Janus Living, Inc. (JAN) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, and welcome to the Janus Living, Inc. First Quarter 2026 Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jonathan Hughes, Senior Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Today's conference call will contain certain forward-looking statements. Although we believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, these statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. A discussion of risks and risk factors is included in our press release and detailed in our filings with the SEC. We do not undertake a duty to update any forward-looking statements. Certain non-GAAP financial measures will be discussed on this call. In an exhibit of the 8-K we furnished with the SEC yesterday, we've reconciled all non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure in accordance with Reg G requirements. The exhibit is also available on our website at janusreit.com. I will now turn the call over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Scott Brinker.

Okay. Thank you, Jonathan. It's great to be on the inaugural Janus Living earnings call for the first quarter of 2026. I'll start with appreciation for our deal team and advisers who dedicated 6 months of their time to create such a great outcome. The IPO was a unique and creative transaction that unlocks value and creates a differentiated company that's built for growth. 100% SHOP, a balance sheet with $1 billion of cash and no debt, and an asset base big enough to be public but small enough that we can really move the needle with external growth. Across the entire REIT universe, the earnings growth potential at Janus Living should compare favorably. We also own a differentiated portfolio within the senior housing sector, primarily large-scale communities with unmatched amenities and a focus on wellness, hospitality and an active lifestyle. The entry fee business outperformed the traditional rental business through the cycle because of higher barriers to entry and longer length of stay. It's just not on investors' radar because the vast majority of entry fee communities are nonprofits. Investors can now get access to this unique and attractive business through Janus Living. We're a new REIT, but we're certainly not a new entrant. In fact, no one in the sector has done SHOP for longer. We have deep relationships and expertise to drive growth. The operating track record of the seed portfolio is strong with more than 900 basis points of occupancy growth over the past 5 years, yet there's plenty of upside left to capture with current occupancy at just 86%. Operationally, we could not have asked for a better start as a stand-alone company with incredible results in 1Q ahead of forecast on occupancy, rate, margin and entry fee. Jonathan will cover the details on the first quarter and our improved 2026 outlook. We're seeing compelling acquisition opportunities. We completed more than $700 million before the IPO closed and we have $400 million under signed contract. The pipeline is several multiples of that amount, essentially all direct with target partners. We're focused on single assets and small portfolios, which still move the needle given our scale. We can be highly disciplined about every property that comes into our portfolio. In the last 45 days, we've already added 3 targeted operators to the portfolio with 2 more under contract and several more in the pipeline. These partners will help us drive both internal and external growth. Our selection criteria focuses on integrity, culture, alignment, track record and capabilities. Geographically, we're focused on the U.S., nothing international. We're prioritizing states with low income tax rates and business-friendly environments that drive senior in-migration and population growth. The blended state income tax rate in our portfolio is less than 2%. Even when measured at the highest marginal tax rate, that's a small fraction of the population weighted national average. With projected senior population growth substantially above the national average, our footprint is set up for strong demand moving forward. Janus Living will not take ownership stakes in operators, which can create unwanted distraction, conflicts and liability. We are not the operator and we do not make staffing or health care decisions. Senior housing is obviously in a virtuous cycle today, and that cycle has legs given the aging population and the high cost of new construction. Nothing in real estate grows to the sky though, so we'll be very thoughtful and disciplined about who we do business with, the prices we pay and the promises we make. I'll turn it to Jonathan to review our first quarter results and 2026 outlook.

Thank you, Scott. We had a strong start to our first year as a stand-alone company. For the first quarter 2026, consolidated revenue increased 35% year-over-year, adjusted EBITDA increased 42%, and FFO as adjusted per share increased 35%. This was driven by strong organic growth and the accretion from over $700 million of senior housing acquisitions that Scott described earlier. Moving to performance. Same-store revenues increased 7.6% year-over-year, driven by 230 basis points of occupancy growth and record first quarter entrance fee sales. Sequentially, occupancy increased 110 basis points. Same-store occupancy is currently 88.5%, and we expect continued growth in the next several years given the favorable supply-demand dynamics. RevPOR increased 4.7% year-over-year and reflects the value proposition at our life plan communities. Same-store expenses increased 5.5% year-over-year and on an expense per occupied unit or EXPOR basis increased 2.6%. As occupancy grows, we expect to show continued operating leverage given the large scale of our life plan communities and more independent living focus. Same-store NOI increased 13.8% year-over-year and margin expanded by 150 basis points. Within the non-same-store portfolio, occupancy is approximately 82% and primarily reflects lease-up opportunity within the former joint venture portfolio where we acquired our partners' interest in 19 communities in January. Eighteen of those 19 communities were transitioned to new operators on April 1. The operator transitions position the communities to capture embedded occupancy and NOI growth from improved operational performance. While only a month in, the recent operator transitions are performing in line with expectations, as is performance in the other 6 communities we acquired in March. Shifting to the balance sheet. In addition to the March IPO generating approximately $880 million in net proceeds to pursue acquisition and investment opportunities, we also closed on a new $500 million unsecured revolving credit facility and a $100 million unsecured delayed draw term loan facility, both of which are currently undrawn. We will have until December 2026 to draw down the term loan facility. We ended the quarter with $1.5 billion of available liquidity, including approximately $950 million of unrestricted cash, and no debt. And ending with guidance. We are introducing 2026 FFO as adjusted guidance range of $0.93 to $0.97 per share. 2026 same-store adjusted NOI growth guidance range of 11% to 15%, which is 300 basis points higher than the original guidance range provided by Healthpeak for the same portfolio in February, driven by outperformance. Our guidance also includes $1 billion of capital sources from IPO proceeds and our $100 million delayed draw term loan. We expect to deploy that capital into approximately $750 million of acquisitions and have assumed the approximately $400 million under contract as of today closes on or around June 30, $250 million closes on or around September 30, and $100 million closes on or around December 31. Initial yields are low 6% and moving towards 8% within 2 to 3 years. We will have an earnings drag from cash on the balance sheet until that capital is fully deployed. Wrapping up, we are excited for the future of Janus Living. We are focused on collaborating with our operating partners to help them improve the resident experience, growing our portfolio via our deep network of relationships using our strong balance sheet, and creating value for our shareholders. We also have Kelvin Moses, Chief Financial Officer, on with us and available for questions. With that, operator, please open the line for Q&A.

[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from the line of Ronald Kamdem with Morgan Stanley.

Great. Congrats on the first quarter out. I just wonder if you could talk a little bit more about, number one, the pipeline, that sort of $400 million, and I know there's $750 million in the guide. Just the complexion AL versus IL, cap rates, IRR expectations, would be helpful. And also, I think the release mentioned that you had record entrance fees, which I think last year was a record year as well. So just any color around that as well would be helpful.

All right. Quite a few there, Ron. Thank you. I'll start in reverse order. The entry fee performance in 1Q, which is always our lowest quarter. But in 2026, I mean, we really blew away expectations. Patrick and the team, LCS and the team, are just doing an amazing job. Leasing tours are way up. Obviously, the fundamentals of the business are really strong. We've deployed capital in I think a really smart way, and it's helping drive performance and near-term paybacks. And we're certainly capitalizing on the environment and the footprint that we have. So hopefully, that continues, but amazing performance on the entry fees in the first quarter despite the housing market really not being all that strong. So really happy about that. And then on the pipeline, we put together a $700 million pipeline really before we even made the announcement in January, which I think just speaks to our ability to drive opportunities. And then we kind of hit the pause button for a couple of months as we played out the IPO in terms of when would it close, how big would it be, primary versus secondary. So we continue to build a shadow pipeline. But until we have clarity on timing, size and primary shares, we really were not progressing. That's changed obviously dramatically in the last 45 days and now we're accelerating a lot of those conversations that we've been having. So there's $400 million already under contract. It's a pretty significant pipeline behind that. Not necessarily all of it will hit, but there's no shortage of opportunities for us. I think a good cost of capital, but strong credibility and reputation in the market and a lot of deep relationships to drive opportunities. So we're feeling good about that. The unit type, size, geography, I mean, we like our footprint in these more pro-business, high-growth states, and that's generally where the pipeline is located. It's essentially all done with operating partners that we've targeted to do business with, and they feel the same way. So it's reciprocal. That's essentially our entire pipeline. It's mostly bigger properties. Certainly, everything is over 100 units. A lot of times, it's 150 or higher. We like the continuum of care. I think it's just a better product, higher barriers to entry, better product for the consumer. And you can get a better team on the ground because of bigger economies of scale, you can pay them more. And ultimately, it's the team on the ground that drives the business. I don't think I've ever seen where a community, in 25 years doing this, where it was a successful asset with a bad team. It just doesn't happen. So that's the biggest thing for us in terms of how we're driving the pipeline, and the opportunity set's pretty attractive.

