Public Storage 2011 Annual Report Download - page 18

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economic uncertainty due to the impact of war or terrorism.
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
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operation of self-storage facilities which offer storage spaces for lease, generally on a month-to-month basis, for
personal and business use, and we also have equity interests in commercial facilities.
At December 31, 2011, our operating segments are comprised of the following:
(i) Domestic Self-Storage: This segment comprises our direct and indirect equity interests in
2,058 self-storage facilities (131 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states
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largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S.
(ii) European Self-Storage: This segment comprises our 49% equity interest in Shurgard Europe, a
private company that we believe is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in
Western Europe. Shurgard Europe owns 188 self-storage facilities (10 million net rentable square
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brand name manages one facility located in the United Kingdom that is wholly-owned by Public
Storage.
(iii) Commercial: This segment is primarily composed of our 42% equity interest in PS Business
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information regarding our ownership interest). PSB’s business activities primarily include the
ownership and operation of 27 million net rentable square feet of commercial space. We also
wholly-own one million net rentable square feet of commercial space that is managed by PSB.
We conduct certain other activities that are not allocated to any segment, due to their relatively insignificant
scale and dissimilarity in operating characteristics to our existing segments, including: (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 report 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