SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SMA)

CIK: 0001585389. SIC: 6798 Real Estate Investment Trusts. Latest 10-K as of: 2026-02-27.

SIC breadcrumb: Finance, Insurance, And Real Estate > Holding And Other Investment Offices > SIC 6798 Real Estate Investment Trusts

SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1585389. Latest filing source: 0001193125-26-082573.

Selected Fundamentals

Financials

Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-27. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001585389.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.

Flow metrics use full-year FY periods from 10-K/10-K/A filings; balance-sheet metrics use FY-end instants. Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures. Missing metrics are omitted rather than fabricated.

Ratios

ROE and ROA use period-end equity/assets. Liabilities / equity uses total liabilities divided by stockholders' equity. Current ratio uses current assets divided by current liabilities when both are reported.

Financial Charts

Quarterly

Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-08. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001585389.json.

Flow metrics use discrete quarter-length periods from 10-Q/10-Q/A filings. Q4 revenue and net income are derived only when annual FY and nine-month YTD facts exist for the same fiscal year; derived Q4 values are labeled. EPS Q4 is not derived.

Quarterly Charts

Macro Cross-References

• CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
• UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
• FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
• CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
• DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
• DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
• DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
• DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
• DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
• DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
• T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
• CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
• CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
• CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
• CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
• PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
• PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
• PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
• T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
• U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
• PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
• CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
• EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
• UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
• CE16OV - Employment Level
• ICSA - Initial Claims
• JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
• JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
• GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
• A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
• INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
• TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
• HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
• PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
• RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
• PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
• DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
• PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
• M2SL - M2
• BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
• MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
• HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
• RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
• TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
• RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
• TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
• REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
• DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
• GDP - Gross Domestic Product
• GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
• GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
• PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
• NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
• GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
• GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
• FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
• FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
• FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
• MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
• USCONS - All Employees, Construction
• USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
• USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
• USGOVT - All Employees, Government
• AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
• DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
• NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
• BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
• EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
• IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
• IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
• PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand

Latest quarter (10-Q)

Latest 10-Q source: 0001585389-26-000006.

Extracted structurally from real Item 2 body heading to real Item 3/4 boundary. Confidence: high. Filing date: 2026-05-08. Report date: 2026-03-31.

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial data contained elsewhere in this report. The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should also be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. See also “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” preceding Part I.

Overview

SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), is a self-managed and fully-integrated self storage real estate investment trust (“REIT”), formed on January 8, 2013 under the Maryland General Corporation Law. Our year-end is December 31. As used in this report, “we,” “us,” “our,” and “Company” refer to SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. and each of our subsidiaries. Our common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “SMA” on April 2, 2025.

We focus on the acquisition, ownership, and operation of self storage properties located primarily within the top 100 metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, throughout the United States and Canada. Based on the Inside Self Storage Top-Operators List ranking for 2025, and before accounting for the acquisition of Argus (defined below) and recent market transactions, we were the 10th largest owner and operator of self storage properties in the United States based on rentable square footage.

As of March 31, 2026, our wholly-owned portfolio consisted of 177 operating self storage properties diversified across 19 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada, comprising approximately 122,000 units and 13.9 million net rentable square feet.

Additionally, as of March 31, 2026, we owned a 50% equity interest in 14 unconsolidated real estate ventures located in Canada, which consisted of 10 operating self storage properties and four properties which were being developed into self storage properties.

Through our Managed Platform (as defined below), we serve as the sponsor of Strategic Storage Trust VI, Inc., a publicly-registered non-traded REIT (“SST VI”), Strategic Storage Growth Trust III, Inc., a private REIT (“SSGT III”), and Strategic Storage Trust X, a private net asset value REIT, (“SST X” and together with SST VI and SSGT III, the “Managed REITs”). We manage the properties owned by the Managed REITs and the properties owned by the Delaware statutory trusts (“DSTs”) sponsored by one of the Managed REITs. As of March 31, 2026, we managed 53 of such operating self storage properties, consisting of approximately 42,000 units and 4.6 million rentable square feet.

On October 1, 2025, we acquired Argus Professional Storage Management, LLC (“Argus”), a third-party manager of self storage properties (the “Third Party Platform Acquisition”). See Note 4 – Third Party Platform Acquisition of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information. As of March 31, 2026, we managed more than 225 of such operating self storage properties, consisting of more than approximately 102,000 units and 16.3 million rentable square feet (the “Third Party Platform”).

The Third Party Platform, the Managed REITs, and the other properties operated but not owned by us, as mentioned above, are referred to as the “Managed Platform.” In total, as of March 31, 2026, we managed more than 275 operating self storage properties, which we did not own, consisting of more than approximately 144,000 units and 20.9 million rentable square feet through our Managed Platform.

Our primary business model is focused on owning and operating high quality self storage properties in high growth markets in the United States and Canada. We finance our portfolio through a diverse capital strategy which includes cash generated from operations, borrowings under our syndicated revolving line of credit, secured and unsecured debt financing, equity offerings and joint ventures. Our business model is designed to maximize cash flow available for distribution to our stockholders and to achieve sustainable long-term growth in cash flow in order to maximize long-term stockholder value at acceptable levels of risk. We execute our organic growth strategy by pursuing revenue-optimizing and expense-minimizing opportunities in the operations of our existing portfolio. We execute our external growth strategy by developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing self storage facilities in the United States and Canada both internally and through our Managed Platform, and we look to acquire properties that are physically stabilized, recently developed, in various stages of lease up or at certificate of occupancy. We seek to acquire undermanaged facilities that are not operated by institutional operators, where we can implement our proprietary management and technology to maximize net operating income.

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On October 1, 2025, pursuant to a contribution agreement (the “Contribution Agreement”), we acquired Argus. The principal assets acquired were property management contracts covering the management of more than 220 properties and 400 employees (as of October 1, 2025), and an operating lease for Argus' corporate headquarters in Tucson, Arizona and other intellectual and personal property.

Additionally, we plan to continue to expand our third-party management platform in both Canada and the United States by scaling our Third Party Platform or through additional investments in or acquisitions of third-party management firms.

We have provided financing to the Managed REITs in the form of mezzanine loans, bridge loans, promissory notes, and preferred equity as applicable. We intend to continue in this practice going forward, if necessary. We continue to look to expand our lending practice to self storage facilities outside of the Managed REITs, potentially to third party managed properties or joint venture properties. We may enter into joint ventures or other forms of co-investments in order to scale our overall property count and diversify our portfolio of properties. Joint ventures may also allow us to acquire an interest in a property without requiring that we fund the entire purchase price, but for which we would target being the property manager, both in the U.S. and Canada.

As an operating business, self storage requires a much greater focus on strategic planning and tactical operation plans. Our in-house call center allows us to centralize our sales efforts as we capture new business over the phone, email, web-based chat, and text mediums. As we have grown our portfolio of self storage facilities, we have been able to consolidate and streamline a number of aspects of our operations through economies of scale. We also utilize our digital marketing breadth and expertise which allows us to acquire customers efficiently by leveraging our portfolio size and technological proficiency. To the extent we acquired facilities in clusters within geographic regions, we see property management efficiencies resulting in reduction of personnel and other operational costs.

In addition, we have the internal capability to originate, structure and manage additional self storage investment programs or Managed REITs, which would be sponsored by SmartStop REIT Advisors, LLC (“SRA”), our indirect subsidiary. We acquired such capability in 2019 from Strategic Asset Management I, LLC, our former sponsor (“SAM”). We generate asset management fees, property management fees, acquisition fees, and other fees and also receive substantially all of the tenant protection program revenue earned by our Managed REITs, as applicable. For the property management and advisory services that we provide, we are reimbursed for certain expenses that otherwise helps to offset our net operating expense burden. We primarily generate property management fees and receive a portion of the tenant protection program revenue from our third party owners and are reimbursed for certain costs incurred by our Third Party Platform, as applicable.

