Ahr Targets More Shop Growth In 2026 With Interim Ceo At The Helm

American Healthcare REIT (NYSE: EHR) is continuing to grow its senior housing operating portfolio (SHOP) segment amid rising occupancy, revenue – and a sudden and temporary leadership change.

The Irvine, California-based REIT reported its SHOP segment was the fastest-growing segment, with same-store net operating income (NOI) up 24.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and up 25.2% last year compared to 2024. This represents a “dramatic growth trajectory for that segment,” according to AHR COO Gabriel Willhite.

Earlier in February, AHR announced longtime CEO and president Danny Prosky was on leave due to an unspecified medical event. Jeffrey Hanson, AHR chairman of the board, is serving as interim CEO in the meantime. Currently there is no timeline for Prosky’s return.

“I can tell you that the organization is operating with the same alignment, focus and clarity of execution as it ever has,” Hanson said during Friday’s fourth quarter 2025earnings call. “One of the company’s greatest strengths has always been the depth and the commitment of our people, which is particularly evident during times like this.”

According to the company’s supplemental, same-store occupancy in the SHOP segment averaged 90.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 288 basis points year-over-year compared to 2024. During the call, Willhite said the company’s same-store operating portfolio in 2025 was driven by occupancy gains, disciplined rate management and expense controls.

To that end, AHR reported margin expansion of 130 basis points and 280 basis points in the company’s Trilogy and SHOP segments, respectively. Trilogy properties consist of a mix of skilled nursing, memory care, assisted living and independent living.

“You’ll see us push rate for the existing residents, but you’ll also see us pushing street rates far more aggressively,” Willhite said.

In December of last year, Trilogy acquired 14 senior living communities from Kingston HealthCare to be a “great complement” to existing Trilogy assets in Indiana and Ohio. Trilogy now operates 149 properties across seven states, according to the AHR supplemental information.

“We’re also augmenting the existing [Trilogy] campuses with more Villa projects, which you can see in the development pipeline there, pushing even more earnings growth through on the senior housing side, and shifting the mix to more private pay globally,” Willhite said.

Willhite said the company expects its SHOP segment to “continue to lead” growth in 2026, supported by revenue management efforts underway across its operating portfolio.

In 2025, AHR reported 14 SHOP acquisitions representing 1,730 units with a gross purchase price of $589 million. Management framed senior housing investment as very active, having closed over $950 million of new investments “across Trilogy and SHOP segments,” with the majority of acquisitions being SHOP additions.

These segments represent 76.9% of the company’s consolidated cash NOI, and where the company continues to see the “benefits of scale, alignment and operating leverage,” according to Willhite.

This year, AHR has closed on $117.5 million of new SHOP acquisitions with $230 million of awarded deals in the company’s investment pipeline.

AHR Executive Vice President Brian Peay said there is “tremendous conviction” that SHOP occupancy will be “between 95% and 100%” in the next five to 10 years with improved pricing power in that time.

Chief Investment Officer Stefan Oh said the SHOP segment now represents the company’s “second largest” segment by cash NOI “by design,” with AHR shifting more capital into its operating portfolio where it sees the best opportunities for returns, he said.

“I think it just allows us to have more confidence in the long term stability of that asset class,” Oh said.

Regarding the makeup of recent SHOP acquisitions, Oh described AHR’s continued focus on higher acuity assisted living and memory care properties, with independent living representing approximately 20% of total units.

On Friday, AHR stock fell 1.79% to rest at $52.24, a decrease of $0.95 per share.

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