Tractor Supply and Home Depot both sell to people who fix, build, and maintain things, but as net lease investments they occupy opposite corners of the investment grade retail map. Home Depot is rated A by S&P Global Ratings, and its stores average about 104,000 square feet of enclosed space (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K); some are ground leased. Tractor Supply’s senior unsecured debt is rated BBB/Baa1 by S&P and Moody’s (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K, filed February 19, 2026), and the company says its stores typically have 15,000 to 20,000 square feet of inside selling space plus outside selling space.
The two tenants answer different questions. In the listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks, the median asking price is $6.34M for Tractor Supply and $13.99M for Home Depot store properties, and the median asking cap rate is 6.05% and 5.35%, respectively. These are asking figures, not closed sales. Where each rating sits on the scale, and what the gap between these two ratings means for default risk, is laid out in our investment grade guide.
Tractor Supply vs Home Depot: Head-to-Head NNN Metrics
| Metric | Tractor Supply | Home Depot |
|---|---|---|
| S&P rating | BBB (senior unsecured debt) | A |
| Moody’s rating | Baa1 (senior unsecured debt) | A2 |
| US Locations | 2,463 Tractor Supply stores (June 27, 2026) | 2,035 US stores (February 1, 2026) |
| Median asking cap rate | See the live table below | See the live table below |
| Remaining lease term (listings we track) | Average 13.1 years across 32 listings that state one | Average 6.8 years across 3 listings that state one; confirm in the lease |
| Rent increases | 5% every five years is the most common reported schedule (listings we track, October 8, 2026); confirm in the lease | Varies by lease |
| Tenant entity and guarantor | Confirm in each lease; listing marketing is not a reviewed guaranty | Confirm in each lease; listing marketing is not a reviewed guaranty |
| Building size and lot area | Typically 15,000 to 20,000 sq ft of inside selling space, per the company (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K); median lot 4.41 acres as of October 8, 2026, in the listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks | Stores average about 104,000 sq ft enclosed plus about 24,000 sq ft of outside garden (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K); median lot 9.05 acres as of October 8, 2026, in the Home Depot store listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks |
| Ticker | TSCO (NASDAQ) | HD (NYSE) |
Store counts and sizes are from each company’s SEC filings. Listing figures come from the active listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks, and fixed figures are as of October 8, 2026, when the Home Depot listings counted were Home Depot store properties and did not include properties leased to its specialty distribution subsidiaries. On that date, two Home Depot store listings were marketed as ground leases, three as not ground leases and one did not say; no Tractor Supply listing was marketed as a ground lease, and 14 did not say. Of the 39 Tractor Supply listings that state a lease type, brokers label 32 as NN or NN+ and 5 as NNN or absolute NNN. NN (double net) often leaves the landlord some roof or structure costs, the labels are not standardized and the lease controls, so confirm roof and structure duties in each lease.
Credit Comparison: Two Ratings, One Sector
Home Depot’s S&P rating of A is above the BBB‑ investment grade threshold on the S&P scale; Home Depot describes itself as the world’s largest home improvement retailer based on net sales for fiscal 2025. Both tenants’ positions on the full scale are tracked in our credit tenant ratings index.
Tractor Supply’s BBB/Baa1 senior unsecured debt ratings rest on a different business: a retailer serving recreational farmers, ranchers and others who live the rural lifestyle, which opened 99 new Tractor Supply stores in fiscal 2025 and, in the same filing, planned about 100 for fiscal 2026 (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K). Any gap between the two tenants’ asking cap rates can reflect rating, location, store size, remaining term and lease terms together; the listing data does not isolate the effect of any one of them.
Unlike the QSR and franchise sectors, there is no franchisee layer in this matchup: both companies operate their own stores (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K filings). That does not by itself show which entity signs a given lease or whether a parent guarantees it, so confirm the actual tenant and any parent guarantor in each lease, along with the remaining term, the rent schedule and the real estate itself.
Cap Rate Analysis: Paying for Notches or Buying Yield
Live asking cap rates for Tractor Supply, Home Depot and comparable tenants:
| Tenant | S&P / Moody’s | Median asking cap rate | Middle half of listings | Listings | Median vs. 10-year Treasury |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Home Depot | A / A2 | 5.35% | 5.35% to 5.80% | 5 | +11 bps |
| Sherwin-Williams | BBB / Baa2 | 6.00% | 5.65% to 6.25% | 33 | +76 bps |
| Tractor Supply | BBB / Baa1 | 6.05% | 6.00% to 6.34% | 40 | +81 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 12, 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.
The Home Depot median rests on 5 listings, so one listing can move it, and the sample is too small to show whether ground leases price tighter or wider than building leases. As of October 8, 2026, in the Home Depot store listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks, the two marketed as ground leases asked 5.80% and 6.00%, the three marketed as not ground leases asked 5.35% to 5.65%, and one did not state its structure; compare each property on its own site, term and rent.
Escalation schedules also differ. As of October 8, 2026, 25 of the 28 Tractor Supply listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks that report a percentage show increases that begin with 5%, most often every five years; two 5% steps over a 15-year base term compound to about 10.25% rent growth. Home Depot schedules in the listings we track vary, from fixed steps to increases at option periods, so confirm them in each lease. The difference between the two median asking cap rates (Tractor Supply minus Home Depot) is +70 bps. A median asking cap rate is a pricing measure across listings, not a return any buyer is assured of, so compare each property’s own lease cash flows and risks, including credit, location and single-tenant risk.
