Alexandria Beats Earning Estimates but Reports Quarterly Net Loss

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) exceeded earnings expectations in the first quarter and is projecting future growth for its life sciences portfolio despite economic uncertainties under the Trump administration.  

The Pasadena, Calif.-based real estate investment trust (REIT) reported funds from operations (FFO) of $392 million, or $2.30 per share, for the first three months of 2025, which was above analyst estimates of $2.28 per share. The FFO performance, considered a key metric for REITs, was $403.9 million, or $2.35 a share in the 2024 first quarter. 

The REIT  reported a quarterly net loss of $11.6 million or $0.07 per share, with revenue reaching $758.2 million, down from $769.1 million in the year-ago period, but up from $749.53 million projected by analysts. 

While the life sciences industry has faced headwinds of late from federal funding cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and coupled with tariff policies under President Donald Trump, Alexandria sees the White House as an ally for the industry. 

“Whatever anybody thinks of the President and the current administration, one thing is true, these people are not totally stupid and they are focused on preserving and protecting this industry,” Joel Marcus, founder and executive chairman of Alexandria, said on Tuesday afternoon’s earnings call. “When it comes to things like the tariffs they’re really trying to make a distinction between materials coming from friendly countries and unfriendly countries and what they want to do is bring supply lines back to the U.S or to safer locations and I think that’s going to benefit this industry greatly.”

Marcus credited the NIH under Jay Bhattacharya with restructuring a “very inefficient structure” into a more “leaner” and “stronger” organization with most drug reviews still moving forward. He also stressed that deregulation policies under President Trump will also benefit Alexandria and the overall life sciences industry.

Alexandria saw leasing volume of one million rentable square feet during the first quarter with 89 percent of deal activity from the REIT’s existing tenant base. Occupancy levels in its  North American portfolio was 91.7 percent at the end of the first quarter on March 31.

One of the first quarter notable leases announced by Alexandria on the earnings call involved Eikon Therapeutics inking 285,346 of square feet at 230 at the Alexandria Center for Life Science – Millbrae at 230 Harriet Tubman Way in San Francisco. 

The REIT continued its recent focus during the first quarter of targeting “mega-campus” assets with 75 percent of its revenue deriving from this part of Alexandria’s platform. 

Alexandria placed 309,494 square feet of development and redevelopment projects into service during the first quarter that are 100 percent leased and generated annual net operating income of $37 million. 

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com