MAA vs ELS vs ESS Stock Comparison

Mid America Apartment Communities, Equity Lifestyle Properties and Essex Property Trust Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Essex Property Trust leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Essex Property Trust 5, Equity Lifestyle Properties 3, Mid America Apartment Communities 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMAAELSESSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.78B $11.52B $17.61B ESS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.5x 29.5x 42.6x ELS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.5x 28.9x 52.9x ELS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.8% +3.2% +4.7% ESS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 18.0% — 21.5% ESS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.3% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.5x — 5.3x MAA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.05% 0.00% 0.04% MAA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.8% -0.8% +4.0% ESS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -10.1%/yr -6.3%/yr -4.2%/yr ESS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.8% 18.5% 20.2% ELS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 45/100 46/100 MAA

Percentile Scorecard

MAAELSESS

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

AxisMAAELSESS
Valuation 42 #85 of 145 14 #125 of 145 13 #127 of 145
Growth 15 #121 of 142 52 #69 of 142 36 #92 of 142
Profitability 87 #19 of 136 100 #1 of 136 91 #13 of 136
Financial Health 62 #54 of 139 – 51 #68 of 139
Shareholder Returns 49 #68 of 131 14 #113 of 131 39 #80 of 131
Overall 51 45 46
  • MAA 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

PeriodMAAELSESSSPY
1 month +1.0%+3.0%+1.4% -0.8%
3 months -10.4%-6.2%-5.1% +3.5%
6 months -4.6%-2.8%+7.2% +7.0%
Year to date -13.9%+0.7%+5.2% +12.2%
1 year -10.8%-0.8%+4.0% +13.0%
3 years +1.7%-5.1%+33.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year +0.6%-1.7%+10.1% +23.1%
5 years -41.4%-27.9%-19.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -10.1%-6.3%-4.2% +11.0%
10 years +29.2%+63.3%+32.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year +2.6%+5.0%+2.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMAAELSESSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.8%18.5%20.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.2%17.8%21.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.05-0.210.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.54-0.040.20 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.2%-34.2%-45.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.9%-10.7%-7.7% -1.8%
52-week high $142.19$68.37$298.33 $779.14
52-week low $114.20$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.

MultipleMAAELSESS
P/E now vs peer median 34.7xmedian 27.4x 30.2xmedian 27.4x 42.8xmedian 27.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.3xmedian 4.2x 7.5xmedian 4.2x 9.2xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.4xmedian 14.2x —median 14.2x 19.5xmedian 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.3xmedian 23.2x 33.0xmedian 23.2x 30.5xmedian 23.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.3x 6.6xmedian 1.3x 3.2xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -2.84median 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 monthsMAAELSESS
Revenue $2.22B $1.58B $1.93B
Operating income – $411.40M $627.10M
Net income $410.71M – $437.61M
Free cash flow $473.83M – $580.66M
EPS (diluted) $3.44 $1.95 $6.44
Cash & equivalents $51.84M $24.33M $58.33M
Total debt $21.95B – $26.96B
Shares (diluted) 116.14M 200.21M 64.28M
Enterprise value $13.56B $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
MetricMAAELSESS
P/E 34.7x 30.2x 42.8x
P/FCF 29.3x 33.0x 30.5x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x – 15.8x
P/S 6.3x 7.5x 9.2x
P/B 2.5x 6.6x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 6.6x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA 15.4x – 19.5x
EV/EBIT 31.6x – 38.8x
EV/Revenue 8.8x 7.5x 12.6x
EV/FCF 41.2x – 41.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.3x – 21.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.84 3.38 -5.33

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMAAELSESS
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.8% 3.2% 4.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.6% 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) -30.0% – -49.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -12.5% – -7.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -29.0% 2.3% -48.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -12.2% 8.9% -8.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -8.0% – 8.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.2% – 5.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -12.0% – 344.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.5% – -3.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMAAELSESS
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 57.1% – 64.9%
Operating margin – – 32.5%
Pretax margin 18.8% – 18.9%
Net margin 18.0% – 21.5%
FCF margin 21.4% – 30.1%
Operating cash flow margin 45.6% – 58.0%
Return on equity 7.3% 22.3% 7.9%
Return on assets 3.4% 7.0% 3.4%
Return on invested capital 5.3% – –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.3x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.5x – 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% – 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMAAELSESS
Debt / assets 47.5% – 51.9%
Debt / equity 1.0x – 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.5x – 5.3x
Debt / FCF 12.0x – 11.5x
Liabilities / assets 53.5% 68.7% 57.5%
Equity / assets 46.5% 31.3% 42.5%
Interest coverage 3.1x – 2.4x
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMAAELSESS
Dividend yield 5.1% 3.5% 3.8%
Net buyback yield 0.9% – 0.3%
Shareholder yield 6.0% 3.5% 4.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 173.3% – 151.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) 150.2% – 114.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.0% – 4.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 5.1% – 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.

ConsensusMAAELSESS
Forward P/E 33.5xFY2026 28.9xFY2026 52.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.57FY2026 $2.11FY2026 $5.21FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -5.6%FY2026 +5.0%FY2026 -49.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -9.0% +9.0% +29.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.29BFY2026 $1.52BFY2026 $2.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.8%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +14.4% -7.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMAAELSESS
Held by institutions 97.1% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 771 476 630
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.2% +2.6% +4.7%
Institutions buying 395 220 348
Institutions selling 262 190 183
Buyers to sellers 1.51 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.

MAAELSESS
MAA 1.00 0.57 0.80
ELS 0.57 1.00 0.52
ESS 0.80 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MAA, ELS and ESS?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) $13.78B, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) $11.52B, Essex Property Trust (ESS) $17.61B.

Which stock is cheaper, MAA, ELS and ESS?

Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 34.5x, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 29.5x, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 42.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) is cheapest (Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 33.5x, 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: Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) +0.8%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) +3.2%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Essex Property Trust (ESS) has the highest net margin (Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 18.0%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) 21.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Essex Property Trust (ESS) returned the most: Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -10.8%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) -0.8%, Essex Property Trust (ESS) +4.0%. Over five years, Essex Property Trust (ESS) compounded fastest (Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -10.1%/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?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) has the highest dividend yield: Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 0.05%, 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 (Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 19.8%, 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, MAA, 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, Essex Property Trust (ESS) leads on 5. 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.