The headline numbers
Simon Property Group reported second-quarter results on August 10, 2026 and raised its full-year guidance. Real estate funds from operations reached $1.249 billion, or $3.29 per diluted share, up 7.9% from $1.154 billion and $3.05 a year earlier.
Net income attributable to common stockholders was $483.1 million, or $1.49 per diluted share, against $556.1 million and $1.70 in the second quarter of 2025. The prior-year figure included a non-cash gain worth $0.21 per share, which accounts for most of the decline.
Full-year real estate FFO guidance was raised to $13.20 to $13.30 per share from $13.10 to $13.25. The quarterly dividend was set at $2.25 per share, 4.7% higher than a year earlier, and the company repurchased $211 million of stock and units during the quarter.
What the leasing data shows
Occupancy at Malls and Premium Outlets was 96.0%, unchanged both from a year earlier and from the prior quarter. The Mills portfolio ran at 98.8%.
The movement is in pricing rather than occupancy. Simon signed roughly 1,200 leases covering more than 4.8 million square feet in the quarter, with new-deal volume up more than 20% year over year and initial base minimum rent on new deals running 17% above the prior year on a year-to-date basis.
Reported retailer sales at Malls and Premium Outlets reached $838 per square foot, 13.9% higher than a year earlier. Total sales volume rose 6.6% on a trailing twelve-month basis and 7.6% in the quarter itself, with comparable sales up 5.7%.
Occupancy flat, rent up — why that combination matters
Analysis: a full portfolio at a fixed occupancy rate can only grow revenue by re-pricing space as leases expire. Rent up 17% on new deals against occupancy unchanged at 96% is the signature of a landlord with more demand than space at the properties in question.
Domestic property net operating income rose 8.5% and portfolio net operating income 8.3%, both well ahead of general inflation in the period. That spread is what converts leasing terms into the raised guidance.
The caveat is selection. Simon owns the top tier of American enclosed retail. Aggregate US retail data has for years shown a widening gap between dominant centers and weaker ones, and results from the strongest owner in the category describe that top tier rather than the retail property market as a whole.
Definitions to keep in view
Simon reports two distinct FFO measures. Real estate FFO, the figure guidance is set against, was $3.29 per share; total FFO was $1.185 billion, or $3.12 per share, slightly below the prior year's $3.15. Real estate FFO adjusts out results from the company's non-real-estate investments, so the two can move in opposite directions in a single quarter, as they did here.
The $838 per square foot sales figure covers Malls and Premium Outlets only. It excludes The Mills and the international portfolio, and it is tenant-reported rather than audited by the landlord.
Both measures are non-GAAP and defined by the company. Anyone comparing Simon's numbers with another retail REIT's should read each definition rather than the headline.