As an owner and operator of real property, we are subject to various federal, state and local environmental, and health and safety laws and regulations. Although we do not operate or manage most of our properties, we may be held primarily or jointly and severally liable for costs relating to the investigation and clean-up of any of our current or former properties at or from which there has been a release or threatened release of hazardous material, as well as other affected properties, regardless of whether we knew of or caused the contamination.

In addition to these costs, which are typically not limited by law or regulation and could exceed the property’s value, we or our tenants could be subject to other liabilities, including governmental penalties for violation of environmental, health and safety laws, liabilities for injuries to persons for exposure to hazardous materials, and damages to property or natural resources. Furthermore, some environmental laws can create a lien on the contaminated site in favor of the government for damages and the costs the government incurs in connection with such contamination or can restrict the manner in which a property may be used because of contamination. We also could be liable for the costs of remediating contamination at third party sites, e.g., landfills, where we send waste for disposal without regard to whether we comply with environmental laws in doing so.

Although the leases require our tenants to indemnify us for environmental liabilities, and although we intend to require our other operators and tenants to undertake to indemnify us for certain environmental liabilities, including environmental liabilities they cause, the amount of such liabilities could exceed the financial ability of Darden, or such other tenant or operatorour operators and tenants to indemnify us. The presence of contamination or the failure to remediate contamination may adversely affect our ability to sell, develop or lease the real estate or to borrow using the real estate as collateral.

As of February 24, 2017,26, 2020, we have not been notified by any governmental authority of, nor is management aware of, any non-compliance or liability with respect to environmental laws that management believes would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position or results of operations.

The properties, as commercial facilities, are required to comply with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and similar state and local laws and regulations (collectively the “ADA”). Investigation of a property may reveal non-compliance with the ADA. The tenant has the primary responsibility for complying with the ADA, but we may incur costs if the tenant does not comply. As of February 24, 2017,26, 2020, we have not been notified by any governmental authority of, nor is management aware of, any non-compliance with the ADA that management believes would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position or results of operations.

Various risks and uncertainties could affect our business. Any of the risks described below or elsewhere in this report or our other filings with the SEC could have a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. It is not possible to predict or identify all risk factors. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also impair our business operations.

Currently, Darden is our primary lessee in our lease portfolio and, therefore, is the source of substantially alla majority of our revenues. Additionally, because Darden’s leases with us are triple-netnet leases, we depend on Darden to pay all insurance, taxes, utilities, common area maintenance charges, maintenance and repair expenses and to indemnify, defend and hold us harmless from and against various claims, litigation and liabilities arising in connection with its business, including any environmental liabilities. There can be no assurance that Darden will have sufficient assets, income and access to financing to enable it to satisfy its payment obligations to us under its leases. The inability or unwillingness of Darden to meet its rent obligations to us under any of its leases could materially adversely affect our business, financial position or results of operations, including our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders as required to maintain our status as a REIT. The inability of Darden to satisfy its other obligations under its leases with us, such as the payment of insurance, taxes and utilities could materially and adversely affect the condition of our properties.

Since Darden Restaurants, Inc. is a holding company, it is dependent to an extent on distributions from its direct and indirect subsidiaries in order to satisfy the payment obligations under its leases with us, and the ability of Darden to make such distributions may be adversely impacted in the event of the insolvency or bankruptcy of such entities or by covenants in its debt agreements or otherwise that restrict the amount of the distributions that may be made by such entities. For these reasons, if Darden were to experience a material and adverse effect on its business, financial position or results of operations, our business, financial position or results of operations could also be materially and adversely affected.

Due to our dependence on rental payments from Darden, as our primary source of revenues, we may be limited in our ability to enforce our rights under, or to terminate, our leases with Darden. Failure by Darden to comply with the terms of its leases with us could require us to find other lessees for some or all of the properties and there could be a decrease or cessation of rental payments by Darden.

There is no assurance that we would be able to lease any of our properties to other lessees on substantially equivalent or better terms than any of our leases with Darden, or at all, successfully reposition our properties for other uses or sell our properties on terms that are favorable to us. It may be more difficult to find a replacement tenant for a restaurant or retail property than it would be to find a replacement tenant for a general commercial property due to the specialized nature of the business.

For the performance of Darden.

In 2016, FCPT2019, we acquired 5990 properties in 13 transactionsand ground leasehold interests for a total investment of $94.1$205.2 million, including capitalized transaction costs, which were added to our leasing portfolio. We intend to continue to pursue acquisitions of additional properties and seek acquisitions and other strategic opportunities, including, but not limited to, continuing to expand our tenant base to third parties other than Darden.Darden and acquiring non-restaurant properties. Accordingly, we may often be engaged in evaluating potential transactions, potential new tenants and other strategic alternatives. In addition, from time to time, we may engage in discussions that may result in one or more transactions. Although there is uncertainty that any of these discussions will result in definitive agreements or the completion of any transaction, we may devote a significant amount of our management resources to such a transaction, which could negatively impact our operations. We may incur significant costs in connection with seeking acquisitions or other strategic opportunities regardless of whether the transaction is completed and in combining our operations if such a transaction is completed. In addition, properties we acquire may be leased to unrated tenants, and the tools we use to measure credit quality may not be accurate. In the event that we consummate an acquisition or strategic alternative in the future, there is no assurance that we would fully realize the potential benefits of such a transaction.

We operate in a highly competitive market and face competition from other REITs, investment companies, private equity and hedge fund investors, sovereign funds, restaurant and retail operators, lenders and other investors, some of whom are significantly larger and have greater resources and lower costs of capital. Increased competition will make it more challenging to identify and successfully capitalize on acquisition opportunities that meet our investment objectives. Our Board of Directors may change our investment objectives at any time without stockholder approval. If we cannot identify and purchase a sufficient quantity of suitable properties at favorable prices or if we are unable to finance acquisitions on commercially favorable terms, our business, financial position or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Additionally, the fact that we must distribute 90% of our net taxable income in order to maintain our qualification as a REIT may limit our ability to rely upon rental payments from our leased properties or subsequently acquired properties in order to finance acquisitions and other strategic opportunities. As a result, ifIn addition, to pursue acquisitions we may have to access debt or equity markets and if financing is not available on acceptable terms, our ability to pursue further acquisitions might be limited or curtailed.

Acquisitions of properties we might seek to acquire entail risks associated with real estate investments generally, including that the investment’s performance will fail to meet expectations or that the tenant, operator or manager will underperform.

We have entered into a $750$650 million Credit Facilityterm loan and revolving credit facility providing for a $400 million term loan, due in$150 million of which matures on November 20209, 2022, $150 million of which matures on November 9, 2023, and $100 million of which

Moreover, our ability to obtain additional financing and satisfy our financial obligations under our indebtedness outstanding from time to time will depend upon our future operating performance, which is subject to then prevailing general economic and credit market conditions, including interest rate levels and the availability of credit generally, and financial, business and other

We also may be unable to obtain additional financing or financing on favorable terms or our operating cash flow may be insufficient to satisfy our financial obligations under our indebtedness outstanding from time to time. Among other things, although we received an investment grade credit rating of BBB- from Fitch Ratings in January 2017, any credit rating downgrade could increase our financing costs and could limit our access to financing sources. If financing is not available when needed, or is available on unfavorable terms, we may be unable to complete acquisitions or otherwise take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The agreements governing our indebtedness contain customary covenants that may limit our operational flexibility. The credit agreement containsCredit Agreement (defined below) and the terms of the Notes contain customary affirmative and negative covenants that, among other things, restrict, subject to certain exceptions, the incurrence of debt, the incurrence of secured debt, the ability of Four CornersFCPT OP and the guarantors to enter into mergers, consolidations, sales of assets and similar transactions, limitations on distributions and other restricted payments, and limitations on transactions with affiliates and customary reporting obligations.

In addition, we are required to comply with the following financial covenants: (1) total indebtedness to consolidated capitalization value not to exceed 60%; (2) mortgage-secured leverage ratio not to exceed 40%; (3) total secured recourse indebtedness not to exceed 5% of consolidated capitalization value; (4) minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.751.50 to 1.00; (5) minimum consolidated tangible net worth; (6) unhedged floating rate debt not to exceed 50% of all indebtedness; (7) maximum unencumbered leverage ratio not to exceed 60%; and (8)(7) minimum unencumbered debt serviceinterest coverage ratio of 1.501.75 to 1.00. As of December 31, 2016,2019, we are in compliance with our existing financial covenants.

The credit agreement containsCredit Agreement and the terms of the Notes contain customary events of default including, without limitation, payment defaults, violation of covenants and other performance defaults, defaults on payment of indebtedness and monetary obligations, bankruptcy-related defaults, judgment defaults, REIT status default and the occurrence of certain change of control events. Breaches of certain covenants may result in defaults and cross-defaults under certain of our other indebtedness, even if we satisfy our payment obligations to the respective obligee.

If interest rates increase, so could our interest costs for any new debt and our variable rate debt obligations pursuant to the credit agreement.Credit Agreement. This increased cost could make the financing of any acquisition more expensive as well as lower our current period earnings. Rising interest rates could limit our ability to refinance existing debt when it matures or cause us to pay higher interest rates upon refinancing. In addition, an increase in interest rates could decrease the access third parties have to credit, thereby decreasing the amount they are willing to pay to lease our assets and consequently limiting our ability to reposition our portfolio promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions. Furthermore, the dividend yield on our common stock, as a percentage of the price of such common stock, will influence the price of such common stock. Thus, an increase in market interest rates may lead prospective purchasers of our common stock to expect a higher dividend yield, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. In addition, decreases in interest rates may lead to additional competition for the acquisition of real estate due to a reduction in desirable alternative income-producing investments. Increased competition for the acquisition of real estate may lead to a decrease in the yields on real estate we have targeted for acquisition. In such circumstances, if we are not able to offset the decrease in yields by obtaining lower interest costs on our borrowings, our results of operations will be adversely affected.

