Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

How does Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA), a major player in the healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) space, manage to consistently grow its portfolio in a challenging market?

You're looking at a company that, as of its Q3 2025 reports, has a trailing twelve months revenue of over $747.06 million and recently saw Moody's upgrade its senior unsecured notes to Baa3 in September 2025, defintely suggesting a strong underlying strategy.

That kind of financial resilience-plus the 17.1% year-over-year jump in same-store managed senior housing Cash Net Operating Income (NOI) through Q2 2025-shows they know how to pick operators and properties.

So, what are the mechanics behind this performance, from its 2010 founding to its current mission of driving $1.52 to $1.54 in normalized Funds From Operations (FFO) per share for the 2025 fiscal year?

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) History

You're looking for the bedrock of Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA)-how it started and what truly shaped its portfolio. The direct takeaway is that Sabra didn't start with a massive seed round; it was a strategic spin-off in 2010, designed to immediately operate as a real estate investment trust (REIT). Its biggest growth inflection point wasn't an organic build, but a massive, all-stock merger in 2017 that instantly transformed its scale and diversification.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The company was established in 2010, formally commencing operations as a separate, publicly traded entity on November 15, 2010, following a spin-off.

Original location

Sabra Health Care REIT is headquartered in Irvine, California, though its corporate office is now in Tustin, CA, maintaining a strong Southern California base.

Founding team members

The initial leadership was instrumental in the spin-off and setting the early strategy. Key founding team members included Milton H. Walker and Harold W. Andrews. Rick Matros, the current Chairman and CEO, was also at the helm from the start, guiding the firm immediately after its separation.

Initial capital/funding

Sabra was born with immediate liquidity. As of December 31, 2010, shortly after the spin-off, the company had approximately $161.8 million in total liquidity. Here's the quick math: that figure included $74.2 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, plus $87.6 million available under its senior secured revolving credit facility. That's a defintely solid launchpad.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The history of Sabra is less about a slow build and more about strategic, sometimes painful, portfolio shifts. The biggest moments center on balancing risk and chasing higher-growth assets.

• The Great Portfolio Repositioning: Sabra has been actively shifting its investment focus toward private-pay senior housing and away from skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). This aims for higher revenue stability and growth potential, especially as labor costs moderate.
• Reducing Operator Concentration: The company systematically reduced its exposure to its largest tenant, Genesis HealthCare, a crucial step to de-risk the portfolio, even subleasing the last eight facilities to a trusted operator by early 2025.
• Focusing on Balance and Selectivity: As of mid-2025, management is less focused on acquiring large, all-skilled nursing portfolios. Instead, they are selectively acquiring assets, often deals under $100 million, to maintain a better balance between senior housing and skilled nursing.
• 2025 Momentum: The market is seeing the results of these moves. For the second quarter of 2025, Normalized Funds From Operations (FFO) per share hit $0.37, a 6% increase year-over-year. The company reaffirmed its full-year 2025 earnings guidance, expecting same-store managed senior housing cash Net Operating Income (NOI) growth in the low to mid-teens.

The strategic goal is clear: a predictable, simpler business model that capitalizes on favorable demographics. You can dive deeper into the current market view by Exploring Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

This disciplined strategy is why the company is confident in its pipeline, with over $200 million in awarded deals not yet factored into the 2025 guidance. With 239,792,173 shares of common stock outstanding as of July 28, 2025, every strategic decision impacts a significant shareholder base.

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) Ownership Structure

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) is overwhelmingly controlled by institutional money, which is typical for a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). This means major investment firms and mutual funds hold the vast majority of shares, driving the company's governance and strategic direction.

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.'s Current Status

Sabra is a public company, trading its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol SBRA. As of November 2025, the stock was trading around $18.61 per share, reflecting its status as a widely held, liquid investment vehicle in the healthcare real estate sector. It operates as a REIT, which legally requires it to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income to shareholders annually, a key driver for its quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share declared in November 2025.