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Wholly-Owned Properties

As of March 31, 2026, our wholly-owned operating self storage portfolio was composed as follows:

State

No. of

Properties

Units (1)

Rentable

Sq. Ft.

(net) (2)

% of Total

Rentable

Sq. Ft.

Physical

Occupancy

% (3)

Rental

Income

% (4)

Alabama

1

1,090

163,300

1.2

%

93.3

%

0.6

%

Arizona

4

3,130

329,100

2.4

%

95.2

%

2.1

%

California

32

21,955

2,321,300

16.7

%

92.1

%

20.2

%

Colorado

11

6,475

750,450

5.4

%

91.9

%

4.6

%

Florida

28

21,435

2,500,250

18.0

%

92.4

%

19.8

%

Illinois

6

3,785

432,450

3.1

%

92.0

%

2.8

%

Indiana

2

1,030

112,700

0.8

%

90.5

%

0.5

%

Massachusetts

2

1,045

111,800

0.9

%

88.7

%

1.7

%

Maryland

2

1,610

169,500

1.2

%

92.5

%

1.2

%

Michigan

4

2,220

266,100

1.9

%

92.8

%

1.5

%

New Jersey

5

5,395

488,300

3.5

%

77.2

%

3.8

%

Nevada

9

7,160

865,000

6.2

%

92.5

%

5.5

%

North Carolina

18

8,670

1,138,850

8.2

%

91.3

%

6.8

%

Ohio

5

2,830

320,050

2.3

%

90.7

%

1.4

%

South Carolina

4

2,890

355,800

2.6

%

92.5

%

1.8

%

Texas

17

10,830

1,388,050

10.0

%

92.4

%

9.3

%

Virginia

1

830

71,100

0.5

%

91.7

%

0.7

%

Washington

5

3,430

390,550

2.8

%

94.0

%

3.0

%

Wisconsin

1

780

83,400

0.6

%

88.9

%

0.5

%

District of Columbia

1

830

72,000

0.6

%

96.0

%

0.7

%

Alberta, Canada

5

3,050

358,050

2.6

%

80.9

%

2.1

%

British Columbia, Canada

1

800

74,000

0.5

%

85.1

%

0.6

%

Ontario, Canada

13

10,610

1,110,700

8.0

%

91.8

%

8.8

%

Total

177

121,880

13,872,800

100.0

%

91.3

%

100.0

%

(1)
Includes all rentable units, consisting of storage units and parking (approximately 3,500 units).

(2)
Includes all rentable square feet, consisting of storage units and parking (approximately 1,070,000 square feet).

(3)
Represents the occupied square feet of all facilities we owned in a state or province divided by total rentable square feet of all the facilities we owned in such state or area as of March 31, 2026.

(4)
Represents rental income (excludes administrative fees, late fees, and other ancillary income) for all facilities we owned in a state or province divided by our total rental income for the three months ended March 31, 2026.

JV Properties

As of March 31, 2026, we had ownership interests in the Canadian JV Properties (defined below) and the Nantucket Joint Venture (defined below and together with the Canadian JV Properties, the “JV Properties”). We account for these investments using the equity method of accounting and they are stated at cost and adjusted for our share of net earnings or losses and reduced by distributions and increased for contributions. Equity in earnings (loss) will generally be recognized based on our ownership interest in the earnings (loss) of each of the unconsolidated investments.

On July 18, 2024, we entered into a joint venture arrangement with an unaffiliated third party to develop a self storage property in Nantucket, Massachusetts (the “Nantucket Joint Venture”). This property became operational in December 2025 and we serve as the property manager of this self storage property.

As of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the carrying value of this investment was approximately $6.8 million and $7.0 million, respectively, which represented an indirect investment of approximately 42% minority ownership of the property.

We are party to joint venture agreements with a subsidiary of SmartCentres, an unaffiliated third party, to acquire, develop, and operate self storage facilities. In connection with such agreements, as 50% owner and SmartCentres as the other 50% owner

[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]

Latest 10-K MD&A

Extracted structurally from real Item 7 body heading to real Item 7A/8 boundary. Confidence: high. Filing date: 2026-02-27. Report date: 2025-12-31.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial data contained within this Form 10-K, and our accompanying consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto. See also “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” preceding Part I.

Overview

We are a self-managed and fully-integrated self storage real estate investment trust (“REIT”). Our year end is December 31. As used in this report, “we,” “us,” “our,” and “Company” refer to SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. and each of our subsidiaries. Our Common Stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “SMA” on April 2, 2025.

We focus on the acquisition, ownership, and operation of self storage properties located primarily within the top 100 metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, throughout the United States and Canada. Based on the Inside Self Storage Top-Operators List ranking for 2025, and after accounting for recent market transactions, we are the 10th largest owner and operator of self storage properties in the United States based on rentable square footage. As of December 31, 2025, our wholly-owned portfolio consisted of 177 operating self storage properties diversified across 19 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada comprising approximately 122,000 units and 13.9 million net rentable square feet. Additionally, we owned a 50% equity interest in 13 unconsolidated real estate ventures located in Canada, which consisted of 10 operating self storage properties and three properties which were being developed into self storage properties as of December 31, 2025.

Further, through our Managed Platform (as defined below), we serve as the sponsor of Strategic Storage Trust VI, Inc., a publicly-registered non-traded REIT (“SST VI”), Strategic Storage Growth Trust III, Inc., a private REIT (“SSGT III”), and Strategic Storage Trust X, a private net asset value REIT launched in January 2025, (“SST X” and together with SST VI and SSGT III, the “Managed REITs”). We manage the properties owned by the Managed REITs. Inclusive of the properties owned by the Managed REITs and the properties owned by Delaware statutory trusts (“DSTs”) sponsored by one of the Managed REITs, in total, as of December 31, 2025, we managed 52 of such operating self storage properties, consisting of approximately 41,000 units and 4.5 million rentable square feet.

Effective October 1, 2025, we acquired Argus Professional Storage Management, LLC (“Argus”), a third-party manager of self storage properties (the “Third Party Platform Acquisition”). See Note 4 – Third Party Platform Acquisition of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information. As such, as of December 31, 2025, we managed an additional 221 of such properties, consisting of more than approximately 98,000 units and 15.9 million rentable square feet (the “Third Party Platform”). The Third Party Platform, the Managed REITs, and the other properties operated by us as mentioned above, are referred to as the “Managed Platform.”

In total, as of December 31, 2025, we managed 273 operating self storage properties, which we did not own, consisting of approximately 140,000 units and 20.4 million rentable square feet through our Managed Platform.

Our primary business model is focused on owning and operating high quality self storage properties in high growth markets in the United States and Canada. We finance our portfolio through a diverse capital strategy which includes cash generated from operations, borrowings under our syndicated revolving line of credit, secured and unsecured debt financing, equity offerings and joint ventures. Our business model is designed to maximize cash flow available for distribution to our stockholders and to achieve sustainable long-term growth in cash flow in order to maximize long-term stockholder value at acceptable levels of risk. We execute our organic growth strategy by pursuing revenue-optimizing and expense-minimizing opportunities in the operations of our existing portfolio. We execute our external growth strategy by developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing self storage facilities in the United States and Canada both internally and through our Managed Platform, and we look to acquire properties that are physically stabilized, recently developed, in various stages of lease up or at certificate of occupancy. We seek to acquire undermanaged facilities that are not operated by institutional operators, where we can implement our proprietary management and technology to maximize net operating income.

We acquired Argus pursuant to a contribution agreement (the “Contribution Agreement”). The principal assets acquired were property management contracts, covering the management of more than 221 properties and 400 employees (as of October 1, 2025) and an operating lease for their corporate headquarters in Tucson, Arizona and other intellectual and personal property.

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Additionally, we plan to continue to expand our third-party management platform in both Canada and the United States, by scaling our Third Party Platform or through additional investments in or acquisitions of third-party management firms.

