What does Digital Realty Trust do?

Digital Realty Trust is the world's largest data center REIT by footprint — 309 data centers globally with ~43.2M sq ft in operation, present in 55+ metros across 6 continents (North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Australia, Africa). Business model: A REIT — required to distribute 90%+ of taxable income to shareholders Builds/acquires/operates data centers and leases capacity (MW + sq ft + interconnection) to customers 2 models: colocation/retail (smaller customers, 1 MW or less) + hyperscale (large customers, multi-MW) Revenue mix shifting toward hyperscale + the interconnection ecosystem Main customers (per the supplementals): Oracle: relationship expanded in 2025 (FastConnect Direct + Cloud Solution Centers) Meta: long-standing top tenant Microsoft, Google, IBM, AWS: hyperscale relationships Largest customer: ~11.5% of annualized recurring revenue (a material top concentration) >5,000 customers in total HQ: Austin, Texas. Employees: 4,282 (FY2025). Listing: NYSE (DLR), S&P 500 component. Leadership: CEO: Andrew 'Andy' Power — CEO + Director since Dec 2022. Previously CFO 2015-2022, President since Nov 2021. He was the architect of DLR's financial strategy Chair: Mary Hogan Preusse (independent — Chair role separate from the CEO) Q1 2026 (reported April 23, 2026): | Metric | Q1 2026 | |---------|---------| | Core FFO/sh | $2.04 (+15% YoY) | | Leasing | 2nd-highest quarter ever | | Annualized rent (100% share) | $707M | | Annualized rent (DLR share) | $423M | | New logos | 116 | | 0-1MW interconnection bookings | all-time record | | HEADLINE deal | 200 MW single AI-inference lease in Charlotte with a AAA-rated hyperscaler | | Total backlog | record $1.8B annualized ($1.0B DLR share) | FY26 guidance RAISED: Core FFO/sh midpoint: $8.10 (+9% YoY) — was $8.00 Cash renewal spreads: 6.5-8.5% (raised) Development pipeline: 1.2 GW under construction, 61% pre-leased $3.25B US Hyperscale Data Center Fund (March 30, 2026): Final close of the inaugural fund DLR retains 20% + management fees Covers Northern Virginia, Santa Clara, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, NY LPs: sovereign wealth funds, pensions, insurers A capital-light strategic pivot: DLR becomes an asset manager + operator, not a pure balance-sheet REIT €2B Italy investment (April 14, 2026): 5-year plan Rome (62 MW) + Milan (84 MW) opening in 2027 Mediterranean corridor strategy (the Med = 56% of EMEA capex through 2030) Dividend (declared May 12, 2026): $1.22/sh quarterly ($4.88 annual) ~2.50% yield at the $194.93 price Record date Jun 15, payable Jun 30, 2026 As a REIT, required to distribute 90%+ of income

Why did Vectorial Data pick DLR?

