PSA vs CUBE Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Public Storage and CubeSmart are both leading self-storage REITs, but Public Storage is the largest self-storage operator with unmatched scale, while CubeSmart has built a differentiated third-party management platform alongside its owned facility portfolio to expand its footprint in an asset-light manner.
PSA offers unmatched scale and brand recognition in self-storage, while CUBE offers a differentiated asset-light management platform alongside its owned portfolio. The decision depends on whether you prefer the largest operator's scale or a growth model diversified through third-party management.
PSA holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. PSA has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+1.41% vs -5.37%), though CUBE has the better forward P/E setup (25.21x vs 30.81x for PSA). PSA leads on both revenue growth (3.30%) and operating margin (45.70%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CUBE (+11.18%) than for PSA (+7.74%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to the largest self-storage operator with unmatched scale
- Value the brand recognition and marketing advantages that come with industry leadership
- Believe continued acquisition activity can consolidate smaller self-storage operators
- Prefer a company with an extensive, diversified facility network
- Want exposure to a differentiated asset-light third-party management growth platform
- Value strong digital marketing and technology capabilities for customer acquisition
- Believe diversification across numerous metropolitan markets provides resilience
- Prefer a somewhat smaller self-storage REIT with a distinct growth strategy
| Metric | PSA | CUBE |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 40.3 | 37.0 |
| AI ranki | #1119 | #1507 |
| Latest closei | $302.01 | $39.50 |
| 1M returni | -8.04% | -5.43% |
| 6M returni | -1.46% | -1.45% |
| 1Y returni | +1.41% | -5.37% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | PSA | CUBE |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.25K (+2.5%) started 2025-09-08 | $9.6K (-4.0%) started 2025-09-08 |
| 5Y ago | $13.22K (+32.2%) started 2021-09-09 | $7.19K (-28.1%) started 2021-09-08 |
| 10Y ago | $29.69K (+196.9%) started 2016-09-09 | $14.13K (+41.3%) started 2016-09-08 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | PSA | CUBE |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $58.55B | $8.97B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 29.94 | 26.96 |
| Forward P/Ei | 30.81 | 25.21 |
| Price/Salesi | 11.21 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 14.14 | 11.00 |
| Analyst targeti | $337.76 | $44.06 |
| Target upsidei | +7.74% | +11.18% |
| Metric | PSA | CUBE |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 3.30% | 1.50% |
| Earnings growthi | 45.10% | 8.30% |
| EPS growthi | +45.10% | +8.30% |
| FCF margini | +47.54% | +42.68% |
| Operating margini | 45.70% | 41.09% |
| Profit margini | 41.63% | 29.33% |
| ROIC proxyi | 21.93% | 12.03% |
| Return on equityi | 21.93% | 12.03% |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.83% | 5.34% |
| Betai | 0.94 | 1.06 |
| Debt/equityi | 109.63 | 134.30 |
| Current ratioi | 0.22 | 0.10 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.13 | 0.07 |
Over the past year, PSA and CUBE have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.83), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | PSA | CUBE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +2.47% | -4.01% |
| CAGRi | +2.48% | -4.02% | |
| Volatilityi | 23.11% | 21.52% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.03 | -0.29 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.04 | -0.41 | |
| Max drawdowni | 17.11% | 16.49% | |
| Current drawdowni | 8.61% | 7.06% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 5.85% | 7.09% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.74% | 8.45% | |
| Max daily dropi | 4.16% | 4.00% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.73% | 11.23% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +10.24% | -28.09% |
| CAGRi | +1.97% | -6.38% | |
| Volatilityi | 24.19% | 25.60% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.02 | -0.31 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.02 | -0.43 | |
| Max drawdowni | 37.93% | 41.63% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.37% | 30.73% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 18.70% | 22.95% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.70% | 24.60% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.00% | 8.63% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 12.88% | 14.63% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +96.12% | +41.27% |
| CAGRi | +6.97% | +3.52% | |
| Volatilityi | 23.56% | 25.41% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.21 | 0.09 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.29 | 0.12 | |
| Max drawdowni | 37.93% | 42.58% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.37% | 30.73% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 13.76% | 15.67% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 16.69% | 19.11% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.53% | 17.39% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.98% | 25.09% |
| Category | PSA | CUBE |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Public Storage | CubeSmart |
| Sector | Real Estate | Real Estate |
| Industry | REIT - Industrial | REIT - Industrial |
| Core business | The largest self-storage real estate investment trust in the United States, owning and operating an extensive network of self-storage facilities serving residential and commercial customers across the country. | A self-storage real estate investment trust that owns, operates, and manages self-storage facilities serving residential and commercial customers across numerous metropolitan markets in the United States. |
| Investor focus | Same-store net operating income growth across its facility network, occupancy and rental rate trends, and acquisition activity consolidating smaller self-storage operators. | Same-store net operating income growth, third-party management platform growth as an asset-light expansion avenue, and digital marketing and customer acquisition effectiveness. |
- Position as the largest self-storage operator provides significant scale advantages in brand recognition, marketing, and operating efficiency
- Extensive facility network across many markets provides diversification and resilience against localized demand fluctuations
- Active acquisition strategy consolidating smaller, independently operated self-storage facilities provides an additional growth avenue
- Third-party management platform allows the company to grow its operating footprint and brand presence without owning every managed facility
- Strong digital marketing and technology capabilities support customer acquisition and pricing optimization across its facility network
- Diversified facility network across numerous metropolitan markets reduces reliance on any single local market's demand trends
- Self-storage demand can moderate during periods of reduced household mobility or slower housing market turnover
- New self-storage facility development by competitors in certain markets can create periods of oversupply pressure
- Same-store rental rate growth has historically been cyclical, with periods of strong pricing power followed by more moderate growth
- Smaller scale relative to the largest self-storage operator provides somewhat less brand recognition and market influence
- Self-storage demand can moderate during periods of reduced household mobility or slower housing market turnover
- New self-storage facility development by competitors in certain markets can create periods of oversupply pressure
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.