History
Realty Income Corporation was founded in 1969 by William E. Clark and Evelyn J. Clark.[4] Its first acquisition was a Taco Bell restaurant in early 1970.[4]
The company used cash to purchase land needed for stores that required real estate to run, and then leased the property to the stores long term.[5]
In 1994, the company became a public company via an initial public offering.[1]
In 1997, William E. Clark, Jr., retired as CEO and was succeeded by Thomas A. Lewis. In 2013, John P. Case succeeded Mr. Lewis as CEO of the company.[6]
In 2009, Clark retired as chairman.[7]
In 2013, the company acquired American Realty Capital Trust, founded by Nicholas Schorsch, in a $2.95 billion transaction.[8][9]
In 2015, the company was added to the S&P 500[10] and the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats index.[11]
In 2018, Sumit Roy became the company's CEO.[12]
In 2019, the company completed a sale-leaseback transaction for 12 properties of the United Kingdom supermarket chain Sainsbury's. This was the company's first purchase of property outside the United States.[13]
On November 1, 2021, the company acquired VEREIT.[14]
On December 1, 2022, the company completed a $1.7 billion sale-leaseback of Encore Boston Harbor.[15]
On August 2, 2023, the company announced a $950 million investment in Bellagio Las Vegas.[16]
On January 23, 2024, the company completed the $9.3 billion acquisition of Spirit Realty Capital.[17][18]
In November 2025, it was announced the company had acquired The Lexicon shopping centre in Bracknell, UK for approximately £150m.[19]