We have provided financing to the Managed REITs in the form of mezzanine loans, bridge loans, promissory notes, and preferred equity as applicable. We intend to continue in this practice going forward, if necessary. We may look to further expand our lending practice to self storage facilities outside of the Managed REITs, potentially to third party managed properties or joint venture properties. We may enter into joint ventures or other forms of co-investments in order to scale our overall property count and diversify our portfolio of properties. Joint ventures may also allow us to acquire an interest in a property without requiring that we fund the entire purchase price, but for which we would target being the property manager, both in the U.S. and Canada.

As an operating business, self storage requires a much greater focus on strategic planning and tactical operation plans. Our in-house call center allows us to centralize our sales efforts as we capture new business over the phone, email, web-based chat, and text mediums. As we have grown our portfolio of self storage facilities, we have been able to consolidate and streamline a number of aspects of our operations through economies of scale. We also utilize our digital marketing breadth and expertise which allows us to acquire customers efficiently by leveraging our portfolio size and technological proficiency. To the extent we acquired facilities in clusters within geographic regions, we see property management efficiencies resulting in reduction of personnel and other administrative costs.

In addition, we have the internal capability to originate, structure and manage additional self storage investment programs or Managed REITs, which would be sponsored by SmartStop REIT Advisors, LLC (“SRA”), our indirect subsidiary. We acquired such capability in 2019 from Strategic Asset Management I, LLC (f/k/a SmartStop Asset Management, LLC), our former sponsor (“SAM”). We generate asset management fees, property management fees, acquisition fees and other fees and also receive substantially all of the tenant protection program revenue earned by our Managed REITs, as applicable. For the property management and advisory services that we provide, we are reimbursed for certain expenses that otherwise help to offset our net operating expense burden. We primarily generate property management fees and receive a portion of the tenant protection program revenue from our third party owners and are reimbursed for certain costs incurred by our Third Party Platform, as applicable.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We have established accounting policies which conform to generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Preparing financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to use judgment in the application of accounting policies, including making estimates and assumptions. Following is a discussion of the estimates and assumptions used in setting accounting policies that we consider critical in the presentation of our consolidated financial statements. Many estimates and assumptions involved in the application of GAAP may have a material impact on our financial condition or operating performance, or on the comparability of such information to amounts reported for other periods, because of the subjectivity and judgment required to account for highly uncertain items or the susceptibility of such items to change. These estimates and assumptions affect our reported amounts of assets and liabilities, our disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements and our reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the period covered by this report. If management’s judgment or interpretation of the facts and circumstances relating to various transactions had been different, it is possible that different accounting policies would have been applied or different amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses would have been recorded, thus resulting in a materially different presentation of the financial statements or materially different amounts being reported in the financial statements. Additionally, other companies may use different estimates and assumptions that may impact the comparability of our financial condition and results of operations to those companies.

We believe that our critical accounting policies include the following: real estate acquisition valuation; the evaluation of whether any of our long-lived assets have been impaired; the valuation of goodwill and related impairment considerations, the valuation of our trademarks and related impairment considerations; and the evaluation of the consolidation of our interests in joint ventures. The following discussion of these policies supplements, but does not supplant the description of our significant accounting policies, as contained in Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, and is intended to present our analysis of the uncertainties involved in arriving upon and applying each policy.

Real Estate Purchase Price Allocation and Treatment of Acquisition Costs

We account for asset acquisitions in accordance with GAAP which requires that we allocate the purchase price of a property to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and the liabilities assumed based on their relative fair values as of the

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date of acquisition. This guidance requires us to make significant estimates and assumptions, including fair value estimates, which requires the use of significant unobservable inputs as of the acquisition date. We engage independent third-party valuation specialists to assist in the determination of significant estimates and market-based assumptions used in the valuation models. Our allocations of purchase prices are based on certain significant estimates and assumptions, variations in such estimates and assumptions could result in a materially different presentation of the consolidated financial statements or materially different amounts being reported in the consolidated financial statements.

The value of the tangible assets, consisting of land and buildings, is determined as if vacant. Substantially all of the leases in place at acquired properties are at market rates, as the majority of the leases are month-to-month contracts. We also consider whether in-place, market leases represent an intangible asset.

Allocation of purchase price to acquisitions of portfolios of facilities are allocated to the individual facilities based upon an income approach or a cash flow analysis using appropriate risk adjusted capitalization rates which take into account the relative size, age, and location of the individual facility along with current and projected occupancy and rental rate levels or appraised values, if available.

Acquisitions that do not meet the definition of a business, as defined under current GAAP, are accounted for as asset acquisitions. To date, our property acquisitions have generally not met the definition of a business because substantially all of the fair value was concentrated in a single identifiable asset or group of similar identifiable assets (i.e. land, buildings, and related intangible assets) and because the acquisitions did not include a substantive process in the form of an acquired workforce or an acquired contract that cannot be replaced without significant cost, effort or delay. As a result, once an acquisition is deemed probable, acquisition costs are capitalized rather than expensed.

Evaluation of Possible Impairment of Real Property Assets

Management monitors events and changes in circumstances that could indicate that the carrying amounts of our real property assets may not be recoverable. When indicators of potential impairment are present that indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets may not be recoverable, we will assess the recoverability of the assets by determining whether the carrying value of the real property assets will be recovered through the undiscounted future operating cash flows expected from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. In the event that such expected undiscounted future cash flows do not exceed the carrying value, we will adjust the value of the real property assets to the fair value and recognize an impairment loss. Our evaluation of the impairment of real property assets could result in a materially different presentation of the financial statements or materially different amounts being reported in the financial statements, as the amount of impairment loss, if any, recognized may vary based on the estimates and assumptions we use.

Intangible Assets Valuation

In connection with the acquisition of the Third Party Platform, we allocated a portion of the consideration to an intangible asset related to the property management contracts and the related customer relationships. We are amortizing such intangible asset on a straight-line basis over the estimated benefit period of the property management contracts and related customer relationships. We evaluate such intangible asset for impairment when an event occurs or circumstances change that indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. In such an event, an impairment charge would be recognized and the intangible asset would be marked down to its fair value.

Goodwill Valuation

Goodwill is recorded as the difference, if any, between the aggregate consideration paid for an acquisition and the fair value of the net tangible assets and other intangible assets acquired. Goodwill is allocated to various reporting units, as applicable, and is not amortized. We perform an annual qualitative impairment assessment as of December 31 for goodwill; between annual assessments, we evaluate the recoverability of goodwill whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of goodwill may not be fully recoverable. If circumstances indicate the carrying amount may not be fully recoverable, we perform a quantitative analysis to compare the fair value of each reporting unit to its respective carrying amount. If the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its fair value, an impairment charge will be recognized.

Trademarks Valuation

Trademarks are based on the value of our brands. Trademarks are valued using the relief from royalty method, which presumes that without ownership of such trademarks, we would have to make a stream of payments to a brand or franchise

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owner in return for the right to use their name. By virtue of this asset, we avoid any such payments and record the related intangible fair value of our ownership of the brand name.

We qualitatively evaluate whether any triggering events or changes in circumstances have occurred in addition to our annual impairment test that would indicate an impairment condition may exist. If any change in circumstance or triggering event occurs, and results in a significant impact to our revenue and profitability projections, or any significant assumption in our valuation methods is adversely impacted, the impact could result in a material impairment charge in the future.

Consolidation Considerations

Current accounting guidance provides a framework for identifying a variable interest entity (“VIE”) and determining when a company should include the assets, liabilities, noncontrolling interests, and results of activities of a VIE in its consolidated financial statements. In general, a VIE is an entity or other legal structure used to conduct activities or hold assets that either (1) has an insufficient amount of equity to carry out its principal activities without additional subordinated financial support, (2) has a group of equity owners that are unable to make significant decisions about its activities, or (3) has a group of equity owners that do not have the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive returns generated by its operations. Generally, a VIE should be consolidated if a party with an ownership, contractual, or other financial interest in the VIE (a variable interest holder) has the power to direct the VIE’s most significant activities and the obligation to absorb losses or right to receive benefits of the VIE that could be significant to the VIE. A variable interest holder that consolidates the VIE is called the primary beneficiary. Upon consolidation, the primary beneficiary generally must initially record all of the VIE’s assets, liabilities, and noncontrolling interest at fair value and subsequently account for the VIE as if it were consolidated based on majority voting interest.

