies and institutional investors, not directly to individuals.

Due to the nature of its business as a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in ground leases, Safehold's customer base consists of a diverse portfolio of property owners and developers rather than a few identified "major customers" in the traditional sense. Their revenue comes from ground rent payments from numerous lessees across various property types (office, multifamily, industrial, hospitality).

Publicly identifying specific "major customer companies" with their stock symbols is not feasible for Safehold, as individual ground leases are typically held by specific property-owning entities, which are often special purpose vehicles (SPVs) created by private developers or institutional investors. Safehold itself has stated it works with "over 50 of the highest quality developers and operators."

However, the following categories describe the types of companies and entities that constitute Safehold's customer base:

• Real Estate Developers: These are companies that acquire land, finance, design, and construct new buildings (e.g., multifamily residential, office towers, industrial facilities, hotels). They enter into ground leases with Safehold to optimize their capital structure and project financing, allowing them to focus equity on the building improvements.
• Institutional Real Estate Investors and Owners: This category includes large investment funds, pension funds, insurance companies, university endowments, and sovereign wealth funds that acquire and hold significant portfolios of income-producing real estate. They may either acquire properties already subject to a Safehold ground lease or enter into new ground lease arrangements to manage their long-term capital needs and enhance their investment returns.
• Private Equity Real Estate Firms: These firms invest in, develop, and manage real estate assets on behalf of their limited partners. They utilize ground leases to enhance investment returns, reduce equity requirements, and provide attractive long-term financing solutions for their real estate projects.

• iStar Inc. (STAR)

Jay Sugarman, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Jay Sugarman founded iStar Inc. in 1997 and has served as its Executive Chairman of the Board and CEO since then. He is also a founder of Safehold Inc., established in 2016, where he has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since its inception. Additionally, Mr. Sugarman holds the positions of CEO and Chairman at Star Holdings. Before forming iStar Inc., he managed private investment funds on behalf of the Burden family and the Ziff family. Mr. Sugarman is known for a "contrarian view that gave him control of undervalued assets" and co-owns the Major League Soccer team, the Philadelphia Union. He earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Princeton University and an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School.

Brett Asnas, Chief Financial Officer
Brett Asnas serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Safehold Inc. He was previously listed as Executive Vice President, Head of Capital Markets for the company.

Timothy Doherty, Chief Investment Officer
Timothy Doherty was appointed Chief Investment Officer of Safehold Inc. effective January 26, 2024. He previously held the role of Executive Vice President, Head of Investments, and is described as a long-time veteran of the business who has played an instrumental role in the company's growth.

Christopher Uhlick, Chief Accounting Officer
Christopher Uhlick is the Chief Accounting Officer at Safehold Inc.

Theresa Ulyatt, Chief People Officer
Theresa Ulyatt serves as the Chief People Officer for Safehold Inc.

1. Interest Rate Risk and High Leverage: Safehold's business model is particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, which can negatively affect new deal origination, overall portfolio performance, and the cost of debt. The company's financial health is a concern due to significant debt levels, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85 as of fiscal year 2024. Additionally, its interest coverage ratio of 1.49 is below the preferred threshold, indicating potential challenges in meeting interest obligations and refinancing its long-term debt, which has a weighted average maturity of 20.5 years.
2. Real Estate Market Volatility and Regulatory Risks: As a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in ground leases, Safehold is inherently exposed to the volatility of the broader real estate market and potential changes in regulations. For instance, the company's substantial exposure to Manhattan properties makes it vulnerable to NYC rent stabilization risks, which could impact its ground lease income. There is also a suggestion of increasing caution about asset quality, evidenced by a $6.8 million credit loss provision.
3. Challenges in Profitability and Capital Allocation Efficiency: Safehold's financial metrics indicate potential inefficiencies in capital allocation and challenges in achieving optimal profitability. The company's net margin and Return on Equity (ROE) lag behind industry averages, suggesting difficulties in maintaining strong profitability and maximizing returns on equity capital. Furthermore, its Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) is below its Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), which points to potential inefficiencies in how it allocates capital.

null

1. Continued Ground Lease Originations and Portfolio Expansion: Safehold's core business model revolves around originating new ground leases, which directly contributes to revenue growth. The company reported closing $42 million of ground lease originations in Q3 2025 and an additional $34 million to date in Q4 2025, including forward commitments. The total portfolio aggregate gross book value reached $7.0 billion, demonstrating a consistent expansion trajectory. Analysts project Safehold's revenue to grow by 4.6% annually over the next three years, driven by new ground lease investments.
2. Contractual Rent Escalations and Inflation Protection: A significant driver of future revenue is the built-in growth mechanisms within Safehold's ground lease agreements. These include contractual variable rent components such as CPI-based escalators, fair market value resets, and percentage rent, which are considered significant economic drivers. The portfolio benefits from periodic CPI lookbacks and inflation-protected payments, enhancing long-term revenue visibility.
3. Expansion into the Affordable Housing Sector: Safehold has identified the affordable housing sector as a strategic growth area and a "meaningful component of future growth". Management views ground leases as a key solution in this space and is actively expanding its presence, which is expected to drive new originations and revenue streams.
4. Growth in Repeat Customer Business: The company emphasizes the consistent growth in its repeat customer business. This indicates strong client relationships and a reliable source of ongoing and potentially larger transactions, leading to sustained revenue expansion.
5. Accretion from Asset Funding: Revenue growth is also driven by the accretion generated from funding existing ground lease commitments and new origination activities. As Safehold deploys capital into its ground leases, the accumulated assets contribute to increased interest income from sales-type leases and operating lease income.

Share Repurchases

• In February 2025, Safehold authorized a $50 million share buyback program.
• As of June 30, 2025, Safehold had not yet repurchased any shares under this authorization.
• The share repurchase program does not have an expiration date and is intended to be leverage-neutral.

Share Issuance

• In November 2020, Safehold completed a public offering of 800,000 shares, raising approximately $48.8 million in gross proceeds.
• Concurrently in November 2020, Safehold sold 1,065,574 shares to iStar Inc. in a private placement, generating approximately $65 million in gross proceeds.
• As of August 4, 2025, there were 71,755,958 shares of Safehold Inc. common stock outstanding.

Inbound Investments

• On March 31, 2023, Safehold Inc. merged with iStar Inc., its then-largest shareholder and manager, with iStar ceasing to exist and continuing as Safehold.
• In January 2022, Safehold's operating partnership completed a private placement of $475 million in senior unsecured notes due 2052.
• In November 2020, iStar Inc. participated in a private placement, purchasing approximately $65 million of Safehold common stock.

Capital Expenditures

• Safehold's primary capital deployment is focused on new acquisitions and originations of ground lease and leasehold loan investments.
• In 2024, strategic investments included $225 million in new originations, comprising $193 million in new ground leases and $32 million in leasehold loans.
• The company also reported closing $197 million of new ground leases in the fourth quarter of 2022, and executing ground leases of $338 million and $62 million in 2023.