Global Net Lease (0IW3) Risk Analysis

Our charter provides that our Board may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT. While we intend to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we may terminate our REIT election if we determine that qualifying as a REIT is no longer in our best interests. If we cease to be a REIT, we would become subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income (as well as any applicable state and local corporate tax) and would no longer be required to distribute most of our taxable income to our stockholders, which may have adverse consequences on our total return to our stockholders and on the market price of shares of our stock.

In connection with our qualification as a REIT, we are required to distribute annually to our stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (which does not equal net income as calculated in accordance with GAAP), determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gain. In order to satisfy this requirement, as much as 80% of the aggregate distribution may consist of shares of our Common Stock. Taxable stockholders receiving such distributions will be required to include the full amount of such distributions (including the fair market value of any shares of Common Stock received) as ordinary dividend income to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, U.S. stockholders may be required to pay U.S. federal income taxes with respect to such distributions in excess of the cash portion of the distribution received. Accordingly, U.S. stockholders receiving a distribution of a combination of cash and shares of our Common Stock may be required to sell shares received in such distribution or may be required to sell other stock or assets owned by them, at a time that may be disadvantageous, in order to satisfy any tax imposed on such distribution. If a U.S. stockholder sells the shares it receives as part of the distribution in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the distribution, depending on the market price of the shares at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to certain non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such distribution, including in respect of all or a portion of such distribution that is payable in stock, by withholding or disposing of part of the shares included in such distribution and using the proceeds of such disposition to satisfy the withholding tax imposed. In addition, if a significant number of our stockholders determine to sell shares of our Common Stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividend income, such sale may put downward pressure on the market price of our Common Stock.

If the IRS were to successfully challenge the status of the OP as a partnership or disregarded entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the OP would be taxable as a corporation. In such event this would reduce the amount of distributions that the OP could make to us. This also would result in our failing to qualify as a REIT, and we would become subject to a corporate-level tax on our income. This substantially would reduce our cash available to pay dividends and other distributions to our stockholders. In addition, if any of the partnerships or limited liability companies through which the OP owns its properties, in whole or in part, loses its characterization as a partnership and is otherwise not disregarded for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the partnership or limited liability company would be subject to taxation as a corporation, thereby reducing distributions to the OP. Such a recharacterization of an underlying property owner could also threaten our ability to maintain our REIT qualification.

Even as a REIT, we may be subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes. For example, net income from the sale of properties that are "dealer" properties sold by a REIT and that do not meet a safe harbor available under the Code (a "prohibited transaction" under the Code) will be subject to a 100% tax. We may not make sufficient distributions to avoid excise taxes applicable to REITs. Similarly, if we were to fail an income test (and did not lose our REIT status because such failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect), we would be subject to tax on the income that does not meet the income test requirements. We also may decide to retain net capital gains we earn from the sale or other disposition of our property and pay U.S. federal income tax directly on such income. In that event, our stockholders would be treated as if they earned that income and paid the tax on it directly. However, stockholders that are tax-exempt, such as charities or qualified pension plans, would have no benefit from their deemed payment of such tax liability unless they file U.S. federal income tax returns and seek a refund of such tax. We also will be subject to corporate tax on any undistributed REIT taxable income. We also may be subject to state and local taxes on our income or property, including franchise, payroll and transfer taxes, either directly or at the level of the OP or at the level of the other companies through which we indirectly own our assets, such as any taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRSs"), which are subject to full U.S. federal, state, local and foreign corporate-level income taxes. Any taxes we pay directly or indirectly will reduce our cash flow.

The Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act provides that holders of "control shares" of a Maryland corporation acquired in a "control share acquisition" have no voting rights except to the extent approved by the stockholders by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding all shares of stock owned by the acquirer, by officers or by employees who are directors of the corporation. "Control shares" are voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other shares of stock owned by the acquirer or in respect of which the acquirer can exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), would entitle the acquirer to exercise voting power in electing directors within specified ranges of voting power. Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval or shares acquired directly from the corporation. A "control share acquisition" means the acquisition of issued and outstanding control shares. The control share acquisition statute does not apply (a) to shares acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if the corporation is a party to the transaction, or (b) to acquisitions approved or exempted by the charter or bylaws of the corporation. Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act any and all acquisitions of our stock by any person. There can be no assurance that this provision will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future.

Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland, or, if that court does not have jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division, is the sole and exclusive forum for (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, other than actions arising under federal securities laws; (b) any Internal Corporate Claim, as such term is defined in the Maryland General Corporation Law (the "MGCL"), or any successor provision thereof, including, without limitation, (i) any action asserting a claim of breach of any duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or to our stockholders or (ii) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or other employees arising pursuant to any provision of the MGCL, our charter or our bylaws; or (c) any other action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or other employees that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Our bylaws also provide that unless we consent in writing, none of the foregoing actions, claims or proceedings may be brought in any court sitting outside the State of Maryland and the federal district courts are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action under the Securities Act. These choice of forum provisions may limit a stockholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that the stockholder believes is favorable. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our bylaws inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving these matters in other jurisdictions.

Under Maryland law, "business combinations" between a Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include, but are not limited, to a merger, consolidation, share exchange or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities. An interested stockholder is defined as: - any person who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting power of the corporation's outstanding voting stock; or - an affiliate or associate of the corporation who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of 10% or more of the voting power of the then outstanding stock of the corporation. A person is not an interested stockholder under the statute if the board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which he or she otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. However, in approving a transaction, the board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by the board of directors. After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between the Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by the board of directors of the corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of at least: - 80% of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding shares of voting stock of the corporation; and - two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of voting stock of the corporation other than shares held by the interested stockholder with whom or with whose affiliate the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder. These super-majority vote requirements do not apply if the corporation's common stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares. The business combination statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are exempted by the board of directors prior to the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. The business combination statute may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer.

The change of control conversion and redemption features of our Preferred Stock may make it more difficult for a party to acquire us or discourage a party from seeking to acquire us. Upon the occurrence of a change of control, holders of Preferred Stock will, under certain circumstances, have the right to convert some of or all their shares of Preferred Stock into shares of our Common Stock (or equivalent value of alternative consideration) and under these circumstances we will also have a special optional redemption right to redeem shares of Preferred Stock. These features of our Preferred Stock may have the effect of discouraging a third party from seeking to acquire us or of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control under circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of our Common Stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-current market price or that stockholders may otherwise believe is in their best interests. We may also issue other classes or series of preferred stock that could also have the same effect.

On February 20, 2025, our Board authorized a share repurchase program, under which we are authorized to repurchase shares of Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price not to exceed $300.0 million, excluding fees, commissions and other ancillary expenses, of which approximately $180 million was available at December 31, 2025. Under the program, which does not have a stated expiration date, we may repurchase shares of our Common Stock from time to time through open market purchases, block trades, privately negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchase transactions and/or pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 plans, in compliance with applicable securities laws and other legal requirements. Although the Board has authorized the share repurchase program, the share repurchase program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific dollar amount or to acquire any specific number of shares. The timing and amount of future repurchases, if any, will depend upon several factors, including market, legislative and business conditions, the trading price of our Common Stock and the nature of other investment opportunities. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act imposes a one percent tax on stock repurchases, subject to certain adjustments, by publicly traded U.S. companies, including us, and may impact our decision to engage in share repurchases. Also, our ability to repurchase shares of stock may be limited by restrictive covenants in our debt agreements. The repurchase program may be limited, suspended or discontinued at any time without prior notice. In addition, repurchases of our Common Stock pursuant to our share repurchase program could affect our stock price and increase its volatility. The existence of a share repurchase program could cause our stock price to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for our stock. Additionally, our share repurchase program could diminish our cash reserves, which may impact our ability to finance future growth, to continue to pay a dividend and to pursue possible future strategic opportunities and acquisitions. There can be no assurance that any share repurchases will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our Common Stock may decline below the levels at which we repurchased shares of stock. Although our share repurchase program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, there is no assurance that it will do so and short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the program's effectiveness.

Holders of our Common Stock do not have preemptive rights to any shares issued by us in the future. Our charter authorizes us to issue up to 440 million shares of stock, consisting of 400 million shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share and 40 million shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share. As of December 31, 2025, we had 24 million shares of Preferred Stock issued and outstanding. Each series of Preferred Stock ranks on parity with each other with respect to dividend rights and rights upon our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding-up. Subject to the approval rights of holders of our Preferred Stock regarding authorization or issuance of equity securities ranking senior to the Preferred Stock, our Board, without approval of our common stockholders, may amend our charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock, or the number of authorized shares of any class or series of stock, or may classify or reclassify any unissued shares into the classes or series of stock without obtaining stockholder approval and establish the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications or terms or conditions of redemption of the stock. All of our authorized but unissued shares of stock may be issued in the discretion of our Board. The issuance of additional shares of our Common Stock could dilute the interests of the holders of our Common Stock, and any issuance of shares of preferred stock senior to our Common Stock, such as our issued and outstanding Preferred Stock, or any incurrence of additional indebtedness, could affect our ability to pay dividends on our Common Stock. The issuance of additional shares of preferred stock ranking equal or senior to our issued and outstanding Preferred Stock, including preferred stock convertible into shares of our Common Stock, could dilute the interests of the holders of Common Stock, Preferred Stock, and any issuance of shares of preferred stock senior to our issued and outstanding Preferred Stock or incurrence of additional indebtedness could affect our ability to pay dividends on, redeem or pay the liquidation preference on our Preferred Stock. These issuances could also adversely affect the trading price of our Common Stock and Preferred Stock. We may issue shares of our Common Stock, pursuant to our existing at-the-market program, and may in the future also issue shares of our preferred stock pursuant to any similar future program, as well as in other public or private offerings, including shelf offerings, and shares of our Common Stock issued as awards to our officers, directors and other eligible persons. We may also issue OP Units to sellers of properties we acquire. OP Units may be redeemed on a one for one basis for, at our election, a share of Common Stock or the cash equivalent thereof. Because our decision to issue equity securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings.

