Public Storage, Inc(NYSE:PSA) is a self-administered and self-managed equity REIT that is the leading company in acquisition, development, ownership and management of self-storage properties. PSA has an ownership interest in 2,010 US self-storage facilities (roughly 135 million rentable square feet), 160 European storage facilities under the newly acquired Shurgard nameplate, and an additional 20 million rentable square feet of commercial space in the U.S. operated under the PS Business Parks and Public Storage, Inc. brands. The company's 2009 revenue was $1.73 billion, which makes PSA larger than its next four competitors combined. And PSA's size works to its advantage--economies of scale in the self-storage industry gives PSA large net operating income margins.

Despite its lead, PSA faces significant competition from both large and small private companies in self-storage. Even combined, PSA and its next 10 competitors only make up 12% of the self-storage market. But this relatively low penetration of the market also means that PSA has plenty of room to expand, and indeed the company has been very active in gaining market share through mergers, acquisitions, and further development of its own properties. In 2006, a merger with European self-storage leader Shurgard strained the company with a 31% loss in net income due to integration costs, but the benefits of the merger may make up the difference quickly: PSA's new presence in the developing European market has high potential for growth.

(Read more at Wikinvest )