| Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Company | Guitar Center, Inc. (privately held) |
| S&P / Moody’s | no verified rating / no verified rating |
| Investment grade status | Not Yet Verified |
| Ownership | Owners after the 2020 reorganization include Ares Management, Brigade Capital Management and The Carlyle Group |
| Stores | More than 300 Guitar Center stores (company release, September 27, 2026; its 300th store opened in January 2023), plus more than 250 Music & Arts stores |
| Restructuring history | Chapter 11 filed November 2020; emerged December 2020 after eliminating nearly $800 million of debt |
| Median asking cap rate | Too few active listings to report |
Guitar Center: no confirmed agency rating. A rating is shown here only after an agency rating action or an issuer filing confirms it. Without an agency rating, lease credit is assessed from financial statements and any guarantee in the lease. Ratings checked October 8, 2026. See the investment grade credit tenant ratings table.
Guitar Center Business Overview
Guitar Center describes itself as the leading U.S. retailer of musical instruments, lessons, repairs and rentals, with more than 300 stores, and its family of brands includes Music & Arts, which operates more than 250 stores specializing in band and orchestral instruments for sale and rental (company release, September 27, 2026). It filed for Chapter 11 in November 2020 and emerged in December 2020 after eliminating nearly $800 million of debt, with Ares Management, Brigade Capital Management and The Carlyle Group among its owners.
Guitar Center’s 8.50% notes were due January 2026; SEC Form N‑PORT filings by a fund that held them at June 30, 2025 show it holding Guitar Center notes due January 2029 instead at September 30, 2025. The company is private and has not filed financial statements with the SEC since it deregistered in 2014.
Guitar Center Credit Profile
Ratings can change after a debt exchange or restructuring, so check the source and date of each rating below.
For a landlord, the lease guarantor and the store’s performance matter more than the brand. Confirm which Guitar Center entity signs the lease and whether a parent guarantees it, and review any lease amendments made since the 2020 bankruptcy.
Ratings come from our tenant ratings database and update when agencies change them. A rating at or above BBB‑/Baa3 is investment grade; see the investment grade guide.
Source: Our ratings database, checked October 8, 2026.
Guitar Center NNN Cap Rates
Live asking cap rates for Guitar Center and comparable tenants:
| Tenant | S&P / Moody’s | Median asking cap rate | Middle half of listings | Listings | Median vs. 10-year Treasury |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petco | B / n/a | 6.00% | 6.00% to 6.25% | 13 | +76 bps |
| Best Buy | BBB+ / A3 | 6.58% | 6.10% to 7.31% | 6 | +134 bps |
| Michaels | B- / n/a | 7.00% | 6.63% to 7.50% | 3 | +176 bps |
| DICK'S Sporting Goods | BBB / Baa2 | 8.00% | 7.18% to 8.00% | 3 | +276 bps |
Active listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks with an asking cap rate (stated in the listing, or computed from its stated income and price when no rate is stated), listings last observed October 19, 2026. Asking cap rates are not closed-sale cap rates. The middle half is the range from the 25th to the 75th percentile of listings. The 10-year Treasury yield is 5.24% as of October 1, 2026 (FRED series DGS10). Ratings are the agency ratings in our ratings database for the entity shown, which may be a parent company; the rating type (for example issuer, senior unsecured debt, long-term debt or revenue bond ratings) varies by company and is shown on each tenant page. A rating applies to a lease only if the rated entity signs or guarantees it, so confirm the tenant and any guarantor in the lease. n/a means no verified rating is on file. Not shown because fewer than 3 active listings with a published cap rate were observed: Guitar Center, Barnes & Noble.
Few Guitar Center properties are listed in the data we track, so there may be no current median for the tenant itself. With a tenant that reorganized under Chapter 11 in 2020 and a specialty retail box that can be costly to re-lease, the location and the rent compared with market rent carry much of the value.
What to Check in a Guitar Center Lease
- Tenant and guarantor: which entity signs the lease and whether a parent guarantees it.
- Lease history: amendments, rent reductions or lease rejections from the 2020 bankruptcy.
- Rent versus market: whether rent is at or below market, which supports re-leasing if the tenant leaves.
- Re-use: sound rooms and other specialty buildouts may need work for a new user.
