Cousins Properties Incorporated

What does it do?

Cousins Properties owns and manages high-end office buildings — think sleek, modern towers with fast elevators and good coffee shops in the lobby — in fast-growing Southern cities like Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Phoenix, and Charlotte. These are called 'Class A' buildings, meaning they are top-tier, well-located, and attract big corporate tenants. The company rents out space in these buildings to companies who need somewhere for their employees to actually work. Think law firms, tech companies, and financial services firms signing multi-year leases and paying rent every month.

How does it make money?

Cousins makes money almost entirely by collecting rent from the companies that lease office space in its buildings. With about $1 billion in annual revenue — up from $800 million the prior year — the bulk of that comes from long-term leases, typically 5 to 10 years, which gives the company predictable income. As a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust), it is legally required to pay out at least 90% of its taxable income as dividends to shareholders, so most of the cash it collects flows back to investors. The company also earns fees for managing and developing properties.

Why do investors care?

The growth story here rests on two things: Sun Belt cities keep attracting businesses fleeing expensive Northern cities, and companies increasingly want premium office space rather than cheap square footage to lure employees back. Cousins has been expanding — revenue jumped around 25% year-over-year — and its portfolio is concentrated in markets where demand is holding up better than most. For this to work, occupancy rates need to stay healthy, interest rates need to ease (lower rates make real estate financing cheaper and push investors toward dividend-paying stocks like this one), and corporate tenants need to keep renewing leases.