We have entered into hedging transactions with respect to interest rate exposure on our term loan and we may enter into other hedging transactions, with respect to one or more of our assets or other liabilities. The use of hedging transactions involves certain risks, including: (1) the possibility that the market will move in a manner or direction that would have resulted in a gain for us had a hedging transaction not been used, in which case our performance would have been better had we not engaged in the hedging transaction; (2) the risk of an imperfect correlation between the risk sought to be hedged and the hedging transaction used; (3) the potential illiquidity for the hedging instrument used, which may make it difficult for us to close out or unwind a hedging transaction; (4) the possibility that our counterparty fails to honor its obligations; and (5) the possibility that we may have to post collateral to enter into hedging transactions, which we may lose if we are unable to honor our obligations. Our election to be subject to tax as a REIT will also result in limitations on our income sources, and the hedging strategies available to us will be more limited than those available to companies that are not REITs.

In order for us to qualify as a REIT, not more than 50% in value of our outstanding shares of stock may be owned, beneficially or constructively, by five or fewer individuals at any time during the last half of each taxable year after the first year for which we elect to be subject to tax and qualify as a REIT. Additionally, at least 100 persons must beneficially own our stock during at least 335 days of a taxable year (other than the first taxable year for which we elect to be subject to tax and qualify as a REIT). Our charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes our Board of Directors to take such actions as are necessary or advisable to preserve our qualification as a REIT. Our charter also provides that, unless exempted by the Board of Directors, no person may own more than 9.8% in value or in number, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of our common stock or more than 9.8% in value of the aggregate of the outstanding shares of all classes and series of our stock. The constructive ownership rules are complex and may cause shares of stock owned directly or constructively by a group of related individuals or entities to be constructively owned by one individual or entity. These ownership limits could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control of us that might involve a premium price for shares of our stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders. The acquisition of less than 9.8% of our outstanding stock by an individual or entity could cause that individual or entity to own constructively in excess of 9.8% in value of our outstanding stock, and thus violate our charter’s ownership limit. Our charter also prohibits any person from owning shares of our stock that would result in our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) or otherwise cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT. In addition, our charter provides that (i) no person shall beneficially own shares of stock to the extent such beneficial ownership of stock would result in us failing to qualify as a “domestically controlled qualified investment entity” within the meaning of Section 897(h) of the Code, and (ii) no person shall beneficially or constructively own shares of stock to the extent such beneficial or constructive ownership would cause us to own, beneficially or constructively, more than a 9.9% interest (as set forth in Section 856(d)(2)(B) of the Code) in a tenant of our real property. Subject to certain exceptions, rents received or accrued by us from a tenant will not be treated as qualifying rent for purposes of the REIT gross income requirements if we or a beneficial or constructive owner of 10% or more of our stock beneficially or constructively owns 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of the tenant’s stock entitled to vote or 10% or more of the total value of all classes of the tenant’s stock. Any attempt to own or transfer shares of our stock in violation of these restrictions may result in the transfer being automatically void. Our charter also provides that shares of our capital stock acquired or held in excess of the ownership limit will be transferred to a trust for the benefit of a charitable beneficiary that we designate, and that any person who acquires shares of our capital stock in violation of the ownership limit will not be entitled to any dividends on the shares or be entitled to vote the shares or receive any proceeds from the subsequent

Our charter and bylaws contain, and Maryland law contains, provisions that may deter coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and encourage prospective acquirors to negotiate with our Board of Directors, rather than to attempt a hostile takeover. Our charter and bylaws, among other things, (1) contain transfer and ownership restrictions on the percentage by number and value of outstanding shares of our stock that may be owned or acquired by any stockholders; (2) permit the Board of Directors, without further action of the stockholders, to increase or decrease the authorized number of shares, issue additional shares, classify or reclassify unissued shares, and issue and fix the terms of one or more classes or series of preferred stock, which may have rights senior to those of the common stock; (3) establish certain advance notice procedures for stockholder proposals and director nominations; and (4) provide that special meetings of stockholders may only be called by the company or upon written request of ten percent in voting power of our outstanding common stock.

Under Maryland law, any written consent of our stockholders must be unanimous. In addition, Maryland law allows a Maryland corporation with a class of equity securities registered under the Exchange Act to amend its charter without stockholder approval to effect a reverse stock split at a ratio of not more than ten shares of stock into one share of stock in any twelve-month period.

