AMH vs ELS vs ESS Stock Comparison

American Homes 4 Rent, Equity Lifestyle Properties and Essex Property Trust Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AMH American Homes 4 Rent
$32.10 +4.7% 1M -3.8% 1Y
Market cap
$11.48B
P/E
24.7x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
0.04%
Residential REITs Real Estate
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

American Homes 4 Rent leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (American Homes 4 Rent 4, Essex Property Trust 3, Equity Lifestyle Properties 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAMHELSESSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.48B $11.52B $17.61B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.7x 29.5x 42.6x AMH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.3x 28.9x 52.9x ELS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +3.2% +4.7% ESS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — — 21.5% –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 5.3x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.04% AMH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.8% -0.8% +4.0% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.2%/yr -6.3%/yr -4.2%/yr AMH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.3% 18.5% 20.2% ELS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 45/100 46/100 AMH

Percentile Scorecard

AMHELSESS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAMHELSESS
Valuation 52 #70 of 145 14 #125 of 145 13 #127 of 145
Growth 69 #45 of 142 52 #69 of 142 36 #92 of 142
Profitability 63 #51 of 136 100 #1 of 136 91 #13 of 136
Financial Health 63 #52 of 139 – 51 #68 of 139
Shareholder Returns 68 #43 of 131 14 #113 of 131 39 #80 of 131
Overall 63 45 46
  • AMH ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ELS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAMHELSESSSPY
1 month +4.7%+3.0%+1.4% -0.8%
3 months -4.1%-6.2%-5.1% +3.5%
6 months +5.9%-2.8%+7.2% +7.0%
Year to date 0.0%+0.7%+5.2% +12.2%
1 year -3.8%-0.8%+4.0% +13.0%
3 years +1.9%-5.1%+33.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year +0.6%-1.7%+10.1% +23.1%
5 years -19.3%-27.9%-19.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -4.2%-6.3%-4.2% +11.0%
10 years +53.1%+63.3%+32.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year +4.4%+5.0%+2.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAMHELSESSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.3%18.5%20.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.5%17.8%21.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.02-0.210.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.19-0.040.20 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.2%-34.2%-45.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.8%-10.7%-7.7% -1.8%
52-week high $34.81$68.37$298.33 $779.14
52-week low $27.38$57.64$239.61 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAMHELSESS
P/E now vs peer median 24.9xmedian 27.4x 30.2xmedian 27.4x 42.8xmedian 27.4x
P/S now vs peer median —median 4.2x 7.5xmedian 4.2x 9.2xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.2x —median 14.2x 19.5xmedian 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 1,111xmedian 23.2x 33.0xmedian 23.2x 30.5xmedian 23.2x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.3x 6.6xmedian 1.3x 3.2xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 2.57median 2.11 3.38median 2.11 -5.33median 2.11

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAMHELSESS
Revenue – $1.58B $1.93B
Operating income – $411.40M $627.10M
Net income $542.82M – $437.61M
Free cash flow $10.37M – $580.66M
EPS (diluted) $1.29 $1.95 $6.44
Cash & equivalents $83.67M $24.33M $58.33M
Total debt $5.13B – $26.96B
Shares (diluted) 360.81M 200.21M 64.28M
Enterprise value $11.18B $11.52B $17.37B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAMHELSESS
P/E 24.9x 30.2x 42.8x
P/FCF 1,111x 33.0x 30.5x
P/Operating cash flow 13.3x – 15.8x
P/S – 7.5x 9.2x
P/B 1.5x 6.6x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 6.6x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA – – 19.5x
EV/EBIT – – 38.8x
EV/Revenue – 7.5x 12.6x
EV/FCF 1,598x – 41.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.2x – 21.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.57 3.38 -5.33

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAMHELSESS
Revenue growth (1Y) – 3.2% 4.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 2.4% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 4.5% -35.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 16.2% -2.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.2% – -49.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.1% – -7.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.9% 2.3% -48.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.7% 8.9% -8.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.1% – 8.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.2% – 5.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 101.6% – 344.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.4% – -3.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAMHELSESS
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – – 64.9%
Operating margin – – 32.5%
Pretax margin – – 18.9%
Net margin – – 21.5%
FCF margin – – 30.1%
Operating cash flow margin – – 58.0%
Return on equity 7.2% 22.3% 7.9%
Return on assets 4.1% 7.0% 3.4%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover – 0.3x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x – 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAMHELSESS
Debt / assets 39.1% – 51.9%
Debt / equity 0.7x – 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 5.3x
Debt / FCF 494.5x – 11.5x
Liabilities / assets 43.0% 68.7% 57.5%
Equity / assets 57.0% 31.3% 42.5%
Interest coverage – – 2.4x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAMHELSESS
Dividend yield 4.0% 3.5% 3.8%
Net buyback yield 2.0% – 0.3%
Shareholder yield 6.0% 3.5% 4.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 85.3% – 151.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) 4,462% – 114.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) 11.3% – 4.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 17.4% – 4.8%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAMHELSESS
Forward P/E 30.3xFY2026 28.9xFY2026 52.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.06FY2026 $2.11FY2026 $5.21FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.2%FY2026 +5.0%FY2026 -49.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -18.9% +9.0% +29.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.04BFY2026 $1.52BFY2026 $2.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.0%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.6% +14.4% -7.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAMHELSESS
Held by institutions 90.7% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 480 476 630
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.2% +2.6% +4.7%
Institutions buying 253 220 348
Institutions selling 160 190 183
Buyers to sellers 1.58 1.16 1.90

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AMHELSESS
AMH 1.00 0.55 0.70
ELS 0.55 1.00 0.52
ESS 0.70 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AMH, ELS and ESS?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) $11.48B, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) $11.52B, Essex Property Trust (ESS) $17.61B.

Which stock is cheaper, AMH, ELS and ESS?

American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 24.7x, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 29.5x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 42.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) is cheapest (American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 30.3x, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 28.9x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 52.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) +3.2%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.7%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) -3.8%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) -0.8%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.0%. Over five years, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) compounded fastest (American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) -4.2%/yr, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) -6.3%/yr, Essex Property Trust (ESS) -4.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) has the highest dividend yield: American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 0.04%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 0.00%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 0.04%. Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) has been the steadiest (American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) 20.3%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 18.5%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AMH, ELS and ESS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.