Extra Space Storage

Extra Space Storage was founded in 1977 by Kenneth M. Woolley, who built its first store in Billings, Montana, under the name Secure-it Mini Storage. In 1979 he established Extra Space Development Company.⁠[1]

The company was formed in Maryland on April 30, 2004, to continue the business of Extra Space Storage LLC, and closed its IPO on August 17, 2004.⁠[2]

It listed on the New York Stock Exchange with 136 locations, raising $290 million gross in what was the largest IPO by a Utah-headquartered company.⁠[3]

On July 14, 2005, Extra Space Storage and joint venture partner Prudential Real Estate Investors completed the acquisition of Storage USA from General ElectricGE AerospaceGE Aerospace is the name under which General Electric Company operates, a jet engine maker listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker GE.Open the full entry. The company paid $528.7 million in cash and issued 1,470,149 operating partnership units, acquiring 61 wholly owned properties and interests in joint ventures owning 78 properties, while 259 properties were placed in five limited liability companies with Prudential.⁠[4]

On February 2, 2009, the company announced that Chairman and CEO Kenneth M. Woolley would take a three-year leave beginning April 1, 2009, to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that the board had selected President Spencer F. Kirk to succeed him as Chairman and CEO. Kirk had worked with Woolley in self-storage since 1998.⁠[5]

In 2013, the company modernized its logo and brand and changed its signature color to “wasabi green”; earlier logos used dark forest green.⁠[6]

In October 2013, the company acquired its 1,000th location.⁠[3]

On October 1, 2015, the company completed its acquisition of SmartStop Self Storage, Inc., a non-traded REIT, for a total purchase price of about $1.4 billion, with stockholders receiving $13.75 per share in cash. It acquired 122 stores and assumed the management of 43 stores.⁠[7]

On January 13, 2016, S&P Dow Jones IndicesS&P Dow Jones IndicesS&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) is a global index provider that compiles and licenses benchmark indices including the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It was formed in 2012 by combining McGraw-Hill’s S&P index business with the Dow Jones Indexes business held by a joint venture of CME Group and Dow Jones, and it is now the index business division of S&P Global, which holds about 73% of the interest.Open the full entry announced that Extra Space Storage would replace The Chubb Corp. in the S&P 500 after the close of trading on January 15, in the Financials sector, Specialized REITs sub-industry.⁠[8]

On September 12, 2016, the company announced that Spencer F. Kirk would retire effective December 31, 2016, while remaining on the board, and that Joseph D. Margolis, Chief Investment Officer since July 2015, would become CEO effective January 1, 2017. The release named Woolley as founder and Executive Chairman.⁠[9]

At its 40th anniversary, the company had 1,441 locations, was the second-largest self-storage operator and had more than 3,000 employees.⁠[3]

In July 2017, U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in the District of New Jersey approved a $5.08 million class-action settlement. The suit, filed in 2013 by tenant Steven Gomes, alleged the company sold stored items before the deadline for paying delinquent rent, violating New Jersey’s Self-Storage Facility Act and Consumer Fraud Act, among other laws.⁠[10]

On April 3, 2023, Extra Space Storage agreed to acquire Life Storage in an all-stock deal valued at $12.7 billion, exchanging 0.8950 Extra Space share for each Life Storage share. After shareholder approval, the merger was completed on July 20, 2023, and the combined company kept the Extra Space name and its New York Stock Exchange listing.⁠[11]

The combined company had more than 3,500 locations and about 270 million rentable square feet, operating under the Extra Space, Life Storage and Storage Express brands. The board grew from 10 to 13 directors, adding Life Storage designees Mark G. Barberio, Joseph V. Saffire and Susan Harnett. Margolis said the company expected “at least $100 million in underwritten annual run-rate synergies.”⁠[12]

As of December 31, 2025, the company owned and/or operated 4,281 stores in 43 states and Washington, D.C., including 1,856 managed for third parties, and had 8,393 employees.⁠[2]

The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection sued the company, alleging practices including “bait-and-switch pricing.” It settled in July 2026 for $1.7 million, including $1 million in restitution and $700,000 in civil penalties, without admitting liability.⁠[13]

In 2025, total revenues were about $3.38 billion, net income attributable to common stockholders about $974.0 million and Core FFO $8.21 per diluted share.⁠[14]

On August 24, 2026, the company announced that Joe Margolis would retire at the end of 2026 and serve as an adviser to the board, and that President Noah Springer would become CEO effective January 1, 2027. Springer joined in 2006, became Chief Strategy and Partnership Officer in 2020 and President on January 1, 2026. The release named Ken Woolley as founder and Chairman of the Board.⁠[15]

During Margolis’s tenure, rentable square footage grew from under 100 million to over 340 million, market capitalization from about $9 billion to $30 billion and annual revenue from $1.1 billion to $3.5 billion. Springer had built and led the third-party management platform Management Plus.⁠[16]

In the third quarter of 2026, total revenues were $889.8 million, net income attributable to common stockholders $247.8 million and Core FFO $2.17 per diluted share; full-year Core FFO guidance was raised to $8.40–$8.50. As of September 30, 2026, it owned and/or operated 4,411 stores.⁠[17]