We evaluate the consolidation of our investments in VIE's in accordance with relevant accounting guidance. This evaluation requires us to determine whether we have a controlling interest in a VIE through a means other than voting rights, and, if so, such VIE may be required to be consolidated in our financial statements. Our evaluation of our VIE's under such accounting guidance could result in a materially different presentation of the financial statements or materially different amounts being reported in the financial statements, as the VIE's included in our consolidated financial statements may vary based on the estimates and assumptions we use.

REIT Qualification

We made an election under Section 856(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code) to be taxed as a REIT under the Code, commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2014. By qualifying as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on income that we distribute to our stockholders. If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income at regular corporate rates and will not be permitted to qualify for treatment as a REIT for federal income tax purposes for four years following the year in which our qualification is denied. Such an event could materially and adversely affect our net income and could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. However, we believe that we are organized and operate in a manner that will enable us to continue to qualify for treatment as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, and we intend to continue to operate as to remain qualified as a REIT for federal income tax purposes.

Recent Tax Legislation

Effective July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) was signed into law. Certain provisions of OBBBA modified U.S. tax law and impact us and our stockholders. Among other changes, this legislation (i) permanently extended the 20% deduction for “qualified REIT dividends” for individuals and other non-corporate taxpayers under Section 199A of the Code, (ii) permanently reinstated 100% bonus depreciation for certain property acquired after January 19, 2025, (iii) increased the percentage limit under the REIT asset test applicable to taxable REIT subsidiaries from 20% to 25% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, and (iv) increased the base on which the 30% interest deduction limit under Section 163(j) of the Code applies by excluding depreciation, amortization and depletion from the definition of “adjusted taxable income” for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024. We are currently evaluating the provisions of OBBBA, but do not expect it to have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Results of Operations

Overview

We derive revenues principally from: (i) rents received from our self storage tenant leases; (ii) fees generated from our Managed Platform; (iii) our Tenant Protection Programs; and (iv) sales of packing and storage-related supplies at our storage

44

facilities. Therefore, our operating results depend significantly on our ability to retain our existing tenants and lease our available self storage units to new tenants, while maintaining and, where possible, increasing the prices for our self storage units and those that we manage.

Competition in the market areas in which we operate is significant and affects the occupancy levels, rental rates, rental revenues and operating expenses of our facilities. Development of any new self storage facilities would intensify competition of self storage operators in markets in which we operate.

As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, we wholly-owned 177 and 161 operating self storage facilities, respectively.

Our operating results for the year ended December 31, 2025 included full year period results for 161 operating self storage facilities. During the year ended December 31, 2025, our operating results included partial period results for 17 self storage facilities acquired during the year ended December 31, 2025, one of which was sold prior to December 31, 2025.

Our operating results for the year ended December 31, 2024 included full year period results for 153 operating self storage facilities. During the year ended December 31, 2024, our operating results included partial period results for nine self storage facilities, eight of which were acquired during the year ended December 31, 2024, and one of which became non-operational prior to December 31, 2024, as it sustained damage in September 2024 caused by Hurricane Helene. Operating results in future periods will depend on the results of operations of these properties and of the real estate properties that we acquire in the future.

In addition to the above noted substantial acquisition activity, we also completed our Underwritten Public Offering, generating net proceeds of approximately $875.6 million. We utilized such proceeds to fund certain acquisitions, fully redeem $200 million of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, and pay off approximately $647.1 million in previously outstanding higher rate debt. In connection with the foregoing, we also issued the IPO Grant. Furthermore, on June 16, 2025, we issued $500 million CAD indebtedness in our 2028 Canadian Notes offering, which have a fixed interest rate of approximately 3.91% and paid down approximately $255.4 million of debt and a related interest rate swap, which at the time of the paydown had a weighted average interest rate of approximately 5.9%. Additionally, on September 24, 2025, we issued $200 million of CAD denominated debt through our 2030 Canadian Notes. Such proceeds were used to pay down our Credit Facility, reducing our interest costs. Effective October 1, 2025, we acquired our Third Party Platform. Such transactions have had a significant impact on our operating results for the year ended December 31, 2025, and will further impact our operating results in the future.

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024

Total Self Storage Revenues

Total self storage related revenues for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $249.5 million and $219.0 million, respectively. The increase in total self storage revenues of approximately $30.5 million, or 14%, was primarily attributable to an increase in non same-store revenues of approximately $25.8 million, largely as a result of 17 property acquisitions during the year ended December 31, 2025, the operating results of which were not included during the year ended December 31, 2024. Additionally, our same-store revenues were up approximately $3.3 million, or approximately 1.6%, and our tenant protection program revenues across all of our stores were up approximately $1.5 million, or approximately 17.5%.

We expect self storage revenues to fluctuate based on the performance of our same-store pool, which will be influenced by the overall economic environment and increases in self storage supply, amongst other things. Additionally, we expect our non same-store revenues to grow, given many of these properties were not owned for the full period.

Managed Platform Revenues

Managed Platform revenues for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $19.2 million and $11.4 million, respectively. This represents an increase of approximately $7.8 million. Approximately $2.9 million of the Managed Platform Revenues earned during the year ended December 31, 2025 were related to our newly acquired Third Party Platform. The remaining increase in Managed Platform revenues was also largely attributable to increased acquisition fees of approximately $2.3 million and, to a lesser extent, an increase in the other recurring revenues derived from the Managed REITs, generally commensurate with their growth, as compared to the same period in the prior year.

45

We expect Managed Platform revenues to increase next year as the Third Party Platform will contribute a full year of revenues and it will otherwise fluctuate commensurate with our Managed Platform’s increase in operations and assets under management, as well as additional reductions recorded to such revenue in connection with the Sponsor Funding Agreement.

Reimbursable Costs from Managed Platform

Reimbursable costs from Managed Platform for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $12.5 million and $6.6 million, respectively. Such revenues consisted of costs incurred by us as we provide property management and advisory services to the owners of the properties we manage through our Managed Platform, which are reimbursed by such owners, pursuant to our related contracts with the owners, as applicable. The increase in reimbursable costs from the Managed Platform of approximately $5.9 million was primarily related to our newly acquired Third Party Platform, which contributed approximately $3.8 million of the reimbursable costs from Managed Platform during the year ended December 31, 2025. The remaining increase in reimbursable costs from Managed Platform was attributable to growth in the Managed REITs’ assets under management.

We expect such reimbursable costs to increase in future periods as a result of additional acquisitions by our Managed REITs and the inclusion of the Third Party Platform for a full period. We further expect reimbursable costs from Managed Platform to generally fluctuate commensurate with our Managed Platform’s increase in operations as we receive reimbursement for providing such services.

Property Operating Expenses

Property operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $86.4 million (or 35% of self storage revenue) and $70.7 million (or 32% of self storage revenue), respectively. Property operating expenses includes the costs to operate our facilities including compensation related expenses, utilities, insurance, real estate taxes, and property related marketing. The increase in property operating expenses of approximately $15.7 million was largely attributable to increased property operating expenses of approximately $9.8 million related to our non same-store properties and an additional $3.6 million of stock based compensation and related costs due to the IPO Grant related to store level employees, and, to a lesser extent, increased property taxes, payroll costs and repairs and maintenance expenses at our same-store properties. The majority of the store level IPO Grants became fully vested on October 1, 2025.

The IPO Grant related to property operating expenses is fully vested; therefore, no further expense will be recorded prospectively. We expect property operating expenses to fluctuate commensurate with inflationary pressures, along with the timing and nature of any future acquisitions.

Managed Platform Expenses

Managed Platform expenses for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $9.8 million and $4.0 million, respectively. Such expenses primarily consisted of expenses related to non-reimbursable costs associated with the operation of the Managed Platform. Managed Platform expenses increased by approximately $5.8 million as compared to the prior year.

