MAA vs ESBA vs ELS Stock Comparison

Mid America Apartment Communities, Empire State Realty OP and Equity Lifestyle Properties Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Equity Lifestyle Properties leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Equity Lifestyle Properties 6, Mid America Apartment Communities 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMAAESBAELSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.76B $1.31B $11.57B MAA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.5x 258.5x 29.6x ELS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.5x — 28.9x ELS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.8% +2.0% +3.2% ELS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 18.0% 0.6% — MAA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.3% -1.1% — MAA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.5x 5.0x — MAA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.05% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.8% -39.1% -0.8% ELS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -10.1%/yr -14.3%/yr -6.3%/yr ELS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.8% 51.8% 18.5% ELS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 33/100 45/100 MAA

Percentile Scorecard

MAAESBAELS

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

AxisMAAESBAELS
Valuation 42 #85 of 145 69 #45 of 145 14 #125 of 145
Growth 15 #121 of 142 2 #139 of 142 52 #69 of 142
Profitability 87 #19 of 136 26 #101 of 136 100 #1 of 136
Financial Health 62 #54 of 139 60 #56 of 139 –
Shareholder Returns 49 #68 of 131 9 #120 of 131 14 #113 of 131
Overall 51 33 45
  • MAA ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ESBA ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • ELS ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMAAESBAELSSPY
1 month +1.0%+20.8%+3.0% -0.8%
3 months -10.4%-13.1%-6.2% +3.5%
6 months -4.6%-13.7%-2.8% +7.0%
Year to date -13.9%-23.3%+0.7% +12.2%
1 year -10.8%-39.1%-0.8% +13.0%
3 years +1.7%-38.8%-5.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +0.6%-15.1%-1.7% +23.1%
5 years -41.4%-53.8%-27.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year -10.1%-14.3%-6.3% +11.0%
10 years +29.2%-75.4%+63.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year +2.6%-13.1%+5.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMAAESBAELSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.8%51.8%18.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.2%61.1%17.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.050.42-0.21 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.54-0.75-0.04 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.2%-66.4%-34.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.9%-37.7%-10.7% -1.8%
52-week high $142.19$7.75$68.37 $779.14
52-week low $114.20$3.85$57.64 $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.

MultipleMAAESBAELS
P/E now vs peer median 34.7xmedian 27.4x 256.9xmedian 27.4x 30.2xmedian 27.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.3xmedian 4.2x 1.7xmedian 4.2x 7.5xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.4xmedian 14.2x 12.5xmedian 14.2x —median 14.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.3xmedian 23.2x -3.0xmedian 23.2x 33.0xmedian 23.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.3x 0.7xmedian 1.3x 6.6xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -2.84median 2.11 -4.30median 2.11 3.38median 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 monthsMAAESBAELS
Revenue $2.22B $784.18M $1.58B
Operating income – -$34.52M $411.40M
Net income $410.71M $9.26M –
Free cash flow $473.83M -$437.31M –
EPS (diluted) $3.44 $0.02 $1.95
Cash & equivalents $51.84M $85.61M $24.33M
Total debt $21.95B $4.54B –
Shares (diluted) 116.14M 268.95M 200.21M
Enterprise value $13.55B $865.89M $11.57B

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
MetricMAAESBAELS
P/E 34.7x 256.9x 30.2x
P/FCF 29.3x -3.0x 33.0x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x 5.7x –
P/S 6.3x 1.7x 7.5x
P/B 2.5x 0.7x 6.6x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 0.7x 6.6x
EV/EBITDA 15.4x 12.5x –
EV/EBIT 31.6x -62.8x –
EV/Revenue 8.8x 2.8x 7.5x
EV/FCF 41.2x -5.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 19.3x 9.5x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.84 -4.30 3.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMAAESBAELS
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.8% 2.0% 3.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.6% 2.9% 2.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – -123.1% 4.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -31.0% 16.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -30.0% -86.5% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -12.5% -51.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) -29.0% -92.1% 2.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -12.2% -59.8% 8.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -8.0% -13.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.2% -0.8% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -12.0% -169.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.5% -149.9% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMAAESBAELS
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 57.1% 22.1% –
Operating margin – -4.4% –
Pretax margin 18.8% 1.3% –
Net margin 18.0% 0.6% –
FCF margin 21.4% -55.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 45.6% 29.0% –
Return on equity 7.3% 0.5% 22.3%
Return on assets 3.4% 0.2% 7.0%
Return on invested capital 5.3% -1.1% –
Return on capital employed – – –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.5x 24.6x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 3.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMAAESBAELS
Debt / assets 47.5% 22.4% –
Debt / equity 1.0x 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA 4.5x 5.0x –
Debt / FCF 12.0x -2.2x –
Liabilities / assets 53.5% 58.1% 68.7%
Equity / assets 46.5% 41.9% 31.3%
Interest coverage 3.1x -0.3x –
Current ratio – – –
Quick ratio – – –
Cash ratio – – –
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMAAESBAELS
Dividend yield 5.1% 3.3% 3.5%
Net buyback yield 0.9% – –
Shareholder yield 6.0% 3.3% 3.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 173.3% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 150.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.0% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 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.

ConsensusMAAESBAELS
Forward P/E 33.5xFY2026 – 28.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.57FY2026 – $2.11FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -5.6%FY2026 – +5.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -9.0% – +9.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.29BFY2026 – $1.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.8%FY2026 – -0.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% – +14.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMAAESBAELS
Held by institutions 97.1% – 100.0%
Institutions holding 771 – 476
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.2% – +2.6%
Institutions buying 395 – 220
Institutions selling 262 – 190
Buyers to sellers 1.51 – 1.16

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.

MAAESBAELS
MAA 1.00 0.18 0.57
ESBA 0.18 1.00 0.17
ELS 0.57 0.17 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MAA, ESBA and ELS?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) $13.76B, Empire State Realty OP (ESBA) $1.31B, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) $11.57B.

Which stock is cheaper, MAA, ESBA and ELS?

Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 34.5x, Empire State Realty OP (ESBA) 258.5x, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 29.6x). 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). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) +0.8%, Empire State Realty OP (ESBA) +2.0%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) +3.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) has the highest net margin (Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 18.0%, Empire State Realty OP (ESBA) 0.6%). On return on invested capital, Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) leads (Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 5.3%, Empire State Realty OP (ESBA) -1.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) returned the most: Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -10.8%, Empire State Realty OP (ESBA) -39.1%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) -0.8%. Over five years, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) compounded fastest (Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) -10.1%/yr, Empire State Realty OP (ESBA) -14.3%/yr, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) -6.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) 0.05%, Empire State Realty OP (ESBA) 0.00%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 0.00%. Empire State Realty OP (ESBA) and 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%, Empire State Realty OP (ESBA) 51.8%, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) 18.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MAA, ESBA and ELS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) leads on 6. 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.