Our success depends in large part upon the leadership and performance of our executive management team and other key employees and our ability to attract other key personnel to our business. If we are unable to hire, or if we lose the services of, our executive management team or we are not able to hire or we lose other key employees, we may not be able to successfully manage our business or achieve our business objectives.

The failure of any of our tenants to fulfill its maintenance obligations may cause us to incur significant and unexpected expenses to remediate any resulting damage to the property. Furthermore, the failure by Darden, any other tenant or any future tenant to adequately maintain a leased property could adversely affect our ability to timely re-lease the property to a new tenant or otherwise monetize our investment in the property if we are forced to make significant repairs or changes to the property as a result of the tenant’s neglect. If we incur significant additional expenses or are delayed in being able to pursue returns on our real

Our current lease agreements generally require, and new lease agreements that we enter into are expected to require, that the tenant maintain comprehensive insurance and hazard insurance or self-insure its obligations. However, we cannot assure you that we will continue to require the same levels of insurance coverage under our lease agreements, that such insurance will be available at a reasonable cost in the future or that the insurance coverage provided will fully cover all losses on our properties upon the occurrence of a catastrophic event, nor can we assure you of the future financial viability of the insurers. Certain types of losses, generally of a catastrophic nature, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, may be uninsurable or not economically insurable by us or by our tenants. Insurance coverage may not be sufficient to pay the full current market value or current replacement cost of a loss. Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors might also make it unfeasible to use insurance proceeds to replace the property after such property has been damaged or destroyed. Under such

Properties in our leasing portfolio and the Kerrow Restaurant Operating Business are located in 4446 states, and if one of our properties experiences a loss that is uninsured or that exceeds policy coverage limits, we could lose the capital invested in the damaged property as well as the anticipated future cash flows from the property. If the damaged property is subject to recourse indebtedness, we could continue to be liable for the indebtedness even if the property is irreparably damaged.

In addition, even if damage to our properties is covered by insurance, a disruption of business caused by a casualty event may result in loss of revenue for our tenants or us. Any business interruption insurance may not fully compensate them or us for such loss of revenue. If one of our tenants experiences such a loss, it may be unable to satisfy its payment obligations to us under its lease with us.

As the owner of properties serving the restaurant industry, we are impacted by the risks associated with the restaurant industry. Therefore, our success is to some degree dependent on the restaurant industry, which could be adversely affected by economic conditions in general, changes in consumer trends and preferences and other factors over which we Darden, and any of our other tenants in the restaurant industry have no control. As we are subject to risks inherent in substantial investments in a single industry, a decrease in the restaurant business would likely have a greater adverse effect on our revenues than if we owned a more diversified real estate portfolio.

The restaurant industry is characterized by a high degree of competition among a large number of participants. Competition is intense between national and regional restaurant chains and locally-owned restaurants in most of the markets where our properties are located. As competing properties are constructed, the lease rates we assess for our properties may be negatively impacted upon renewal or new tenant pricing events.

The restaurant industry is subject to extensive federal, state and local and international laws and regulations. The development and operation of restaurants depend to a significant extent on the selection and acquisition of suitable sites, which are subject to building, zoning, land use, environmental, traffic and other regulations and requirements. Our tenants and Kerrow are subject to licensing and regulation by state and local authorities relating to wages and hours, healthcare,health care, health, sanitation, safety and fire standards, and the sale of alcoholic beverages.beverages, and information security. Our tenants and Kerrow are also subject to, among other laws and regulations, laws and regulations relating to the preparation and sale of food, including regulations regarding product safety, nutritional content and menu labeling. The impact of current laws and regulations, the effect of future changes in laws or regulations that impose additional requirements and the consequences of litigation relating to current or future laws and regulations, or an insufficient or ineffective response to significant regulatory or public policy issues, could have an adverse effect on our tenants’ results of operations, which could also adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition as we depend on our tenants for almost the entirety of our revenue.

As an owner and operator of real property, we are subject to various federal, state and local environmental, and health and safety laws and regulations. We may be held primarily or jointly and severally liable for costs relating to the investigation and clean-up of any of our current or former properties at or from which there has been a release or threatened release of hazardous materials as well as other affected properties, regardless of whether we knew of or caused the contamination.

In addition to these costs, which are typically not limited by law or regulation and could exceed the property’s value, we or our tenants could be subject to other liabilities, including governmental penalties for violation of environmental, health and safety laws, liabilities for injuries to persons for exposure to hazardous materials, and damages to property or natural resources. Furthermore, some environmental laws can create a lien on the contaminated site in favor of the government for damages and the costs the government incurs in connection with such contamination or can restrict the manner in which a property may be used because of contamination. We also could be liable for the costs of remediating contamination at third party sites, e.g., landfills, where we send waste for disposal without regard to whether we comply with environmental laws in doing so.

