Public Storage 2010 Annual Report Download - page 18

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4
We expressly disclaim any obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, new estimates, or other factors, events or circumstances after the
date of this document, except where required by law. Accordingly, you should use caution in relying on past
forward-looking statements to anticipate future results.
General
Public Storage was organized in 1980. Effective June 1, 2007, we reorganized Public Storage, Inc. into
Public Storage UHIHUUHG WR KHUHLQ DV ³WKH &RPSDQ\´ ³WKH 7UXVW´ ³ZH´ ³XV´ RU ³RXU´, a Maryland real estate
investment trust ³5(,7´. Our principal business activities include the acquisition, development, ownership and
operation of self-storage facilities which offer storage spaces for lease, generally on a month-to-month basis, for
personal and business use. We are the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the United States
³86´. We also have equity interests in Shurgard Europe, a private company that we believe is the largest owner
and operator of self-storage facilities in Western Europe, and in PS Business Parks, Inc., a public company whose
business activities primarily include the ownership and operations of commercial properties.
At December 31, 2010, we operate within three reportable segments:
(i) Domestic Self-Storage segment which includes our direct and indirect equity interests in
2,048 self-storage facilities (130 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states
ZLWKLQWKH86RSHUDWLQJXQGHUWKH³3XEOLF6WRUDJH´EUDQGQDPH.
(ii) Europe Self-Storage segment which comprises (a) our 49% equity interest in Shurgard Europe
which has direct and indirect equity interests in 188 self-storage facilities (10 million net rentable
square feet of space) located in seven countries in Western Europe which operate under the
³6KXUJDUG´EUDQGQDPH and (b) one facility located in the United Kingdom that we wholly own.
(iii) Commercial segment which includes our direct and indirect equity interests in approximately
24 million net rentable square feet of commercial space located in 11 states in the U.S., including
our 41% ownership LQWHUHVW LQ 36 %XVLQHVV 3DUNV ,QF ³36%´ D SXEOLFO\ WUDGHG5(,7 ZKRVH
common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange XQGHU WKH V\PERO ³36%´. This
commercial space is primarily RSHUDWHGXQGHUWKH³36%XVLQHVV3DUNV´brand name.
See Note 11 to our December 31, 2010 consolidated financial statements for further discussion with respect
to our reportable segments.
Certain other activities, due to their insignificant scale and dissimilarity in operating characteristics to our
existing segments, are not allocated to any segment. These activities include (i) the reinsurance of policies against
losses to goods stored by tenants in our self-storage facilities, (ii) the sale of merchandise at our self-storage
facilities and (iii) management of self-storage facilities owned by third-party owners and entities that we have an
ownership interest in but are not consolidated.
For all taxable years subsequent to 1980, we qualified and intend to continue to qualify as a REIT, as
defined in Section 856 of the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, we do not incur federal or significant state tax on
that portion of our taxable income which is distributed to our shareholders, provided that we meet certain tests. To
the extent that we continue to qualify as a REIT, we will not be subject to tax, with certain limited exceptions, on the
taxable income that is distributed to our shareholders.
We have reported annually to the SEC on Form 10-K, which includes financial statements certified by our
independent registered public accountants. We have also reported quarterly to the SEC on Form 10-Q, which
includes unaudited financial statements with such filings. We expect to continue such reporting.
On our website, www.publicstorage.com, we make available, free of charge, our Annual Reports on
Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports