Equity Residential vs Chick-fil-A

About

Equity Residential is a Chicago, Illinois-based apartment real estate investment trust — publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: EQR) as an S&P 500 Real Estate component and member of the S&P 500 — owning and operating approximately 300 apartment communities with roughly 80,000 apartments concentrated in high-barrier-to-entry coastal and Sun Belt urban markets including Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Denver, Atlanta, and Dallas through approximately 2,400 employees. In Q4 2024, Equity Residential reported earnings per share of $1.10 (versus $0.82 in Q4 2023, +34.1%), with full year 2024 same-store revenues increasing 3.0% and same-store net operating income (NOI) growing 3.1%. For 2025, the company provided guidance of 2.25%-3.25% same-store revenue growth, reflecting continued but moderating rent increases across its coastal and Sun Belt markets. Founded in 1966 by Sam Zell (who also founded Equity Commonwealth and other real estate enterprises), Equity Residential went public in 1993 and is managed by CEO Mark Parrell, who joined from Heitman Capital Management. The company's portfolio of professionally managed, amenity-rich apartment communities targets the affluent renter demographic — typically college-educated professionals earning $90,000-150,000 annually — who choose to rent in high-cost gateway cities rather than purchase.