The presence of contamination or the failure to remediate contamination may adversely affect our ability to sell, develop or lease the real estate or to borrow using the real estate as collateral.

The potential physical impacts of climate change on our properties or operations are highly uncertain and would be particular to the geographic circumstances in areas in which we operate, including Florida, Georgia and Texas. Such impacts may result from increased frequency of natural disasters, changes in rainfall and storm patterns and intensities, water shortages, changing sea levels, rising energy and environmental costs, and changing temperatures. These impacts may adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition, including our or our tenants’ ability to obtain property insurance on acceptable terms. While the tenants under our leases generally indemnify, defend and hold us harmless for the foregoing liabilities, there can be no assurance that the respective tenant will have sufficient assets, income or access to financing to enable it to satisfy its payment obligations to us under its lease.

If our security measures are breached, we may face liability and public perceptionSecurity breaches, cyber-attacks, or disruption, of our servicesphysical or information technology infrastructure, networks and related management systems could be diminished, which would negatively impactresult in, among other things, a breach of our networks and information technology infrastructure, the misappropriation of our or our tenants’ proprietary or confidential information, interruptions or malfunctions in our or our tenants’ operations, delays or interruptions to our ability to attractmeet tenant needs, breach of our legal, regulatory or contractual obligations, inability to access or rely upon critical business records, unauthorized access to our facilities or other disruptions in our operations. Numerous sources can cause these types of incidents, including: physical or electronic security breaches; viruses, ransomware or other malware; hardware vulnerabilities such as Meltdown and Spectre; accident or human error by our own personnel or third parties; criminal activity or malfeasance (including by our own personnel); fraud or impersonation scams perpetrated against us or our partners or tenants; or security events impacting our third-party service providers or our partners or tenants. Our exposure to cybersecurity threats and advertisers.negative consequences of cybersecurity breaches will likely increase as we store increasing amounts of tenant data.

OurWe recognize the increasing volume of cyber-attacks and employ commercially practical efforts to provide reasonable assurance such attacks are appropriately mitigated. We may be required to expend significant financial resources to protect against or respond to such breaches. Cyber criminals are increasingly using powerful new tactics including evasive applications, proxies, tunneling, encryption techniques, vulnerability exploits, buffer overflows, distributed denial of service attacks, or distributed denial-of-service or DDoS attacks, botnets and port scans. Techniques used to breach security change frequently, and are generally not recognized until launched against a target, so we may not be able to promptly detect that a security breach or unauthorized access has occurred. We also may not be able to implement security measures are not perfectin a timely manner or, impenetrable,if and when implemented, we may not be unableable to anticipate or prevent unauthorized access. A cyber-attack or otherdetermine the extent to which these measures could be circumvented. As we provide assurances to our tenants that we provide a high level of security, breach could occur due to the actions of outside parties, employee error, malfeasance or a combination of these or other actions. Ifif an actual or perceived security breach of our security occurs, we could lose competitively sensitive business information or suffer disruptions to our business operations. In addition, the publicmarket’s perception of the effectiveness of our security measures or services could be harmed and we could lose consumers, business partnerscurrent and advertisers,potential tenants, and wesuch a breach could suffer financial exposure in connection with remediation efforts, investigationsbe harmful to our brand and legal proceedingsreputation. Any breaches that may occur could expose us to increased risk of lawsuits, material monetary damages, potential violations of applicable privacy and changesother laws, penalties and fines, harm to our reputation and increases in our security and insurance costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In the event of a breach resulting in loss of data, such as personally identifiable information or other such data protected by data privacy or other laws, we may be liable for damages, fines and penalties for such losses under applicable regulatory frameworks

Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we must maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, which requires significant resources and management oversight. Internal control over financial reporting is complex and may be revised over time to adapt to changes in our business, or changes in applicable accounting rules. We cannot assure you that our internal control over financial reporting will be effective in the future or that a material weakness will not be discovered with respect to a prior period for which we had previously believed that internal controls were effective. Matters impacting our internal controls may cause us to be unable to report our financial data on a timely basis, or may cause us to restate previously issued financial data, and thereby subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions or investigations by the SEC, or violations of applicable stock exchange listing rules. There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our financial statements. Confidence in the reliability of our financial statements is also likely to suffer if we or our independent registered public accounting firm reports a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This could materially adversely affect us by, for example, leading to a decline in the market price for our common stock and impairing our ability to raise capital.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile in the future. In addition, the trading volume in our common shares may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. It is not possible to accurately predict how investors in our common stock will behave.

