Macerich (NYSE:MAC) executives emphasized leasing momentum, improving operating metrics, and continued balance sheet work during the company’s fourth quarter 2025 earnings call, describing 2025 as a “pivotal year” for progress under its “Path Forward Plan.” Management also outlined near-term priorities for 2026, including completing remaining dispositions and converting signed leasing activity into rent-paying occupancy.
Leasing volume hit a company record
CEO Jackson Hsieh said leasing continued to be “the engine” behind the company’s plan. On a comparable center basis, Macerich signed 7.1 million square feet of new and renewal leases in 2025, an 85% increase over 2024 and a new company record. Doug Healey, senior executive vice president of leasing, noted that about 30% of the 2025 leasing volume represented new lease signings.
Management also provided detail on remaining work under the plan:
- Approximately 1,000 new deals are being tracked in the five-year plan.
- About 650 deals are open, executed, or in lease documentation.
- Roughly 350 “uncommitted” new deals remain, totaling 1.6 million square feet; about 150 are in the letter-of-intent stage.
Hsieh said the signed non-open (SNO) pipeline is approximately $107 million, above the company’s $100 million year-end target. Relative to an estimated $140 million cumulative SNO opportunity in excess of 2024 revenue, management provided an estimated incremental annual contribution of $30 million in 2026, $40 million to $45 million in 2027, and $45 million to $50 million in 2028. In response to an analyst question, management said the 2026 contribution is “back-end weighted,” aligning with prior commentary about a second-half inflection.
Anchors, portfolio metrics, and tenant demand
Macerich said all 30 anchor and big-box replacements targeted in the Path Forward Plan are now committed. Hsieh said those 30 anchors total 2.9 million square feet and are expected to generate approximately $750 million in annual tenant sales, which management expects to drive traffic and support inline leasing.
Healey reported portfolio operating metrics that improved late in the year. Portfolio sales at the end of the fourth quarter were $881 per square foot, up $14 from the prior quarter and described as a company high watermark dating to its 1994 IPO. For the “go-forward” portfolio, sales were $921 per square foot.
Other fourth-quarter operating metrics included:
- Occupancy of 94% at quarter-end, up 60 basis points from the prior quarter (with the increase primarily from permanent occupancy).
- Go-forward portfolio occupancy of 94.9%, up 60 basis points sequentially.
- Trailing 12-month leasing spreads of 6.7% as of Dec. 31, up 80 basis points sequentially and marking 17 consecutive quarters of positive spreads.
Healey also said Macerich opened 416,000 square feet of new stores in the fourth quarter, bringing total openings to 1.3 million square feet for 2025. He highlighted the opening of the company’s first Dick’s Sporting Goods “House of Sport” (DSG) at Freehold Raceway Mall in a former Lord & Taylor box, calling the grand opening one of the best in DSG’s 35-store chain and saying it has driven increased traffic and leasing interest nearby.
Management said it has nine DSG commitments. Beyond Freehold (now open), four more stores are under planning and/or construction at Crabtree Valley Mall (opening in fall 2026), Tysons Corner Center and Washington Square (both opening fall 2027), and Valley River (opening spring 2028).
On retailer demand, Healey said the company reviewed and approved 40% more deals and 30% more square footage in 2025 versus 2024 and described demand as strong across categories including traditional, international, entertainment/experiential, food and beverage, wellness, and emerging brands.
Crabtree integration and development updates
Hsieh discussed Crabtree Valley Mall, which Macerich acquired in June, saying the company is on track with renovation plans and that a new DSG store is expected to open later in 2026. He also cited Belk’s decision to consolidate two Crabtree locations into a remodeled flagship with a long-term lease extension, and said Macerich has a commitment to backfill the second Belk anchor space with an entertainment-oriented retailer. He added that the company has commitments on 18 new and 31 renewal inline leases at Crabtree since acquiring the property.
On redevelopment, executives said leasing at Scottsdale is about 91% committed, with most luxury retailers already through the pipeline and a limited number left to open through 2026 and into 2027. For Green Acres, management said it is about 75% committed and described exterior work as largely complete, with current work focused on the interior. Executives cited tenants including ShopRite, Sephora, Cheesecake Factory, Shake Shack, Foot Locker, and JD Sports as part of the project’s repositioning.
Brad Miller, senior vice president of portfolio management, said roughly $20 million of the $107 million SNO pipeline is tied to the development pipeline.
FFO, NOI, leverage, and dispositions
CFO Dan Swanstrom reported fourth-quarter 2025 FFO (excluding financing expense tied to Chandler Freehold, accrued default interest expense, and gain on non-real estate investments) of approximately $129 million, or $0.48 per share. He also highlighted legal claims settlement income of $16.1 million, partially offset by higher corporate expenses tied to annual incentive bonuses, resulting in an $8.4 million net impact, or $0.03 per share.
Go-forward portfolio NOI (excluding lease termination income) increased 1.7% in the fourth quarter versus the prior year period and was up 1.8% for full-year 2025 versus 2024. Swanstrom said results were impacted by “frictional downtime” during repositioning and provided an example that excluding Forever 21 would have lifted fourth-quarter growth to 2.7% and full-year growth to closer to 2.5%.
On the balance sheet, Swanstrom said Macerich completed approximately $1.3 billion in dispositions and reduced leverage by “a full turn.” Net debt to EBITDA at quarter-end was 7.78x, and management reiterated a strategy to reduce leverage into the low-to-mid 6x range over the next couple of years. Liquidity was about $990 million, including $650 million of revolver capacity.
Macerich also described ongoing efforts to address 2026 maturities through asset sales, refinancings, loan modifications, or potential property givebacks. Swanstrom said the company recently completed a four-year loan extension through November 2029 on South Plains, a $200 million loan at an interest rate of about 4.2%.
Regarding Twenty Ninth Street, Swanstrom said the $76 million loan (at the company’s pro rata share) is now in default after maturity and that Macerich is in discussions with the lender but had no additional commentary at this time.
On dispositions, management reiterated a $2 billion target and said it has “a clear path” to achieve it. Swanstrom said the company has identified $200 million to $300 million of additional unencumbered assets for sale or giveback over the next year, which would bring total dispositions to roughly $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion. He said La Cumbre Plaza is under contract for approximately $11 million. The remaining $400 million to $450 million of the target is expected to come from outparcel and land sales; Macerich said it has about $15 million under contract and over $50 million in negotiations, with many transactions weighted toward 2026 due to unencumbering, zoning, and entitlement work.
2026 priorities and Path Forward Plan 3.0
Looking ahead, Hsieh said the company’s 2026 focus includes completing the remaining 350 new leases, addressing 2026 and 2027 lease expirations, getting tenants built out and paying rent on time, completing remaining dispositions, and evaluating accretive acquisitions. In response to questions on acquisitions, he said Macerich is prioritizing opportunities that are accretive to 2028 FFO targets and suggested near-term interest may skew toward value-add lease-up opportunities rather than stabilized assets at lower yields, given the company’s cost of capital.
Hsieh also said the company expects to provide an updated “Path Forward Plan 3.0” at REITWeek in June and intends to return to providing earnings guidance beginning in 2027. He added that the company expects to increase discussion of rent commencement dates (RCD) as a key execution workstream.
About Macerich (NYSE:MAC)
The Macerich Company (NYSE: MAC) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the acquisition, development, ownership and management of regional shopping centers in the United States. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the company focuses on high-quality retail properties, including enclosed malls, open-air centers and mixed-use lifestyle destinations. Since its establishment as a REIT in 1994, Macerich has pursued a disciplined strategy of investing in properties that serve strong consumer demographics and offer long-term growth potential.
Macerich’s core activities encompass property and asset management, leasing, marketing and redevelopment services.
