ESRT vs ESS vs MAA Stock Comparison

Empire State Realty Trust, Essex Property Trust and Mid America Apartment Communities Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mid America Apartment Communities leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Mid America Apartment Communities 7, Essex Property Trust 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESRTESSMAALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $857.76M $17.69B $13.75B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 279.1x 42.8x 34.4x MAA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 52.9x 33.5x MAA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.0% +4.7% +0.8% ESS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.4% 21.5% 18.0% ESS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.1% — 5.3% MAA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.0x 5.3x 4.5x MAA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.04% 0.05% MAA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -36.6% +4.0% -10.8% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -13.7%/yr -4.2%/yr -10.1%/yr ESS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.7% 20.2% 19.8% MAA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 46/100 51/100 MAA

Percentile Scorecard

ESRTESSMAA

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

AxisESRTESSMAA
Valuation 76 #35 of 145 13 #127 of 145 42 #85 of 145
Growth 1 #140 of 142 36 #92 of 142 15 #121 of 142
Profitability 25 #102 of 136 91 #13 of 136 87 #19 of 136
Financial Health 60 #56 of 139 51 #68 of 139 62 #54 of 139
Shareholder Returns 12 #115 of 131 39 #80 of 131 49 #68 of 131
Overall 35 46 51
  • ESRT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ESS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • MAA ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESRTESSMAASPY
1 month +22.9%+1.4%+1.0% -0.8%
3 months -10.5%-5.1%-10.4% +3.5%
6 months -11.2%+7.2%-4.6% +7.0%
Year to date -22.5%+5.2%-13.9% +12.2%
1 year -36.6%+4.0%-10.8% +13.0%
3 years -37.0%+33.3%+1.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year -14.3%+10.1%+0.6% +23.1%
5 years -52.0%-19.5%-41.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year -13.7%-4.2%-10.1% +11.0%
10 years -74.4%+32.7%+29.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year -12.7%+2.9%+2.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureESRTESSMAASPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.7%20.2%19.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.0%21.9%19.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.320.120.05 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.000.20-0.54 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.6%-45.4%-50.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.6%-7.7%-15.9% -1.8%
52-week high $7.96$298.33$142.19 $779.14
52-week low $3.93$239.61$114.20 $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.

MultipleESRTESSMAA
P/E now vs peer median 281.1xmedian 27.4x 42.8xmedian 27.4x 34.7xmedian 27.4x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 4.2x 9.2xmedian 4.2x 6.3xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 14.2x 19.5xmedian 14.2x 15.4xmedian 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 23.2x 30.5xmedian 23.2x 29.3xmedian 23.2x
P/B now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.3x 3.2xmedian 1.3x 2.5xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -4.70median 2.11 -5.33median 2.11 -2.84median 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 monthsESRTESSMAA
Revenue $784.18M $1.93B $2.22B
Operating income -$34.52M $627.10M –
Net income $9.26M $437.61M $410.71M
Free cash flow -$437.31M $580.66M $473.83M
EPS (diluted) $0.01 $6.44 $3.44
Cash & equivalents $85.61M $58.33M $51.84M
Total debt $4.54B $26.96B $21.95B
Shares (diluted) 268.95M 64.28M 116.14M
Enterprise value $416.57M $17.46B $13.54B

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
MetricESRTESSMAA
P/E 281.1x 42.8x 34.7x
P/FCF -2.0x 30.5x 29.3x
P/Operating cash flow 3.8x 15.8x 13.7x
P/S 1.1x 9.2x 6.3x
P/B 0.5x 3.2x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 0.5x 3.2x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 10.0x 19.5x 15.4x
EV/EBIT -50.3x 38.8x 31.6x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 12.6x 8.8x
EV/FCF -4.0x 41.9x 41.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 21.8x 19.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.70 -5.33 -2.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESRTESSMAA
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.0% 4.7% 0.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 5.2% 1.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -123.1% -35.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -31.0% -2.6% –
Net income growth (1Y) -86.5% -49.8% -30.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -51.3% -7.9% -12.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -92.4% -48.2% -29.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -59.8% -8.0% -12.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.3% 8.3% -8.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.8% 5.4% -4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -169.4% 344.6% -12.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -149.9% -3.3% -4.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESRTESSMAA
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 22.1% 64.9% 57.1%
Operating margin -4.4% 32.5% –
Pretax margin 1.3% 18.9% 18.8%
Net margin 0.4% 21.5% 18.0%
FCF margin -55.8% 30.1% 21.4%
Operating cash flow margin 29.0% 58.0% 45.6%
Return on equity 0.5% 7.9% 7.3%
Return on assets 0.2% 3.4% 3.4%
Return on invested capital -1.1% – 5.3%
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 24.6x 2.6x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 3.9% 0.6% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESRTESSMAA
Debt / assets 22.4% 51.9% 47.5%
Debt / equity 0.5x 1.2x 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.0x 5.3x 4.5x
Debt / FCF -2.2x 11.5x 12.0x
Liabilities / assets 58.1% 57.5% 53.5%
Equity / assets 41.9% 42.5% 46.5%
Interest coverage -0.3x 2.4x 3.1x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESRTESSMAA
Dividend yield 3.1% 3.8% 5.1%
Net buyback yield – 0.3% 0.9%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 4.1% 6.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 259.1% 151.6% 173.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) -5.5% 114.2% 150.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.2% 4.0% 2.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 4.8% 5.1%

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.

ConsensusESRTESSMAA
Forward P/E – 52.9xFY2026 33.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.35FY2027 $5.21FY2026 $3.57FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -240.0%FY2027 -49.9%FY2026 -5.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +29.6% -9.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $758.24MFY2026 $2.05BFY2026 $2.29BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.3%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.5% -7.5% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESRTESSMAA
Held by institutions 83.1% 100.0% 97.1%
Institutions holding 228 630 771
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% +4.7% +8.2%
Institutions buying 141 348 395
Institutions selling 51 183 262
Buyers to sellers 2.76 1.90 1.51

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.

ESRTESSMAA
ESRT 1.00 0.40 0.29
ESS 0.40 1.00 0.80
MAA 0.29 0.80 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESRT, ESS and MAA?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) $857.76M, Essex Property Trust (ESS) $17.69B, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) $13.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESRT, ESS and MAA?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 279.1x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 42.8x, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 34.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) is cheapest (Essex Property Trust (ESS) 52.9x, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 33.5x). 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: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) +2.0%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.7%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) +0.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) has the highest net margin (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.4%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 21.5%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 18.0%). On return on invested capital, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) leads (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -1.1%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 5.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -36.6%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.0%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -10.8%. Over five years, Essex Property Trust (ESS) compounded fastest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -13.7%/yr, Essex Property Trust (ESS) -4.2%/yr, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -10.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) has the highest dividend yield: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.03%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 0.04%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 0.05%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) has been the steadiest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 36.7%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 20.2%, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 19.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESRT, ESS and MAA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) leads on 7. 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.