Jeff Edison, chairman and CEO of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: PECO), participated in a video interview during Nareit’s REITworld: 2023 Annual Conference held Nov. 14-16 in Los Angeles.
The PECO portfolio is built around necessity-based retail, and necessity purchases will be the last that the consumer cuts back on, Edison said. “Our leasing activity is extremely strong, and we’re very positive on the future and the environment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Edison also noted that the cost of capital on the debt side has almost doubled. “The biggest impact we’re really seeing is on the acquisition side,” he said, but added that PECO is fortunate to have low leverage on its balance sheet, with the REIT positioned to have no significant debt through 2025.
As for exciting initiatives underway at PECO, Edison pointed to a recent internal inquiry looking at how to bring AI within the company. “We see taking baby steps in AI as critical so that you’re not behind when we start to see the incremental changes,” he said.