Amazon NNN
lease analysis.

About Amazon as a NNN tenant

Amazon is the strongest industrial credit in the country and the most-watched tenant in the asset class. The portfolio is enormous and split across formats — delivery stations (last mile), sortation centers (network nodes), and fulfillment centers (the giant ones you see from the highway). Each format underwrites differently and trades at different cap rates. Don't lump them together.

Most single-asset NNN trades you'll see are delivery stations and the smaller sortation centers. Fulfillment centers are typically built to suit by industrial developers (Prologis, Hillwood, Trammell Crow) and either held in portfolio or sold to institutional capital — not to private NNN buyers. If you see a 1M-SF Amazon FC offered as a single asset, ask why it's on the market.

The story everyone forgets: Amazon shuttered a meaningful number of delivery stations and sort centers in 2022 and 2023 after the COVID build-out got ahead of demand. Markets like the Inland Empire, Phoenix, and parts of Texas saw closures even with years of primary term remaining. Amazon kept paying rent, but the dark-box risk got real for the first time. Underwrite the location, not just the credit.

How Amazon structures its NNN leases

Most Amazon leases are NNN with the tenant covering taxes, insurance, and CAM. Roof and structure responsibility varies — newer leases are often closer to true triple-net while some legacy build-to-suit deals are absolute net. Read the lease, don't assume. The corporate guarantee runs through Amazon.com Services LLC, which is the operating subsidiary. There is no parent-level guarantee from Amazon.com, Inc. on most deals. That said, Amazon.com Services LLC is the entity that runs the entire fulfillment network and is good for the rent — this is not a credit concern, it's a structural note.

Store specs and site profile

Facility specs vary dramatically by format. Delivery stations are flat-floor cross-docks with 30–40 dock doors, 28–32 ft clear height, heavy van parking (300–800 stalls for Amazon Flex and DSP vans), and modest power (2,000–4,000 amps). Yard space is the constraint — Amazon needs room to stage vans and trailers, and the building-to-land ratio is often 15–25%. Sortation centers run larger — 36–40 ft clear, 60–120 dock doors, conveyor and sorter systems (sometimes tenant-owned, sometimes landlord-owned — check the lease), and 4,000–8,000 amps of power. Fulfillment centers are a different animal: 40+ ft clear, robotics infrastructure, mezzanines, extensive sprinkler density (ESFR K-25.2 or higher), and 8,000–15,000+ amps. If the FC has Kiva/robotics, the floor flatness spec (FF/FL numbers) is critical and expensive to retrofit.

Red flags on a Amazon NNN deal

• Short remaining primary term (under 4 years) on a delivery station in a market that's been over-built — Amazon has walked from these
• Building specs that don't match Amazon's current standard (under 28 ft clear, insufficient van parking, weak power) — backfill universe shrinks fast
• Basis well above replacement cost in a tertiary logistics market — institutional industrial buyers won't bail you out at exit
• No corporate guarantee, just an Amazon-affiliated entity on the lease (rare but it happens on older sublease structures)
• Site is functionally obsolete for non-Amazon users (oddball configuration, weak ingress/egress, zoned only for last-mile use)

What to underwrite before buying a Amazon property

1. Format (delivery station vs. sortation vs. FC) and the cap rate that actually matches that format
2. Remaining primary term and option structure — Amazon NNN with under 5 years left is a different deal than 9 years left
3. Trailer and van parking ratios — Amazon's operations are land-hungry and an undersized yard is a deal-killer at re-lease
4. Clear height, dock door count, and power capacity vs. modern industrial standard for the submarket
5. Replacement cost per SF and basis discipline — industrial got bid up hard 2021–2022 and some Amazon deals priced past sanity
6. Backfill tenant universe in the submarket — who else needs 150,000 SF with 500 van stalls if Amazon walks?
7. Local market vacancy and absorption for big-box industrial — Inland Empire, Phoenix, and Atlanta are softer than they look

Frequently asked questions

Is an Amazon NNN a good investment?

Amazon is the best credit in industrial NNN, full stop. The question isn't whether the credit is good — it's whether the lease term, basis, and location justify the cap rate. A 5.25% cap on a 6-year-remaining delivery station in a soft market is a bet on Amazon renewing, not a bet on the bond.

What is the typical cap rate for an Amazon NNN property?

In 2026, stabilized Amazon delivery stations and sortation centers with 7+ years of primary term in primary logistics markets trade at roughly 5.00–5.75%. Shorter-term deals or secondary markets push to 5.75–6.50%+. Fulfillment centers, when they trade, are typically inside 5.25%.

Does Amazon guarantee its leases?

The lease is signed by Amazon.com Services LLC, the operating subsidiary. There's no separate guarantee from the parent Amazon.com, Inc. on most deals, but Amazon.com Services LLC is the entity that runs the entire network and the credit is functionally equivalent.

What happens if Amazon closes a delivery station?

Amazon has done it. In 2022 and 2023 they closed delivery stations and sort centers in over-built markets even with years of primary term remaining. They kept paying rent through the term, but the building went dark. At expiration, they handed the keys back. Underwrite the re-lease scenario.

Why are Amazon lease terms so much shorter than legacy industrial?

Amazon negotiates aggressively on term because their network is constantly evolving — they want flexibility to consolidate or expand. A 7-year primary with 5-year options is common where legacy industrial would do 15+ years. It's the trade-off you accept for the credit.