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Cousins Properties vs. Vornado: Which Office REIT Is the Better Buy?
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Key Takeaways
CUZ outpaced VNO's growth, with Sun Belt leasing momentum driven by migration and corporate relocations.
CUZ's Class A, highly amenitized assets align more closely with tenant expansion than VNO's urban focus.
CUZ's development pipeline supports NOI growth, while VNO faces higher debt and interest expenses.
Cousins Properties (CUZ - Free Report) and Vornado Realty (VNO - Free Report) remain key players in the office real estate industry. Both companies are at a sweet spot, given their high-quality portfolios amid the growing customers’ preference for premium office spaces. With greater workforce attendance, interest rates easing and inflation anticipated to trend southward in the latter half of 2026, these office REITs are expected to further reap benefits.
While Cousins’ portfolio has an unmatched portfolio of Class A office assets concentrated in the high-growth Sun Belt markets, Vornado boasts a concentration of high-quality assets and a strategic focus on expanding its market share in the New York City office market. Let’s examine the pros and cons of each to see which might earn a place in your portfolio.
The Case for Cousins Properties
The Sunbelt region is experiencing a population influx. Favorable migration trends and a pro-business environment have accelerated corporate relocations and expansions across the region, driving sustained demand for office space. During the first nine months of 2025, Cousins executed 128 leases totaling 1.4 million square feet, with a weighted average lease term of 7.9 years, underscoring healthy leasing momentum and tenant commitment.
As office occupiers announce significant capital investments to expand their footprints in the Sunbelt, Cousins Properties’ portfolio of trophy Class A, highly amenitized office buildings is well-positioned to capture this demand. These high-quality assets align with tenant preferences for modern workplaces that support collaboration and employee engagement. In addition, the company is seeing encouraging signs of increased office utilization, with several tenants returning to physical offices or outlining plans to do so, which should further support office market fundamentals in its core markets.
Apart from maintaining a well-diversified, high-quality tenant base that supports stable revenue generation across economic cycles, Cousins Properties also remains focused on enhancing portfolio quality through trophy asset acquisitions and opportunistic developments in attractive Sun Belt submarkets. Its robust development pipeline is expected to deliver meaningful incremental annualized net operating income (NOI) in the coming years. A strong balance sheet further enhances financial flexibility and positions the company well to capitalize on growth opportunities.
Cousins still faces challenges. High competition is likely to affect its ability to retain tenants at relatively higher rents, impacting pricing power. Moreover, the company’s assets are mainly concentrated in Atlanta, GA, and Austin, TX. Hence, any economic or political downturn in these markets is likely to affect Cousins Properties’ performance. High interest expenses add to its woes.
The Case for Vornado
Vornado’s focus on having assets in a few select high-rent, high-barrier-to-entry geographic markets, as well as a diversified tenant base that includes several industry bellwethers, is expected to drive steady cash flows and fuel its growth over the long term. Ongoing office-using employment gains, along with continued expansion by technology, financial services and media firms, are expected to underpin rental revenue growth in the coming quarters.
Demand for office space in New York remains resilient, with tenants continuing to expand their presence in the market. Reflecting this strength, Vornado leased 2.8 million square feet across its New York office portfolio during the first nine months of 2025, achieving a weighted average lease term of 12.2 years, which underscores strong tenant confidence and long-term commitment.
Vornado continues to sharpen its focus on strengthening its core operations while pursuing selective developments, asset sales and business spin-offs. These strategic divestitures are designed to unlock capital and provide the financial flexibility needed to fund opportunistic development and redevelopment initiatives.
Vornado has a healthy balance sheet and ample liquidity. A flexible financial position will enable it to take advantage of future investment opportunities and fund its development projects.
Vornado faces some challenges along the way. The geographic concentration of assets and competition from developers and operators are key concerns for Vornado. High debt burden and elevated interest expenses add to its woes.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for CUZ & VNO?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CUZ’s 2025 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year increase of 14.75% and 5.58%, respectively. What is also encouraging is that the consensus mark for CUZ’s 2025 and 2026 FFO per share has been revised northward over the past month.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Meanwhile, the consensus estimate for VNO’s 2025 sales calls for a year-over-year decline of 1.48%, while that for EPS suggests 3.54% growth year over year. While the consensus mark for VNO’s 2025 FFO per share has been revised northward over the past week, the same for 2026 has been tweaked southward over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance and Valuation of CUZ & VNO
Over the past six months, Cousins Properties shares have fallen 14.1%, and Vornado Realty stock has declined 8%. Both have underperformed the S&P 500 composite’s rise of 15.6% in the same time frame.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CUZ is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-FFO, which is a commonly used multiple for valuing REITs, of 8.76X. This is below its one-year median.
Meanwhile, VNO is presently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-FFO of 13.82X, which is below its one-year median of 16.54X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion: Cousins Stock Stands Strong
While both Cousins and Vornado are well-positioned office REITs, CUZ stands out due to its greater exposure to high-growth Sunbelt markets. CUZ benefits from solid leasing momentum, modern Class A assets and a development pipeline that supports future NOI growth, all backed by a relatively strong balance sheet.
By contrast, VNO is more concentrated in New York City, offering stability through high-barrier markets and long-lease terms but facing higher debt, interest expense pressures and limited growth optionality. Overall, CUZ presents a more compelling growth-driven profile with favorable long-term tailwinds, while VNO is more stability-focused but constrained by higher leverage and concentrated market exposure.
