SmartStop Self Storage REIT
SMA on NYSE. SmartStop Self Storage rents storage units to people and businesses. Market value $1.8bn.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Some use the latest annual report instead, as marked. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
Capital spending looks too small to be complete, so we leave free cash flow out.
Should I look at this?
Good business, but not cheap right now
Why it could be worth it
Nothing stands out yet.
What to watch out for
See cheaper Real estate stocks on the list
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
We could not compute this from the filings.
You pay 44.4 years of operating profit for the business. The average large US company costs around 18.
Each dollar kept in the business earns 3 cents a year. Above 10 is good.
Quality score: 74 of 100. Price score: 25 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$33.13 a share, 13% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $29.41 to $38.69.
Dividend: 4.1% a year
Paid every year for at least 5 years
Payouts have jumped around in recent years, so this may not repeat.
Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $169m | $213m | $233m | $237m | $281m |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | 9.8% | 31.0% | 30.3% | 29.2% | 21.0% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | 2.55 | 2.29 | 2.69 | 4.04 | 0.93 |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.08bn | 0.09bn | n/a | 0.06bn | 0.06bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positiveNot enough data
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Not enough data
- Financial strength (Piotroski)3 of 7 checks we could run
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)Yes
- Debt0.93× equity
- Revenue growth, five yearsStrong, 17.8% a year
- Buying back its own sharesYes, 30% fewer since 2021
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $79 million last quarter, up 19% on a year ago.
- Profit: $11 million, after a loss of $8 million a year ago.
- It keeps 21 cents of each $1 of sales as operating profit, down from 25 cents a year earlier.
- Debt is $1.1 billion more than cash, up from $912 million a year ago.
- Sales grew on a year ago in each of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $60m |
| December 2024 | $61m |
| March 2025 | $65m |
| June 2025 | $67m |
| September 2025 | $70m |
| December 2025 | $78m |
| March 2026 | $78m |
| June 2026 | $79m |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | -$6m |
| December 2024 | -$4m |
| March 2025 | -$8m |
| June 2025 | -$8m |
| September 2025 | $5m |
| December 2025 | $3m |
| March 2026 | $10m |
| June 2026 | $11m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 27 February 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 6 November 2026
Who owns it
1 long-term investor we follow owns it, up from 0 last quarter. 260 funds in all.
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irenic CapitalAdam Katz | $28m | 2.1% | New |
Largest holders overall
- BlackRock$176mAdded
- Price T Rowe Associates$171mCut
- Principal Financial Group$104mAdded
- Vanguard Portfolio Management$94mAdded
- Goldman Sachs Group$89mCut
- Vanguard Capital Management$77mAdded
- State Street$73mAdded
- Norges Bank$53mNew
- Geode Capital Management$51mAdded
- Centersquare Investment Management$46mNew
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
6 investors own more than 5%.
- BlackRock, Inc.Passive investor10.4%+1.1 ptsSince 30 September 2026
- T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.Passive investor9.5%−1.2 ptsSince 30 June 2026
- PRINCIPAL REAL ESTATE INVESTORS LLCPassive investorat least 5.6%(filed with 1 related holder)Since 30 June 2026
- Vanguard Capital ManagementPassive investor5.1%Since 30 June 2026
- Vanguard Portfolio ManagementPassive investor5.1%Since 31 March 2026
- DEUTSCHE BANK AG\Passive investorat least 3.3%−3.4 pts(filed with 2 related holders)Since 31 December 2025
- H. Michael SchwartzInsider or founderSold down below 5%Since 3 April 2025
- PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL INCPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 31 March 2026
- BlackRock Portfolio Management LLCPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 30 September 2025
- Millennium Management LLCPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 30 June 2025
- The Vanguard GroupPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 March 2026
- ESS Holdings Business Trust IPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 4 April 2025
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor | 10.4%+1.1 pts | 30 September 2026 | |
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Passive investor | 9.5%−1.2 pts | 30 June 2026 | |
PRINCIPAL REAL ESTATE INVESTORS LLC Passive investor | at least 5.6% (filed with 1 related holder) | 30 June 2026 | |
Vanguard Capital Management Passive investor | 5.1% | 30 June 2026 | |
Vanguard Portfolio Management Passive investor | 5.1% | 31 March 2026 | |
DEUTSCHE BANK AG\ Passive investor | at least 3.3%−3.4 pts (filed with 2 related holders) | 31 December 2025 | |
H. Michael Schwartz Insider or founder | Sold down below 5% | 3 April 2025 | |
PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL INC Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 31 March 2026 | |
BlackRock Portfolio Management LLC Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 30 September 2025 | |
Millennium Management LLC Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 30 June 2025 | |
The Vanguard Group Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 March 2026 | |
ESS Holdings Business Trust I Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 4 April 2025 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
In the last 12 months, 2 insiders bought $218,318 of shares on the open market. 2 sold $146,242, $82,471 of it under preset trading plans.
- Mueller David JDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 16 September 2026
- Shares
- 425
- Price
- $32.05
- Value
- $13,621
- Mueller David JDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 17 August 2026
- Shares
- 425
- Price
- $33.70
- Value
- $14,323
- Look NicholasGeneral Counsel and SecretarySold
- Date
- 14 August 2026
- Shares
- 1,025
- Price
- $34.36
- Value
- $35,219
- Mueller David JDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 16 July 2026
- Shares
- 425
- Price
- $33.38
- Value
- $14,187
- Mueller David JDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 16 June 2026
- Shares
- 425
- Price
- $32.44
- Value
- $13,787
- Mueller David JDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 18 May 2026
- Shares
- 425
- Price
- $29.67
- Value
- $12,610
- Mueller David JDirectorSold
- Date
- 16 April 2026
- Shares
- 425
- Price
- $31.78
- Value
- $13,507
- Mueller David JDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 16 March 2026
- Shares
- 425
- Price
- $32.81
- Value
- $13,944
- Schwartz H. MichaelChief Executive Officer, DirectorBought
- Date
- 17 November 2025
- Shares
- 6,250
- Price
- $31.71
- Value
- $198,188
- Look NicholasGeneral Counsel and SecretarySold
- Date
- 14 November 2025
- Shares
- 458
- Price
- $32.85
- Value
- $15,045
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September 2026 | Mueller David J Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 425 | $32.05 | $13,621 |
| 17 August 2026 | Mueller David J Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 425 | $33.70 | $14,323 |
| 14 August 2026 | Look Nicholas General Counsel and Secretary | Sold | 1,025 | $34.36 | $35,219 |
| 16 July 2026 | Mueller David J Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 425 | $33.38 | $14,187 |
| 16 June 2026 | Mueller David J Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 425 | $32.44 | $13,787 |
| 18 May 2026 | Mueller David J Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 425 | $29.67 | $12,610 |
| 16 April 2026 | Mueller David J Director | Sold | 425 | $31.78 | $13,507 |
| 16 March 2026 | Mueller David J Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 425 | $32.81 | $13,944 |
| 17 November 2025 | Schwartz H. Michael Chief Executive Officer, Director | Bought | 6,250 | $31.71 | $198,188 |
| 14 November 2025 | Look Nicholas General Counsel and Secretary | Sold | 458 | $32.85 | $15,045 |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
None of the warning signs we check for were found.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 27 Feb 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 7 Aug 2026 and 20 later 8-Ks.
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
- It isn't cheap on profits: 44.4× operating profit.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.