Cousins Properties

What Cousins Properties does

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that develops, owns, and manages a 20 million square foot portfolio of Class A trophy office properties concentrated in seven high-growth Sun Belt markets — Atlanta (8M sq ft), Austin (5.6-6.1M sq ft), Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Tampa, and Phoenix. Founded in 1958 by Tom Cousins as a residential homebuilder, the company transitioned to Class A office development in the 1980s, converted to REIT status in 1986, and has expanded materially through the 2016 merger with Parkway Properties and the 2019 merger with TIER REIT. Headquartered at 3344 Peachtree Rd NE in Atlanta, Cousins operates through local market leadership teams in each city and employs between 251 and 500 people, with no parent company and a dispersed public shareholder base.

The company's core product is its trophy office portfolio — individual assets such as Terminus 100 (Atlanta), Domain 12 (Austin), 300 South Tryon (Charlotte), and the Neuhoff mixed-use development (Nashville, 395K sq ft office / 55K sq ft retail / 542 apartments in a 50/50 JV) — together with property management, leasing, and asset management services delivered through a proprietary operating platform. Revenue is generated almost entirely from recurring rental income on long-term leases with large enterprise tenants including Oracle (116,000 sq ft at Neuhoff), IBM (Domain 12 relocation), Barings (300 South Tryon HQ), and Rayonier (Terminus 100), supplemented by property management fees and gains from dispositions. The portfolio generated Q1 2026 revenue of $261.11 million (+7.44% YoY) and 88.9% occupancy, with management guiding to 90% by year-end 2026.

Cousins' go-to-market is direct enterprise leasing executed by Managing Directors in each market, supported by broker relationships and tenant-representation channels. The company runs a disciplined capital allocation model backed by a fortress balance sheet — most recently underscored by a $1.2B five-year unsecured credit facility (April 2026, up $200M), $500M of 4.875% senior notes due 2033 (February 2026), and 47+ consecutive years of uninterrupted $0.32/share quarterly dividends. The $500M share repurchase program and $1B+ deployed into acquisitions over the trailing nine months (including 300 South Tryon for $317.5M and Vantage South End for $328.5M) illustrate the playbook: recycle non-core capital into trophy lifestyle office assets in markets where corporate migration from high-tax states, return-to-office mandates, and flight-to-quality demand support sustained rent growth.

Name

Cousins Properties

Legal name

Cousins Properties Incorporated

Website

https://cousins.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Cousins Properties (NYSE: CUZ) is a self-managed, fully integrated REIT that develops, owns, and manages a 20 million sq ft portfolio of Class A trophy office properties across seven Sun Belt markets — Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Tampa, and Phoenix — leasing primarily to large enterprise tenants such as Oracle, IBM, Barings, and Rayonier under long-term contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate (Trophy Class A Office REIT)

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Real Estate Investment Trusts (6798), Real Estate (6500)

akta.pro primary industry

REITs & Listed Real Estate Securities (FSAAAKAD)

Keywords

• Commercial office leasing
• Trophy office properties
• Real estate investment trust
• Property management services
• Mixed-use development

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Commercial Office Lease Revenue: Cousins Properties generates revenue primarily through rental income from its Class A trophy office portfolio across Sun Belt markets. As a fully integrated REIT, the company collects rent from long-term commercial leases with corporate tenants, with revenue supplemented by fee income from property management services and gains from property dispositions. The company reported Q1 2026 revenue of $261.11 million, up 7.44% year-over-year.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cousins Properties is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that develops, owns, and manages a 20 million square foot portfolio of Class A trophy office properties across seven high-growth Sun Belt markets (Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Tampa, and Phoenix). Revenue is generated primarily through long-term commercial leases with large corporate tenants, supplemented by property management services and gains from property dispositions.

Product overview

Cousins Properties is a fully integrated, self-administered REIT that develops, owns, and manages a trophy office portfolio totaling approximately 20 million square feet across seven high-growth Sun Belt markets. The company's core product is its Class A office portfolio, with individual properties including trophy assets like Terminus 100 in Atlanta, Neuhoff mixed-use development in Nashville, Domain 12 in Austin, and 300 South Tryon in Charlotte. The portfolio strategy emphasizes lifestyle office properties in vibrant, amenity-rich, walkable submarkets with proximity to public transit. The company operates through local market teams providing property management, leasing, and asset management services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trophy Office Portfolio

Quantifiable outcome

• Q1 2026 leasing volume of 932,000 sq ft — highest first-quarter volume in over a decade; 15.2% second-generation cash rent roll-up
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• RayoniercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 10 February 2026Rayonier, Georgia's largest private landowner and a NYSE-listed forestry company, is relocating its headquarters from Jacksonville, Florida to Atlanta. Rayonier selected Terminus 100 in Atlanta's Buckhead district — a tower owned by Cousins Properties — as its new office location following its merger with PotlatchDeltic.
• New City PropertiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew City Properties, a commercial development firm headquartered in Atlanta, serves as the development partner for Cousins Properties and its joint venture partner on the Neuhoff mixed-use development in Nashville. Neuhoff consists of approximately 395,000 sq ft office, 55,000 sq ft retail, and 542 apartments. The relationship is a key co-development arrangement for a flagship mixed-use project.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Boston Properties: One of the largest publicly-traded office REITs (NYSE: BXP), focused on Class A trophy office in select gateway markets. Closest direct competitor to Cousins in the trophy Class A office REIT category, though geographically concentrated in coastal markets rather than Sun Belt.
• Highwoods Properties: Sun Belt-focused office REIT (NYSE: HIW) operating a portfolio across Atlanta, Nashville, Raleigh, Tampa, and other Southeast markets. The most direct geographic competitor to Cousins given overlapping Sun Belt footprint and similar B-to-A Class office strategy.
• Vornado Realty Trust: Major publicly-traded office REIT (NYSE: VNO) concentrated in Manhattan trophy office. Direct competitor in the publicly-traded office REIT category, though focused on NYC rather than Sun Belt markets.
• SL Green Realty: Manhattan's largest office landlord (NYSE: SLG) and a leading publicly-traded office REIT. Comparable in scale and trophy positioning, though entirely NYC-focused rather than Sun Belt.
• Kilroy Realty Corporation: West Coast-focused office REIT (NYSE: KRC) operating trophy Class A office in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle and Austin. Direct competitor in the trophy Class A office REIT space; the Austin overlap makes it especially relevant for comparison.
• Douglas Emmett: Office and multifamily REIT (NYSE: DEI) concentrated in coastal Los Angeles and Honolulu submarkets. Comparable as a publicly-traded office REIT focused on trophy assets in supply-constrained submarkets.
• Empire State Realty Trust: NYC-focused office and observatory REIT (NYSE: ESRT). Comparable publicly-traded office REIT with a trophy positioning, though geographically distinct from Cousins' Sun Belt footprint.
• Hudson Pacific Properties: Office and studio REIT (NYSE: HPP) operating in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and other Pacific Northwest markets. Comparable as a publicly-traded office REIT focused on trophy creative office space, though focused on the West Coast rather than Sun Belt.
• JBG SMITH Properties: Mixed-use office and multifamily REIT (NYSE: JBGS) focused on the Washington, D.C. metro area, including National Landing. Comparable as a publicly-traded trophy office and mixed-use REIT with similar development-led strategy.
• Paramount Group: NYC and San Francisco office REIT (NYSE: PGRE) focused on Class A trophy assets. Comparable publicly-traded office REIT with trophy positioning, providing useful benchmark for relative valuation in the office category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cousins-properties
• Xx.com/cousinsreit
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cousins Properties