The next question comes from the line of Farrell Granath with Bank of America.

The Brookdale transitioned properties, I know you had made commentary that they are performing in line with expectations. But I was hoping that you could dig in a little bit deeper. Was that -- was there any resulting occupancy loss? Are you expecting some ramp-up in potential occupancy as well as rate?

Farrell, those only transferred a month ago, April 1. So the transitions themselves went smoothly. So thanks to Brookdale and, most importantly, thanks to Ciel and Pegasus for all the work they put into those transitions. That's not easy to do, but I think it went off really well in the aggregate. We expected the first couple of months to be a little choppy. It's, if anything, probably better than expected. But we're not expecting a big ramp-up in occupancy near term. Hopefully, by the second half or at least the fourth quarter of 2026, we start to capture some of that momentum. And that continues to be our expectation. So things have gone well so far.

The next question comes from the line of Michael Carroll with RBC Capital Markets.

I wanted to dig into the NREF trend. I'm assuming NREFs are usually lower in the first quarter just given the typical move-in pace. So is it fair to assume that these NREFs could trend higher throughout the year, especially in 2Q and 3Q during the key selling season? And what is, I guess, your operators' ability to kind of push those NREFs higher? So are they trying to increase those entrance fees just as the seniors housing space gets built up and there's less availability within some of these buildings?

Yes. Our seasonality is a little different in that business. The fourth quarter is usually our best quarter. That's been the case for a decade. Now, in the first quarter is our weakest. Second and third quarters, somewhere in between. So there usually is a bit of a ramp throughout the year. But at least based on leads and tours and activity, it definitely feels like, if anything, this should be another record-breaking season in the entry fee portfolio. A lot of work went into that by the team. So it's finally paying off or continues to pay off, I should say. And definitely on the properties that have a lot of occupancy, so very little vacancy, we're certainly pushing the entry fee. We're bringing something that's valuable to the consumer to the table. And obviously, we're willing -- if they're willing to pay for it, we're capitalizing on that. So the entry fee pricing has continued to be really strong, and that's particularly true on the communities with high occupancy, Michael.

Your next question comes from the line of Rich Anderson with Cantor Fitzgerald.

Congrats again. On the entrance fees, can you talk about, sort of peel back the onion a little bit between refundable and nonrefundable? I know part of the story here is more in the way of nonrefundable entrance fees. What's the interplay going forward? I assume you want to maybe expand upon that thesis. And when you do that, what do you lose on the monthly payment structure when you go from refundable to nonrefundable? Just curious how that whole dynamic works.

Rich, I'm going to have Patrick Cheng, who runs Asset Management for us, comment as well on the interplay. But we have moved the nonrefundable percentage pretty dramatically higher since we took full control of that portfolio 6 years ago. We're up to 80-plus percent. I'm not sure it ever goes to 100%, but we are selling a lot of entry fee plans today that have 0% refunds. So there's a little bit less upfront proceeds on that program, but it's just a much better program for us in terms of broadening the demand pool, but also just how the accounting is done for that business. So the cash flow and the accounting actually works for us and the residents, which is one reason we pushed it in that direction. But Patrick, do you want to comment on the interplay between monthly rent and refundable percentage?

Yes. Look, I think zooming out, it's ultimately a value proposition to the resident, whether that's entrance fee or the monthly fee. The nice thing is with our large campuses and the continuum they offer, the amenities they offer, the experience they have with our operators, that value proposition has been very strong. So what we've seen that do is translate to the pickup and pricing power in both the monthly fee and the entrance fee.

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Stroyeck with Green Street.

Going back to the external growth pipeline, I know it's going to be smaller, but how much of that is life plan versus traditional SHOP? And are you only evaluating communities that have a similar entrance fee structure as Janus' current portfolio? If not, would the plan to be to keep that structure in place or eventually convert to something closer to how JAN's current CCRC portfolio is structured?

Yes. Michael, the $400 million that's under contract is all rental. That's just a much bigger and more liquid market. So I think you'll continue to see us grow in that area and the portfolio will increasingly be weighted more towards that business. But we are pursuing life plan as well. There's a couple in the pipeline that look really interesting in terms of geography and risk-adjusted returns. So we would expect to grow in that business as well. They're just fewer and far between, but definitely an area we're spending time on. In terms of the refund percentage, most of the product that we would buy would have a higher refundable percentage that we would try to transition over time.

