Dear Fellow Shareholders,

On behalf of the entire Equity Residential team, we want to express our sincere appreciation for your continued support and trust in our company. As we reflect on the past year and look ahead, we are pleased to share an update on our performance, strategic direction, and outlook for the future. Equity Residential has remained steadfast in our mission to generate superior long-term returns to our shareholders by owning, developing and operating high-quality apartment communities in the most attractive places in the United States for our target well-earning renter demographic to live, work and play.

Portfolio Growth and Asset Management

We own and manage a portfolio of 312 high-quality, well-located apartment properties, consisting of 85,190 apartment units, in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, Southern California, Dallas, Denver, Atlanta and Austin.

Our strategic focus is on metropolitan areas with strong employment trends and population growth in our target higher earning renter segment as well as elevated single family housing costs, which create sustained demand for quality rental housing. We believe our portfolio balances the opportunities and risks created by local supply and demand dynamics. We also invest in desirable urban and suburban submarkets, positioning us to benefit from the wave of both younger Gen Z (ages 14 to 29) traditional renters as well as Millennials (ages 30 to 45) seeking more space in the suburbs and staying renters longer due to lifestyle and elevated home ownership costs. Our long experience teaches us that having this balance, on top of the most efficient operating platform in the business, should lead to the highest long-term operating cash flow growth with the lowest volatility possible.

In 2025, we acquired over $600 million in high growth properties and sold over $1.1 billion of properties with both slower revenue growth and higher capital investment needs. We used the excess proceeds to strategically repurchase $500 million of our shares at what we believe is a discount to net asset value. All told, through dividends and share repurchases, we returned approximately $1.38 billion to our investors in 2025 and early 2026.

Additionally, we continued to invest in our existing portfolio through the successful completion of renovations at dozens of properties, modernizing amenities and improving energy efficiency. These efforts have resulted in higher resident satisfaction and increased rental rates, further enhancing our overall asset value.

In 2025, we were recognized for our commitment to sustainability with our continued inclusion in both the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indices. We were the first residential REIT to receive this distinction. We were also honored with inclusion as a member of the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook.

Operating Performance

We had solid operating performance with a 2.6% increase in same store revenues in 2025. San Francisco and New York, which make up over 30% of our net operating income (NOI), led the way with strong results. Our best-in-class operating platform also continued to create efficiencies and improve customer outcomes across all our markets. We finished 2025 with continued good demand in many of our markets and, combined with our focus on delivering exceptional customer service, that demand drove physical occupancy of more than 96% for the year and the lowest resident turnover in our history. Our annual same store expenses grew by 3.7% and our same store NOI improved by 2.2%. (1) This growth led to an increase of 2.6% in our Normalized FFO per share for 2025(2) and led our Board of Trustees to increase our annual dividend in the first quarter of 2026 by 1.4% to $2.81 per share. (3)

On the operations side of the business, we're leveraging technology and AI to drive enterprise-wide transformation-enhancing the resident experience, empowering our teams, and operating more efficiently at scale. This is how we're evolving the way we work and positioning the business for long-term outperformance.

During the year we continued our practice of prudently managing our balance sheet to maintain flexibility for future growth opportunities while creating stability in an evolving interest rate environment. Our debt maturities have been carefully laddered, leaving us less susceptible to the current higher rate environment than our competitors, and we have a strong liquidity position.

Leadership Transitions

Strong and steady leadership has long been a hallmark at Equity Residential. 2025 saw major changes in our leadership team as Alec Brackenridge, our Chief Investment Officer (CIO), retired after more than 30 years in key roles in our organization. Bob Garechana, our Chief Financial Officer (CFO), gave up that role to become our new CIO and we welcomed Bret McLeod as our new CFO.

We are very fortunate to have a Board of Trustees made up of professionals with substantial and diverse business experience derived from their past and present service as leaders and directors of complex organizations. They are careful stewards of your capital and have the experience and skill necessary to oversee the Company's capital allocation and risk management strategies and faithfully execute its other important responsibilities. In 2025, we were pleased to welcome Chris Carr as a new Trustee, bringing his vast experience as both an operating executive and a board member. At the same time, we are saying goodbye to Linda Walker Bynoe, who is retiring from the Board after 17 years of outstanding service as a Trustee. We have been tremendously fortunate to have Linda's knowledge and insights, we thank her for her service and wish her all the best.

Looking Ahead

We head into 2026 in a low-hire, low-fire job environment, supporting continuing high overall employment and steady apartment demand. On the supply side, we know that there is a large decline in competitive supply in many of our markets, not just this year, but for the foreseeable future. As a result, we are optimistic that with a portfolio that is currently more than 96% occupied, this lower new supply combined with steady overall employment should support above trend same store revenue growth in 2027 and beyond.

We also see residents continuing to choose our well-located, high-quality apartment properties as the place where they want to live and play, and with the high cost of homeownership prevalent in many of our markets, the cost and ease of renting with us is a very attractive option.

We extend our deepest gratitude to our shareholders, residents and employees for your continued trust and support. We remain committed to executing our strategic vision and delivering long-term value for all stakeholders.

David J. Neithercut
Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Mark J. Parrell
President and CEO