Approximately $2.5 million of Managed Platform expenses during the year ended December 31, 2025 was related to our newly acquired Third Party Platform. The remaining increase in Managed Platform Expenses during the year ended December 31, 2025 was primarily related to approximately $2.1 million of stock compensation and related costs associated with our IPO Grant related to the management of the Managed REITs during the year ended December 31, 2025, and approximately $1.2 million of contract termination costs related to the termination of the Former Dealer Manager for our Managed REITs during the year ended December 31, 2025

We expect Managed Platform expenses to increase next year as the Third Party Platform will contribute a full year of expenses and it will otherwise fluctuate in future periods commensurate with our level of activity related to the Managed Platform.

Reimbursable Costs from Managed Platform

Reimbursable costs from Managed Platform for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $12.5 million and $6.6 million, respectively. Such expenses consisted of costs incurred by us as we provide property management and advisory services to the owners of the properties we manage through our Managed Platform, which are reimbursed by such owners, pursuant to our related contracts with the owners, as applicable. The increase in reimbursable costs from the Managed Platform of approximately $5.9 million was primarily related to our newly acquired Third Party

46

Platform, which contributed approximately $3.8 million of the reimbursable costs from Managed Platform during the year ended December 31, 2025. The remaining increase in reimbursable costs from Managed Platform was attributable to growth in the Managed REITs’ assets under management.

We expect such reimbursable costs to increase in future periods as a result of additional acquisitions by our Managed REITs and the inclusion of the Third Party Platform for a full period. We further expect reimbursable costs from Managed Platform to generally fluctuate commensurate with our Managed Platform’s increase in operations as we receive reimbursement for providing such services.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $38.2 million and $29.9 million, respectively. Such expenses consisted primarily of compensation related costs, equity based compensation, marketing related costs, legal expenses, accounting expenses, transfer agent fees, directors and officers’ insurance expense and board of directors related costs. The increase in general and administrative expenses of approximately $8.3 million was primarily attributable to increased stock and related compensation costs, which was in total approximately $6.1 million more compared to the prior period, inclusive of approximately $3.8 million related to the IPO Grant. The change was, to a lesser extent, also attributable to increased compensation costs and professional expenses.

During the year ended December 31, 2025, we incurred approximately $0.9 million related to our Underwritten Public Offering which was included in general and administrative expenses and were not capitalized as such costs were not directly attributable thereto, and were therefore included in general and administrative expense. Additionally, the 2025 costs also included approximately $0.6 million of professional fees related to the calculation of our estimated net asset value, which we will no longer incur, given the listing of our common stock. Certain of the general and administrative expenses incurred during the year ended December 31, 2024 relate to our filing of a registration statement on Form S-11 and our pursuit of a potential offering of our common stock, such amounts were expensed given the delay in our offering until 2025.

We expect general and administrative expenses to decrease as a percentage of total revenues over time.

Depreciation and Intangible Amortization Expenses

Depreciation and intangible amortization expenses for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $73.2 million and $56.1 million, respectively. Depreciation expense consisted primarily of depreciation on the buildings and site improvements at our properties. Intangible amortization expense primarily consisted of the amortization of our in place lease intangible assets resulting from our self storage acquisitions, and to a lesser extent, the amortization of the customer contracts and related relationships intangible asset recorded in connection with our acquisition of the Third Party Platform.

The increase in depreciation and intangible amortization expenses of approximately $17.1 million was primarily attributable to such expense incurred related to the acquisition of 17 wholly-owned properties, which were all acquired after December 31, 2024, as well as additional depreciation and amortization expense related to the eight properties we acquired during the year ended December 31, 2024.

Acquisition Expenses

Acquisition expenses for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $2.0 million and $0.4 million, respectively. These acquisition expenses were recognized in accordance with our capitalization policy. The increase in acquisition expenses of approximately $1.6 million was due to our increase in acquisition volume in the current period, including approximately $1.0 million of such expenses associated with our Third Party Platform Acquisition.

Contingent Earnout Adjustment

Contingent earnout adjustment for the year ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $0.2 million and none, respectively. Such expense represents the adjustment to fair value of the contingent earnout established in connection with the Third Party Platform Acquisition. See Note 4 – Third Party Platform Acquisition of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

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Gain on Disposition of Real Estate

Gain on disposition of real estate for the year ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $0.3 million and none, respectively. Upon sale of the Murfreesboro property to SST X in October 2025, we recorded a gain of approximately $0.3 million in connection with our recovery of depreciation and amortization, which was previously recorded while we owned this property. Please see Note 3 – Real Estate Facilities of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

Equity in Earnings (Losses) from Investments in Unconsolidated Real Estate Ventures

Losses from our equity method investments in unconsolidated real estate ventures for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $0.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively. Losses from our equity method investments in unconsolidated real estate ventures consisted primarily of our allocation of earnings and losses from our unconsolidated joint ventures.

Equity in Earnings (Losses) from Investments in Managed REITs

Losses from our equity method investments in the Managed REITs for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $0.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively. Losses from our equity method investments in Managed REITs consisted primarily of our allocation of earnings and losses from our investments in SST VI and SSGT III.

Other, Net

Other, net for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $21,000 and $1.3 million, respectively, of expense. Other, net consisted primarily of certain state tax expenses, foreign currency fluctuations, changes in value related to our foreign currency and interest rate hedges not designated for hedge accounting, and other miscellaneous items. The favorable variance was primarily attributable to business interruption insurance income recorded in connection with one of our properties, as well as a smaller loss on our interest rate derivatives in 2025 when compared to 2024. These favorable variances were offset by our foreign currency fluctuations, which represented a loss of approximately $0.8 million and a gain of approximately $1.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Interest Income

Interest income for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $4.4 million and $3.2 million, respectively. Interest income included interest income on loans to the Managed REITs, accretion of financing fee revenues associated with such loans, and interest earned on cash held at financial institutions. The increase in interest income of $1.1 million was primarily related to increased lending to the Managed REITs.

We expect interest income from the Managed REITs to fluctuate commensurate with their level of borrowings, as well as changes to benchmark interest rates on such borrowings.

Interest Expense

Interest expense for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $59.9 million and $72.3 million, respectively. Interest expense included interest expense on our debt, accretion of fair market value of debt, amortization of debt issuance costs, and the impact of any interest rate derivatives designated for hedge accounting. The decrease in interest expense of approximately $12.4 million was primarily due to decreased borrowings as a result of certain of our Underwritten Public Offering proceeds being used to reduce our overall borrowings, as well as a lower average effective interest rate.

We expect interest expense to fluctuate in future periods commensurate with our future debt levels and fluctuations in interest rates.

Loss on Debt Extinguishment

Loss on debt extinguishment for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $2.5 million, and $0.5 million , respectively. Loss on debt extinguishment for the year ended December 31, 2025 was primarily related to debt issuance costs written off in connection with a reduction in the total commitment on our Credit Facility from $700 million to $600 million, the pay-off of the 2027 NBC loan, the full repayment of the 2025 KeyBank Acquisition Facility, and the defeasance of our KeyBank Florida CMBS Loan, which were all completed during the year ended December 31, 2025. Loss on debt extinguishment for the year ended December 31, 2024 was related to unamortized debt issuance costs associated with

48

our Former Credit Facility which were expensed in connection with its termination and the execution of the current Credit Facility during the year ended December 31, 2024.

Please see Note 7 – Debt of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

Income Tax (Expense) Benefit

Income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was approximately $1.9 million and $1.5 million, respectively. Income tax expense consisted primarily of state, federal, and Canadian income tax. The increase in income tax expense of approximately $0.4 million was primarily due to increased operations and related tax expense at our Canadian properties.

We expect our income tax expense to increase in future periods primarily related to our operations in Canada.

