The acquisition of Life Storage added 757 wholly-owned stores and one consolidated joint venture store. This expansion is a key driver of revenue growth, but also introduces integration challenges.

The company emphasizes the use of advanced technology systems for real-time rental rate and discount management. They also proactively redevelop properties to enhance their value and appeal.

The company's acquisition team continues to pursue multi-store portfolios and single stores. They emphasize a disciplined approach and only execute acquisitions that strengthen the portfolio and increase stockholder value.

The company acknowledges continuing risks and costs in integrating the Life Storage business, including potential difficulties in combining operations, maintaining cybersecurity protections, and retaining key employees.

The company highlights its commitment to attracting, developing, and retaining diverse top talent. They invested in training and development programs for employees, including leadership and communication training.

The Board considers cybersecurity risk as part of its risk oversight function and has delegated to the Audit Committee oversight of cybersecurity and other information technology risks. Five members of the board have cybersecurity experience.

The 10-K filing states that revenues and net operating income can be negatively impacted by general economic factors and other conditions that lead to a reduction in demand for rental space.

Nearly all leases are on a month-to-month basis, so any delay in re-letting units as vacancies arise would reduce revenues and harm operating results. Lower than expected rental rates upon re-letting could adversely affect revenues and impede growth.

The company maintains insurance policies, but certain types of losses may be uninsurable, not economically insurable, or coverage may be excluded on certain policies. Should an uninsured loss occur, the company could lose both its investment in and anticipated profits and cash flow from a store.

Competition in the local markets in which many of the company's stores are located is significant and has affected occupancy levels, rental rates and operating expenses. Development of self-storage facilities has increased in recent years, which has intensified competition.

The company believes that it is well positioned to compete for acquisitions and has encountered competition when seeking to acquire existing operating stores, especially for brokered portfolios.

The company states that it is the largest self-storage operator in the United States, with primary competitors being CubeSmart, National Storage Affiliates and Public Storage.

The company states that stores are generally situated in highly visible locations clustered around large population centers, which enables the company to reduce operating costs through economies of scale.

The company employs industry-leading revenue management systems developed by its management team to analyze, set and adjust rental rates in real time across its portfolio in order to respond to changing market conditions.

Management fees and other income represent the fees collected for the company's management of stores owned by third parties and unconsolidated joint ventures, with the increase for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to an increase in the number of stores managed.

The company seeks to maximize revenue by responding to changing market conditions through its advanced technology systems' ability to provide real-time, interactive rental rate and discount management.

The company's size allows it greater ability than the majority of its competitors to implement more dynamic online marketing programs, which it believes will attract more customers to its stores at a lower net cost.

The company has a cybersecurity risk management program intended to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its critical systems and information, which includes a cybersecurity Incident Response Plan.

The company expects to maintain a flexible approach to financing growth and plans to finance future acquisitions, store development and its bridge loan program through a diverse capital optimization strategy.

The company has two credit lines which it primarily uses as short-term bridge financing until it obtains longer-term financing through either debt or equity.

The company has an active 'at the market' program for selling stock and sells stock under the ATM program from time to time to raise capital when it believes conditions are advantageous.

The company values diversity, equity and inclusion and undertakes a wide spectrum of initiatives to attract and retain a diverse workforce. Newsweek recently recognized the company as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2024.

The company offers competitive health benefits and encourages employees to participate in employee health and wellness programs. Over 56% of employees who are enrolled in the health plan participate in these programs.

The company believes strongly that development is a continuous journey throughout the employee's career and provides formal development programs which are available to employees who are ready for an intense structured experience.

The self-storage industry is a mature industry with average occupancies that are typically at or above 90%. The company's average occupancy for wholly-owned stores for 2023 was 92.0%.

The industry is also characterized by fragmented ownership. As of the end of 2023, the top ten self-storage companies in the United States operated approximately 26.1% of the total U.S. stores.

The self-storage business is subject to seasonal fluctuations. A greater portion of revenues and profits are typically realized from May through September.