With 2025 well underway and retail real estate showing surprising resilience, two of the sector’s biggest names — Realty Income O and Kimco Realty KIM — are once again vying for investors’ attention. Both REITs have built robust business models around consumer-facing real estate, but they differ significantly in structure, strategy and risk profile.

As inflation moderates and interest rates hover at a plateau, real estate investors are searching for dependable income and upside potential. The question is: Which of these two retail REITs is the smarter buy this year? Let’s examine both.

The Case for Realty Income

Realty Income operates a resilient triple-net lease model, primarily leasing to essential retailers such as grocery stores, convenience stores and dollar stores. This structure, where tenants cover taxes, insurance and maintenance, ensures predictable, low-risk cash flows. With 15,627 properties across the United States and Europe as of March 2025, and a strong tilt toward investment-grade tenants, Realty Income benefits from geographic and sector diversification. 

Its acquisition-driven growth strategy has evolved in recent years, expanding into industrial, gaming, and even data centers — signaling a forward-looking approach to portfolio construction. In the first quarter of 2025, it invested $1.37 billion at an attractive 7.5% initial yield and expects full-year investments to total around $4 billion. With a global net lease addressable market estimated at $14 trillion, long-term growth potential remains compelling.

The REIT maintains a strong balance sheet, holding $2.9 billion in liquidity and an investment-grade credit rating (A3/A-). Net debt to pro forma EBITDAre was 5.4X, and fixed charge coverage stood at 4.7X. Its debt maturity profile is well-laddered, with a weighted average term of 6.3 years.

Known as “The Monthly Dividend Company,” Realty Income has delivered 110 consecutive quarterly increases and raised its dividend 23 times in just the past five years. Its 30-year streak of dividend growth and a 4.3% CAGR since 1994 offer shareholders a rare combination of consistency and income visibility. Check Realty Income’s dividend history here.

While retail exposure poses some risk from bankruptcies or trade disruptions, the company’s diversification and scale offer meaningful downside protection.

The Case for Kimco Realty

Kimco, in contrast, stands out as a dominant player in the U.S. retail real estate space, specializing in open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use properties. The REIT’s strategic focus on densely populated, first-ring suburbs in high-growth Sunbelt and coastal metros reflects a smart alignment with favorable demographics and strong consumer spending power. Impressively, 82% of Kimco’s annual base rent (ABR) comes from these top-tier markets, helping drive rent growth and tenant demand.

Having achieved its target of 85% of ABR from grocery-anchored properties, Kimco is leaning into a highly resilient retail niche. These centers tend to generate consistent foot traffic and income, even amid economic slowdowns. Leasing activity remains strong, with 4.4 million square feet signed in the first quarter of 2025 and a solid 48.7% pro-rata cash rent spread on comparable new leases — the highest in over seven years. With $60 million in signed-but-not-yet-open leases — 60% expected in 2025 — Kimco has solid visibility into future cash flows.

Financially, the REIT appears sound, boasting $2 billion in liquidity, a 5.3 net debt/EBITDA ratio, and investment-grade credit ratings. Its 94.8% unencumbered asset base and 8.2-year debt maturity further support flexibility. Moreover, Kimco’s dividend has rebounded strongly since its brief pandemic suspension, with nine increases over five years and a 15.31% annualized growth rate.

While risks remain — particularly from e-commerce’s push into grocery and macro uncertainty — Kimco’s focused strategy, dividend growth, and asset quality position it well to navigate challenges and capture long-term value.

Story Continues

How Do Estimates Compare for Realty Income & Kimco Realty?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Realty Income’s 2025 sales and funds from operations (FFO) per share implies year-over-year growth of 6.47% and 1.91%, respectively. However, FFO per share estimates for 2025 and 2026 have been trending southward over the past 60 days. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)Zacks Investment Research

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kimco’s 2025 sales and FFO per share implies year-over-year growth of 4.00% and 4.24%, respectively. What is also encouraging is that FFO per share estimates for 2025 and 2026 have been trending northward over the past 60 days.Zacks Investment Research

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Price Performance and Valuation of O & KIM

Year to date, Realty Income shares have risen 3.1%, while Kimco stock has declined 8.4%. In comparison, the Zacks REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry has been down 4.4%, while the S&P 500 composite has dropped 0.6% in the same time frame.Zacks Investment Research

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O is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-FFO, which is a commonly used multiple for valuing retail REITs, of 12.75X, closer to its one-year median of 13.13X. Meanwhile, KIM is presently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-FFO of 12.29X, which is comfortably below its one-year median of 13.06X.Zacks Investment Research

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Conclusion

Realty Income offers a low-risk income investment through its resilient triple-net lease model, diversified portfolio and disciplined acquisitions — anchored by consistent dividend growth and strong balance sheet fundamentals. 

However, Kimco offers a more compelling mix of defensive grocery-anchored assets, strategic market focus, strong leasing momentum and disciplined financial management — supporting resilient cash flows and long-term value creation for income-focused investors.

Both companies are investment-grade and well-managed, but KIM's attractive valuation and upward estimate revisions make it a better choice. For investors with a longer time horizon, Kimco represents the smarter buy — balancing quality and growth at a discount.

While KIM carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), O has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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