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Same-Store Facility Results – Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024

The following table sets forth operating data for our same-store facilities (stabilized and comparable properties that have been included in the consolidated results of operations since January 1, 2024, excluding four other properties) for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. We consider the following data to be meaningful as this allows generally for the comparison of results without the effects of acquisition, dispositions, development activity, properties impacted by casualty events, lease up properties or similar other such factors (dollars in thousands, except per occupied square foot amounts):

Same-Store Facilities

Non Same-Store Facilities

Total

2025

2024

%

Change

2025

2024

%

Change

2025

2024

%

Change

Revenue (1)

$

206,896

$

203,590

1.6

%

$

32,872

$

7,090

N/M

$

239,768

$

210,680

13.8

%

Property operating expenses (2)

68,555

66,040

3.8

%

13,424

3,661

N/M

81,979

69,701

17.6

%

Net operating income

$

138,341

$

137,550

0.6

%

$

19,448

$

3,429

N/M

$

157,789

$

140,979

11.9

%

Number of facilities

149

149

29

 (6)

13

178

162

Rentable square feet (3)

11,543,760

11,526,700

2,397,625

1,090,200

13,941,385

12,616,900

Average physical occupancy (4)

92.5

%

92.2

%

0.3

%

87.5

%

N/M

N/M

91.9

%

92.1

%

-0.2

%

Annualized rent per occupied square foot (5)

$

20.03

$

19.98

0.3

%

$

21.63

N/M

N/M

$

20.24

$

19.84

2.0

%

N/M Not meaningful

(1)
Revenue includes rental income, certain ancillary revenue, administrative and late fees, and excludes Tenant Protection Program revenue.

(2)
Among other expenses, property operating expenses excludes Tenant Protection Program related expense and stock compensation expense related to the grant issued in connection with our Underwritten Public Offering. Please see the reconciliation of net operating income to net income (loss) below for the full detail of adjustments to reconcile net operating income to net income (loss).

(3)
Of the total rentable square feet, parking represented approximately 1,095,000 square feet and 1,040,000 square feet as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. On a same-store basis, for the same periods, parking represented approximately 970,000 square feet. Amount not in thousands.

(4)
Determined by dividing the sum of the month-end occupied square feet for the applicable group of facilities for each applicable period by the sum of their month-end rentable square feet for the period. Properties are included in the respective calculations in their first full month of operations, as appropriate. In the event a property is disposed of, or becomes completely inoperable during the period, such property is excluded from the respective calculation.

(5)
Determined by dividing the aggregate rental income, net of discounts and concessions and excluding late and administrative fees for each applicable period by the aggregate of the month-end occupied square feet for the period. Properties are included in the respective calculations in their first full month of operations, as appropriate. In the event a property is disposed of, or becomes completely inoperable during the period, such property is excluded from the respective calculation in the first full month of non-operation. We have excluded the rental revenue and occupied square feet related to parking herein for the purpose of calculating annualized rent per occupied square foot. Amount not in thousands.

(6)
Included in the 2025 non same-store data is a self storage facility located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, consisting of approximately 62,100 square feet that was purchased on February 20, 2025, and sold to SST X on October 30, 2025.

Our same-store revenue increased by approximately $3.3 million, or approximately 1.6%, for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 due to an approximately 0.3% increase in average occupancy, an

50

approximately 0.3% increase in annualized rent per occupied square foot and increased administrative and late fees. Property operating expenses increased by approximately 3.8%, primarily attributable to increased property taxes and payroll costs.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss as presented on our consolidated statements of operations to net operating income, as stated above, for the periods indicated (in thousands):

Year Ended December 31,

2025

2024

Net loss

$

(1,737

)

$

(5,887

)

Adjusted to exclude:

Tenant Protection Program revenue (1)

(9,748

)

(8,296

)

Tenant Protection Program related expense

802

983

IPO Grant (2)

3,584

—

Managed Platform revenue

(19,166

)

(11,383

)

Managed Platform expenses

9,843

3,982

General and administrative

38,211

29,948

Depreciation

63,226

55,175

Intangible amortization expense

9,974

935

Acquisition expenses

2,030

413

Losses from our equity method investments in unconsolidated real estate ventures

407

1,380

Losses from our equity method investments in Managed REITs

444

1,414

Other, net

21

1,282

Interest income

(4,368

)

(3,247

)

Interest expense

59,895

72,325

Contingent earnout adjustment

221

—

Loss on debt extinguishment

2,533

471

Gain on disposition of real estate

(284

)

—

Income tax expense

1,901

1,484

Total net operating income

$

157,789

$

140,979

(1)
Approximately $8.3 million and $7.9 million of Tenant Protection Program revenue was earned at same-store facilities during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, with the remaining approximately $1.5 million and $0.4 million earned at non same-store facilities during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

(2)
Stock compensation and related expense herein only includes such expense related to the Underwritten Public Offering that is included in property operating expense.

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023

The results of operations and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2024 compared to December 31, 2023 were included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 which was filed with the SEC on March 12, 2025.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Funds from Operations

Funds from operations (“FFO”) is a non-GAAP financial metric promulgated by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”), that we believe is an appropriate supplemental measure to reflect our operating performance.

We define FFO consistent with the standards established by the White Paper on FFO approved by the board of governors of NAREIT (“the White Paper”). The White Paper defines FFO as net income (loss) computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding gains or losses from sales of property and real estate related asset impairment write downs, plus depreciation and amortization, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. Additionally, gains and losses from change in control are excluded from the determination of FFO. Adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures are calculated to reflect FFO on the same basis. Our FFO calculation complies with NAREIT’s policy described above.

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FFO, as Adjusted

We use FFO, as adjusted, as an additional non-GAAP financial measure to evaluate our operating performance. FFO, as adjusted, provides investors with supplemental performance information that is consistent with the performance models and analysis used by management. In addition, FFO, as adjusted, is a measure used among our peer group, which includes publicly traded REITs. Further, we believe FFO, as adjusted, is useful in comparing the sustainability of our operating performance with the sustainability of the operating performance of other real estate companies.

In determining FFO, as adjusted, we make further adjustments to the NAREIT computation of FFO to exclude the effects of non-real estate related asset impairments and intangible amortization, acquisition-related costs, other write-offs incurred in connection with acquisitions, contingent earnout expenses, accretion of fair value of debt adjustments, amortization of debt issuance costs, gains or losses from extinguishment of debt, adjustments of deferred tax assets and liabilities, realized and unrealized gains/losses on foreign exchange transactions, gains/losses on certain foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives not designated for hedge accounting, and other select non-recurring income or expense items which we believe are not indicative of our overall long-term operating performance. We exclude these items from GAAP net income (loss) to arrive at FFO, as adjusted, as they are not the primary drivers in our decision-making process and excluding these items provides investors a view of our continuing operating portfolio performance over time, which in any respective period may experience fluctuations in such acquisition, merger or other similar activities that are not of a long-term operating performance nature. FFO, as adjusted, also reflects adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and jointly owned investments. We use FFO, as adjusted, as one measure of our operating performance when we formulate corporate goals and evaluate the effectiveness of our strategies.

Presentation of FFO and FFO, as adjusted, is intended to provide useful information to investors as they compare the operating performance of different REITs. However, not all REITs calculate FFO and FFO, as adjusted, the same way, so comparisons with other REITs may not be meaningful. Furthermore, FFO and FFO, as adjusted, are not necessarily indicative of cash flow available to fund cash needs and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) as an indication of our performance, as an alternative to cash flows from operations, as an indication of our liquidity or indicative of funds available to fund our cash needs including our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. FFO and FFO, as adjusted, should be reviewed in conjunction with other measurements as an indication of our performance.

