Business Description

Note 1. Or ganization SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), is a self-managed and fully-integrated self storage real estate investment trust (“REIT”), formed on January 8, 2013 under the Maryland General Corporation Law. Our year-end is December 31. As used in this report, “we,” “us,” “our,” and “Company” refer to SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. and each of our subsidiaries. Our Common Stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “SMA” on April 2, 2025. We acquire and own self storage facilities; we operate the self storage facilities owned by us, we also operate the properties owned by the entities sponsored by us and, as of October 1, 2025, owned by third parties. As of December 31, 2025, our wholly-owned portfolio consisted of 177 operating self storage properties diversified across 19 states (Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin), the District of Columbia, and Canada comprising approximately 122,000 units and 13.9 million net rentable square feet. Additionally, we owned a 50 % equity interest in 13 unconsolidated real estate ventures located in Canada, which consisted of 10 operating self storage properties and three properties which were being developed into self storage properties as of December 31, 2025. Further, through our Managed Platform (as defined below), we serve as the sponsor of Strategic Storage Trust VI, Inc., a publicly-registered non-traded REIT (“SST VI”), Strategic Storage Growth Trust III, Inc., a private REIT (“SSGT III”), and Strategic Storage Trust X, a private net asset value REIT launched in January 2025, (“SST X” and together with SST VI and SSGT III, the “Managed REITs”). We manage the properties owned by the Managed REITs. Inclusive of the properties owned by the Managed REITs and the properties owned by Delaware statutory trusts (“DSTs”) sponsored by one of the Managed REITs, in total, as of December 31, 2025, we managed 52 of such operating self storage properties, consisting of approximately 41,000 units and 4.5 million rentable square feet. Effective October 1, 2025, we acquired Argus Professional Storage Management, LLC (“Argus”), a third-party manager of self storage properties (the “Third Party Platform Acquisition”). See Note 4 – Third Party Platform Acquisition for additional information. As such, as of December 31, 2025, we managed an additional 221 of such properties, consisting of more than approximately 98,000 units and 15.9 million rentable square feet (the “Third Party Platform”). The Third Party Platform, the Managed REITs, and the other properties operated by us as mentioned above, are referred to as the “Managed Platform.” In total, as of December 31, 2025, we managed 273 operating self storage properties, which we did not own, consisting of approximately 140,000 units and 20.4 million rentable square feet through our Managed Platform. SmartStop OP, L.P. (the “Operating Partnership”) owns, directly or indirectly through one or more subsidiaries, all of the self storage properties that we own. As of Dece mber 31, 2025, we owned approximately 94 % of the common units of limited partnership interests of our Operating Partnership. The remaining approximately 6 % of the common units are owned by current and former employees/executives, current and former board members, the previous owners of Argus (as defined further below), or indirectly by Strategic Asset Management I, LLC (f/k/a SmartStop Asset Management, LLC), our former sponsor (“SAM”), its affiliates, and select other unaffiliated third parties. As the sole general partner of our Operating Partnership, we have the exclusive power to manage and conduct the business of our Operating Partnership. On March 20, 2025, we effected a one-for-four reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”) of each issued and outstanding share of Class A common stock (“Class A Common Stock”), $ 0.001 par value per share, and Class T Common Stock (“Class T Common Stock”), $ 0.001 par value per share. Concurrently with the Reverse Stock Split, we also effected a corresponding one-for-four reverse unit split (together with the Reverse Stock Split, the “Reverse Equity Splits”) of units of our Operating Partnership.…