Any disposition by a significant stockholder of our common stock, or the perception in the market that such dispositions could occur, may cause the price of our common stock to fall. Any such decline could impair our ability to raise capital through future sales of our common stock. Furthermore, our common stock may not qualify for investment indices, including indices specific to REITs, and any such failure may discourage new investors from investing in our common stock.

Our ability to engage in significant equity issuances will also be limited or restricted after our Spin-Off from Darden in order to preserve the tax-free nature of the Spin-Off. If and when additional funds are raised through the issuance of equity securities, including our common stock, our stockholders may experience significant dilution.

Our current dividend rate is $0.97$1.22 per share per annum. We may pay a portion of our dividends in common stock. In no event will the annual dividend be less than 90% of our REIT taxable income on an annual basis, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gains. Our ability to pay dividends may be adversely affected by a number of factors, including the risk factors described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Dividends will be authorized by our Board of Directors and declared by us based upon a number of factors, including actual results of operations, restrictions under Maryland law or applicable debt covenants, our financial condition, our taxable income, the annual distribution requirements under the REIT provisions of the Code, our operating expenses and other factors our directors deem relevant. We cannot assure youshareholders that we will

We believe that we were organized and have operated and we intend to continue to operate in a manner that will enable us to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended January 1,December 31, 2016. Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), for which only limited judicial and administrative authorities exist. Even a technical or inadvertent violation could jeopardize our REIT qualification. The determination of various factual matters and circumstances not entirely within our control may affect our ability to qualify as a REIT. Our qualification as a REIT depends on our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, stockholder ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis. Our ability to satisfy the asset requirements depends upon our analysis of the fair market values of our assets, some of which are not susceptible to a precise determination, and for which we do not obtain independent appraisals. Our compliance with the REIT income and asset requirements also depends upon our ability to successfully manage the composition of our income and assets on an ongoing basis. Moreover, the proper classification of one or more of our investments may be uncertain in some circumstances, which could affect the application of the REIT qualification requirements. In addition, our ability to satisfy the requirements to qualify as a REIT may depend in part on the actions of third parties over which we have no control or only limited influence. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRSInternal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) will not contend that our investments violate the REIT requirements.

If we were to fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, we would be subject to U.S. federal income tax, including (for taxable years beginning before December 31, 2017) any applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at the regular corporate rates,rate, and distributions to stockholders would not be deductible by us in computing our taxable income. Any such corporate

The rule against re-electing REIT status following a loss of such status could also apply to us if it were determined that a former subsidiary of Darden failed to qualify as a REIT for certain taxable years and we were treated as a successor to such entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Although Darden has represented to us that it has no knowledge of any fact or circumstance that would cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT and covenanted to use its reasonable best efforts to cure any issue with respect to the REIT status of any such predecessor entity, no assurance can be given that such representation and covenant would prevent us from failing to qualify as a REIT. If we fail to qualify as a REIT due to the REIT status of a predecessor, we would be subject to corporate income tax as described in the preceding paragraphparagraph.

Under applicable provisions of the Code, we will not be treated as a REIT unless we satisfy various requirements, including requirements relating to the sources of our gross income. Rents received or accrued by us from Darden and other tenants will not be treated as qualifying rent for purposes of these requirements if our leases are not respected as true leases for U.S. federal income tax purposes and are instead treated as service contracts, joint ventures or other types of arrangements. If our leases are not respected as true leases for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may fail to qualify as a REIT.

In addition, subject to certain exceptions, rents received or accrued by us from Darden will not be treated as qualifying rent for purposes of the REIT gross income requirements if we or a beneficial or constructive owner of 10% or more of our stock beneficially or constructively owns 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of Darden stock entitled to vote or 10% or more of the total value of all classes of Darden stock. Our charter provides for restrictions on ownership and transfer of our shares of stock, including restrictions on such ownership or transfer that would cause the rents received or accrued by us from Darden to be treated as non-qualifying rent for purposes of the REIT gross income requirements. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that such restrictions will be effective in ensuring that rents received or accrued by us from Darden will not be treated as qualifying rent for purposes of REIT qualification requirements.

The maximum U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to income from “qualified dividends” payable by non-REIT “C” corporations to certain non-corporate U.S. stockholders that are individuals, trusts and estates is currently 20%23.8% (taking into account the 3.8% Medicare tax applicable to net investment income). Dividends payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligiblequalified dividends. Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, non-corporate U.S. stockholders may deduct 20% of their dividends from REITs (excluding qualified dividend income and capital gains dividends). For non-corporate U.S. stockholders in the reduced rates. Although these rules dotop marginal tax bracket of 37%, the deduction for REIT dividends yields an effective income tax rate of 29.6% on REIT dividends, which is higher than the 20% tax rate on qualified dividend income paid by “C” corporations. This does not adversely affect the taxation of REITs,REITs; however, the more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate qualified dividends could cause certain non-corporate investors who are individuals, trusts and estates to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT “C” corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the stockshares of REITs, including our common stock.

