CUZ vs OPI: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CUZ and OPI share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CUZ and OPI exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Cousins Properties is a real estate investment trust focused exclusively on Class A office assets in fast-growing Sun Belt markets, including Austin, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Phoenix, Tampa and Nashville. Its roughly 22 million square foot portfolio is almost entirely modern, amenity-rich lifestyle office buildings that command rents well above the local Class A average, and the company also holds a development pipeline and a land bank for future mixed-use projects. As a REIT, Cousins passes most of its taxable income to shareholders as dividends, so it is typically owned for income plus exposure to Sun Belt office fundamentals.

Full CUZ guide

Office Properties Income Trust is a real estate investment trust that owns office properties, historically emphasizing buildings leased to single tenants with strong credit, including US government and investment-grade tenants. It is externally managed by The RMR Group, an alternative asset manager that runs several public REITs. Like much of the office sector, OPI was hit hard by rising interest rates, remote and hybrid work reducing office demand, and a wall of maturing debt it could not easily refinance. Its dividend was cut repeatedly (from 0.55 dollars per quarter in 2023 down to a token amount, then fully suspended in mid-2025), its shares were delisted from the Nasdaq in October 2025, and the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on October 30, 2025.

Full OPI guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CUZ drivers: Flight to quality in Sun Belt office; Occupancy recovery.
• OPI drivers: Fresh-start balance sheet; Office-sector demand and occupancy.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Office remains a structurally challenged property type, with hybrid and remote work still pressuring long-run space demand. For OPI, the overriding fact is that OPI just went through bankruptcy: the prior common equity was wiped out entirely, so anyone buying today is buying a brand-new, fresh-start stock with almost no post-emergence trading history and limited visibility.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CUZ if you believe its drivers more; OPI if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CUZ and OPI guides.

CUZ. As a REIT, Cousins is usually valued on FFO and on price relative to net asset value rather than on GAAP earnings, which are distorted by depreciation and one-time impairments. At a mid-single-digit FFO multiple discount typical of office REITs, the stock reflects skepticism about the sector even as Cousins posts sector-leading fundamentals. Its low leverage is a key differentiator versus more indebted office peers.

OPI. Figures are approximate, drawn from public 2026 restructuring disclosures, and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Because OPI is a fresh-start company with very little post-emergence trading history and a small share count, traditional valuation multiples are unreliable and the stock can be highly volatile. This is best understood as a post-bankruptcy special situation, not a settled, income-oriented REIT.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): CUZ shows market cap ~$5.0B, revenue (ttm) ~$1.0B, q1 2026 ffo / share ~$0.73, 2026 ffo guidance ~$2.90-$2.98; OPI shows company type Externally managed office REIT, reorganized out of Chapter 11 in June 2026 (fresh-start entity), listing status New common shares began trading on Nasdaq under 'OPI' on June 18, 2026; the old shares were delisted in Oct 2025 and canceled, shares outstanding ~22 million newly issued common shares (small float; prior shares canceled), debt after emergence ~$1.7 billion, down roughly $714 million via the restructuring.

CUZ and OPI are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CUZ and OPI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.