Kimco Realty Corporation (HC)

Good day and welcome to the Kimco Realty fourth quarter 2024 earnings conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on a touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star and then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to David Bushnicki, Senior Investor Relations and Strategy. Please go ahead.

Good morning, and thank you for joining Kimco's quarterly earnings call. The Kimco management team participating on the call today include Connor Flynn, Kimco's CEO, Ross Cooper, President and Chief Investment Officer, Glenn Cohen, our CFO, Dave Jameson, Kimco's Chief Operating Officer, as well as other members of our executive team that are also available to answer questions during the call. As a reminder, statements made during the course of this call may be deemed forward-looking, and it is important to note that the company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors. Please refer to the company's SEC filings that address such factors. During this presentation, management may make reference to certain non-GAAP financial measures that we believe help investors better understand Kimco's operating results. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures can be found in our quarterly supplemental financial information on the Kimco Investor Relations website. Also, in the event our call was to incur technical difficulties, we'll try to resolve as quickly as possible, and if the need arises, we'll post additional information to our IR website. With that, I'll turn the call over to Connor.

Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. My remarks today will cover the favorable supply and demand dynamics that continue to drive leasing across our portfolio, our well-curated tenant mix that is servicing the healthy Kimco consumer, and our strategic accomplishments and future goals. Ross will provide an update on the transaction market, and then Glenn will cap things off with our Q4 and year-end results in our outlook ranges for 2025. I first want to speak to the recently announced changes to the board and our management team. With respect to Milton's retirement from his role as executive chairman and director, on behalf of our entire organization, I want to thank Milton for his leadership, mentorship, and friendship. Milton will always be synonymous with Kimco, and our ongoing success is a direct result of not only his stewardship, but also the passion and optimism that he exudes every day. His enthusiasm for Kimco is contagious. and permeates through our entire organization. The great news is that in his new role as chairman emeritus, Milton will continue to challenge us every day and serve as an invaluable resource, making sure we can be the best we can be. Richard Salzman's new role as chairman comes at the perfect time. Other than Milton, no one understands the company's history better, and Richard brings vast experience, creativity, and insight to help lead us into the future. Additionally, I want to welcome Ross Cooper and Nancy Lachine to the board. Ross needs no introduction. His leadership role at Kimco and his reputation in the industry make him a logical addition and will make for an easy transition to board member. As for Nancy, her capital markets and real estate background, along with her energetic and collaborative demeanor, makes for a compelling addition. I am truly excited about our evolving board and believe we are well positioned as Kimco moves forward. Now on to the quarter. We continue to drive significant leasing momentum across the Kimco portfolio. The lack of new supply, now measured at just three-tenths of a percent of existing retail stock, combined with a near record low national vacancy rate, continues to facilitate strong fundamental results in earnings growth. The only new shopping center development taking place is limited to third and fourth ring suburbs, where population growth has forced sprawl into new areas. Drilling down further, the favorable supply and demand dynamics we're benefiting from today is no accident. Part of our 2020 five-year strategic vision focused on repositioning our portfolio into first-ring suburbs with natural barriers to entry, making it difficult for new competition to outposition our assets, while at the same time producing natural pricing power advantages. Moreover, the population in these first-ring suburbs continues to grow as more and more people desire to be near central business districts while enjoying the suburban live-work-play experience. Kimco's densification initiatives dovetail perfectly with the strong demand, pricing power advantages, and demographic trends enjoyed by our high-quality retail centers. More specifically, we reached our goal of entitling 12,000 apartment units a year ahead of schedule providing the opportunity to further expand our mixed-use portfolio. We continue to believe our ongoing portfolio transformation to a grocery anchored and mixed-use portfolio positions us to be in the sweet spot of the retail and multifamily sectors for the foreseeable future. At the property level, the Kimco consumer continues to gravitate toward our merchandising mix of everyday goods and services. We continue to see positive year-over-year traffic increases, both on a quarterly and yearly basis. The average unemployment rate across our portfolio is 20 basis points lower than the national average. The strength in the employment market, combined with robust traffic, has led to increased sales at our retailers. Our grocery anchors, together with our off-price anchors, form the perfect blend of cross-shopping. This is further enhanced by our service-oriented retailers, including quick-service restaurants that drive traffic all points of the deck. It's also worth noting that internet-resistant retailers, which include service providers, now make up more than 50% of our new lease volume. We have seen a surge in leasing to medical, health and wellness, fitness, medispas, hair and nail salons that complement our traditional grocery anchor tenants. In closing, we have built a portfolio in areas characterized by limited supply, high employment, and population growth, and curated our centers to meet the needs of consumers' tastes and preferences. Our portfolio is designed to generate growth and shareholder value. Our team is excited and ready to move the needle in 2025. Thank you for your ongoing support and interest in Kimco Realty. And now I will turn things over to Ross.