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The following is a reconciliation of net (loss) income, which is the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to FFO (attributable to common stockholders and OP unit holders) and FFO, as adjusted (attributable to common stockholders and OP unit holders), for each of the periods presented below (in thousands):

Years Ended December 31,

2025

2024

2023

Net (loss) income

$

(1,737

)

$

(5,887

)

$

11,647

Other noncontrolling interests

(305

)

(507

)

(579

)

Distributions to preferred stockholders

(3,567

)

(12,758

)

(12,500

)

Less: Accretion - preferred equity costs

(3,644

)

—

—

Adjustments:

Depreciation of real estate

61,986

53,975

52,620

Gain on disposition of real estate

(284

)

—

—

Amortization of real estate related intangible assets

9,556

715

6,302

Depreciation and amortization of real estate and intangible assets from unconsolidated entities

2,954

2,615

2,375

FFO (attributable to common stockholders and OP unit holders)

64,959

38,153

59,865

Other Adjustments:

Intangible amortization expense - contracts (1)

418

220

292

Acquisition-related expenses (2)

2,512

413

193

Acquisition expenses, amortization of debt issuance costs and foreign currency (gains) losses, net from unconsolidated entities

202

222

69

Loss due to hurricane (3)

—

500

—

Contingent earnout adjustment (4)

221

—

—

Accretion of fair market value of secured debt

719

120

13

Loss on extinguishment of debt (5)

2,533

471

—

Foreign currency and interest rate derivative losses (gains), net (6)

2,264

577

(178

)

Transactional expenses (7)

2,422

330

792

IPO Grant (8)

9,458

—

—

Adjustment of deferred tax assets and liabilities (1)

1,046

845

(3,301

)

Sponsor funding reduction (9)

1,052

844

34

Accretion - preferred equity costs (1)

3,644

—

—

Amortization of debt issuance costs (1)

4,080

4,115

2,728

FFO, as adjusted (attributable to common stockholders and OP unit holders) (10)

$

95,530

$

46,810

$

60,507

(1)
These items represent the amortization, accretion, or adjustment of intangible assets, debt issuance costs, equity issuance costs, or deferred tax assets and liabilities.

(2)
This represents acquisition expenses associated with investments in real estate that were incurred prior to the acquisitions becoming probable and therefore not capitalized in accordance with our capitalization policy, as well as specific incremental acquisition-related expenses included in general and administrative in our consolidated statements of operations related to certain third party costs for completed acquisitions. This also includes costs associated with a one-time retention plan accrual of approximately $0.2 million, which was established on October 1, 2025 in connection with the Third Party Platform Acquisition. See Note 4 – Third Party Platform Acquisition of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

(3)
Such casualty loss relates to Hurricane Helene, which occurred in September 2024.

(4)
The contingent earnout adjustment represents the adjustment to fair value of the contingent earnout established in connection with the Third Party Platform Acquisition. See Note 4 – Third Party Platform Acquisition of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

(5)
The net loss associated with the extinguishment of debt includes prepayment penalties, defeasance costs, the write-off of unamortized deferred financing fees, and other fees incurred.

(6)
This represents the mark-to-market adjustment for certain of our derivative instruments not designated for hedge accounting and the ineffective portion of the change in fair value of derivatives recognized in earnings. Changes in foreign currency related to our foreign equity investments not classified as long term under GAAP, along with transactions denominated in a currency other than the functional currency of the related entity, which includes both our 2028 Canadian Notes and our 2030 Canadian Notes. There was no adjustment during the year ended December 31, 2025 for the approximately $0.5 million of income received during the period related to the short term forward entered into and settled in the period to hedge interest rate movements related to the 2028 Canadian Notes. Changes in foreign currency related to our foreign equity investments not classified as long term are included in this adjustment.

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(7)
Such costs incurred for the year ended December 31, 2025 primarily included: i) approximately $0.9 million related to our Underwritten Public Offering, but were not directly attributable thereto, and were therefore included in general and administrative in our consolidated statements of operations; ii) approximately $1.2 million of termination costs related to our Former Dealer Manager; and iii) approximately $0.6 million of professional fees related to the calculation of our estimated net asset value, which we will no longer incur, given the listing of our common stock and other similar minor amounts. Such costs in 2024 and 2023 relate to our filing of our registration statement on Form S-11 and the pursuit of the offering of our common stock, which was successfully completed in April 2025. As these items are non-recurring and not a primary driver in our decision-making process, FFO is adjusted for its effect to arrive at FFO, as adjusted, as a means of determining a comparable sustainable operating performance metric.

(8)
The amounts adjusted for in the table above relate to the stock compensation expense and related employer tax liabilities recorded related to the equity grants issued in connection with the Underwritten Public Offering. FFO is adjusted for its effect to arrive at FFO, as adjusted, and was adjusted for this one-time grant as a means of determining a comparable sustainable operating performance metric.

(9)
Pursuant to the Sponsor Funding Agreement, SmartStop funded certain costs of SST VI's share sales, and in return receives Series C Units in Strategic Storage Operating Partnership VI, L.P. The excess of the funding over the value of the Series C Units received is accounted for as a reduction of Managed Platform revenue from SST VI over the remaining estimated term of the management contracts with SST VI. See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. FFO is adjusted for its effect to arrive at FFO, as adjusted, as a means of determining a comparable sustainable operating performance metric.

(10)
Our calculation of FFO, as adjusted was modified beginning in the period ended March 31, 2024, to add back the amortization of debt issuance costs. Accordingly, the prior periods have been presented here based on the current calculation, which differs from what was previously reported for such periods. This modification was made to reflect what management believes is a more appropriate calculation in light of recently completed debt refinancings as a means of determining a comparable sustainable operating performance metric.

FFO, as adjusted increased compared to the same period in the prior year primarily as a result of increased net operating income from our properties of approximately $16.8 million, reduced interest expense of approximately $12.4 million, reduced distributions to our preferred stockholders of approximately $9.2 million and, to a lesser extent, increases in income from both our Managed Platform and improvements related to certain of our investments.

Cash Flows

A comparison of cash flows for operating, investing and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 are as follows (in thousands):

For the Years Ended December 31,

2025

2024

Change

Net cash flow provided by (used in):

Operating activities

$

84,969

$

64,027

$

20,942

Investing activities

$

(380,755

)

$

(180,938

)

$

(199,817

)

Financing activities

$

325,227

$

94,816

$

230,411

Cash flows provided by operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $85.0 million and $64.0 million, respectively. The increase of approximately $20.9 million in cash provided by our operating activities is primarily the result of an increase of approximately $29.0 million in net income when excluding the impact of non-cash items, largely due to an increase in net operating income and a reduction in interest expense. The aforementioned improvements were slightly offset by unfavorable changes in working capital of approximately $8.1 million.

Cash flows used in investing activities for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $380.8 million and $180.9 million, respectively, an increase of approximately $199.8 million. The net increase in cash used in investing activities primarily relates to approximately $152.0 million in net cash outflows used in the acquisition or development of real estate, net of real estate dispositions, and approximately $53.4 million of additional investments in our unconsolidated joint ventures and net debt and equity funding to the Managed REITs and DSTs during the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in the prior year.

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Cash flows provided by financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were approximately $325.2 million and $94.8 million, respectively, an increase of approximately $230.4 million. The net increase in cash provided by financing activities is primarily due to the net IPO proceeds of approximately $874.2 million, offset by the $200.0 million redemption of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and net reductions in cash flows related to debt financing proceeds in the prior year and net repayments in the current year of approximately $442.3 million.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Short-Term Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our liquidity needs consist primarily of our property operating expenses, general and administrative expenses, Managed Platform expenses, working capital, debt service payments, capital expenditures, property acquisitions, other strategic acquisitions and investments, property developments and improvements, investments related to our Managed Platform, and distributions to our limited partners in our Operating Partnership and our stockholders, as necessary to maintain our REIT qualification. We generally expect that we will meet our short-term liquidity requirements from the combination of existing cash balances and net cash provided from property operations and the Managed Platform and further supported by our Credit Facility. Alternatively, we may issue additional secured or unsecured financing from banks or other lenders, or we may enter into various other forms of financing.

In April 2022, we received our initial investment grade credit rating of BBB- from Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC (“Kroll”). In February 2025, we were put on a ratings watch; subsequent thereto, in July 2025, Kroll upgraded us to a credit rating of BBB/Stable. In addition, we received an initial credit rating from DBRS Morningstar in May 2025 of BBB with stable trends. We intend to maintain a credit rating on an annual basis.