The company's strategy is focused on a diversified portfolio that includes senior housing, skilled nursing facilities, and transitional/acute care hospitals, with a strong emphasis on senior housing due to favorable demographic trends. If you're looking at the long-term outlook for this sector, the aging US population is a defintely powerful tailwind. You can see how this strategy aligns with their broader goals in their Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA).

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.'s Ownership Breakdown

The ownership structure clearly shows that Sabra's stock is a staple for large financial institutions, which hold nearly all the shares. This high institutional ownership-nearly 98%-means that decisions are heavily influenced by the perspectives of large asset managers like BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc.

Here's the quick math: with institutional ownership at 97.26% and insider ownership at 1.22%, the float available to the general public-the retail investors-is quite small. This concentration can sometimes lead to lower trading volatility, but still, a large institutional sale can move the price fast.

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.'s Leadership

The company is steered by a seasoned executive team with deep experience in real estate and healthcare finance, ensuring a precise, data-driven approach to capital allocation and asset management. As of November 2025, the key leaders are:

• Rick Matros: Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chair of the Board. He has led the company since its formation in 2010.
• Michael Costa: Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, and Executive Vice President. He manages the financial operations and reporting, a crucial role for a REIT.
• Talya Nevo-Hacohen: Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Treasurer, and Executive Vice President. She is responsible for the portfolio's investment strategy, though she is set to retire at the end of 2025.
• Jessica Flores: Chief Accounting Officer and Executive Vice President. She oversees the company's accounting practices and financial controls.
• Darrin Smith: Executive Vice President, Investments. He is the designated successor for the CIO role, expected to take over on January 1, 2026, which signals a planned, seamless transition in investment leadership.

The board and management team are committed to delivering value by focusing on the fundamentals, which is why a smooth succession plan for the CIO role was announced well in advance. This transparency helps you understand that the strategic direction is stable, even with key personnel changes on the horizon.

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) Mission and Values

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.'s core purpose is a dual mandate: to drive superior financial returns for shareholders while simultaneously supporting high-quality care through its real estate investments. This focus on both capital and compassion is the defintely foundation of its corporate culture and long-term strategy.

Given Company's Core Purpose

You might think a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is only about rent checks, but Sabra ties its performance directly to the health of the healthcare ecosystem it serves. The company's commitment goes beyond property deeds, focusing on the quality of the operator relationships and the care delivered within the buildings it owns.

Official mission statement

While Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. doesn't publish a single-sentence mission, its actions define its purpose: generating sustainable, long-term growth in Funds From Operations (FFO) and dividends per share by curating a high-quality portfolio of revenue-generating healthcare properties. For the 2025 fiscal year, the company's updated guidance reflects this, projecting Normalized Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) per diluted common share between $1.495 and $1.505. This financial objective is inextricably linked to supporting its operators with the real estate infrastructure they need to deliver excellent care.

• Generate sustainable, long-term growth in AFFO and dividends.
• Acquire and manage a high-quality portfolio of healthcare properties.
• Support operators with resources necessary to deliver excellent care.

Here's the quick math: the company's Q3 2025 results showed same-store managed senior housing Cash Net Operating Income (NOI) jumped 13.3% year-over-year, which is a clear indicator that the strategy of aligning with quality operators is working. You can dig deeper into who is buying into this model in Exploring Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?.

Vision statement

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.'s strategic moves paint a picture of its long-term vision: to be a recognized leader in the healthcare REIT space, known for its financial resilience and its role in advancing quality care. The company is focused on investing in assets where the future of healthcare is being delivered now, which means a strong emphasis on diversification and adaptability. This vision requires a strong balance sheet; as of September 30, 2025, the company reported an Enterprise Value of $7.1 billion and Liquidity of $1.1 billion.

• Be a leading, recognized healthcare REIT.
• Prioritize operational excellence and financial performance.
• Invest in assets that align with the future of healthcare delivery.