We generally must distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gains, in order for us to qualify as a REIT (assuming that certain other requirements are also satisfied). To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement and qualify for taxation as a REIT but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and including any net capital gains, we will be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our undistributed net taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we distribute to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than

Currently our funds from operations are generated primarily by rents paid under our lease agreements. From time to time, we may generate taxable income greater than our cash flow as a result of differences in timing between the recognition of taxable

Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal, state, and local taxes on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed income and state or local income, property and transfer taxes. Moreover, if we have net income from “prohibited transactions,” that income will be subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. The determination as to whether a particular sale is a prohibited transaction depends on the facts and circumstances related to that sale. While we will undertake sales of assets if those assets become inconsistent with our long-term strategic or return objectives, we do not believe that those sales should be considered prohibited transactions, but there can be no assurance that the IRS would not contend otherwise. The need to avoid prohibited transactions could cause us to forego or defer sales of properties that might otherwise be in our best interest to sell. In addition, any net taxable income earned directly by our TRSs will be subject to U.S. federal, state, and local corporate-level income taxes and we may incur a 100% excise tax on transactions with a TRS if they are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis. Any of these taxes would decrease cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

To qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must ensure that, at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our assets consists of cash, cash items, government securities and “real estate assets” (as defined in the Code). The remainder of our investments (other than government securities, qualified real estate assets and securities issued by a TRS) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our total assets (other than government securities, qualified real estate assets and securities issued by a TRS) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 25% (20%20% (25% effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017)before January 1, 2018) of the value of our total assets can be represented by securities of one or more TRSs and no more than 25% of the value of our assets can be represented by certain debt instruments issued by “publicly offered REITs.” If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within thirty days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification and suffering adverse tax consequences. As a result, we may be required to liquidate or forego otherwise attractive investments. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.

In addition to the asset tests set forth above, to qualify as a REIT we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders and the ownership of our stock. We may be unable to pursue investments that would be otherwise advantageous to us in order to satisfy the source-of-income or asset-diversification requirements for qualifying as a REIT. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our ability to make certain attractive investments.

Darden has allocated its accumulated earnings and profits (as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes) for periods prior to the Spin-Off between Darden and FCPT in a manner that, in its best judgment, is in accordance with the provisions of the Code. The amount of earnings and profits to be distributed is a complex factual and legal determination. We currently believe and intend that our Purging Distribution (defined below) made on March 2, 2016 has satisfied the requirements relating to the distribution of our pre-REIT accumulated earnings and profits. No assurance can be given, however, that the IRS will agree with our calculation or Darden’s allocation of earnings and profits to FCPT. If the IRS finds additional amounts of pre-REIT earnings and profits, there are procedures generally available to cure any failure to distribute all of our pre-REIT earnings and profits, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully implement such procedures.

If we make any taxable dividend payable in cash and common stock, taxable stockholders receiving such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, stockholders may be required to pay income tax with respect to such dividends in excess of the cash dividends received. If a U.S. stockholder sells shares of our stock that it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of the stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to certain non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold federal income tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in our stock. If, in any taxable dividend payable in cash and stock, a significant number of our stockholders determine to sell shares of our stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may be viewed as economically equivalent to a dividend reduction and put downward pressure on the market price of our stock.

The REIT provisions of the Code substantially limit our ability to hedge our assets and liabilities. Income from certain hedging transactions that we may enter into to manage risk of interest rate changes with respect to borrowings made or to be made to acquire or carry real estate assets (each such hedge, a "Borrowing Hedge") or manages the risk of certain currency fluctuations (each such hedge, a "Currency Hedge") does not constitute “gross income” for purposes of the 75% or 95% gross income tests that apply to REITs, provided that certain identification requirements are met. This exclusion from the 95% and 75% gross income tests also applies if we previously entered into a Borrowings Hedge or a Currency Hedge, a portion of the hedged indebtedness or property is disposed of, and in connection with such extinguishment or disposition we enter into a new clearly identified hedging transaction to offset the prior hedging position. To the extent that we enter into other types of hedging transactions or fail to properly identify such transaction as a hedge, the income is likely to be treated as non-qualifying income for purposes of both of the gross income tests. As a result of these rules, we may be required to limit our use of advantageous hedging techniques or implement those hedges through a TRS. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities because the TRS may be subject to tax on gains or expose us to greater risks associated with changes in interest rates that we would otherwise want to bear. In addition, losses in the TRS will generally not provide any tax benefit, except that such losses could theoretically be carried back or forward against past or future taxable income in the TRS.

