COPT Defense Properties (CDP)

In the past six months, COPT Defense Properties (CDP) stock price experienced a decline of 9.97% between January 2, 2025, and December 31, 2025, with the share price moving from $30.88 to $27.80, but has shown some recent positive momentum, edging up about 0.3% over the last 30 days. Key events impacting the stock include exceeding Q3 2025 expectations with an EPS of $0.37 and revenue of $188.8M, leading to a 3.29% premarket stock rise. In January 2026, COPT Defense Properties announced it completed 557,000 square feet of vacancy leasing in 2025, surpassing its revised target of 500,000 square feet. The company recently executed build-to-suit leases with a Fortune 100 company in San Antonio and the University of Maryland's ARLIS in College Park, committing approximately US$153 million of capital to high-security and research-focused developments. COPT Defense Properties increased its dividend by 10.9% over the past three years, with consecutive raises in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Demand for COPT Defense Properties' products and services is primarily driven by U.S. government defense spending and the needs of defense contractors and IT sectors, which is generally considered stable and less susceptible to economic downturns compared to traditional commercial real estate. The company's strategic focus on properties near key U.S. defense installations and intelligence clusters ensures alignment with national security spending priorities. The insatiable demand for computing power driven by AI has also significantly boosted demand for COPT's data center business, allowing for aggressive rental price increases and 100% occupancy in these facilities. The Congressional Budget Office anticipates an 11% rise in the U.S. defense budget from 2029 to 2039, with a 13% year-over-year increase expected in 2026, further supporting consistent demand for COPT's offerings.

COPT Defense Properties (CDP) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in owning, operating, developing, and acquiring office and data center properties, with a focus on mission-critical facilities supporting U.S. Government defense installations, national security missions, and defense contractors. Approximately 90% of its core portfolio's annualized rental revenue is derived from defense/IT locations. As of December 31, 2024, the company owned 164 office buildings totaling 16.5 million square feet and 31 single-tenant data centers comprising 5.9 million square feet. These properties meet stringent security standards, making them essential for top-secret operations and advanced defense technologies.

COPT Defense Properties' portfolio is strategically located in areas supporting U.S. Government defense installations and defense contractors. As of December 31, 2024, its portfolio included 195 properties across strategic areas such as Maryland, Northern Virginia, the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Alabama, Texas, and Iowa. The company's headquarters are in Columbia, Maryland, U.S. COPT Defense Properties has also expanded its data center development with a significant land purchase in Des Moines, Iowa, capable of supporting hyperscale data center growth.

COPT Defense Properties rebranded from Corporate Office Properties Trust in September 2023 to better reflect its strategic focus on defense and mission-critical real estate, retaining "COPT" due to its strong brand value with tenants over 25 years. The company's reputation is bolstered by its unique position as a provider of secure, specialized facilities for the U.S. government and defense contractors, a market with high barriers to entry due to stringent security clearances and regulations. This has allowed COPT to maintain high occupancy rates (95.7% in Q3 2025) and strong tenant retention (84% year-to-date in 2024, and 87% within its Defense/IT portfolio).

COPT Defense Properties (CDP) has a mixed ownership structure, with institutional investors holding the majority. Approximately 83.06% of the company's stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 0.33% by Insiders, and 16.61% by Public Companies and Individual Investors. Another source indicates approximately 51.00% of the stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 0.33% by Insiders, and 32.06% by Public Companies and Individual Investors. Major institutional owners include BlackRock, Inc., Vanguard Group Inc, Alliancebernstein L.p., State Street Corp, Earnest Partners Llc, Westwood Holdings Group Inc and Jpmorgan Chase & Co.