Real Estate Industry News

Global real estate firms rebounded this year, as the panic of the pandemic’s early days appears to have cooled. Of the 31 real estate firms on The Global 2000, Forbes annual ranking of the world’s largest and most impactful public companies, more than 80% saw their stocks go up compared to last year’s list. 

For the fourth straight year, Brookfield Asset Management took the top spot on the rankings. The Canadian firm boasts $600 billion in assets under management, including more than 400 million square feet of office, hotel, residential and retail space, but it also invests in renewable energy and infrastructure. 

Last year Brookfield made news for a pledge to invest $5 billion in struggling retail firms. It’s not clear how much money it has so far disbursed, but in December the company partnered with Simon Property Group to help take JCPenny—an anchor tenant at many malls—out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. “This is exactly the type of investment our Retail Revitalization Program was designed to make,” said Brian Kingston, Brookfield’s CEO, in a statement. “We are excited to help lead the turnaround.”

The Global 2000 is assembled using four equally-weighted criteria: revenue, profit, assets and market value. This year, 31 companies that primarily make their money in real estate made the list—that excludes such firms as Blackstone, which holds a global real estate portfolio it last valued at nearly $400 billion, but which also invests in other kinds of assets. (Forbes also omitted construction firms in this article, focusing instead on companies that operate in the more traditional real estate sphere.)

Beyond Brookfield, storage firms also had a standout year, as work-from-home policies and spiking demand for residential real estate led consumers to temporarily stow away more of their possessions. The market value of Public Storage rose 44% compared to last year, while Extra Space Storage jumped 67%. “It was clearly a year of historic extremes,” Public Storage CEO Joseph Russell said on an earnings call in February. “We’re seeing it across literally all markets.”

Kimco Realty Corporation, which specializes in open-air shopping centers, was the final real estate firm to make the list. The company made headlines in February when it announced plans to merge with Weingarten, another shopping center heavyweight. The combined firm is expected to have a market value of around $20 billion when the deal closes later this year.

Below are all 31 real estate firms that made this year’s Global 2000 list: 

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1) Brookfield Asset Management | Canada

Sales: $63.400 billion

Profit:  -$175.86 million

Assets: $343.696 billion

Market value: $69.673 billion

2) American Tower Corporation | United States

Sales: $69.673 billion

Profit: $69.674 billion

Assets: $47.234 billion

Market value: $110.578 billion

3) Prologis | United States

Sales: $4.439 billion

Profit: $1.482 billion

Assets: $56.065 billion

Market value: $84.233 billion

4) Crown Castle International | United States

Sales: $5.840 billion

Profit: $1.056 billion

Assets: $38.768 billion

Market value: $77.629 billion

5) Simon Property Group | United States

Sales: $4.608 billion

Profit: $1.228 billion

Assets: $34.787 billion

Market value: $38.438 billion

6) Weyerhaeuser Company | United States

Sales: $7.532 billion

Profit: $797 million

Assets: $16.311 billion

Market value: $29.441 billion

7) Equinix | United States

Sales: $5.976 billion

Profit: $369.78 million

Assets: $27.006 billion

Market value: $63.431 billion

8) Equity Residential | United States

Sales: $2.539 billion

Profit: $879.40 million

Assets: $20.287 billion

Market value: $27.063 billion

9) Public Storage | United States

Sales: $2.905 billion

Profit: $1.354 billion

Assets: $11.817 billion

Market value: $46.634 billion

10) Alexandria Real Estate Equities | United States

Sales: $1.876 billion

Profit: $758.69 million

Assets: $22.828 billion

Market value: $24.010 billion

11) AvalonBay Communities | United States

Sales: $2.297 billion

Profit: $825.67 million

Assets: $19.199 billion

Market value: $26.498 billion

12) Digital Realty Trust | United States

Sales: $3.907 billion

Profit: $356.40 million

Assets: $36.076 billion

Market value: $41.032 billion

13) Boston Properties | United States

Sales: $2.767 billion

Profit: $876.83 million

Assets: $22.858 billion

Market value: $18.150 billion

14) SEGRO | United Kingdom

Sales: $553.59 million

Profit: $1,829.79

Assets: $17,314.47

Market value: $16,226.20

15) VICI Properties | United States 

Sales: $1.226 billion

Profit: $891.67 million

Assets: $17.064 billion

Market value: $16.078 billion

16) Ventas | United States

Sales: $3.795 billion

Profit: $439.15 million

Assets: $23.929 billion

Market value: $20.782 billion

17) Welltower | United States

Sales: $4.599 billion

Profit: -$109.61 million

Assets: $32.484 billion

Market value: $31.592 billion

18) Realty Income Corporation | United States

Sales: $1.661 billion

Profit: $395.49 million

Assets: $20.740 billion

Market value: $25.032 billion

19) Annaly Capital Management | United States

Sales: $1.484 billion

Profit: -$891.16 million

Assets: $88.455 billion

Market value: $12.391 billion

20) Essex Property Trust | United States

Sales: $1.511 billion

Profit: $568.87 million

Assets: $12.936 billion

Market value: $18.815 billion

21) Link Real Estate Investment Trust | Hong Kong

Sales: $1.386 billion

Profit: -$3.596 billion

Assets: $26.218 billion

Market value: $20.149 billion

22) L E Lundbergfoeretagen AB | Sweden

Sales: $1.975 billion

Profit: $390.13 million

Assets: $21.919 billion

Market value: $14.466 billion

23) Healthpeak Properties | United States

Sales: $2.203 billion

Profit: $410.96 million

Assets: $15.920 billion

Market value: $17.918 billion

24) Starwood Property Trust | United States

Sales: $1.136 billion

Profit: $325.81 million

Assets: $80.874 billion

Market value: $7.290 billion

25) Extra Space Storage | United States 

Sales: $1.338 billion

Profit: $472.87 million

Assets: $9.396 billion

Market value: $19.065 billion

26) Zhenro Properties Group Limited | China

Sales: $5.256 billion

Profit: $386.46 million

Assets: $33.852 billion

Market value: $2.991 billion

27) Covivio SA | France

Sales: $1.179 billion

Profit: $410.12 million

Assets: $33.593 billion

Market value: $8.630 billion

28) Medical Properties Trust | United States

Sales: $1.249 billion

Profit: $429.35 million

Assets: $16.829 billion

Market value: $12.841 billion

29) W. P. Carey | United States

Sales: $1.218 billion

Profit: $455.36 million

Assets: $14.708 billion

Market value: $12.731 billion

30) PIK Group | Russia

Sales: $2.661 billion

Profit: $1.194 billion

Assets: $8.927 billion

Market value: $8.324 billion

31) Kimco Realty Corporation | United States

Sales: $1.693 billion

Profit: $995.72 million

Assets: $11.615 billion

Market value: $8.548 billion