Cousins Properties Raises 2026 FFO Guidance on Stronger Office Leasing

Cousins Properties raised its 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday after leasing gains and higher fee income lifted third-quarter funds from operations, and the Sun Belt office landlord said it remains on track to hit its 90% occupancy target by year end, according to its earnings release filed with an 8-K.

The Atlanta-based real estate investment trust now expects 2026 FFO of $2.95 to $2.99 per share, up from $2.92 to $2.98. It raised its net income forecast to $0.14 to $0.18 per share from $0.08 to $0.14.

"Our third quarter was exceptionally strong," President and CEO Colin Connolly said in the release. "Given strong office fundamentals, we remain on track to achieve our 90% occupancy target by year end."

FFO and profit rise

FFO rose to $123.8 million, or $0.75 per share, from $116.5 million, or $0.69, a year earlier. Net income available to common stockholders roughly doubled to $17.0 million, or $0.10 per share, from $8.6 million, or $0.05.

The company said the guidance increase was driven mainly by leasing activity and fee income that exceeded its prior forecast.

For the first nine months of the year, net income fell to $18.3 million, or $0.11 per share, from $44.0 million, which Cousins attributed primarily to an impairment charge. Nine-month FFO rose to $2.23 per share from $2.13.

Leasing momentum

Cousins signed 546,000 square feet of office leases in the quarter, including 220,000 square feet of new and expansion leases, or 40.3% of the total.

Same-property net operating income rose 7.4% on a cash basis, and second-generation net rent per square foot climbed 19.8% on a cash basis. The office portfolio was 93.0% leased at the end of September, with weighted average occupancy of 89.5%, according to its supplemental information.

By the numbers

• FFO: $0.75 per share, vs. $0.69
• Net income: $0.10 per share, vs. $0.05
• Same-property cash NOI: up 7.4%
• Cash rent growth on second-generation space: 19.8%
• 2026 FFO guidance: $2.95 to $2.99 per share

Portfolio reshuffling

During the quarter, Cousins sold One Eleven Congress, a 519,000-square-foot office property in Austin, for a gross price of $208.0 million.

It agreed to a $31.5 million preferred equity investment in 5th & Walsh, a 199,000-square-foot Austin office building under development, which is expected to be funded in the second half of 2027 and earn a 10% preferred return. It also formed a joint venture, in which it holds 97.5%, to acquire 2.3 acres at 2401 McKinney in Uptown Dallas, contributing $50.0 million at formation.

On the funding side, Cousins sold 917,000 shares on a forward basis through its at-the-market program at an average of $31.37 a share, bringing unsettled forward sales to 3.9 million shares. It repaid a $99.2 million mortgage on Colorado Tower in Austin in September and, after quarter end, a $115.9 million mortgage on 201 North Tryon in Charlotte.

The guidance assumes the sale of the company's 303 Tremont land parcel in the fourth quarter and excludes the settlement of the forward shares.

Sources

1. Cousins Properties Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release and supplemental information (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 29, 2026 (accession 0000025232-26-000076)

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