--- ticker: PSA company: Public Storage filing_type: 10-K year_current: 2026 year_prior: 2025 risks_added: 2 risks_removed: 3 risks_modified: 3 risks_unchanged: 31 source: SEC EDGAR url: https://riskdiff.com/psa/2026-vs-2025/ markdown_url: https://riskdiff.com/psa/2026-vs-2025/index.md generated: 2026-05-11 --- # Public Storage: 10-K Risk Factor Changes 2026 vs 2025 > Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) > Generated: 2026-05-11 > All data extracted directly from official filings. No hallucinated content. > **[AI-Generated Summary]** The paragraph below was produced by a language > model and may contain errors. All other content on this page is deterministically > extracted from the original SEC filing. > Public Storage consolidated three succession planning and AI-related risks into two reformulated disclosures, replacing separate CEO succession and AI use risks with a single integrated leadership transition risk and a broader information technology advancement risk. The company eliminated its standalone climate change risk factor while maintaining 31 unchanged risks, suggesting a strategic recalibration toward operational and strategic execution priorities rather than external environmental factors. These modifications reflect a net reduction of one risk disclosure alongside substantive revisions to three existing risk categories. --- ## Summary | Status | Count | |--------|-------| | New risks added | 2 | | Risks removed | 3 | | Risks modified | 3 | | Unchanged | 31 | --- ## New in Current Filing: If we fail to successfully execute our recent leadership succession, we may struggle to effectively execute our strategic plan. We recently announced leadership changes, including a change in our Chairman of the Board, our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer. Although these changes were made pursuant to the Board's succession planning efforts, there is no guarantee that the transition to new leadership will be executed successfully. Failure to successfully implement these successions may result in disruptions in the execution of our strategic plan. Failure to successfully implement future succession plans for other key employees may leave us vulnerable to retirements and turnover. 13 13 13 --- ## New in Current Filing: adversely impacted. Although we conduct due diligence and aim to carefully evaluate the risks associated with this debt and other investments, we could incur losses from our lending decisions, which includes subjective and complex judgments and forecasts of economic conditions and how these economic predictions might impair the ability of our borrowers to operate their business and/or make all required payments. For example, volatility of the capital and credit markets, increased interest rates, lower demand for self-storage and general economic conditions may adversely affect the solvency, creditworthiness or operations of our borrowers. If our forecasts prove incorrect, or if any of our borrowers fail to perform as expected, we may incur losses from these bridge loans which could have a material adverse effect on our operating revenue and results of operations. --- ## No Match in Current: We are subject to risks from the consequences of climate change, including severe weather events and the adverse impact of other steps that may be taken to prevent or mitigate climate change. *This section from the 2025 filing does not have a high-confidence textual match in 2026. It may have been removed, merged, or substantially reworded.* Our self-storage facilities are located in areas that may be subject to the direct impacts of climate change, such as increased destructive weather events like floods, fires, drought, and prolonged periods of extreme temperature or other extreme weather, which could result in significant damage to our facilities, increased capital expenditures, increased expenses, reduced revenues, or reduced demand for our facilities. Indirect impacts of climate change could also adversely impact our business, including through increased costs, such as insurance costs or regulatory compliance costs. In addition, government and private efforts to transition to a low-carbon economy present certain risks for us and our customers, including increased energy costs and macroeconomic risks related to high energy costs and energy shortages, among other things. Governmental, political, and societal pressures, including expectations of institutional and activist investors and other interest groups, could require us to implement or accelerate emissions initiatives and, with it, the costs of their implementation. These same potential governmental, political, and social pressures could in the future result in, among other things, (i) costly changes to newly developed facilities or retrofits of our existing facilities to reduce carbon emissions through multiple avenues, including changes to insulation, space configuration, lighting, heating, and air conditioning and (ii) increased energy costs as a result of transitioning to less carbon-intensive, but more expensive, sources of energy to operate our facilities. For example, beginning in 2026, we expect to be required to disclose our Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions data and certain climate-related risk matters under California SB 253 and SB 261, which we expect to result in increased compliance costs. In addition, our reputation and investor relationships could be damaged as a result of our involvement with activities perceived to be causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. --- ## No Match in Current: Ineffective succession planning for our CEO and executive management, as well as for our other key employees, may impact the execution of our strategic plan. *This section from the 2025 filing does not have a high-confidence textual match in 2026. It may have been removed, merged, or substantially reworded.* We may not effectively or appropriately identify ready-now succession candidates for our CEO and executive management team, which may negatively impact our ability to meet key strategic goals. Failure to implement succession plans for other key employees may leave us vulnerable to retirements and turnover. --- ## No Match in Current: Our use of artificial intelligence could expose us to various risks. *This section from the 2025 filing does not have a high-confidence textual match in 2026. It may have been removed, merged, or substantially reworded.* We have begun to utilize artificial intelligence technologies in various aspects of our business. Artificial intelligence technologies are susceptible to errors and other malfunctions which could lead to operational challenges and reputational risks. In addition, we may be subject to increasing regulations related to our use of these technologies, including regulations related to privacy, data security, and intellectual property rights, which could expose us to legal risks. 14 14 14 --- ## Modified: Our development program subjects us to risks. **Key changes:** - Removed sentence: "At December 31, 2024, we had a pipeline of development projects totaling $741.6 million (subject to contingencies), and we expect to continue to seek additional development projects." **Prior (2025):** At December 31, 2024, we had a pipeline of development projects totaling $741.6 million (subject to contingencies), and we expect to continue to seek additional development projects. There are significant risks involved in developing self-storage facilities, such as delays, cost increases, or inability to complete development projects due to changes in or failure to meet government or regulatory requirements, failure of revenue to meet our underwriting estimates, delays caused by weather issues, unforeseen site conditions, or personnel problems. Self-storage space is generally not pre-leased, and rent-up of newly developed space can be delayed or ongoing cash flow yields can be reduced due to competition, reductions in storage demand, or other factors. **Current (2026):** There are significant risks involved in developing self-storage facilities, such as delays, cost increases, or inability to complete development projects due to changes in or failure to meet government or regulatory requirements, failure of revenue to meet our underwriting estimates, delays caused by weather issues, unforeseen site conditions, or personnel problems. Self-storage space is generally not pre-leased, and rent-up of newly developed space can be delayed or ongoing cash flow yields can be reduced due to competition, reductions in storage demand, or other factors. 