DLR at $194.93 means buying the world's #1 data center REIT (309 data centers, 43.2M sq ft, 55+ metros) at an AI-infrastructure auction price, right as the catalysts line up like they rarely do. Specific reasons: (1) Q1 2026 was a brutal beat — Core FFO $2.04/sh, +15% YoY: the April 23, 2026 report made clear the AI-infrastructure thesis is materializing. Leasing was the 2nd-highest quarter ever ($707M annualized rent), 116 new logos, an all-time record in 0-1MW interconnection bookings. (2) Anchor: a 200 MW single AI-inference lease in Charlotte with a AAA-rated hyperscaler = the largest contract in DLR's history: 200 MW is enough power to supply ~150,000 homes. One customer, one lease, a 10-15 year contract. It validates the hub-and-spoke + AI inference thesis (new workloads get processed close to where the users are, not only in Loudoun County mega-clusters). (3) A record $1.8B annualized backlog — 3 years of revenue guaranteed in advance: in commercial real estate this normally does NOT exist (typical contracts are annual). DLR has 2027-2028 visibility the market still isn't pricing in. The backlog commences ratably through 2028. (4) FY26 guidance RAISED to Core FFO of $8.10/sh (+9% YoY): management lifted the midpoint by $0.10 and raised cash renewal spreads to 6.5-8.5%. Explicit confidence. (5) Development pipeline of 1.2 GW under construction, 61% pre-leased: the new data centers already have 61% of their rent signed before switching on. That means 2027-2028 FFO is practically locked. (6) $3.25B US Hyperscale Fund closed (March 30, 2026) — a capital-light pivot: DLR now manages capital from sovereign wealth funds + pensions + insurers (the LPs). It retains 20% + collects management fees. Asset-light, but it captures the economics. Structural ROE expansion. (7) Italy €2B + the Mediterranean corridor: on April 14, 2026 it announced $2.3B for Rome + Milan opening in 2027. The Med is 56% of EMEA capex for 2026-2030. AI data centers in Italy attack demand from the Italian government + European AI labs + Mediterranean infrastructure (submarine cables to Africa). (8) Andy Power = the financial architect now executing: CFO 2015-2022 (he structured the balance sheet), CEO since Dec 2022. Skin in the game, knows every lever. Clear track record. (9) Dividend stability at $1.22/sh quarterly: a 2.50% yield at $194.93. REIT rules require distributing 90%+. No cut expected with cash flow growing +9%. (10) All-time high of $208.14 hit April 24, 2026, +27% YTD: the momentum is there. Multiple expansion vs. precedent: a 24x forward P/FFO = a cyclical trough for AI infrastructure. CoreWeave (private comp) trades at 35x. Equinix (the largest comparable REIT) trades at 22x but grows less. DLR fair value at 26-28x = $210-225 = +8-15% capital upside + a 2.5% yield + visibility through 2028. Catalysts: Q2 2026 earnings in late July (continued AI lease momentum) + the October 2026 Italy groundbreaking ceremony.

What are the risks of investing in DLR?

The risks are measurable: (1) Rate sensitivity — REIT valuation pressure if 10-year yields rise: if the 10-year Treasury returns to 5%+ (a hawkish Fed pivot or re-accelerating inflation), REIT multiples compress -15-20%. DLR still trades like a bond proxy even with the AI tailwind. (2) Power/grid constraints — a sector-wide bottleneck: Loudoun County (Northern Virginia) has >9 GW of data center demand but <2 GW of available power. If Dominion Energy substations don't get built (2028-2030 timeline), new DLR Virginia data centers get delayed. Same problem in Phoenix and Atlanta. (3) Customer concentration — the top 1 = ~11.5% of ARR: top-20 customer concentration is material. If Meta/Microsoft cancels a major renewal or consolidates into self-built capacity, that's a revenue shock. (4) Aggressive competition: CoreWeave (GPU-as-a-service, the NVIDIA partnership), Crusoe (Bitcoin → AI pivot), hyperscaler self-build (Meta/MSFT/AWS increasingly build their own), Equinix (the interconnection leader), QTS (Blackstone-owned), Vantage (DigitalBridge). Pricing power eventually gets compromised. (5) Heavy capex for development: the 1.2 GW pipeline costs ~$12-15B over 2026-2028. DLR must fund it via debt + equity issuance + JV partnerships. If the stock falls, dilution runs high. (6) AI demand bubble risk: if LLM scaling laws break (models stop improving linearly with compute), AI demand moderates. Inference workloads are steadier than training, but the magnitude is uncertain. (7) The 200 MW Charlotte lease — counterparty risk: AAA-rated, but a single customer. If it defaults or renegotiates (improbable for a AAA, but possible), the $1.8B backlog shrinks significantly. (8) Italy €2B macro risk: Italy's debt/GDP is 140%+, with government instability. A euro crisis or an anti-foreign-investment populist government would delay the project. (9) U.S. REIT regulation: if Congress modifies REIT tax treatment (closes loopholes), the corporate tax structure changes. Low probability, high impact. (10) The capital-light Fund strategy — economics not yet proven: the $3.25B Fund closed in March 2026 is the first one. If management-fee economics disappoint vs. balance-sheet ownership, the pivot loses its shine.

Does DLR pay dividends?

Yes. Digital Realty Trust pays a dividend of about 2.5% per year.

How can I buy DLR with little money?

You can buy fractional shares of DLR starting from a few dollars with any broker that offers fractional shares. The Vectorial Data method: invest the same amount in every pick, every time.

When was this DLR analysis last updated?

The DLR analysis was last updated on Invalid Date.

Stocks/DLR

DLR — Digital Realty Trust

Q: Does DLR pay dividends?

Yes. Digital Realty Trust pays a dividend of about 2.5% per year.

