Welltower
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 2/3
| Measure | WELL | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $2.00bn | positive | ✓ |
| Return on equity | 2.3% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.46x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | — | median 15.0% | — |
Passes 2 of 3. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Welltower. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 2/2
| Measure | WELL | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | — | median 10.1% | — |
| Cash conversion | 3.00x | median 1.78x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | — | median 15.0% | — |
| Debt to equity | 0.46x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Welltower. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 0/1
| Measure | WELL | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | — | median 10.1% | — |
| Return on equity | 2.3% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Operating margin | — | median 15.0% | — |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Welltower. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 2/4
| Measure | WELL | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 2.3% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.46x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | 3.00x | median 1.78x | ✓ |
| Return on equity, sustained | 0 of 10 | 8 of 10 above median | ✗ |
Passes 2 of 4. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Welltower. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 1/1
| Measure | WELL | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | — | median 15.0% | — |
| Net margin | 11.4% | median 10.2% | ✓ |
| Return on capital employed | — | median 10.1% | — |
Passes 1 of 1. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Welltower. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 1/1
| Measure | WELL | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | — | median 1.25x | — |
| Debt to equity | 0.46x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 1. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Welltower. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 1/1
| Measure | WELL | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | — | 2.00x published | — |
| Long-term debt to working capital | — | 1.00x published | — |
| Positive earnings, ten years running | 10 yrs | 10 published | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 1. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Welltower. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 2/2
| Measure | WELL | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 0.46x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Net margin | 11.4% | median 10.2% | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Welltower. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 202.9% | whyDepressed by depreciation on buildings that are not losing value. |
| Operating cash flow | 65.1% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | 102.5% | whyCounts property acquisitions as though they were maintenance. |
| Funds from operations | 62.9% | whyThe industry's basis — adds that depreciation back. |
140 points between highest and lowest basis.
Coverage rating 84 / 100 — Comfortable. ? Peer standing 41/50Direction 30/30Stability 13/20
Funds from operations payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 62.9% |
| 2024-12-31 | 59.8% |
| 2023-12-31 | 74.8% |
| 2022-12-31 | 78.0% |
| 2021-12-31 | 88.5% |
| 2020-12-31 | 114.0% |
83% of the 46 real estate here pay out more — comfortable for the sector.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $2.82 ÷ diluted EPS $1.39
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $1,877m ÷ operating cash flow $2,882m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $1,877m ÷ (operating cash flow $2,882m − capex $1,050m)
- Funds from operations — dividends declared per share $2.82 ÷ derived FFO $4.48 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 2026-02-12 · accession 0000766704-26-000010
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Caveats on this company
- ebitda built from net income (no operating income reported)
- 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 Welltower files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.