Our charter provides our Board of Directors with the power, under certain circumstances, to revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election and cause us to be taxed as a regular corporation, without the approval of our stockholders. If we cease to qualify

Following our REIT election, we will ownowned appreciated assets that were previously held by Darden, a C corporation, and were acquired by us in the Spin-Off in a transaction in which the adjusted tax basis of the assets in our hands was determined by reference to the adjusted basis of the assets in the hands of the C corporation. If we dispose of any such appreciated assets during the five-year period following the effective date of our REIT election, we will be subject to tax at the highest corporate tax rates on the lesser of (i) the amount of gain that we recognize at the time of the sale or disposition; and (ii) the amount of gain that we would have recognized if we had sold the assets at the time we acquired them (i.e., the effective date of our REIT election ) (such gain referred to as “built-in gains”). We would be subject to this tax liability even if we qualify and maintain our status as a REIT. Any recognized built-in gain will retain its character as ordinary income or capital gain and will be taken into account in determining REIT taxable income and our distribution requirement. Any tax on the recognized built-in gain will reduce REIT taxable income. We may choose not to sell in a taxable transaction appreciated assets we might otherwise sell during the five-year period in which the built-in gain tax applies in order to avoid the built-in gain tax. However, there can be no assurances that such a taxable transaction will not occur. If we sell such assets in a taxable transaction, the amount of corporate tax that we will pay will vary depending on the actual amount of net built-in gain or loss present in those assets as of the time we became a REIT. The amount of tax could be significant. The same rules would apply to any assets we acquire in the future from a C corporation in a carryover basis transaction with built-in gain at the time of the acquisition by us. If we choose to dispose of any assets within the specified period, we will attempt to utilize various tax planning strategies, including Section 1031 of the Code like-kind exchanges, to mitigate the exposure to the built-in-gains tax. Gain from a sale of an asset occurring after the specified period ends will not be subject to this corporate level tax.

In connection with the acquisition of ten properties from U.S. Restaurant Properties, Inc. (“USRP”) in November 2016 and four additional properties from USRP in January 2017, in exchange for Operating PartnershipFCPT OP units, we entered into a tax protection agreement with affiliates of USRP. The tax protection agreement provides that, if we dispose of any of those ten14 properties in a taxable transaction through November 2023 for the initial ten properties or January 2024 for the additional four properties, we will

Not applicable.

Please refer to “Item1. Business.”

In the ordinary course of our business, we are party to various claims and legal proceedings that management believes are routine in nature and incidental to the operation of our business. Management believes that the outcome of these proceedings will not have a material adverse effect upon our operations, financial condition or liquidity.

Not applicable.

None.

The results of operations for the accompanying consolidated and combined financial statements discussed below are derived from our consolidated statements of comprehensive income (“Comprehensive Income Statement”) found elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following discussion includes the results of our continuing operations as summarized in the table below.

The following table sets forth for our restaurant operating segment revenues and expenses data for the periods indicated. Although we completed the spin-off of FCPT from Darden on November 9, 2015, our restaurant operations segment includes the full operating results for 2015 and 2014.

Real estate investments, net are recorded at cost less accumulated depreciation. Building components are depreciated over estimated useful lives ranging from seven to fifty-four years using the straight-line method. Leasehold improvements, which are reflected on our balance sheetsConsolidated Balance Sheets as a component of buildings, within land, buildings and equipment, net, are amortized over the lesser of the non-cancelable lease term or the estimated useful lives of the related assets using the straight-line method. Equipment is depreciated over estimated useful lives ranging from two to fifteen years also using the straight-line method. Real estate development and construction costs for newly constructed restaurants are capitalized in the period in which they are incurred. Gains and losses on the disposal of land, buildings and equipment are included in our accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive income.income (“Income Statement”).

Land, buildings and equipment and certain other assets, including definite-lived intangible assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of ana long-lived asset may not be recoverable. Events or changes in circumstances may include, but are not limited to, changes in market conditions including factors impacting tenant credit quality and changes in estimated time we expect to own the long-lived asset. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to the future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the assets. Identifiable cash flows are measured at the lowest level for which they are largely independent of the cash flows of other groups of assets and liabilities, generally at the restaurant level. If these assets are determined to be impaired, the amount of impairment recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds their fair value. Fair value is generally determined by appraisals or sales prices of comparable assets.

The judgments we make related to the expected useful livesestimated period of time we expect to own the long-lived assets and our ability to realize undiscounted cash flows in excess of the carrying amounts of these assets identified as potentially not recoverable are

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data consist of financial statements as indexed on page F-1.

None.

We have established and maintain disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act, of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

The information required by Item 10 is incorporated herein by reference to the definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The information required by Item 11 is incorporated herein by reference to the definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The information required by Item 12 is incorporated herein by reference to the definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The information required by Item 13 is incorporated herein by reference to the definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The information required by Item 14 is incorporated herein by reference to the definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.