Q: How can I buy DLR with little money?

You can buy fractional shares of DLR starting from a few dollars with any broker that offers fractional shares. The Vectorial Data method: invest the same amount in every pick, every time.

Q: When was this DLR analysis last updated?

The DLR analysis was last updated on Invalid Date.

Real EstateNorth AmericaUnited StatesBlockchain certified

$194.93

Target: $215.00 (+10.3%)

P/E Ratio

70.5

P/E Forward

24.1

Dividend

2.5%

Market Cap

$67B

EPS

$2.77

Consensus

Buy

What they do

Digital Realty Trust is the world's largest data center REIT by footprint — 309 data centers globally with ~43.2M sq ft in operation, present in 55+ metros across 6 continents (North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Australia, Africa).

Business model:

A REIT — required to distribute 90%+ of taxable income to shareholders
Builds/acquires/operates data centers and leases capacity (MW + sq ft + interconnection) to customers
2 models: colocation/retail (smaller customers, 1 MW or less) + hyperscale (large customers, multi-MW)
Revenue mix shifting toward hyperscale + the interconnection ecosystem

Main customers (per the supplementals):

Oracle: relationship expanded in 2025 (FastConnect Direct + Cloud Solution Centers)
Meta: long-standing top tenant
Microsoft, Google, IBM, AWS: hyperscale relationships
Largest customer: ~11.5% of annualized recurring revenue (a material top concentration)
>5,000 customers in total

HQ: Austin, Texas. Employees: 4,282 (FY2025). Listing: NYSE (DLR), S&P 500 component.

Leadership:

CEO: Andrew 'Andy' Power — CEO + Director since Dec 2022. Previously CFO 2015-2022, President since Nov 2021. He was the architect of DLR's financial strategy
Chair: Mary Hogan Preusse (independent — Chair role separate from the CEO)

Q1 2026 (reported April 23, 2026):

Metric	Q1 2026
Core FFO/sh	$2.04 (+15% YoY)
Leasing	2nd-highest quarter ever
Annualized rent (100% share)	$707M
Annualized rent (DLR share)	$423M
New logos	116
0-1MW interconnection bookings	all-time record
HEADLINE deal	200 MW single AI-inference lease in Charlotte with a AAA-rated hyperscaler
Total backlog	record $1.8B annualized ($1.0B DLR share)

FY26 guidance RAISED:

Core FFO/sh midpoint: $8.10 (+9% YoY) — was $8.00
Cash renewal spreads: 6.5-8.5% (raised)
Development pipeline: 1.2 GW under construction, 61% pre-leased

$3.25B US Hyperscale Data Center Fund (March 30, 2026):

Final close of the inaugural fund
DLR retains 20% + management fees
Covers Northern Virginia, Santa Clara, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, NY
LPs: sovereign wealth funds, pensions, insurers
A capital-light strategic pivot: DLR becomes an asset manager + operator, not a pure balance-sheet REIT

€2B Italy investment (April 14, 2026):

5-year plan
Rome (62 MW) + Milan (84 MW) opening in 2027
Mediterranean corridor strategy (the Med = 56% of EMEA capex through 2030)

Dividend (declared May 12, 2026):

$1.22/sh quarterly ($4.88 annual)
~2.50% yield at the $194.93 price
Record date Jun 15, payable Jun 30, 2026
As a REIT, required to distribute 90%+ of income

Why we like it

DLR at $194.93 means buying the world's #1 data center REIT (309 data centers, 43.2M sq ft, 55+ metros) at an AI-infrastructure auction price, right as the catalysts line up like they rarely do. Specific reasons:

Q1 2026 was a brutal beat — Core FFO $2.04/sh, +15% YoY: the April 23, 2026 report made clear the AI-infrastructure thesis is materializing. Leasing was the 2nd-highest quarter ever ($707M annualized rent), 116 new logos, an all-time record in 0-1MW interconnection bookings.
Anchor: a 200 MW single AI-inference lease in Charlotte with a AAA-rated hyperscaler = the largest contract in DLR's history: 200 MW is enough power to supply ~150,000 homes. One customer, one lease, a 10-15 year contract. It validates the hub-and-spoke + AI inference thesis (new workloads get processed close to where the users are, not only in Loudoun County mega-clusters).
A record $1.8B annualized backlog — 3 years of revenue guaranteed in advance: in commercial real estate this normally does NOT exist (typical contracts are annual). DLR has 2027-2028 visibility the market still isn't pricing in. The backlog commences ratably through 2028.
FY26 guidance RAISED to Core FFO of $8.10/sh (+9% YoY): management lifted the midpoint by $0.10 and raised cash renewal spreads to 6.5-8.5%. Explicit confidence.
Development pipeline of 1.2 GW under construction, 61% pre-leased: the new data centers already have 61% of their rent signed before switching on. That means 2027-2028 FFO is practically locked.
$3.25B US Hyperscale Fund closed (March 30, 2026) — a capital-light pivot: DLR now manages capital from sovereign wealth funds + pensions + insurers (the LPs). It retains 20% + collects management fees. Asset-light, but it captures the economics. Structural ROE expansion.
Italy €2B + the Mediterranean corridor: on April 14, 2026 it announced $2.3B for Rome + Milan opening in 2027. The Med is 56% of EMEA capex for 2026-2030. AI data centers in Italy attack demand from the Italian government + European AI labs + Mediterranean infrastructure (submarine cables to Africa).
Andy Power = the financial architect now executing: CFO 2015-2022 (he structured the balance sheet), CEO since Dec 2022. Skin in the game, knows every lever. Clear track record.
Dividend stability at $1.22/sh quarterly: a 2.50% yield at $194.93. REIT rules require distributing 90%+. No cut expected with cash flow growing +9%. (10) All-time high of $208.14 hit April 24, 2026, +27% YTD: the momentum is there. Multiple expansion vs. precedent: a 24x forward P/FFO = a cyclical trough for AI infrastructure. CoreWeave (private comp) trades at 35x. Equinix (the largest comparable REIT) trades at 22x but grows less. DLR fair value at 26-28x = $210-225 = +8-15% capital upside + a 2.5% yield + visibility through 2028. Catalysts: Q2 2026 earnings in late July (continued AI lease momentum) + the October 2026 Italy groundbreaking ceremony.

Key Risk

The risks are measurable:

Rate sensitivity — REIT valuation pressure if 10-year yields rise: if the 10-year Treasury returns to 5%+ (a hawkish Fed pivot or re-accelerating inflation), REIT multiples compress -15-20%. DLR still trades like a bond proxy even with the AI tailwind.
Power/grid constraints — a sector-wide bottleneck: Loudoun County (Northern Virginia) has >9 GW of data center demand but <2 GW of available power. If Dominion Energy substations don't get built (2028-2030 timeline), new DLR Virginia data centers get delayed. Same problem in Phoenix and Atlanta.
Customer concentration — the top 1 = ~11.5% of ARR: top-20 customer concentration is material. If Meta/Microsoft cancels a major renewal or consolidates into self-built capacity, that's a revenue shock.
Aggressive competition: CoreWeave (GPU-as-a-service, the NVIDIA partnership), Crusoe (Bitcoin → AI pivot), hyperscaler self-build (Meta/MSFT/AWS increasingly build their own), Equinix (the interconnection leader), QTS (Blackstone-owned), Vantage (DigitalBridge). Pricing power eventually gets compromised.
Heavy capex for development: the 1.2 GW pipeline costs ~$12-15B over 2026-2028. DLR must fund it via debt + equity issuance + JV partnerships. If the stock falls, dilution runs high.
AI demand bubble risk: if LLM scaling laws break (models stop improving linearly with compute), AI demand moderates. Inference workloads are steadier than training, but the magnitude is uncertain.
The 200 MW Charlotte lease — counterparty risk: AAA-rated, but a single customer. If it defaults or renegotiates (improbable for a AAA, but possible), the $1.8B backlog shrinks significantly.
Italy €2B macro risk: Italy's debt/GDP is 140%+, with government instability. A euro crisis or an anti-foreign-investment populist government would delay the project.
U.S. REIT regulation: if Congress modifies REIT tax treatment (closes loopholes), the corporate tax structure changes. Low probability, high impact. (10) The capital-light Fund strategy — economics not yet proven: the $3.25B Fund closed in March 2026 is the first one. If management-fee economics disappoint vs. balance-sheet ownership, the pivot loses its shine.

This is educational and informational content, not financial advice. Always consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Vectorial Data picked DLR on 2026-05-13 at $194.93.

