Sumit Roy, president and CEO of Realty Income Corp. (NYSE: O) & Nareit 2026 Chair, sat down for a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2026 Investor Conference in New York, June 1-4.
Roy described the REIT’s broad-based investment pipeline spanning both the United States and Europe, with first-quarter activity split roughly evenly between the two regions, alongside new expansion into Mexico.
Tenant performance remains solid despite elevated rates and inflation, and Roy credited that to Realty Income’s focus on low-price-point, service-oriented businesses and its use of predictive analytics to assess rent durability and operator strength.
Roy also highlighted a strong balance sheet, ample liquidity, and a diversified capital stack that now extends beyond public equity to include an open-ended fund and newly-incubated joint ventures with GIC and Apollo. “Those are other sources of capital that we can now lean into to help fund our investments,” he said.
Internationally, Europe continues to offer attractive risk-adjusted returns, supported by a highly selective portfolio and relationship-driven deal flow, Roy said.
Looking more broadly at the sector in his role as Nareit Chair, Roy noted that investors are increasingly seeing REITs as fundamentally strong operating businesses rather than simply interest-rate trades. He underscored recognition from generalist investors that this is a sector that they should have an allocation towards given that it provides a good balance with higher growth, but higher volatility businesses like technology.