- Remaining term: short remaining terms put more weight on the real estate.
Pros and Cons
| Strengths | Considerations |
|---|---|
| Describes itself as the leading U.S. musical instrument retailer | A 2020 Chapter 11 reorganization; check current agency ratings |
| Established network of more than 300 stores | Private, with no SEC financial filings since 2014 |
| Family of brands includes Music & Arts, with more than 250 stores | Specialty buildouts can raise re-leasing costs |
Comparing Guitar Center With Other Replacement Properties
For a 1031 buyer, compare a Guitar Center property with stronger-credit options, such as investment grade NNN tenants for 1031 exchanges, and test whether its asking cap rate compensates for the credit, refinancing and re-leasing risk. Current market benchmarks are in the NNN cap rate guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Guitar Center investment grade?
Pending verification. No rating for Guitar Center has been verified against a primary source (an agency rating action or an issuer filing), so none is shown. If a rating is verified, it will appear here.
Did Guitar Center go bankrupt?
Yes. It filed for Chapter 11 in November 2020 and emerged in December 2020 after eliminating nearly $800 million of debt. SEC filings by a fund that held its notes due January 2026 show it holding Guitar Center notes due January 2029 instead by September 30, 2025.
How many stores does Guitar Center have?
More than 300 Guitar Center stores, according to a September 27, 2026 company release; it opened its 300th store in January 2023. Its family of brands also includes Music & Arts, with more than 250 stores.
What asking cap rates do Guitar Center properties list at?
Few are listed in the data we track. The live table on this page shows a median when at least three listings with a published cap rate are available, with comparable retailers for reference.
Sources: Guitar Center company releases on its 2020 reorganization (November 21 and December 22, 2020), 300th store (January 27, 2023) and store count (September 27, 2026); SEC Form N‑PORT filings by FS Credit Opportunities Corp. for June 30 and September 30, 2025 on its Guitar Center note holdings; ratings from InvestmentGrade.com’s ratings database.
When the buyer owns the building, a cost segregation study may reclassify part of the purchase price, such as site improvements and some building systems and equipment, into 5-, 7- or 15-year property. That property can qualify for 100% bonus depreciation under Internal Revenue Code section 168(k) if acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025 (IRS Notice 2026‑11). How much qualifies varies widely by property and must be supported by an engineering-based study. On a ground lease the investor owns only land, which cannot be depreciated (Treasury Regulation section 1.167(a)‑2), and equipment owned by the tenant is not the landlord’s to depreciate. Bonus depreciation is generally recaptured as ordinary income on a taxable sale (Internal Revenue Code sections 1245 and 1250); a 1031 exchange can defer it, subject to the limits in sections 1245(b)(4) and 1250(d)(4). Consult a tax professional. See the Depreciation by NNN Property Type.
Related: Gas Station Bonus Depreciation
Guitar Center Net Lease Property: Buying, Selling and Financing
Buying: We find on-market and off-market Guitar Center properties, review the lease and the tenant’s credit, and compare pricing with current listings. On the majority of transactions, there is no separate fee to you as the buyer; the listing broker pays a cooperating commission.
Selling: We can prepare an opinion of value from current listings and recent sales and, when it fits your goals, run a confidential sale to private investors, family offices and institutional buyers. See our guide to off-market sales.
Financing: Investment Grade Capital, a service of Investment Grade LLC, matches buyers and owners with lenders for acquisitions and refinancing.
1031 exchanges: Tell us your identification and closing deadlines so we can plan the search around them.
Request an NNN investment consultation or email team@investmentgrade.com.
Related NNN Tenants
Guitar Center NNN Properties Observed For Sale
2 active Guitar Center net lease listings observed across public listing sources, most recently Oct 16, 2026. Asking figures as published by the listing party.
| Location | Asking Price | Cap Rate | Building SF | Term Left | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greensboro, NC | $3,133,000 | 7.50% | 10,000 | n/a | View listing |
| Palmdale, CA | $2,999,000 | 6.05% | 12,000 | n/a | View listing |
Search all 2 observed Guitar Center listings and the full NNN inventory
Market observations aggregated from listing broker materials; not offerings by Investment Grade Income Property, LP. Buyer representation available on a cooperating commission basis. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
