Vornado Shares Jump 5.7% As Facebook Leases Space At New York Farley Building

Vornado Realty Trust VNO shares jumped in the after-hours session Monday as the company announced Facebook Inc FB has leased all the office space at the Farley Building in New York.

What Happened

The Mark Zuckerberg-led company is leasing 730,000 square feet at Vornado’s Penn District project. The trust has 10 million square feet of space in total at that project.

The social media giant is looking to use its space at Farley to create a “dedicated hub” for its tech and engineering teams, according to its VP of Real Estate and Facilities Robert Cookson.

Facebook also leases office space at Vornado’s 770 Broadway and at the closeby Hudson Yards.

Why It Matters

The real estate investment trust declared its second-quarter results on Monday with a net loss of $1.03 per share, compared with a profit of $12.56 per share a year earlier in the same quarter. 

Vornado said that the COVID-19 crisis had affected its properties concentrated in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. Revenue for the quarter fell to $343.03 million from $463.10 million last year. 

The New York-based trust revealed it had collected 88% of rent due from its tenants despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the second quarter, which is 94% after taking into account rent deferrals spread over a maximum of twelve months.

Price Action 

Vornado shares traded nearly 5.67% higher at $35.95 in the after-hours session on Monday.