Given Company slogan/tagline

The company does not use a formal, trademarked slogan in the way a consumer brand might, but it frequently uses a phrase that captures its operational philosophy: Where Passion Meets Know-How. This simple idea reflects the management team's deep experience as former operators, which helps them understand what their tenants need to succeed. It's a smart way to communicate that they bring industry expertise, not just capital, to the table.

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) How It Works

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. works by acting as a landlord and capital partner to healthcare providers, primarily owning real estate and generating revenue through both long-term leases and direct participation in property operations.

Think of it this way: Sabra is a real estate specialist that focuses on needs-based healthcare properties-places like skilled nursing facilities and senior living communities-and then structures financial arrangements to capture the most stable or highest-growth income streams from those assets.

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.'s Operational Framework

Sabra's value creation is built on a dual-model operational structure that balances predictable income with growth potential. The core of their operation is managing the risk and reward of their property portfolio.

The majority of the portfolio operates under a Triple-Net (NNN) lease structure, where the tenant-the healthcare operator-is responsible for property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs. This provides Sabra with a reliable, bond-like stream of rent, which is a key reason why the 2025 Normalized FFO guidance is so steady, projecting between $1.495 and $1.505 per diluted common share.

But the real juice is in the Senior Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP) model. Here's the quick math: Sabra owns the property and hires a third-party manager, so they capture more of the operational profit directly, which is why they are accelerating their strategic shift to this model.

• Accelerate SHOP: Management raised the target concentration for SHOP assets to 40% of the portfolio, up from a previous target of 30%.
• Tenant Health Focus: They continuously monitor tenant financial health using metrics like EBITDARM coverage, which hit a post-pandemic high for the triple-net portfolio as of Q3 2025.
• Capital Recycling: Sabra uses its ample liquidity, which was approximately $1.1 billion as of September 30, 2025, to fund accretive acquisitions, like the $217.5 million in managed senior housing properties acquired in Q3 2025.

This aggressive push into SHOP is defintely where the higher returns are, but it also means taking on more operational risk. You can dig deeper into who is investing and why at Exploring Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

Sabra's market success isn't just about owning buildings; it's about having the right balance sheet and the right relationships in a highly regulated, needs-based sector.

• Investment-Grade Balance Sheet: The company's financial discipline was externally validated in Q3 2025 when Moody's upgraded its senior unsecured notes rating to Baa3. This lower cost of capital is a massive edge for future acquisitions.
• Demographic Tailwinds: They are perfectly positioned to benefit from the aging US population; the 80+ demographic is projected to grow by 4% annually through 2040, creating persistent demand for their core asset classes.
• Operator Expertise: Sabra's management team includes former operators, giving them a unique, deep understanding of the day-to-day challenges and opportunities in healthcare facility management that their competitors might miss.
• Strong Credit Metrics: With a Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio of 4.96x as of September 30, 2025, the company maintains a strong financial profile that compares favorably to investment-grade peers.

Their ability to source and close deals, like the approximately $350 million in investments in the pipeline as of Q2 2025, shows they are well-equipped to capitalize on the industry's consolidation.

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) How It Makes Money

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. primarily generates revenue by investing in and financing healthcare real estate, collecting rent from tenants under long-term leases, and earning operating income from managed senior housing communities.

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.'s Revenue Breakdown

For a real estate investment trust (REIT), Net Operating Income (NOI) is the truer measure of a property's contribution, and Sabra Health Care REIT's revenue streams are split between two core models: the predictable, fixed income of Triple-Net leases and the higher-growth, variable income of the Senior Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP) model. The breakdown below reflects the contribution to the company's Net Operating Income (NOI) as of the second quarter of 2025, a strong proxy for revenue composition.

Business Economics

Sabra Health Care REIT's financial engine is built on two distinct, yet complementary, pricing and risk structures. This dual model allows the company to blend stable, long-term cash flow with higher-upside growth potential. It's a smart way to manage the cyclical nature of healthcare real estate.