Currently, CUZ has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while VNO carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Image: Bigstock
Cousins Properties vs. Vornado: Which Office REIT Is the Better Buy?
Key Takeaways
Cousins Properties (CUZ - Free Report) and Vornado Realty (VNO - Free Report) remain key players in the office real estate industry. Both companies are at a sweet spot, given their high-quality portfolios amid the growing customers’ preference for premium office spaces. With greater workforce attendance, interest rates easing and inflation anticipated to trend southward in the latter half of 2026, these office REITs are expected to further reap benefits.
While Cousins’ portfolio has an unmatched portfolio of Class A office assets concentrated in the high-growth Sun Belt markets, Vornado boasts a concentration of high-quality assets and a strategic focus on expanding its market share in the New York City office market. Let’s examine the pros and cons of each to see which might earn a place in your portfolio.
The Case for Cousins Properties
The Sunbelt region is experiencing a population influx. Favorable migration trends and a pro-business environment have accelerated corporate relocations and expansions across the region, driving sustained demand for office space. During the first nine months of 2025, Cousins executed 128 leases totaling 1.4 million square feet, with a weighted average lease term of 7.9 years, underscoring healthy leasing momentum and tenant commitment.
As office occupiers announce significant capital investments to expand their footprints in the Sunbelt, Cousins Properties’ portfolio of trophy Class A, highly amenitized office buildings is well-positioned to capture this demand. These high-quality assets align with tenant preferences for modern workplaces that support collaboration and employee engagement. In addition, the company is seeing encouraging signs of increased office utilization, with several tenants returning to physical offices or outlining plans to do so, which should further support office market fundamentals in its core markets.
Apart from maintaining a well-diversified, high-quality tenant base that supports stable revenue generation across economic cycles, Cousins Properties also remains focused on enhancing portfolio quality through trophy asset acquisitions and opportunistic developments in attractive Sun Belt submarkets. Its robust development pipeline is expected to deliver meaningful incremental annualized net operating income (NOI) in the coming years. A strong balance sheet further enhances financial flexibility and positions the company well to capitalize on growth opportunities.
Cousins still faces challenges. High competition is likely to affect its ability to retain tenants at relatively higher rents, impacting pricing power. Moreover, the company’s assets are mainly concentrated in Atlanta, GA, and Austin, TX. Hence, any economic or political downturn in these markets is likely to affect Cousins Properties’ performance. High interest expenses add to its woes.
The Case for Vornado
Vornado’s focus on having assets in a few select high-rent, high-barrier-to-entry geographic markets, as well as a diversified tenant base that includes several industry bellwethers, is expected to drive steady cash flows and fuel its growth over the long term. Ongoing office-using employment gains, along with continued expansion by technology, financial services and media firms, are expected to underpin rental revenue growth in the coming quarters.
Demand for office space in New York remains resilient, with tenants continuing to expand their presence in the market. Reflecting this strength, Vornado leased 2.8 million square feet across its New York office portfolio during the first nine months of 2025, achieving a weighted average lease term of 12.2 years, which underscores strong tenant confidence and long-term commitment.
Vornado continues to sharpen its focus on strengthening its core operations while pursuing selective developments, asset sales and business spin-offs. These strategic divestitures are designed to unlock capital and provide the financial flexibility needed to fund opportunistic development and redevelopment initiatives.
Vornado has a healthy balance sheet and ample liquidity. A flexible financial position will enable it to take advantage of future investment opportunities and fund its development projects.
Vornado faces some challenges along the way. The geographic concentration of assets and competition from developers and operators are key concerns for Vornado. High debt burden and elevated interest expenses add to its woes.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for CUZ & VNO?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CUZ’s 2025 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year increase of 14.75% and 5.58%, respectively. What is also encouraging is that the consensus mark for CUZ’s 2025 and 2026 FFO per share has been revised northward over the past month.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Meanwhile, the consensus estimate for VNO’s 2025 sales calls for a year-over-year decline of 1.48%, while that for EPS suggests 3.54% growth year over year. While the consensus mark for VNO’s 2025 FFO per share has been revised northward over the past week, the same for 2026 has been tweaked southward over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance and Valuation of CUZ & VNO
Over the past six months, Cousins Properties shares have fallen 14.1%, and Vornado Realty stock has declined 8%. Both have underperformed the S&P 500 composite’s rise of 15.6% in the same time frame.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CUZ is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-FFO, which is a commonly used multiple for valuing REITs, of 8.76X. This is below its one-year median.
Meanwhile, VNO is presently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-FFO of 13.82X, which is below its one-year median of 16.54X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion: Cousins Stock Stands Strong
While both Cousins and Vornado are well-positioned office REITs, CUZ stands out due to its greater exposure to high-growth Sunbelt markets. CUZ benefits from solid leasing momentum, modern Class A assets and a development pipeline that supports future NOI growth, all backed by a relatively strong balance sheet.
By contrast, VNO is more concentrated in New York City, offering stability through high-barrier markets and long-lease terms but facing higher debt, interest expense pressures and limited growth optionality. Overall, CUZ presents a more compelling growth-driven profile with favorable long-term tailwinds, while VNO is more stability-focused but constrained by higher leverage and concentrated market exposure.
Currently, CUZ has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while VNO carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.