Income taxes (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2025

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income taxes

We have elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Code. We believe we have qualified and continue to qualify as a REIT.

Under the Code, a REIT that distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders annually and meets certain other

conditions is not subject to federal income taxes, but could be subject to certain state, local, and foreign taxes. We distribute 100% of

our taxable income annually; therefore, a provision for federal income taxes is not required.

We distributed all of our REIT taxable income in 2024 and 2023 and, as a result, did not incur federal income tax in those

years on such income. For the year ended December 31, 2025, we expect to distribute all of our REIT taxable income and, as a result,

do not expect to incur federal income tax. We expect to finalize our 2025 REIT taxable income when we file our 2025 federal income tax

return in 2026.

The income tax treatment of distributions and dividends declared on our common stock for the years ended December 31,

2025, 2024, and 2023 was as follows (unaudited):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2025	2024	2023
Ordinary income	66.6%	65.7%	87.8%
Return of capital	18.9	1.6	—
Capital gains at 25%	0.6	13.9	0.2
Capital gains at 20%	13.9	18.8	12.0
Total	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%
Dividends declared	$4.68	$5.19	$4.96

Beginning in 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 added Section 199A to allow for a new tax deduction based on certain

qualified business income. Section 199A provides eligible individual taxpayers a deduction of up to 20% of their qualified REIT

dividends. This deduction applies to the portion of dividends classified as ordinary income in the table above. 

Our dividends declared in a given quarter are generally paid during the subsequent quarter. The taxability information

presented above for our dividends paid in 2025 is based upon management’s estimate. Our federal tax return for 2025 is due on or

before October 15, 2026, assuming we file for an extension of the due date. Our federal tax returns for previous tax years have not

been examined by the IRS. Consequently, the taxability of distributions and dividends is subject to change.

In addition to our REIT tax returns, we file federal, state, and local tax returns for our subsidiaries. We file with jurisdictions

located in the U.S., Canada, China, and other international locations and may be subject to audits, assessments, or other actions by

local taxing authorities. We recognize tax benefits of uncertain tax positions only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be

sustained, based solely on its technical merits, with the taxing authority having full knowledge of all relevant information. The

measurement of a tax benefit for an uncertain tax position that meets the “more likely than not” threshold is based on a cumulative

probability model under which the largest amount of tax benefit recognized is the amount with a greater than 50% likelihood of being

realized upon ultimate settlement with the taxing authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information.

As of December 31, 2025, there were no material unrecognized tax benefits. We do not anticipate a significant change to the

total amount of unrecognized tax benefits within the next 12 months. Interest expense and penalties, if any, are recognized in the first

period during which the interest or penalties begin accruing, according to the provisions of the relevant tax law at the applicable

statutory rate of interest. We did not incur any significant tax-related interest expense or penalties for the years ended December 31,

2025, 2024, and 2023.

The following reconciles net income (determined in accordance with GAAP) to taxable income as filed with the IRS for the

years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands and unaudited):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2024	2023
Net income	$510,733	$280,994
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(187,784)	(177,355)
Book/tax differences:
Rental revenue recognition	(32,749)	128,938
Depreciation and amortization	361,529	331,322
Share-based compensation	47,948	73,320
Interest expense	(85,378)	(126,756)
Sales of property	155,753	7,784
Impairments	92,738	80,134
Non-real estate investments loss	133,960	209,092
Lease recognition	(127,719)	5,840
Other	3,573	15,463
Taxable income before dividend deduction	872,604	828,776
Dividend deduction necessary to eliminate taxable income(1)	(872,604)	(828,776)
Estimated income subject to federal income tax	$—	$—

(1)Total common stock dividend distributions paid were approximately $898.6 million and $847.5 million during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.