Your next question comes from the line of Julien Blouin with Goldman Sachs.

Just on the pipeline of acquisitions that's under contract, are there sort of any CapEx needs that are contemplated in order to get to that stabilized yield? And then as we think about just the transaction environment in general, does it feel like all of the capital that's now flowing into the sector is driving down yields? Just asking because it looks like the targeted yields were a little bit lower on this future pipeline versus what we've closed in the first quarter of '26. I don't know if part of that is just down to the mix, including the JV deal.

Right. So nothing material on CapEx for the $400 million that's under contract. Those buildings are in good shape. So definitely nothing material there. On the yields, I mean, we're generally targeting 7.5% or better unlevered return on cost, certainly within 2 to 3 years, even for the lease-up deals. Some of the projects start higher, some a bit lower. It's blending more towards 6%, sort of in line with that initial portfolio that we talked about during the roadshow with the IPO. So there's a lot of similarities in terms of price point, locations, asset size and service mix. If anything, that Brookdale portfolio was probably a little unique in terms of the upside. But outside of that, the returns are largely in line with that initial portfolio, certainly, unlevered IRRs well into the double digits, into the low to mid-teens.

Your next question comes from the line of Mike Mueller with JPMorgan.

For the recent acquisitions in the pipeline, can you talk a little bit about the competition you're seeing on market, off market? And are you expecting, I guess, any meaningful portion of the go-forward pipeline to involve operator transitions?

There will occasionally be operator transitions, but across the board, everything that we're spending time on is being done side-by-side with a targeted operating partner. That's true of 100% of the things that we are working on and we'll work on in the future. It's essentially all direct, either with the seller, with the operating partner, to the extent that there is a process involved. We generally let the operator run with that. We just don't have the time and resources to do it. We've got plenty of things with a high probability of success. And there's billions and billions that we don't even spend 2 minutes on. We're totally focused on things with a high probability of success.

Your next question comes from the line of Austin Wurschmidt with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

You highlighted the occupancy upside opportunity in the non-same-store pool given I think you said those assets are around 82% occupied today. Is the bulk of the $400 million under contract and the future opportunities you have, are they similar occupancy upside opportunities? Or are you looking more at stabilized deals?

It's a mix. I mean we're indifferent between lease-up and stabilized. It's more about the total return, who we're doing business with, price per unit and long-term potential. So we do have some lease-up in that pipeline, and there's some stabilized product as well. It probably blends into the low 80s, but it's a mix of some things below that and some things that are higher than that.

The next question comes from the line of Marc Akinbi with Barclays.

You've outlined $750 million of acquisitions for the rest of the year, alongside, you currently have $950 million of cash. How are you thinking about your funding strategy in, call it, 18 months once the cash is mostly deployed?

This is Kelvin. I'll jump in and take that one. I think it's a great question. And we're certainly starting off with a great position with no debt on the balance sheet and $1.5 billion of available liquidity. So we'll certainly prioritize deploying the liquidity that we have available first and then make a determination as to utilizing debt or equity capital. I think we have a strong currency today. So if we'll continue to have a strong equity currency, we'll look to the equity market as a source of capital for growth.

Your next question comes from the line of Rich Anderson with Cantor Fitzgerald.

So Scott, I understand you -- part of -- or big reason for DOC owning so much of Janus is basis related. But I'm curious, is there any plan to -- for DOC to sell out of Janus and create more trading liquidity within the company? I know what you said in the beginning, large enough to be public, small enough to grow. I tend to agree with that. But I'm just curious if most of the liquidity growth is going to come primarily through equity issuance from Janus and not necessarily from a selling shareholder type of strategy from DOC. Just curious what your comment would be there.

Yes. The expectation is we'll have a good cost of capital and a lot of deal flow to drive earnings growth, and any of that new capital would dilute Healthpeak share over time as we issue new shares. We obviously have the 1-year lockup. In addition to that, we just have a lot of belief in the future of Janus Living and think that value is going to continue to appreciate. After lockup, obviously, we have flexibility. But our complete focus is how do we grow the earnings and stock price at Janus Living. That's the only thing we're focused on right now. So it's a 3-year contract. We can check back at that time, Rich, but we really like the alignment. It's a huge part of why this external relationship works, and we're taking advantage of it.

That concludes the Q&A session of the conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.