COPT Defense Properties
COPT Defense Properties' revenue rose 1.4% to $764 million in fiscal 2025. Its net margin was 20.9%, up from 19.1% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $289 million, down 3.6%. It paid out $137 million in dividends and buybacks, 47% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 0.4%.
Net margin is net income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 27.5% a year and net income 20.9% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 20% and diluted each share's earnings.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value COPT Defense Properties yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from COPT Defense Properties' 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from COPT Defense Properties' fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $289M, net cash of −$2.5B at December 31, 2025 and 113 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to COPT Defense Properties: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 1.1% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 11%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Office REITs), plus 1 point as a smaller company, worth $3.9B, plus 1 point for unsteady results (a loss in fiscal 2023); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $34.10
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
- —
- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
- —
- Everything after year 10, valued today
- —
- Plus net cash
- —
- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from COPT Defense Properties' earnings per share of $1.44 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 25.9×, the average of the Real Estate median and COPT Defense Properties' own P/E today for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 12%, 11% and 10%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $34.10
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- COPT Defense Properties' P/E at the last close
- 23.7×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| COPT Defense PropertiesCDP | $34.10 | $1.44 | 23.7× |
| Kilroy RealtyKRC | $36.71 | $1.83 | 20.1× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 13 | 12 | 168 | 38 | 275 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 2,272 | 2,232 | 2,417 | 2,392 | 2,768 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 2,259 | 2,220 | 2,249 | 2,354 | 2,493 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 7.7x | 6.3x | 15.1x | 6.2x | 6.1x |
| Debt to equity | 1.4x | 1.3x | 1.6x | 1.6x | 1.8x |
| Interest coverage | 2.2x | 3.4x | −0.0x | 2.8x | 2.8x |
| Current ratio | — | — | — | — | — |
| Quick ratio | — | — | — | — | — |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought COPT Defense Properties shares on the open market, and 3 insiders sold $1.3 million.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2026 | Pickett C TaylorDirector | Sold | 31,798 | $32.25 | $1.0 million | Form 4 |
| May 26, 2026 | Robert L DentonDirector | Sold | 3,922 | $32.38 | $126,994 | Form 4 |
| Feb 23, 2026 | Philip L HawkinsDirector | Sold | 5,536 | $32.71 | $181,083 | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Fail | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Fail | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Fail | Pass | Fail |
| Current ratio rose | — | — | — |
| Share count didn't rise | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Fail | Pass | Pass |
| F-score | — | — | — |
| Accruals ratio | −8.2% | −4.4% | −3.4% |
Compare
Put COPT Defense Properties side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COPT Defense Properties | FY25 | 1.4% | — | 37.8% | 6.1% | 6.1x | — | |
| Cousins Properties | FY25 | 16.0% | 67.8% | 13.6% | 6.7% | 3.1x | — | Compare |
| Kilroy Realty | FY25 | −2.0% | — | 40.5% | — | — | — | Compare |
| Vornado Realty Trust | FY25 | 1.3% | — | 53.1% | 17.4% | 0.8x | — | Compare |
| Alexandria Real Estate Equities | FY25 | −2.9% | — | −15.1% | — | — | — | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 574 | 613 | 578 | 612 | 582 | 664 | 739 | 685 | 753 | 764 |
| Revenue growth | −8.2% | 6.7% | −5.7% | 5.8% | −4.8% | 14.1% | 11.2% | −7.3% | 10.0% | 1.4% |
| Gross profit | 529 | 513 | 520 | 502 | 515 | 560 | — | — | — | — |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 52 | 136 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Net income | 29 | 69 | 72 | 192 | 97 | 82 | 179 | −74 | 144 | 160 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 0.15 | 0.56 | 0.69 | 1.71 | 0.87 | 0.68 | 1.53 | −0.67 | 1.23 | 1.34 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 95 | 99 | 104 | 112 | 112 | 112 | 113 | 112 | 113 | 113 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 234 | 230 | 180 | 229 | 238 | 249 | 266 | 276 | 331 | 310 |
| Capital expenditure | 26 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 33 | 30 | 36 | 20 | 31 | 21 |
| Free cash flow | 208 | 207 | 156 | 204 | 206 | 219 | 229 | 256 | 300 | 289 |
| Dividends paid | 104 | 109 | 114 | 123 | 123 | 124 | 124 | 127 | 132 | 137 |
| Share buybacks | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stock-based compensation | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 210 | 12 | 8 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 168 | 38 | 275 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 1,904 | 1,828 | 1,824 | 1,832 | 2,087 | 2,272 | 2,232 | 2,417 | 2,392 | 2,768 |
| Total assets | 3,781 | 3,595 | 3,656 | 3,854 | 4,077 | 4,262 | 4,257 | 4,247 | 4,254 | 4,702 |
| Total liabilities | 2,163 | 2,104 | 2,003 | 2,106 | 2,358 | 2,578 | 2,510 | 2,700 | 2,694 | 3,114 |
| Shareholders' equity | 1,523 | 1,402 | 1,585 | 1,679 | 1,661 | 1,623 | 1,682 | 1,484 | 1,493 | 1,515 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 92.1% | 83.7% | 89.9% | 82.0% | 88.4% | 84.3% | — | — | — | — |
| Operating margin | 9.1% | 22.2% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Net margin | 5.0% | 11.2% | 12.5% | 31.3% | 16.7% | 12.3% | 24.2% | −10.8% | 19.1% | 20.9% |
| Free cash flow margin | 36.2% | 33.8% | 27.0% | 33.3% | 35.3% | 33.0% | 31.1% | 37.3% | 39.8% | 37.8% |
| Return on capital | 1.5% | 4.1% | 4.5% | 7.6% | 4.6% | 3.7% | 5.3% | −0.1% | 5.9% | 6.1% |
| Return on equity | 1.9% | 4.7% | 4.8% | 11.7% | 5.8% | 5.0% | 10.8% | −4.7% | 9.7% | 10.6% |
| Return on assets | 0.8% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 5.1% | 2.5% | 2.0% | 4.2% | −1.8% | 3.4% | 3.6% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 9.1x | 6.7x | 6.3x | 4.5x | 6.7x | 7.7x | 6.3x | 15.1x | 6.2x | 6.1x |