Last updated: Invalid Date

Dividends received by the Vectorial portfolio

What this stock has paid the model since we bought it. Your actual amount depends on when you replicated.

Ex-div date	Per share	Shares	Total to portfolio
Jun 15, 2026	$1.2200	0.2582	$0.32

Total received: $0.32

Full Research

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) — Research Completo

Precio: $194.93 | P/E TTM: 70.50 | P/E Forward: 24.07 (on Core FFO $8.10) | Div Yield: 2.50% | Market Cap: $67B

¿Qué es Digital Realty?

Digital Realty Trust es el REIT de data centers más grande del mundo por footprint — un Real Estate Investment Trust (obligado a distribute 90%+ income to shareholders) especializado en construir, adquirir y operar data centers + arrendar capacity (MW + sq ft + interconnect) a clientes.

Historia:

2004: fundada por GI Partners; IPO NYSE 2004
2017: merger con DuPont Fabros para escalar hyperscale
2020: merger con Interxion ($8.4B) — entrada Europa
Dic 2022: Andy Power CEO

HQ: Austin, Texas | Empleados: 4,282 (FY2025)

Portfolio (al 31 marzo 2026)

Métrica	Total
Data centers	309 (89 en unconsolidated JVs)
Sq ft operating	~43.2M
Metros (markets)	55+
Continentes	6
Customers	>5,000
Top customer concentration	~11.5% ARR

Q1 2026 — Reportado 23 abril 2026

Métrica	Q1 2026
Core FFO/sh	$2.04 (+15% YoY)
Leasing volume	2nd-highest quarter ever
Annualized rent (100%)	$707M
Annualized rent (DLR share)	$423M
Nuevos logos	116
HEADLINE	200 MW single AI-inference lease Charlotte (record)
Backlog	$1.8B annualized récord

Guidance FY26 RAISED

Core FFO/sh midpoint: $8.10 (+9% YoY)
Cash renewal spreads: 6.5-8.5%
Development pipeline: 1.2 GW under construction, 61% pre-leased

Catalysts Recientes

30 marzo 2026 — $3.25B US Hyperscale Data Center Fund

Final close inaugural fund
DLR retains 20% + management fees
LPs: sovereign wealth, pensions, insurers
Pivote capital-light

14 abril 2026 — €2B (~$2.3B) Italy investment

5-year plan
Roma (62 MW) + Milán (84 MW) abriendo 2027
Mediterranean corridor strategy

23 abril 2026 — Q1 + guidance raise + 200 MW Charlotte lease

12 mayo 2026 — Dividendo declarado

$1.22/sh trimestral
Yield ~2.50%

Dividendo

Q1 2026: $1.22/sh declarado 12 mayo 2026
Annual: $4.88/sh
Yield: ~2.50%
Frequency: trimestral
Pago 30 jun 2026

Customers Top (per supplementals)

Oracle (FastConnect expansion 2025)
Meta, Microsoft, Google, IBM, AWS
Hyperscale long-standing

Anchor Fact

200 MW single-tenant AI-inference lease en Charlotte con AAA-rated hyperscaler = el contrato más grande en la historia de DLR (Q1 2026). 200 MW = energy para ~150,000 hogares.

(Fuente: Q1 2026 earnings release 23 abril 2026)

Riesgos Estructurales

Rate sensitivity: REIT bond-proxy
Power/grid: Loudoun County constraint (>9 GW demand vs <2 GW power)
Customer concentration: top 1 = 11.5% ARR
Competition: CoreWeave, Crusoe, Equinix, hyperscaler self-build

Tesis en una línea

Comprar el #1 data center REIT del mundo (309 data centers, 55+ metros) justo cuando (1) Q1 2026 entregó Core FFO +15% YoY beat, (2) 200 MW Charlotte AI lease récord histórico, (3) backlog $1.8B = 3 años visibility, (4) guidance FY26 raised a $8.10 (+9%), (5) $3.25B Hyperscale Fund pivote capital-light, (6) €2B Italy abriendo 2027.

Research fecha: 13 May 2026 | Próxima revisión: Nov 2026

Esto no es asesoría financiera.

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Researched: 5/13/2026Updated: 5/13/2026Next review: 11/13/2026

This is not financial advice. Consult a certified financial advisor.

The author may hold positions in the securities discussed.

Past performance does not guarantee future results.