Company: EPR-PE
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001045450-25-000051
Chunk: 27

Company: EPR PROPERTIES
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 27
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 may be more difficult or expensive to obtain additional financing or refinance existing obligations and commitments. Also, downgrades in our credit ratings would trigger additional costs or other potentially negative consequences under our current and future credit facilities and future debt instruments.

Elevated interest rates and future increases will likely increase interest cost on new debt and could materially adversely impact our ability to refinance existing debt, sell assets and limit our investment activities.

Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond our control, including general economic conditions and policies of various governmental and regulatory agencies. The U.S. Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate significantly since 2022. Although the benchmark interest rate was decreased in the second half of 2024, there can be no assurances that the rate will not increase in the future. Increases in interest rates could have an adverse impact on our business by increasing the cost of borrowing, affecting our interest costs and our ability to make new investments on favorable terms or at all. Rising interest rates, or the continuation of elevated rates into the future, could limit our ability to refinance existing debt when it matures or cause us to pay higher interest rates upon refinancing and increase interest expense on refinanced indebtedness. In addition, higher interest rates could decrease the amount third parties are willing to pay for our assets, thereby limiting our ability to reposition our portfolio efficiently in response to changes in economic or other conditions.

We depend on leasing space to tenants on economically favorable terms and collecting rent from our tenants, who may not be able to pay.

At any time, a tenant may experience a downturn in its business that may weaken its financial condition. Similarly, a general decline in the economy may result in a decline in demand for space at our commercial properties. Our financial results depend significantly on leasing space at our properties to tenants on economically favorable terms. In addition, because a majority of our income comes from leasing real property, our income, funds available to pay indebtedness and funds available for distribution to our shareholders or share repurchases will decrease if a significant number of our tenants cannot pay their rent or if we are not able to maintain our levels of occupancy on favorable terms. If our tenants cannot pay their rent or we are not able to maintain our levels of occupancy on favorable terms, there is also a risk that the fair value of the underlying property will be considered less than its carrying value and we may have to take a charge against earnings. In addition, if a tenant does not pay its rent, we might not be able to enforce our rights as landlord without