Easterly Government Properties, Inc.

Greetings. Welcome to the East Early Government Properties second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listening mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session between the company's research analyst and East Early's management team. To ask a question during the session, analysts will need to press star 11 on their telephone. They will then hear an automated message advising their hand is raised. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Cole Bartlewell, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Cole Bartlewell, Director of Investor Relations, Good morning. Before the call begins, please note that certain statements made during this conference call may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although the company believes that its expectations as reflected in any forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond the company's control, including, without limitation, those contained in the company's most recent Form 10-K filed with the SEC and in other SEC filings. The company assumes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements. Additionally, on this conference call, the company may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures such as funds from operations, core funds from operations, and cash available for distribution. You can find a tabular reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable current GAAP numbers in the company's earnings release and separate supplemental information package on the investor relations page of the company's website at ir.easterlyread.com. I would now like to turn the conference call over to Darrell Crate, President and CEO of Easterly Government Properties.

Thanks, Cole. Good morning, everyone. This quarter we delivered year-over-year core FFO per share growth of 5.4%. As many of you know, this is above our 2-3% stated long-term growth target, and we are pleased and achieved these results by executing our strategy of growing earnings steadily, allocating capital thoughtfully, and improving the quality of the portfolio over time. While the current interest rate environment hasn't improved, driven in part by the volatility of geopolitical conditions that we're currently facing, our business moves forward steadily in periods like this, as evidenced by our improved earnings guidance. We own facilities that support essential government missions, lease to critical federal agencies, high-credit state and municipal tenants, and defense-related companies. These leases are long duration and backed primarily by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. We continue to communicate to investors that we are clearly differentiated from traditional office real estate. Many of our facilities include secure, purpose-built environments where sensitive government work is conducted. They are mission specific, difficult to replicate, and essential to the agencies they serve. For example, we recently visited our U.S. District Courthouse in Charleston, South Carolina. The building sits at the city's historic Four Corners of Law, physically connected to the adjoining Federal Judicial Center, deeply embedded into both the operations of the Federal Judiciary and the fabric of downtown Charleston. It's a clear example of the tenant stickiness that runs throughout our portfolio. Facilities that are integral to the missions they serve and the communities they anchor. Turning to the quarter, the portfolio continues to perform well, occupancy stood at 98%, and our weighted average lease term stands at 9.2 years. Both of these key metrics compare quite favorably to our office REIT peers, and each reflects the quality of our assets, the mission-critical work happening inside them, and the durability of the portfolio's cash flows. During the quarter, we closed a new five-year term loan facility. Allison will cover the details, but I'd note that in a selective lending environment, we executed efficiently and on attractive terms. We view that as a reflection of how lenders see the business. High-quality cash flows derived from government-backed income supporting a disciplined, strong balance sheet. As part of our growth plan, we also continue to have ongoing conversations with the rating agencies, and we look forward to updating you on our progress as we work toward an additional investment grade rating in 2027. Turning to our cost of capital, our shares have performed well year to date, and the improvement supports our ability to grow. As our equity continues to re-rate, reflecting the quality and consistent growth of our FFO relative to peers, We will be able to harvest more opportunities across our $1.5 billion pipeline. Even at current levels, we're beginning to see opportunities to fund external growth on an accretive basis. As the stock price improves, more of that pipeline meets our return thresholds. We've spent the last several years building this pipeline, and we will hopefully look to begin converting it in the coming quarters. Based on our continued operational performance and successful capital markets execution, we are raising our full-year core FFO per share guidance range. The increase reflects the strength of our business and our confidence in delivering another year of steady growth against our stated objectives. We continue to remain focused on disciplined execution, prudent capital allocation, and creating long-term value for our shareholders. As we look ahead, we couldn't be more excited about the opportunities in front of us. Over the past several years, we've remained focused on executing our strategy, strengthening the portfolio, and positioning the company for consistent long-term growth. We're encouraged to see that that execution increasingly reflected in our market valuation, and we believe we remain in the early innings of unlocking the value embedded within our platform. We appreciate the dedication of our team and the continued support of our tenants and shareholders, and we look forward to building on this momentum through the rest of the year. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Allison.