The trading prices of shares of our Common Stock and Preferred Stock may be volatile and subject to significant price and volume fluctuation in response to market and other factors, many of which are outside our control. Among the factors that could affect these trading prices are: - our financial condition, including the level of our indebtedness and performance;- our ability to grow through property acquisitions, the terms, and pace of any acquisitions or dispositions we may make and the availability and terms of financing for those acquisitions;- the financial condition of our tenants, including tenant bankruptcies or defaults;- actual or anticipated quarterly fluctuations in our operating results and financial condition;- the amount and frequency of dividends that we pay;- additional sales of equity securities, including our Common Stock or Preferred Stock, or the perception that additional sales may occur;- the reputation of REITs and real estate investments generally and the attractiveness of REIT equity securities in comparison to other equity securities, and fixed income debt securities;- uncertainty and volatility in the equity and credit markets;- increases in interest rates and fluctuations in exchange rates;- inflation and increases in the inflation rate;- changes in revenue or earnings estimates, if any, or publication of research reports and recommendations by financial analysts or actions taken by rating agencies with respect to our securities or those of other REITs;- failure to meet analyst revenue or earnings estimates;- strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings;- the extent of investment in our securities by institutional investors;- the extent of short-selling of our securities;- general financial and economic market conditions and, in particular, developments related to market conditions for REITs and other real estate related companies;- failure to maintain our REIT status;- changes in tax laws;- domestic and international economic factors unrelated to our performance; and - all other risk factors addressed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. Moreover, although shares of the Preferred Stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"), there can be no assurance that the trading volume for these shares will provide sufficient liquidity for holders to sell their shares at the time of their choosing or that the trading price for shares will equal or exceed the price paid for the shares. Because the shares of our preferred stock have a fixed dividend rate, their respective trading prices in the secondary market will be influenced by changes in interest rates and will tend to move inversely to changes in interest rates. In particular, an increase in market interest rates may result in higher yields on other financial instruments and may lead purchasers of our preferred stock to demand a higher yield on their investment, which could adversely affect the market price of shares of those securities. An increase in interest rates available to investors could also make an investment in our Common Stock less attractive if we are not able to increase our dividend rate, which could reduce the value of our Common Stock.

In order to qualify as a REIT, five or fewer individuals, as defined in the Code, may not own, actually or constructively, more than 50% in value of the issued and outstanding shares of our stock at any time during the last half of each taxable year, other than the first year for which a REIT election is made. Attribution rules in the Code determine if any individual or entity actually or constructively owns shares of our stock under this requirement. Additionally, at least 100 persons must beneficially own shares of our stock during at least 335 days of a taxable year for each taxable year, other than the first year for which a REIT election is made. To help ensure that we meet these tests, among other purposes, our charter restricts the acquisition and ownership of shares of our stock. Our charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes our directors to take such actions as are necessary and desirable to preserve our qualification as a REIT while we so qualify. Unless exempted by our Board, for so long as we qualify as a REIT, our charter prohibits, among other limitations on ownership and transfer of shares of our stock, any person from beneficially or constructively owning (applying certain attribution rules under the Code) more than 8.025% in value of the aggregate outstanding shares of our stock and more than 8.025% (in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of any class or series of the outstanding shares of our stock. Our Board may not grant an exemption from these restrictions to any proposed transferee whose ownership in excess of the 8.025% ownership limit would result in the termination of our qualification as a REIT. These restrictions on transferability and ownership will not apply, however, if our Board determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT or that compliance with the restrictions is no longer required in order for us to continue to so qualify as a REIT. These ownership limits could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for shares of our stock or otherwise be in the best interests of the stockholders.