MeritValue

EQUITY LIFESTYLE PROPERTIES INC

ELSdata completeness 100%18 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'investmentsAtFairValue'; no data for concept 'netInvestmentIncome'; no data for concept 'realEstateImpairment'

The thesis, from the filings

EQUITY LIFESTYLE PROPERTIES INC earns about 22% on equity, but has diluted owners by 4% over 5 years — worth asking whether the growth reaches owners. The cash-flow models don't apply cleanly here — the ledger says why below.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$1.32B1$1.45B2$1.49B3$1.53B3$1.53B3
Net income$276M4$298.8M5$329.7M6$384.8M6$402.1M6
Operating cash flow$509M7$475.8M8$548M9$596.7M9$571.1M9
Capital expenditure$398M10$132.8M10$317.1M11$241.3M11$237.1M11
Free cash flow (derived)$111M7$343M8$230.9M9$355.4M9$334.1M9
Total debt$3.27B12$3.39B13$3.52B14$3.2B15$3.35B16
Cash & equivalents$123.4M17$22.3M18$29.9M18$24.6M18$26.1M18
Diluted shares192.9M195.3M195.4M196.6M200.1M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
$87.76
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$20.09
Free cash flow it threw off
$16.69
Debt you’d be carrying
$167.2

10 shares is a claim on $87.76 of net worth that earned you $20.09 and generated $16.69 of cash last year, against $167.2 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on equity
22% avg · 5y
FY21 20%FY22 21%FY23 23%FY24 22%FY25 23%

It earned an average 22% on equity over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+4% shares · 5y

Share count is up 4% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has held roughly steady.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.5.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
REIT — real-estate depreciation is an accounting charge on assets that generally appreciate, so it inflates free cash flow and depresses reported earnings and book value at the same time. Every model here reads one of those, and none is a fair base. FFO/AFFO is the applicable measure — see the FFO capitalisation model, which values REITs from it.
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
REIT — real-estate depreciation is an accounting charge on assets that generally appreciate, so it inflates free cash flow and depresses reported earnings and book value at the same time. Every model here reads one of those, and none is a fair base. FFO/AFFO is the applicable measure — see the FFO capitalisation model, which values REITs from it.
Earnings Power Value
not applicable
REIT — real-estate depreciation is an accounting charge on assets that generally appreciate, so it inflates free cash flow and depresses reported earnings and book value at the same time. Every model here reads one of those, and none is a fair base. FFO/AFFO is the applicable measure — see the FFO capitalisation model, which values REITs from it.
FFO · Capitalized
not applicable
FFO constructible for only 0 of the last 6 fiscal years — need ≥3 (net income and depreciation & amortization must both be tagged).
Graham Number
not applicable
REIT — real-estate depreciation is an accounting charge on assets that generally appreciate, so it inflates free cash flow and depresses reported earnings and book value at the same time. Every model here reads one of those, and none is a fair base. FFO/AFFO is the applicable measure — see the FFO capitalisation model, which values REITs from it.

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000895417-24-000036 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000895417-25-000013 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-008722 (Revenues)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000895417-24-000036 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000895417-25-000013 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-008722 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000895417-24-000036 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000895417-25-000013 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-008722 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K/A · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000895417-24-000016 (PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-008722 (PaymentsForCapitalImprovements)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000895417-22-000009 (LongTermDebt)
  13. 10-K/A · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000895417-24-000016 (LongTermDebt)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000895417-24-000036 (LongTermDebt)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0000895417-25-000013 (LongTermDebt)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-008722 (LongTermDebt)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000895417-25-000013 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-26-008722 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)