Equity Residential (EQR) is one of the largest publicly traded U.S. apartment REITs, owning and managing rental apartment communities in major U.S. metro areas. EQR targets higher-income renters — typically college-educated professionals in tech, finance, law, and medicine — who spend roughly 20% of income on rent, giving EQR pricing power in good times and resilience in downturns. About 90% of NOI comes from coastal markets including Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Southern California, San Francisco, and Seattle, where high barriers to new housing supply support pricing power. The remaining 10-11% comes from Sunbelt expansion markets — Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, and Austin — where EQR is targeting a long-term mix of 20-25% of NOI, though near-term oversupply has weighed on those markets. EQR collects rent on roughly 12-month leases and targets physical occupancy around 96-97%, with revenue growth driven by renewal rate increases and new lease pricing. EQR manages all properties directly through a centralized platform, using AI and automation to keep on-site payroll growth minimal. As a REIT, EQR distributes most taxable income as dividends and funds growth through asset sales, debt, and occasional equity issuance. Capital allocation has recently shifted toward share buybacks, funded by dispositions of older coastal assets. EQR uses a JV-based development model with minimal in-house overhead, and targets net debt/EBITDAre around 4.3x, maintaining investment-grade credit ratings.