Q1 2024 Summary
Published Feb 18, 2025, 5:23 PM UTCInitial Price$70.33January 1, 2024
Final Price$63.28April 1, 2024
Price Change$-7.05
% Change-10.02%
- The company is experiencing a significant conversion of rental homes to owned homes, reducing rental homes from a high of about 9% down to now 3%, indicating strong demand from customers who are purchasing homes, often paying cash, which enhances community stability.
- The development pipeline is robust with over 1,100 sites currently under construction and expectations to deliver around 1,000 sites on a run-rate basis, with yields on development in the 8% to 10% range; moreover, pressures on construction costs are starting to subside, which could improve margins.
- The company achieved a favorable property and casualty insurance renewal with only a 9% increase, better than expected, leading to expense savings; additionally, there are meaningful savings in repairs and maintenance expenses, positively impacting the company's profitability.
- Decreasing yields on new site developments: ELS has experienced a decrease in stabilized yields on new developments from higher single digits and low double digits to 7% to 10%, due to pressures on construction costs. This indicates lower returns on new investments and potential margin compression.
- Decline in Thousand Trails memberships and upgrades: There has been a decrease in Thousand Trails memberships, driven by a reduction in free trials and sales activity, returning to pre-COVID levels. Membership upgrades are also declining from the outsized numbers seen during COVID, which could lead to slower growth in this segment.
- Revenue vulnerability due to weather and short-term disruptions: A significant portion of ELS's transient revenue is earned during the summer season, with more than 50% of transient reservations booked within 10 days of arrival, making them susceptible to short-term disruptors like weather. The company's guidance has been adjusted due to a rainy April affecting seasonal and transient business, indicating revenue volatility in these segments.