Lease and Real Estate Structure
The real estate profiles differ. Tractor Supply says its stores typically have 15,000 to 20,000 square feet of inside selling space plus outside selling space and are located primarily in towns outlying major metropolitan markets and in rural communities (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K); the median lot was 4.41 acres as of October 8, 2026, in the listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks. If a store goes dark, re-leasing prospects depend on the site and local demand.
Home Depot stores average about 104,000 square feet of enclosed space plus about 24,000 square feet of outside garden (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K), and some are structured as ground leases, where the investor owns the land and the tenant owns the building; two of the Home Depot store listings InvestmentGrade.com tracked on October 8, 2026 were marketed as ground leases. A building that large can have few like-for-like replacement tenants if it goes dark, so the credit and the remaining term matter to the underwriting. In a ground lease the investor’s residual claim is the land, and what happens to the building at lease end depends on the lease.
Growth Trajectory
Tractor Supply opened 99 new Tractor Supply stores in fiscal 2025, planned about 100 for fiscal 2026 and leases about 97% of its stores (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K), and it opened 68 new Tractor Supply stores in the first six months of fiscal 2026 (Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 27, 2026). Home Depot opened 10 new US stores in fiscal 2025, and its 10-K reports 90% of its Primary segment stores as owned, a figure that includes stores on ground leases. The listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks include 5 Home Depot store listings, and their stated remaining terms vary, so check the remaining term and renewal options of any specific store.
Bond-to-NNN Pivot: Two Issuers, Two Credit Profiles
Both companies issue investment grade bonds, which makes a two-way comparison possible. Tractor Supply’s rating places it in the BBB category, where the ICE BofA US Corporate Index for that category yields 6.19% as of October 1, 2026. Its median asking cap rate of 6.05% is a spread of −14 bps to that index. The full worked math is in our Tractor Supply Bonds vs NNN analysis.
Home Depot’s rating places it in the A category, where the ICE BofA US Corporate Index for that category yields 5.84%. Its median asking cap rate of 5.35% is a spread of −49 bps. Pre-tax spreads move daily with bond yields and are negative whenever the index yields more than the median asking cap rate. Taxable investors may also weigh depreciation on an owned building (land is not depreciable, IRS Publication 946), possible tax deferral when real property held for business or investment use is exchanged for like-kind real property (IRC 1031(a)(1)), scheduled rent increases and, on ground leases, residual land value; bonds offer none of these, and property carries risks bonds do not. This is general information, not tax advice. For the pre-tax comparison, see the Home Depot bond comparison.
Verdict: Which Fits Your Objective?
The fit depends on the property and your objective. If the higher-rated credit is your priority, compare Home Depot store listings, weighing their median asking price ($13.99M) and the concentration of a large single-user building. If you need a smaller check or a smaller building, compare Tractor Supply listings (median asking price $6.34M), weighing the lower rating and rural locations. In either case, judge the specific lease, remaining term, rent schedule, landlord duties and site, not only the brand.
Tractor Supply vs Home Depot NNN: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tractor Supply or Home Depot a better NNN credit?
Home Depot carries the higher S&P rating: A, versus BBB for Tractor Supply’s senior unsecured debt (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K). Both are investment grade, and both operate their own stores. For a buyer, the question is whether a specific property’s cap rate, lease and site compensate for the rating difference; confirm the tenant entity and any guarantor in the lease.
What cap rates are Tractor Supply and Home Depot listings asking in 2026?
Current median asking cap rates for both tenants are shown in the live table on this page; the Home Depot figures cover listings of Home Depot store properties (as of October 8, 2026). Pricing for both varies with remaining lease term, lease structure and location. Asking cap rates are not closed-sale cap rates.
What escalations do Tractor Supply leases include?
In the Tractor Supply listings we track, remaining lease terms average 13.1 years across the 32 listings that state one. As of October 8, 2026, 25 of the 28 listings that report a percentage show increases that begin with 5%, most often every five years, which is about 1% a year compounded. Of the 39 that state a lease type, brokers label 32 as NN or NN+ and 5 as NNN or absolute NNN, so confirm the landlord’s roof and structure duties and the tenant entity in each lease. Home Depot schedules vary by lease.
How much does a Tractor Supply or Home Depot NNN property cost?
The median asking price on active listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks is $6.34M for Tractor Supply and $13.99M for Home Depot store properties (as of October 8, 2026, the Home Depot listings counted exclude properties leased to its specialty distribution subsidiaries). Asking prices are not sale prices, and the price of a specific property depends on its rent, remaining lease term and location.
Do Tractor Supply and Home Depot issue bonds?
Yes. Both companies have issued senior notes (fiscal 2025 Form 10-K filings). Against the ICE BofA index for each rating category, the median Tractor Supply asking cap rate is a spread of −14 bps and the median Home Depot asking cap rate a spread of −49 bps. Fee simple real estate can add depreciation on the building (land is not depreciable, IRS Publication 946), and real property held for business or investment use can qualify for tax deferral when exchanged for like-kind real property (IRC 1031(a)(1)); bonds cannot. This is general information, not tax advice.
Weighing yield against credit tier? We benchmark live Tractor Supply and Home Depot comps, model the escalation and after-tax math, and source off-market inventory in both price bands. Request a buyer consultation before you identify either tenant in a 1031 exchange.