8 8 8 --- ## Modified: Our use of or failure to adopt advancements in information technology, such as artificial intelligence, may hinder or prevent us from achieving strategic objectives or otherwise harm our business. **Key changes:** - Reworded sentence: "Our use of or inability to safely and effectively adopt and deliver new technological capabilities and enhancements in line with strategic objectives, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, may put us at a competitive disadvantage; cause us to miss opportunities to innovate, achieve efficiencies, or improve the customer experience; or adversely impact our business, reputation, results of operations, and financial condition." **Prior (2025):** Our use of or inability to adopt and deliver new technological capabilities and enhancements in line with strategic objectives, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, may put us at a competitive disadvantage; cause us to miss opportunities to innovate, achieve efficiencies, or improve the customer experience; or adversely impact our business, reputation, results of operations, and financial condition. Legislative activity in the privacy area may also result in new laws that are applicable to us and that may hinder our business, including by restricting our use of customer data or otherwise regulating the use of algorithms and automated processing in ways that could materially affect our business or lead to significant increases in the cost of compliance. In addition, the use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, entails risks including risks relating to the possibility of intellectual property infringement or misappropriation; data privacy; new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, requirements, litigation, or other liability; ethical concerns; negative consumer perceptions as to automation and artificial intelligence; or other complications or liabilities that could adversely affect our business, reputation, results of operations, or financial results. **Current (2026):** Our use of or inability to safely and effectively adopt and deliver new technological capabilities and enhancements in line with strategic objectives, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, may put us at a competitive disadvantage; cause us to miss opportunities to innovate, achieve efficiencies, or improve the customer experience; or adversely impact our business, reputation, results of operations, and financial condition. For example, we have begun to utilize artificial intelligence technologies in various aspects of our business, which are susceptible to errors and other malfunctions which could lead to operational challenges and reputational risks. Legislative and regulatory activity related to information technology, including related to privacy, may also result in new laws that are applicable to us and that may hinder our business, including by restricting our use of customer data or otherwise regulating the use of algorithms and automated processing in ways that could materially affect our business or lead to significant increases in the cost of compliance. In addition, the use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, entails risks including risks relating to the possibility of intellectual property infringement or misappropriation; data privacy; quality control related to artificial intelligence outputs; new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, requirements, litigation, or other liability; ethical concerns; negative consumer perceptions as to automation and artificial intelligence; or other complications or liabilities that could adversely affect our business, reputation, results of operations, or financial results. Although we have adopted policies with respect to these risks, including related to the development, deployment and monitoring of artificial intelligence tools, we cannot be certain that such policies will be effective. --- ## Modified: operations. **Key changes:** - Reworded sentence: "Local, state, and federal governments have and may in the future adopt regulations that could adversely impact our operations, including in response to natural disasters and public health crises." - Reworded sentence: "California and other jurisdictions have also adopted regulations restricting our operations relating to pricing methodologies, restrictions on fees, procedures for selling stored property of delinquent tenants, marketing restrictions related to price changes and promotional rates, zoning restrictions and other matters." **Prior (2025):** In response to significant events, local, state, and federal governments have and may in the future adopt regulations that could impact our operations. For example, in response to wildfires in 2018, 2019, and early 2025 and floods in 2023, the State of California and some localities in California adopted temporary regulations that imposed certain limits on the rents we could charge at certain of our facilities and the extent to which we could increase rents to existing tenants. Similarly, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain localities adopted restrictions on the use of certain of our facilities, limited our ability to increase rents, limited our ability to collect rent or evict delinquent tenants, and limited our ability to complete development and redevelopment projects. Similar restrictions could be imposed in the future in response to significant events and these restrictions could adversely impact our operations. **Current (2026):** Local, state, and federal governments have and may in the future adopt regulations that could adversely impact our operations, including in response to natural disasters and public health crises. For example, in response to wildfires in 2018, 2019, and early 2025 and floods in 2023, the State of California and some localities in California adopted temporary regulations that imposed certain limits on the rents we could charge at certain of our facilities and the extent to which we could increase rents to existing tenants. Similarly, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain localities adopted restrictions on the use of certain of our facilities, limited our ability to increase rents, limited our ability to collect rent or evict delinquent tenants, and limited our ability to complete development and redevelopment projects. California and other jurisdictions have also adopted regulations restricting our operations relating to pricing methodologies, restrictions on fees, procedures for selling stored property of delinquent tenants, marketing restrictions related to price changes and promotional rates, zoning restrictions and other matters. Similar restrictions could be imposed in the future, including in response to significant events and these restrictions could adversely impact our operations. --- *Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Last updated 2026-05-11.*