What factors contributed to WELL's strong Q3 earnings beat?

Welltower's strong Q3 earnings beat can be attributed to several key factors:

1. **Strategic Acquisitions**: WELL has made significant investments, including $1.4 billion in acquisitions and loan funding, which have enhanced its market presence and diversified its portfolio. These strategic moves have likely contributed to the company's financial strength and growth.
2. **Portfolio Performance**: The company's portfolio has shown strong performance, with same-store NOI growth of 11.3% driven by the Seniors Housing Operating (SHO) portfolio, which has seen a significant increase of 21.7%. This indicates a robust operational performance, which is a critical factor in the company's earnings.
3. **FFO Growth**: WELL reported a quarterly normalized FFO of $1.05 per diluted share, which represents a 16.7% increase over the prior year. This growth in FFO is a strong indicator of the company's financial performance and its ability to generate income from its properties.
4. **Dividend Increase**: The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.67 per share, reflecting its solid financial performance and ability to generate cash flow. Dividend increases can often signal to the market a company's confidence in its future earnings and its commitment to returning value to shareholders.
5. **Positive Analyst Ratings**: The consensus rating for WELL stock is cautiously optimistic, with a "Moderate Buy" rating from analysts. This positive sentiment could have contributed to investor confidence and potentially led to increased investment in the stock, which in turn can positively impact the company's financial performance through increased liquidity and capital.

In summary, WELL's strong Q3 earnings beat can be attributed to strategic acquisitions, strong portfolio performance, growth in FFO, dividend increase and positive analyst ratings. These factors combined have likely contributed to the company's robust financial performance and its ability to exceed market expectations.