Today’s chart highlights an expanding American industry…

As regular readers know, following the leaders of big secular trends can be a profitable investment strategy.

And these days, the trend of “owning stuff” is in full force. In fact, self-storage facilities outnumber McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S. Today, we’re looking at one of the winners in this space…

Extra Space Storage (EXR) has become the second-largest provider of self-storage units in the country. It has 1,400 locations, comprising 103 million square feet of rentable space.

And business is booming… The company’s first-quarter net income increased more than 9% from the same period last year. And same-store revenue increased more than 5%.

The trend is up for the company’s stock, as well… Shares have climbed about 30% over the past year, recently hitting a fresh 52-week high.

As long as Americans are buying, moving, and hoarding possessions, big players in the self-storage space should continue to do well.

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Source: Daily Wealth