Ventas
Through the investors’ lenses
Each of these investors has said in public what they look at before buying. Click a name to see how this company measures up — a tick where it passes one of their tests, a cross where it does not.
Warren Buffett 0/4
| Measure | VTR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $-1.29bn | positive | ✗ |
| Return on equity | 2.1% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 1.04x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 3.5% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 4. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Ventas. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 1/4
| Measure | VTR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 0.8% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Cash conversion | 6.30x | median 1.78x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | 3.5% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 1.04x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Ventas. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 0/3
| Measure | VTR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 0.8% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Return on equity | 2.1% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 3.5% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 3. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Ventas. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 1/4
| Measure | VTR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 2.1% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 1.04x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
| Cash conversion | 6.30x | median 1.78x | ✓ |
| Return on equity, sustained | 1 of 10 | 8 of 10 above median | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Ventas. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 1/4
| Measure | VTR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 3.5% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Net margin | 4.5% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
| Return on capital employed | 0.8% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Operating margin, held or improving | 3.5% | 10-yr median -2.3% | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Ventas. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 0/1
| Measure | VTR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | — | median 1.25x | — |
| Debt to equity | 1.04x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Ventas. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 0/1
| Measure | VTR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | — | 2.00x published | — |
| Long-term debt to working capital | — | 1.00x published | — |
| Positive earnings, ten years running | 2 yrs | 10 published | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Ventas. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Joel Greenblatt 0/1
| Measure | VTR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 0.8% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Joel Greenblatt has never said anything about Ventas. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 0/2
| Measure | VTR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 1.04x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
| Net margin | 4.5% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Ventas. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 355.6% | whyDepressed by depreciation on buildings that are not losing value. |
| Operating cash flow | 52.2% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | negative | whyOCF fell $1,281m short of capex — the dividend was not funded from free cash flow. |
| Funds from operations | 54.1% | whyThe industry's basis — adds that depreciation back. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 303.3 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 89 / 100 — Comfortable. ? Peer standing 45/50Direction 25/30Stability 20/20
Funds from operations payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 54.1% |
| 2024-12-31 | 55.9% |
| 2023-12-31 | 53.6% |
| 2022-12-31 | 62.8% |
| 2021-12-31 | 67.2% |
| 2020-12-31 | 62.6% |
89% of the 46 real estate here pay out more — comfortable for the sector.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $1.92 ÷ diluted EPS $0.540
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $860m ÷ operating cash flow $1,647m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $860m ÷ (operating cash flow $1,647m − capex $2,928m)
- Funds from operations — dividends declared per share $1.92 ÷ derived FFO $3.55 per share
- FFO built NAREIT-style: net income, plus real-estate depreciation, less gains on sale, over weighted-average diluted shares
- This is an approximation. Every REIT defines its own adjusted variant in the filing text, so it will not match the earnings release exactly
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-06 · accession 0000740260-26-000006
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Caveats on this company
- FFO derived (NAREIT approximation)
Computed straight from SEC XBRL. A number that looks wrong to you is more useful to us than agreement — tell us.
What the funds from operations payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Also on: uncovered on earnings, covered on the basis that applies · rated comfortable · when it files.
When this changes
Every figure above is recomputed whenever Ventas files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.