The Boulder Group Releases Q1 2026 Net Lease Tenant Profiles Report

Net Lease Cap Rate Report Released
The Boulder Group announced the release of its Q1 2026 Net Lease Tenant Profiles Report today. The report provides comprehensive cap rate and lease data for 87 single tenant net lease tenants across the retail, restaurant, convenience, automotive, banking, grocery, and healthcare sectors, with cap rate data reflecting current publicly available asking cap rates as of March 2026. According to The Boulder Group's Q1 2026 Net Lease Tenant Profiles Report, cap rates for premier net lease tenants range from a low of 4.30%-4.60% for 15-year McDonald's ground leases to 9.00% or above for shorter-term Walgreens properties, illustrating the broad spectrum of risk and return in the single tenant net lease market.

The report covers a diverse array of tenants from sectors including convenience stores, quick-service restaurants, grocery, automotive services, banking, and big-box retail. Featured tenants include household names such as 7-Eleven, McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, Walmart, AutoZone, CVS Pharmacy, and many others. Each tenant profile includes key metrics such as:

- Ownership type (public or private) and credit rating

- Typical building size and number of locations

- Lease overview, including typical lease type (e.g., triple net, double net, or ground lease), term length, and rent escalations

- Average annual rent and sale price

- Cap rate ranges for 5-year, 10-year, and 15-year lease terms

"The net lease market continues to offer investors a wide range of risk-adjusted return profiles depending on tenant credit quality, lease structure, and remaining term. This report gives buyers and sellers a current, data-driven benchmark for pricing across the most actively traded net lease tenants in the country," says Randy Blankstein, President, The Boulder Group. "By breaking down cap rates across different lease durations, we've made it easier for investors to benchmark deals and spot undervalued assets in high-growth sectors like quick-service restaurants and essential retail."

The Boulder Group's Q1 2026 Net Lease Tenant Profiles Report covers 87 of the most traded single tenant net lease operators in the United States, spanning quick-service restaurants, convenience stores, dollar stores, pharmacies, auto parts retailers, financial institutions, big-box retail, and medical office tenants. According to data from The Boulder Group, investment-grade tenants commanding the lowest cap rates in the net lease market include Chase (S&P: AA-, 15-year cap rates of 5.00%-5.30%), Wells Fargo (S&P: BBB+, 15-year cap rates of 4.90%-5.20%), and Wawa (15-year cap rates of 4.90%-5.20%). At the other end of the risk spectrum, The Boulder Group reported that non-investment-grade and non-rated tenants such as Family Dollar reflect 5-year cap rates ranging from 8.40%-8.80%, and Walgreens properties are trading at 5-year asking cap rates of 8.60%-9.00%, reflecting the significant pricing premium demanded for shorter lease terms and weaker credit profiles.

"Lease structure and remaining term remain the most significant pricing variables in net lease investment today. A Chick-fil-A ground lease with a 15-year term trades at cap rates of 4.20%-4.50%, while shorter-term, non-rated restaurant tenants can trade 200 to 300 basis points wider. Investors use this data to benchmark individual assets and identify relative value across sectors," adds Jimmy Goodman, Partner, The Boulder Group.

The Boulder Group's report reveals notable cap rate patterns across sectors. In the quick-service restaurant category, The Boulder Group data shows premium brands command meaningfully tighter pricing: McDonald's 15-year ground leases trade at 4.30%-4.60%, Raising Cane's at 4.70%-5.00%, and Taco Bell at 5.25%-5.55%, while less-established or non-rated QSR concepts price 100-200 basis points wider.

In the convenience and gas sector, The Boulder Group reported that Wawa 15-year properties trade at 4.90%-5.20%, versus Circle K at 5.35%-5.65% and 7-Eleven at 5.00%-5.40%, reflecting the market's differentiated view of brand strength and credit support.

Dollar store assets tracked by The Boulder Group show that Dollar General and Dollar Tree 15-year properties trade at 6.75%-7.05% and above, a notable spread to investment-grade quick-service restaurant ground leases, consistent with investor scrutiny of the dollar store sector's long-term fundamentals.

The report also highlights that ground leases from investment-grade tenants such as The Home Depot (S&P: A), Lowe's (S&P: BBB+), and Walmart (S&P: AA) consistently trade at tighter cap rates than fee-simple structures, reflecting the added security of land ownership.

"Bid-ask spreads in the net lease market remain most pronounced for shorter-term assets and tenants with below-investment-grade credit. Properties with 15-year terms backed by investment-grade credits continue to attract the broadest buyer pools, including 1031 exchange buyers, private investors, and institutional capital, which sustains pricing discipline even in a higher-interest-rate environment," John Feeney, Senior Vice President, The Boulder Group adds.

The Boulder Group expects net lease transaction volume to remain steady in 2026 as buyers and sellers increasingly align on pricing. The data in The Boulder Group's Q1 2026 Net Lease Tenant Profiles Report reflects a market in which cap rates have largely stabilized for the highest-quality single tenant assets, while continued repricing is underway for shorter-term, non-rated, and operationally challenged credits. It is important to note that net lease cap rates do not move in lockstep with interest rate changes, and The Boulder Group anticipates that credit quality and lease duration will remain the primary determinants of net lease property pricing throughout 2026. Investors seeking to deploy capital in net lease properties will find the greatest pricing certainty in long-term, NNN-structured deals with established, investment-grade tenants, while higher-yielding opportunities remain available in the mid-cap-rate range for experienced operators comfortable with additional credit or operational risk.

To view the full report: https://bouldergroup.com/media/pdf/NetLeaseProfile26Q1.pdf

About The Boulder Group

The Boulder Group is a boutique, Chicago-based investment real estate services firm specializing in transaction and advisory services for single tenant net lease properties. Founded in 1997, the firm has closed over $11 billion of net lease property transactions. The firm provides a full range of brokerage, research, advisory, and financing services nationwide. The level of annual, single-tenant transaction volume consistently ranks the firm in the top 10 companies nationally, according to industry benchmarks determined by CoStar and Real Capital Analytics.

Media Contact
Company Name: The Boulder Group
Contact Person: Randy Blankstein
Email:Send Email [https://www.abnewswire.com/email_contact_us.php?pr=the-boulder-group-releases-q1-2026-net-lease-tenant-profiles-report]
Phone: 8478816388
Address:3520 Lake Avenue Suite 203
City: Wilmette
State: Illinois
Country: United States
Website: https://www.bouldergroup.com/NNN-Properties-For-Sale.html

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