• Triple-Net (NNN) Leases: This stream, representing the majority of the portfolio, involves leasing properties to operators who are responsible for almost all property expenses-taxes, insurance, and maintenance (the three nets). The pricing is a fixed, contractual rent, usually with modest annual escalators, which provides Sabra Health Care REIT with highly predictable and stable cash flow. The trade-off is that this structure caps the upside potential to those contractual increases.
• Senior Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP): Under the SHOP structure (often a RIDEA-compliant structure), Sabra Health Care REIT partners with third-party managers but retains direct participation in the properties' financial performance. This means the company captures the full benefit of occupancy gains and rising margins, but it also takes on the operating risk. This is the growth engine; its same-store managed senior housing Cash NOI surged by 13.3% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, reflecting a strong post-pandemic recovery and favorable demographic tailwinds.
• EBITDARM Coverage: This metric is key to assessing the safety of the NNN rent. In Q3 2025, the EBITDARM (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, Rent, and Management Fees) coverage for Skilled Nursing/Transitional Care was a solid 2.35x, meaning the operator's cash flow covers the rent comfortably. That's defintely a healthy cushion.

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.'s Financial Performance

The company's financial health, as of the third quarter of 2025, shows a clear recovery trajectory, particularly within the higher-growth Senior Housing segment. Total trailing twelve-month (TTM) revenue is approximately $745.08 million. The key metrics for a REIT, Funds From Operations (FFO) and Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO), confirm this stability and growth.

• Normalized FFO and AFFO: For the third quarter of 2025, Normalized Funds From Operations (FFO) per diluted common share was $0.36, and Normalized Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) per diluted common share was $0.38. This is the real measure of a REIT's cash flow.
• 2025 Guidance: Sabra Health Care REIT updated its 2025 guidance, projecting Normalized AFFO per diluted common share to be in the range of $1.495 to $1.505. Here's the quick math: at the midpoint, that suggests a strong, well-covered dividend.
• Balance Sheet Health: As of September 30, 2025, the company's Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA stood at 4.96x, which is a manageable leverage level and a key factor in Moody's Ratings upgrading Sabra's senior unsecured notes rating to 'Baa3' in September 2025.

To dive deeper into the sustainability of these numbers, you should check out Breaking Down Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) Market Position & Future Outlook

Sabra Health Care REIT is strategically positioned to capture growth from the aging US population, focusing on stabilizing its diversified portfolio of skilled nursing and senior housing assets. The company's future outlook is one of measured, accretive growth, supported by a strong balance sheet that saw its senior unsecured notes rating upgraded to Baa3 by Moody's in September 2025.

Management is guiding for 2025 Normalized Funds From Operations (Normalized FFO) per diluted share to be between $1.455 and $1.465, reflecting improving operational performance, especially within its managed senior housing segment.

Competitive Landscape

While Sabra is a key player, it operates in a sector dominated by much larger entities. Here's how its competitive position stacks up against two major rivals, based on a relative market capitalization proxy as of November 2025.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company is defintely focused on disciplined capital deployment, but it still faces sector-wide and company-specific headwinds. You need to map these to your investment horizon.

Industry Position

Sabra Health Care REIT is a mid-cap player that acts as a crucial diversifier in the healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) space. It's not the biggest, but its mix is unique.

• Diversification Edge: Unlike pure-play Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) REITs like Omega Healthcare Investors, Sabra's portfolio is balanced, with a significant mix of SNF, Senior Housing - Managed, and Behavioral Health facilities.
• Balance Sheet Strength: The upgrade of its credit rating to investment grade (Baa3) by Moody's in September 2025 gives it a competitive edge in accessing capital at lower costs than non-investment grade peers.
• Valuation Appeal: Sabra trades at a forward Price-to-FFO (P/FFO) of approximately 12.6x, which is a discount to larger, more diversified peers like Ventas (which trades at a higher multiple), suggesting a value opportunity if the operational turnaround continues.

The company's focus on operational improvement and strategic operator transitions is key to unlocking the value analysts see, with a consensus price target of $20.67. You can read more about their long-term vision here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA).