Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

In addition to the information set forth in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, one should also carefully review and consider the information contained in our other reports and periodic filings that we make with the SEC, including, without limitation, the information contained under the caption “Item 1A. Risk factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Those risk factors could materially affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. The risks that we describe in our public filings are not the only risks that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us, or that we presently deem to be immaterial, also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

There have been no material changes in our risk factors from those disclosed under the caption “Item 1A. Risk factors” to our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, except for the following updates:

Operating factors

Most of our costs, such as operating and general and administrative expenses, interest expense, and real estate acquisition and construction costs, are subject to inflation.

During the twelve months ended March 2022, the consumer price index rose by approximately 8.5%, compared to the twelve months ended March 2021, representing the largest annual inflation surge since 1981. The recent increases in the consumer price index began during the COVID-19 pandemic and were attributed to disruption in global supply chains and labor shortages. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government instituted a series of stimulus policies, aggregating approximately $6 trillion, which may have contributed to strong consumer demand and increased consumer spending.

During early 2022, China encountered its largest COVID-19 outbreak since the pandemic began in 2020, with approximately two-thirds of the country’s provinces experiencing sustained outbreaks of the virus. In response, several of China’s largest factory cities have ordered lockdowns, which, among its other impacts, have halted production of key consumer goods. Prior to the pandemic in 2019, China accounted for over 28% of global manufacturing output, but ongoing effects resulting from the previous COVID-19 pandemic and the recent surge of outbreaks in China have continued to impose strains on the global supply chain and will likely continue to do so in the near term.

Additional supply chain disruptions have been caused by a shortage of long-haul truckers and recent protests by the same. Supply chains may also be further affected by potential conflict and work stoppages during ongoing negotiations over a new contract between 22,400 union dockworkers and operators of the West Coast port facilities.

In addition, federal policies and recent global events may have exacerbated, and may continue to exacerbate, increases in the consumer price index. Those events include the following:

• In recent years, the energy policy of the U.S. has lacked a consistent approach. Since 2015, during various administrations, the U.S. has participated in, abandoned, and rejoined the Paris climate accord. In addition, the energy policy of the federal government in recent years has, at various times, either limited or increased, the production of fossil fuels in the U.S. On March 31, 2022, in response to the current increase in oil prices, President Biden authorized the release of 1 million barrels per day for the next six months – over 180 million barrels in total – from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. In addition, the administration is encouraging oil producers to utilize the approximately 9,000 approved but unused permits for production of oil and gas on federal lands.

• The U.S. administration has been requesting members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”), including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to significantly increase crude oil production as a way to calm soaring prices on oil. Mideast conflicts, including a civil war in Yemen where the Saudi government has been heavily involved, and other differences among the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and other OPEC members have thus far hindered an agreement to increase oil production by OPEC beyond a modest increase scheduled for May 2022.

• Beginning in late 2021, as political tensions between Russia and Ukraine increased, Russia amassed troops on the Ukrainian border, and in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. In response, global economic sanctions have been imposed on Russia by the U.S. and the European Union (“EU”).

These factors appear to have had a significant impact on increases to the consumer price index, including increases in food prices and energy costs, as reflected in crude oil prices that have increased from $60–$70 per barrel in mid-2021 to $100–$110 per barrel recently in 2022.

Our operating expenses are incurred in connection with, among others, the property-related contracted services such as janitorial and engineering services, utilities, repairs and maintenance, and insurance. Property taxes are also impacted by inflationary changes as taxes are regularly reassessed based on changes in the fair value of our properties located outside of California. In California, property taxes are not reassessed based on changes in the fair value of the underlying real estate asset but are instead limited to a maximum 2% annual increase by law.

Our operating expenses, with the exception of ground lease rental expenses, are typically recoverable through our lease arrangements, which allow us to pass through substantially all expenses associated with property taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs and maintenance, and other operating expenses (including increases thereto) to our tenants. As of March 31, 2022, 91% of our existing leases (on an annual rental revenue basis) were triple net leases, which allow us to recover operating expenses, and 94% of our existing leases (on an annual rental revenue basis) also provided for the recapture of capital expenditures. Our remaining leases are generally gross leases, which provide for recoveries of operating expenses above the operating expenses from the initial year within each lease.

During inflationary periods, we expect to recover increases in operating expenses from our triple net leases and our gross leases. As a result, we do not believe that inflation would result in a significant adverse effect on our net operating income, results of operations, and operating cash flows at the property level. However, there is no guarantee that our tenants would be able to absorb these expense increases and be able to continue to pay us their portion of operating expenses, capital expenditures, and rent. Also, due to rising costs, they may be unable to continue operating their businesses or conducting research and development activities altogether. Alternatively, our tenants may decide to relocate to areas with lower rent and operating expenses, where we may not currently own properties, and our tenants may cease to lease properties from us. The success of our business depends in large part on our ability to operate our properties effectively. If we are unable to retain our tenants or withstand increases in operating expenses, capital expenditures, and rental costs, we may be unable to meet our financial expectations, which may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation costs, technology services, and professional service fees. Annually, our employee compensation is adjusted to reflect merit increases; however, to maintain our ability to successfully compete for the best talent, especially in a talent shortage environment, rising inflation rates may require us to provide compensation increases beyond historical annual merit increases, which may unexpectedly or significantly increase our compensation costs. Similarly, technology services and professional service fees are also subject to the impact of inflation and expected to increase proportionately with increasing market prices for such services. Consequently, inflation may increase our general and administrative expenses over time and may adversely impact our results of operations and operating cash flows.

Also, during inflationary periods, interest rates have historically increased. In March 2022, in an attempt to curb the inflation rate, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “U.S. Federal Reserve”) raised its benchmark federal funds rate by 0.25% to a range between 0.25% and 0.50%, the first increase since December 2018. It is anticipated that the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to raise the federal funds rate in the coming months, which may result in rates closer to or above 2.0% (midpoint) by the end of 2022. In addition, on April 5, 2022, the Federal Reserve confirmed its plan to reduce its balance sheet at a rapid pace beginning in May 2022, effectively concluding the nearly 15-year-long quantitative easing era (in which the Federal Reserve effectively increased liquidity to consumers and businesses) and launching a reverse process known as quantitative tightening. Our exposure to increases in interest rates in the short term is limited to our variable-rate borrowings, which consist of borrowings under our unsecured senior line of credit and commercial paper program and SOFR-based secured notes payable. The effect of inflation on interest rates could increase our financing costs over time, either through near-term borrowings on our floating-rate line of credit and commercial paper program or refinancing of our existing borrowings that may incur higher interest expenses related to the issuance of new debt.

In addition, historically, during periods of increasing interest rates, real estate valuations have generally decreased as a result of rising capitalization rates which tend to move directionally with interest rates. Consequently, prolonged periods of higher interest rates may negatively impact the valuation of our real estate asset portfolio and result in the decline of our stock price, and market capitalization, and lower sales proceeds from future real estate dispositions.

As of March 31, 2022, approximately 97% of our leases (on an annual rental revenue basis) contained effective annual rent escalations approximating 3% that were either fixed or indexed based on a consumer price index or other index. We have long-term lease agreements with our tenants, of which 5%–10% (based on occupied RSF) expire each year primarily over the next ten years. We believe that these annual lease expirations allow us to reset these leases to market rents upon renewal or re-leasing and that annual rent escalations within our long-term leases are generally sufficient to offset the effect of inflation on non-recoverable costs, such as general and administrative expenses and interest expense. However, the impact of the current rate of inflation of 8.5% may not be adequately offset by some of our annual rent escalations, and it is possible that the resetting of rents from our renewal and re-leasing activities would not fully offset the impact of the current inflation rate. As a result, during inflationary periods in which the inflation rate exceeds the annual rent escalation percentages within our lease contracts, we may not adequately mitigate the impact of inflation, which may adversely affect to our business, financial

condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Additionally, inflationary pricing may have a negative effect on the construction costs necessary to complete our development and redevelopment projects, including, but not limited to, costs of construction materials, labor, and services from third-party contractors and suppliers. We rely on a number of third-party suppliers and contractors to supply raw materials, skilled labor, and services for our construction projects. During 2021 and at the beginning of 2022, industry prices for certain construction materials, including steel, copper, lumber, plywood, concrete, electrical materials, and HVAC materials, experienced significant increases as a result of low inventories; surging demand; underinvestment in infrastructure, tariffs imposed on imports of foreign steel, including on products from key competitors in the EU and China; significant changes in the U.S. steel production landscape stemming from the consolidation of certain steel-producing companies; and increases in global commodity and raw materials prices exacerbated by supply and energy shortages that have emerged since the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.

As a result, the increase in costs of construction materials, heightened by recent inflationary pressure from events noted above, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, may result in corresponding increases in our overall construction costs. Certain increases in the costs of construction materials, however, can often be managed in our development and redevelopment projects through either (i) general budget contingencies built into our overall construction costs estimates for each of our projects or (ii) guaranteed maximum price construction contracts, which stipulate a maximum price for certain construction costs and shift inflation risk to our construction general contractors. However, it is not guaranteed that our budget contingencies would accurately account for potential construction cost increases given the current severity of inflation and variety of contributing factors. Nor is it guaranteed that our general contractors would be able to absorb such increases in costs and complete our construction projects timely, within budget, or at all.

We have not encountered significant difficulty collaborating with our third-party suppliers and contractors and obtaining materials and skilled labor, nor experienced significant delays or increases in overall project costs due to the factors discussed above. While we do not rely on any single supplier or vendor for the majority of our materials and skilled labor, we may experience difficulties obtaining necessary materials from suppliers or vendors whose supply chains might become impacted by economic or political changes, outmoded technology, aging infrastructure, shortages of shipping containers and/or means of transportation, or difficulties obtaining adequate skilled labor from third-party contractors in a tightening labor market. It is uncertain whether we would be able to source the essential commodities, supplies, materials, and skilled labor timely or at all without incurring significant costs or delays, particularly during times of economic uncertainty resulting from events outside of our control, including, but not limited to, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal policies, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Higher construction costs could adversely impact our net investments in real estate and expected yields on our development and redevelopment projects, which may make otherwise lucrative investment opportunities less profitable to us. Our reliance on a number of third-party suppliers and contractors may also make such investment opportunities unattainable if we are unable to sufficiently fund our projects due to significant cost increases or are unable to obtain the resources and materials to do so reasonably due to disrupted supply chains. As a result, our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows, as well as our ability to pay dividends, could be adversely affected over time.

Economic and social volatility and geopolitical instability outside of the U.S. due to large-scale conflicts, including warfare among countries, may adversely impact us, the U.S., and global economies.

From time to time, tensions between countries may erupt into warfare and may adversely affect neighboring countries and those who conduct trade or foreign relations with those affected regions. Such acts of war may cause widespread and lingering damage on a global scale, including, but not limited to: (i) safety and cyber security, (ii) the economy, and (iii) global relations.

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine following years of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries, which was heightened in 2021 when Russia amassed large numbers of military ground forces and support personnel on the Ukraine-Russia border. In response to the invasion and ensuing war, many countries, including the U.S., imposed significant economic and other sanctions against Russia. The war has created the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II and has inflicted significant damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure and economy. Both countries’ economies may be significantly affected, which may also adversely impact the global economy, including that of the U.S. The humanitarian crisis that has resulted from the war is likely to have pronounced and enduring impact on Ukraine, as well as a significant impact to neighboring countries that have accepted refugees. Further, Russia has launched an onslaught of cyberwarfare against Ukraine following its invasion, targeting the country’s critical infrastructure, government agencies, media organizations, and related think tanks in the U.S. and EU.

The current administration has cautioned Americans on the possibility of Russia targeting the U.S. with cyber attacks in retaliation for sanctions that the U.S. has imposed and has urged both the public and private sectors to strengthen their cyber defenses and protect critical services and infrastructure. Additionally, President Biden directed government bodies to mandate cybersecurity and network defense measures within their respective jurisdictions and has initiated action plans to reinforce cybersecurity within the electricity, pipeline, and water sectors. The current administration also launched joint efforts with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) through its “Shields Up” campaign to defend the U.S. against possible cyber attacks. CISA recently published advisories warning of Russian state-sponsored threat actors targeting “COVID-19 research, governments, election organizations, healthcare and pharmaceutical, defense, energy, video gaming, nuclear, commercial facilities, water, aviation, and critical manufacturing” sectors in the U.S. and other Western nations. While we have not experienced such cyber attacks to date, it is yet unknown whether Russia will be successful in breaching our network defenses or, more broadly, those within the areas listed above, which, if successful, may cause disruptions to critical infrastructure required for our operations and livelihoods, or those of our tenants, communities, and business partners.

Further, international sanctions against Russia have led to many nations in the EU, the U.S., and Canada closing their airspace to Russia, with Russia retaliating by restricting its airspace to these nations and their allies, resulting in increased transport costs and logistical challenges for shipment of goods, which have exacerbated an already strained global supply chain previously disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rising costs and uncertain supply of commodities, coupled with additional pressure on supply chains, may lead to increases in operating expenses, construction costs, and wages in the near term, as discussed in the preceding risk factor. These factors may also continue to drive inflation upward, creating further economic uncertainty and loss of investor confidence, which may also negatively impact the capital markets, investments, and asset prices.

Russia is a large supplier of natural gas and oil, particularly to European countries. During 2021, Europe purchased approximately 49% and 74% of Russia’s supply of oil and natural gas, respectively. As Russia’s largest customer of oil and natural gas, Europe may be severely impacted if there is a shortage or if Russia withholds supplies of energy resources in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russia. Adverse impacts on the businesses and economies of European countries may also adversely impact those of other countries, including the U.S., who conduct trade with Europe.

The war and global response to Russia’s actions have led to disruption, instability, and volatility in global markets and industries, primarily in agriculture and energy sectors. Russia and Ukraine are among the key producers of agricultural commodities in the world and account for over 25% of global wheat exports, with Russia being the world’s largest exporter of wheat and fertilizers. Russia’s dominant market share in the export of fertilizers may severely impact farmers and cause further increases in global food prices. Concerns over whether farmers may be able to harvest sufficient crops, particularly in Ukraine, could also disrupt global trade for agricultural commodities. Many farmers have reduced their use of fertilizers as prices surge, which will likely result in lower harvest yields. Certain countries have already declared a state of emergency in their agricultural sectors over fears of food insecurity. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in the U.S. alone, fertilizer prices are expected to increase by 12% in 2022, after rising 17% in 2021. It is expected that food prices also will continue to increase domestically, further propelling the pace of inflation.

The scale and extent of the impact from Russia-Ukraine war are not yet fully known. Disruption, instability, volatility, and decline in economic activity, regardless of where it occurs, whether caused by acts of war, other acts of aggression, or terrorism, could in turn also harm the demand for, the safety of, and the value of our properties. As a result of the factors discussed above, we may be unable to operate our business as usual, which may adversely affect our cash flows, financial condition, and results of operations.

Any or all of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows, or the market price of our common stock. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us, or that we presently deem to be immaterial, may also have potential to materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.