CompStak Portfolio Series: STAG Industrial vs. First Industrial Realty Trust

SKIP AHEAD TO

• Why are we comparing these two companies’ portfolios?
• Stronger Class A Exposure Helps First Industrial Outperform STAG on In-Place Rent
• Stronger Rents, Bigger Incentives: First Industrial Realty Trust’s In-Place Concessions Are Higher than STAG’s Across the Board
• Over One-Third of STAG Industrial’s Portfolio Set to Expire Within Two Years, Outpacing National and First Industrial Levels Amid Lower In-Place WALT
• STAG Industrial Slightly Outranks First Industrial Realty on a Tenant Quality Score
• Final Evaluation: STAG Narrowly Outperforms First Industrial, Yet Both Fall Short of the National Benchmark

STAG Industrial vs. First Industrial Realty Trust — A CompStak Portfolio Scoring Comparison

As the first part of a new series, CompStak is evaluating and comparing the portfolios of two major industrial REITs: STAG Industrial and First Industrial Realty Trust, using CompStak’s data-driven scoring methodology to determine which portfolio performs better across key landlord-focused metrics.
STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE: STAG) focuses on acquiring and operating single-tenant industrial properties across the United States. As of year-end 2024, STAG owned approximately 590 single-tenant properties spanning 41 states, totaling more than 116 million square feet. STAG generally favors acquisitions over development, with limited build-to-suit activity.
First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE: FR) is another publicly traded REIT with a strategic focus on logistics-oriented industrial properties. Its 70-million-square-foot portfolio (owned or under development) is heavily concentrated in 15 key U.S. markets, with an emphasis on supply-constrained coastal areas. Unlike STAG, First Industrial actively develops and acquires properties, often pursuing projects in partnership with other capital sources.
The contrast is clear: STAG’s broad, nationally distributed, single-tenant portfolio differs from First Industrial’s more targeted, market-focused approach. Both are regarded as leading players in the industrial REIT sector—but with distinct strategies for value creation.

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Why are we comparing these two companies’ portfolios?

In Spring 2025, both REITs, First Industrial Realty Trust and STAG Industrial, joined a larger group of major industrial landlords in an initiative to standardize portfolio performance metrics and improve comparability across the sector. This CompStak series leverages that spirit of transparency, evaluating each REIT’s portfolio health based on a few key metrics to compile a final CompStak portfolio score that highlights which company’s current portfolio is more favorably positioned from a landlord’s perspective.

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✔️ Aggregate relevant lease and property metrics in one place

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✔️ Compare portfolio health and financial performances

Stronger Class A Exposure Helps First Industrial Outperform STAG on In-Place Rent

Current tenants of First Industrial Realty Trust are paying, on average, a weighted rent of $7.69 per square foot, which is 31.9% higher than the weighted rent of $5.83 per square foot for STAG Industrial’s in-place tenants. Overall, First Industrial Realty Trust has a considerably larger share of Class A buildings in its portfolio compared to STAG Industrial – 72.8% to 51.9%, respectively, according to CompStak data, which may be contributing to its higher in-place rent from active tenants today.

Stronger Rents, Bigger Incentives: First Industrial Realty Trust’s In-Place Concessions Are Higher than STAG’s Across the Board

The concessions in place for tenants with active leases in First Industrial Realty’s portfolio are higher than those in STAG Industrial’s. First Industrial’s free rent ratio averages 2.7% of the lease term—50 basis points above STAG Industrial’s 2.2%—indicating a higher share of free rent over the lease term. Tenant improvement (TI) allowances are also significantly higher in First Industrial’s portfolio, averaging $4.30 per square foot—more than double STAG Industrial’s $2.00 per square foot.

Overall, First Industrial Realty is offering higher concessions to its tenants than STAG Industrial—an approach that may support stronger rents but suggests they may have higher acquisition costs for new leases.

Over One-Third of STAG Industrial’s Portfolio Set to Expire Within Two Years

Over the next two years (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027), more than one-third (35.5%) of STAG Industrial’s active leased industrial square footage is set to expire which puts this portfolio more at risk of upcoming vacancy than First Industrial Realty Trust where the share expiring is 29.1% over the same time period. However, both have a higher share than the national average for the same metric, which is 27.9%.

Among the top lease expirations coming up for expiration in this period for STAG Industrial are:

• A 1-million-square-foot distribution center lease with Penguin Random House in Hampstead, Maryland;
• A 555,555-square-foot warehouse leased by DHL in Columbus, Ohio.

Among the top lease expirations coming up for expiration in this period for First Industrial Realty are:

• A 700,000-square-foot distribution warehouse with Post Consumer Brands in Atlanta, Georgia;
• A 691,000-square-foot distribution center leased by Harbor Freight Tools in Riverside County, California.

STAG Industrial Has Lower In-Place WALT than National and First Industrial Realty Trust Average

The weighted average lease term (WALT) in First Industrial Realty Trust’s portfolio is slightly higher at 47.3 months, compared to STAG Industrial’s 45.1 months. STAG’s shorter WALT is influenced by a larger share of leases expiring in the near term, which increases its near-term vacancy risk. Notably, both companies have a lower average WALT than the national industrial average of 52.4 months.
Among First Industrial Realty’s tenants, those with the longest remaining lease terms include Komar (172 months), MS Warehousing (120 months), Amazon (116 months), Schneider Electric (115 months), and Navistar International (114 months). STAG Industrial’s tenants with the longest remaining terms include Caro-Nut Company (145 months), Majestic Steel (145 months), Haemonetics (138 months), Plasman (138 months), and Moodswing (128 months).

STAG Industrial Slightly Outranks First Industrial Realty on a Tenant Quality Score

CompStak calculated a Tenant Quality Score for each portfolio, factoring in two key indicators: number of employees (more employees yields a higher score) and public company status (publicly traded companies also yield a higher score). Results were then weighted by the total leased square footage each tenant occupies within the landlord’s portfolio, making larger tenants more influential in the final score.
By this measure, STAG Industrial posted a slightly higher Tenant Quality Score of 0.58, compared to 0.55 for First Industrial Realty Trust, on a scale of 0 to 1. Both landlords slightly outperformed the national average for industrial portfolios. A higher score likely signals greater tenant stability, often associated with stronger credit profiles, larger revenue bases, and longer business tenure.

Top contributing tenants (by leased square footage and Tenant Quality Score):

• STAG Industrial: Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), and Penguin Random House (privately held)
• First Industrial Realty Trust: Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW), Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), and XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO)

Final Evaluation: STAG Narrowly Outperforms First Industrial, Yet Both Fall Short of the National Benchmark

CompStak’s portfolio scoring analysis shows STAG Industrial edging out First Industrial Realty Trust, with a total weighted score of 49.4 vs. 47.2 (on a 100-point scale). STAG outperformed on several key measures, including lower tenant improvement costs, a lower free rent ratio, and a slightly longer weighted average remaining lease term across its active industrial tenant portfolio. First Industrial, by comparison, had an advantage in higher in-place rents and a smaller share of space set to expire within the next 24 months. While both REITs fell just below the national average score of 50.0, their results suggest relatively comparable tenant quality and lease stability in line with the broader industrial market.

• Guide your investment decisions with data-driven insights: Evaluate portfolios and identify opportunities with aggregated metrics such as average current rent, average free rent and TI, and average lease terms.
• Protect against risk and monitor harmful market trends: Assess portfolio risk with real-time data on tenant exposure, upcoming lease expirations, and rent trends.
• Outperform competitors with targeted market analysis: Compare a portfolio’s performance with other portfolios, competitors, or the broader market and understand its relative position.

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