Federal's CEO Don Wood on Mad Money | August 11, 2020
Don makes an appearance on CNBC's Mad Money; discusses the decision to increase our dividend in times of uncertainty and Federalβs ability to power through the pandemic.
CEO, President & Director, Federal Realty Investment
Search every verified Donald Wood interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote β each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In an August 2020 appearance on CNBC's *Mad Money*, Federal Realty Investment Trust CEO Don Wood discussed the company's decision to raise its dividend during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wood stated that the dividend is a critical component of total return for REIT investors and that the company had $2 billion in liquidity at the end of June 2020, projecting it would still have $1.4 billion by February 2021. He argued that the ability to pay the dividend was not sufficient reason to do so, and that the decision was based on confidence in the company's future. Wood also addressed the broader retail environment, saying the U.S. entered the pandemic in an "overβretail" state that would exacerbate oversupply, and that "not everybody can be a winner here." He emphasized the importance of landlords being "liquid" and "visionary" partners for tenants facing uncertainty. Wood described a program for in-store pickup as "the most comprehensive landlord organized program out in the street," adding that it was a permanent change rather than a temporary measure. He expressed confidence that the company would navigate the crisis and focus on long-term outcomes, stating he was "thinking about later in twenty years."
“First of all in a REIT the dividend is probably more important to investors as a component of their total return than it is to most Cβcorp companies ... so there should be at least in my view a real robust attempt to continue to effectively go through with the bargain that those investors paid for when they invested in...”
“We sat at the end of June with two billion dollars worth of liquidity, both cash and an unused credit line ... by February of next year we'll still have 1.4 billion dollars worth of liquidity at the company so we can pay.”
“Now you can pay it, it doesn't mean you should pay it β right β so let me get there for a second. If you believe we can, then what, why should we? It's all about our confidence and what happens on the other side of this.”
“We're putting in Amazon warehouse ... not for us, not in the shopping centers, not in the mixed use, not in the lifestyle stuff β rather what we're talking about is if you've been operating in that B or that C shopping center, here is that opportunity to improve your location.”
“From a tenant's perspective they don't know who their coβtenancy is going to be over the next few years ... they need a landlord that is liquid, that is visionary, that knows they'll be their partner in terms of an uncertain future.”
“We entered into this whole mess in an overβretail environment in the U.S. ... this will exacerbate the oversupply β there's no question about that β but to me that means there won't be, not everybody can be a winner here so you better be pretty careful.”
“First of all I hope every strategy in my view of a company β any company that's been hurt by this β needs a vaccine. Absolutely there needs to be a vaccine, but absent that it doesn't mean from my point of view that we won't get through this and be able to create ... I'm thinking about later in twenty years.”
“The best way to deliver a good to the end user is to have that end user go to the store and pick it up β that's why what we're doing with the pickup, which as far as I know is the most comprehensive landlord organized program out in the street β and that's not something for this month or next month, that's forever.”
Don makes an appearance on CNBC's Mad Money; discusses the decision to increase our dividend in times of uncertainty and Federalβs ability to power through the pandemic.
Sign in to search the full transcript archive, filter by topic, and access every quote from Donald Wood.
The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →