What smart money is saying about Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.
2 funds in our archive have pitched Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., most recently Longleaf Partners Small-Cap Fund in September 2026.
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) functions as a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), focused on the acquisition, ownership, management, operation, and revitalization of commercial office and retail assets across Manhattan and the broader New York metropolitan region. Its notable properties include the iconic Empire State Building, globally renowned as "The World's Most Famous Building." Based in New York, New York, the company's diverse portfolio encompassed 10.1 million rentable square feet as of September 30, 2020. This total comprised 9.4 million rentable square feet across 14 office properties – specifically, nine situated in Manhattan, three in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and two in Westchester County, New York – in addition to approximately 700,000 rentable square feet in retail spaces. ESRT has consistently demonstrated leadership in energy efficiency retrofits and maintaining superior Indoor Environmental Quality, achieving the distinction of being the first commercial real estate portfolio in the U.S. to obtain the WELL Health-Safety Rating.
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Position history
Between Q4 2025 and Q3 2026, 3 fund letters reported a position in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., with no move described.
| Quarter | Letters | Bought | Sold | Theses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Q2 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Q4 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Bought and Sold count moves: the same sentence published by several funds of one house in a quarter counts once.
Fund activity · 3 positions
- September 2026
“Empire State Realty (ESRT) – NYC real estate owner ESRT’s underperformance this quarter was mostly driven by its Empire State Building Observatory hitting a rough patch over the last two years in a way that culminated with an earnings guide down in July. Going into 2020, the Observatory had been on an uninterrupted streak of growth since 9/11. This was halted by Covid, but results rebounded as the world economy reopened. As 2025 played out and NOI/attendance declined slightly, this first seemed like macro problems with fewer international tourists due to USA immigration policy. This remains an issue, but this year has also seen a mix of competition and the K-shaped economy 5 hurting results. The Observatory had built its business on international budget travelers. In a world with a growing middle class of people who want to/can come to the USA, that worked. While it’s likely that world returns, that’s not the world we are living in now. The Observatory had also previously weathered 1 World Trade Center and Top of the Rock competition, but a five-player market with Summit One Vanderbilt and Edge Hudson Yards in the mix is different. The Observatory is less than 15% of our value at ESRT, but it does swing around earnings and sentiment on the stock. This overshadowed a healthy NYC office market and another great asset sale from ESRT. Interest rates are a headwind, but the company is properly leveraged with well-laddered debt. The stock price this year has dramatically overshot a 9% decline in FFO per share estimates vs. the start of the year. The company knows that it needs to use this stock price as an opportunity, and we have been in increasing contact with them as the year has gone on and our position has increased.”
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. - June 2026
“Alexander’s and Empire State Realty Trust – New York real estate companies Alexander’s and Empire State Realty Trust both contributed in the quarter. Alexander’s was the bigger contributor, as the company closed the previously announced asset sale of a non- core property while signing a lease with Target to get its key shopping center in Queens fully-leased. It is getting harder for the market to ignore the steady FCF power and strong balance sheet of this company. Empire State also contributed but on a lesser scale in the quarter as the company closed a great asset sale itself that implies a value for the rest of its business that is over 2x the current share price. Both companies are on offense and able to continue closing their price to value gaps.”
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. - June 2026
“Another positive trend is that our partners have been getting frustrated with their own low valuations and taking matters into their own hands (positive moves at People Inc./MGM and Small Cap Fund holding Empire State Realty Trust, among others) or having something done to them to realize value (the bidding war that burst out for Delivery Hero).”
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.
Fund coverage · 2 theses
- Longleaf Partners Small-Cap FundSeptember 2026
Empire State Realty Trust owns NYC real estate and an observatory business, with valuation supported by a healthy office market, well-laddered debt, and potential activism.
Read the full thesis - Longleaf Partners Small-Cap FundDecember 2025
Empire State Realty Trust is a New York office and retail REIT with improving leasing trends, undervaluation versus peers, and multiple levers including asset sales.
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