Public Storage vs Ventas, Inc., two REIT stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Public Storage's self-storage model earns 20.4% on equity with 39.2% margins and needs almost no maintenance; Ventas's healthcare properties earn a low-single-digit return and lean on a demographic growth story. Ventas's 161.9 P/E towers over Public Storage's 33.5, but that is depreciation at work, and on cash Public Storage leads, yielding 5.57% free cash and a 3.70% dividend against Ventas's 3.97% and 2.16%. Public Storage runs 1.04 turns of debt against Ventas's lighter shown load. The choice is proven economics against demographic promise: Public Storage already earns some of the sector's best returns from empty rooms, Ventas is priced for occupancy gains as the population ages, and the buyer weighs a compounder that works today against a tailwind that pays off tomorrow.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | PSA | VTR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $324.33 | $89.03 |
| Market cap | $57.1B | $43.3B |
| Sector | REIT | REIT |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| P/E | 33.5 | 161.9 |
| P/B | 6.12 | 3.29 |
| P/S | 11.74 | 7.07 |
| EV/EBITDA | 40.8 | 30.0 |
| Revenue growth | +2.9% | +20.6% |
| Operating margin | 39.0% | — |
| Net margin | 39.2% | 4.4% |
| Return on equity | 20.4% | 2.1% |
| Return on assets | 9.6% | 1.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 2.5% | — |
| FCF yield | 5.6% | 4.0% |
| Dividend yield | 3.7% | 2.2% |
| Debt / equity | 1.04 | 0.00 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 3.49 | 1.67 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 8 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.