Volatility in the debt and equity markets and continued and changes in treasury yields, interest rates, inflation and other economic events will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain. To the extent that there is uncertainty or deterioration in the debt and equity markets, or continued increases in treasury yields and interest rates, over an extended period of time, it could also potentially impact our liquidity over the long-term. If such events were to occur in the long-term, we would expect to access sources of capital available to us, such as proceeds from secured or unsecured financings from banks or other lenders, issuance of common equity in the public markets, issuance of other equity instruments, or additional public or private offerings. The information in this section should be read in conjunction with Note 7 – Debt and Note 14 – Commitments and Contingencies of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Distribution Policy and Distributions

Preferred Stock Dividends

The shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock ranked senior to all other shares of our capital stock, including our common stock, with respect to rights to receive dividends and to participate in distributions or payments upon any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company. Dividends payable on each share of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock accrued daily but were payable quarterly in arrears. Such dividends accrued at a rate equal to 6.25% per annum until October 29, 2024, and accrued at a rate of 7.0% per annum thereafter.

The Series A Convertible Preferred Stock was redeemed on April 4, 2025. See Note 8 – Preferred Equity of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

Common Stock Distributions

On December 22, 2025, our board of directors approved a distribution amount for the month of January 2026 such that all holders of our outstanding common stock for the month of January will receive a distribution equal to $0.1359 per share, equivalent to an annualized distribution of $1.60 per share. The January 2026 distribution payable to each stockholder of record at the end of January was paid on or about February 13, 2026.

On January 29, 2026, our board of directors approved a distribution amount for the month of February 2026 such that all holders of our outstanding common stock for the month of February will receive a distribution equal to $0.1227 per share, equivalent to an annualized distribution of $1.60 per share. The February 2026 distribution payable to each stockholder of record at the end of February is expected to be paid on or about March 13, 2026.

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Background and History of Common Stock Distributions

Since substantially all of our operations are performed indirectly through our Operating Partnership, our ability to pay distributions depends in large part on our Operating Partnership’s ability to pay distributions to its partners, including to us. In the event we do not have enough cash from operations to fund cash distributions, we may borrow, issue additional securities or sell assets in order to fund the distributions. Our charter allows our board of directors to authorize payments to stockholders in cash or other assets of the Company or in stock, including in stock of one class payable to holders of stock of another class.

We may not be able to pay distributions from our cash flows from operations, in which case distributions may be paid in part from debt or other financing sources.

Distributions are paid to our common stockholders based on the record date selected by our board of directors. Such distributions are based on monthly declaration. We expect to continue to regularly pay distributions unless our results of operations, our general financial condition, general economic conditions, or other factors inhibit us from doing so. Distributions are authorized at the discretion of our board of directors, which are directed, in substantial part, by its obligation to cause us to comply with the REIT requirements of the Code. Absent the restrictions noted above, our board of directors may increase, decrease or eliminate the distribution rate that is being paid on our common stock at any time. Distributions are made on all classes of our common stock at the same time. The funds that are available for distribution may be affected by a number of factors, including the following:

•
our operating and interest expenses;

•
our ability to keep our properties occupied;

•
our ability to maintain or increase rental rates;

•
increases to our property operating expenses;

•
construction defects or capital improvements;

•
capital expenditures and reserves for such expenditures;

•
the issuance of additional shares;

•
financings and refinancings; and

•
dividends with respect to the outstanding shares of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.

We must distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our taxable income each year in order to meet the requirements for being treated as a REIT under the Code. Our directors may authorize distributions in excess of this percentage as they deem appropriate. Because we may receive income from interest or rents at various times during our fiscal year, distributions may not reflect our income earned in that particular distribution period, but may be made in anticipation of cash flow that we expect to receive during a later period and may be made in advance of actual receipt of funds in an attempt to make distributions relatively uniform. To allow for such differences in timing between the receipt of income and the payment of expenses, and the effect of required debt payments, among other things, we could be required to borrow funds from third parties on a short-term basis, issue new securities, or sell assets to meet the distribution requirements that are necessary to achieve the tax benefits associated with qualifying as a REIT. We are not prohibited from undertaking such activities by our charter, bylaws or investment policies, and we may use an unlimited amount from any source to pay our distributions. These methods of obtaining funding could affect future distributions by increasing operating costs and decreasing available cash, which could reduce the value of our stockholders’ investment in our shares. In addition, such distributions may constitute a return of investors’ capital.

We may not be able to pay distributions from our cash flows from operations, in which case distributions may be paid in part from available funds or from debt financing and pursuant to our distribution reinvestment plan. The payment of distributions from sources other than cash flows from operations may reduce the amount of proceeds available for investment and operations or cause us to incur additional interest expense as a result of borrowed funds.

Over the long-term, we expect that a greater percentage of our distributions will be paid from cash flows from operations. However, our operating performance cannot be accurately predicted and may deteriorate in the future due to numerous factors, including our ability to raise and invest capital at favorable yields, the financial performance of our investments in the current real estate and financial environment and the types and mix of investments in our portfolio. As a result, future distributions declared and paid may exceed cash flow from operations.

56

Indebtedness

As of December 31, 2025, our net debt was approximately $1,098.2 million, which included approximately $1,044.5 million in fixed rate debt and $59.8 million in variable rate debt, less approximately $4.4 million in net debt issuance costs and approximately $1.7 million in net debt discount. As of December 31, 2025, we had outstanding approximately $608.3 million USD equivalent debt denominated in Canadian Dollars. See Note 7 – Debt of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information about our indebtedness.

Additionally, we are party to a $160 million CAD term loan (the “RBC JV Term Loan III”) with Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”) pursuant to which 10 of our joint venture subsidiaries that each own 50% of a Joint Venture property serve as borrowers (the “RBC Borrowers”). We and SmartCentres each serve as a recourse guarantor with respect to approximately $79.9 million CAD, or approximately $58.3 million USD, of the obligations outstanding as of December 31, 2025 under the RBC JV Term Loan III. See Note 6 – Investments in Unconsolidated Real Estate Ventures of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this report for additional information.

Long-Term Liquidity and Capital Resources

On a long-term basis, our principal demands for funds will be for our property operating expenses, general and administrative expenses, Managed Platform expenses, debt service payments, capital expenditures, property acquisitions, other strategic acquisitions and investments, investments in our Managed REITs, and distributions to our limited partners in our Operating Partnership, and our stockholders, as necessary to maintain our REIT qualification.

Long-term potential future sources of capital include proceeds from secured or unsecured financings from banks or other lenders, issuance of common equity in the public markets, issuance of other equity instruments, undistributed funds from operations, and additional public or private offerings. To the extent we are not able to secure requisite financing in the form of a credit facility or other debt, we will be dependent upon proceeds from the issuance of equity securities and cash flows from operating activities in order to meet our long-term liquidity requirements and to fund our distributions.

Our material cash requirements from contractual and other obligations primarily relate to our debt obligations. The expected timing of those outstanding principal payments are shown in the table below. The information in this section should be read in conjunction with Note 7 – Debt and Note 14 – Commitments and Contingencies of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The following table presents the future principal payments required on outstanding debt as of December 31, 2025 (in thousands):

2026

$

93,049

2027

104,003

2028

459,005

2029

104,289

2030

186,684

2031 and thereafter

157,338

Total payments

$

1,104,368

As of December 31, 2025, pursuant to various contractual relationships, we are required to make other non-cancellable payments in the amounts of approximately $3.7 million and $3.9 million during the years ended December 31, 2026, and 2027 respectively.

For cash requirements related to potential acquisitions currently under contract, see Note 3 – Real Estate Facilities and Note 6 – Investments in Unconsolidated Real Estate Ventures of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Subsequent Events

See Note 16 – Subsequent Events of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Seasonality

We believe that we will experience minor seasonal fluctuations in the occupancy levels of our facilities, which we believe will be slightly higher over the summer months due to increased moving activity.

57