The Macerich Company MAC recently provided a new investor presentation updating its Path Forward Plan and long-term outlook. The company’s Path Forward strategy is a multi-year transformation plan that remains focused on simplifying the business, improving operating performance, and reducing leverage over time.
A central objective of the plan is driving earnings growth through higher occupancy and improved asset productivity. Macerich raised its 2028 target funds from operations (FFO) per share range to $1.80–$2.00, with a midpoint of $1.90. This compares favorably with the original launch goal of approximately $1.80 per share. MAC’s 2028 targeted FFO per share is expected to be supported by a substantial signed-not-open leasing pipeline, redevelopment projects, and recent acquisitions, all of which are expected to contribute incremental net operating income (NOI) growth.
The company also increased its outlook for the 2028 pro forma go-forward portfolio. Macerich now projects 2028 pro forma portfolio NOI of $950 million to $990 million, with a midpoint of $970 million. The improvement reflects strong leasing progress and the addition of high-quality assets such as Crabtree Mall and Annapolis Mall. Management expects the go-forward portfolio to generate a three-year NOI CAGR of approximately 5.8% to 7.2% between 2026 and 2028.
Occupancy growth remains another key pillar of the strategy. Macerich projects permanent physical occupancy within its go-forward portfolio to reach approximately 88% by 2028, up from roughly 83% in 2024. The increase is expected to be supported by the completion of all 30 anchor and big-box replacement projects and continued leasing activities. Management believes these initiatives will enhance customer traffic and sales productivity.
The Path Forward plan has also delivered meaningful balance sheet progress. Pro forma leverage has already been reduced by approximately 1.5x, from 8.76x at the end of 2023 to about 7.26x by 2026, keeping the company on track toward its 6.0x leverage target. To support this effort, Macerich has completed roughly $1.3 billion of dispositions and expects an additional $300-$400 million of dispositions by the end of 2026 as it continues to recycle capital and strengthen financial flexibility.
Conclusion
Macerich’s updated Path Forward strategy highlights improving operating fundamentals, accelerating NOI growth, rising occupancy, and meaningful deleveraging progress, positioning the company to enhance earnings power and shareholder value through 2028.
In the past three months, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 12.2% against the industry's decline of 0.6%.
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Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are Curbline Properties Corp. CURB and Philips Edison & Company PECO, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CURB’s 2026 FFO per share is pinned at $1.21. This indicates for year-over-year growth of 14.15%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PECO’s 2026 FFO per share is pegged at $2.76. This implies year-over-year growth of 6.15%.
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
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