DIGITAL REALTY TRUST, INC. files 10-Q: quarterly report (10-Q)
Trust, Inc.’s failure to maintain its status as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes; Digital Realty Trust, L.P.’s failure to qualify as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes; restrictions on our ability to engage in certain business activities; changes in local, state, federal and international laws and regulations, including related to taxation, real estate and zoning laws, and increases in real property tax rates; the impact of any financial, accounting, legal or regulatory issues or litigation that may affect us; and those additional risks and factors discussed in reports filed with the SEC by us from time to time, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other sections of this report, including under Part II, Item 1A, Risk Factors.
Occupancy percentages included in the following discussion, for some of our properties, are calculated based on factors including available power, required support capacity and common area.
As used in this report: “Ascenty entity” refers to the entity which owns and operates Ascenty, formed with Brookfield Infrastructure.
Business Overview and Strategy
Digital Realty Trust, Inc., through its controlling interest in Digital Realty Trust, L.P. and its subsidiaries, delivers comprehensive space, power, and interconnection solutions that enable its customers and partners to connect with each other and service their own customers on a global technology and real estate platform. We are a leading global provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions for customers across a variety of industry verticals. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. operates as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and our Operating Partnership is the entity through which we conduct our business and own our assets.
Our primary business objectives are to maximize:
(i) sustainable long-term growth in earnings and funds from operations per share and unit;
(ii) cash flow and returns to our stockholders and Digital Realty Trust, L.P.’s unitholders through the payment of distributions; and
(iii) return on invested capital.
We expect to accomplish our objectives by achieving superior risk-adjusted returns, prudently allocating capital, diversifying our product offerings, accelerating our global reach and scale, and driving revenue growth and operating efficiencies. A significant component of our current and future internal growth is anticipated through the development of our existing space held for development, acquisition of land for future development, and acquisition of new properties.
We target high-quality, strategically located properties containing the physical and connectivity infrastructure that supports the applications and operations of data center and technology industry customers and properties that may be developed for such use. Most of our data center properties contain fully redundant electrical supply systems, multiple power feeds, above-standard cooling systems, raised floor areas, extensive in-building communications cabling and high-level security systems. Fundamentally, we bring together foundational real estate and innovative technology expertise around the world to deliver a comprehensive, dedicated product suite to meet customers’ data and connectivity needs. We represent an important part of the digital economy that we believe will benefit from powerful, long-term growth drivers.
We have developed detailed, standardized procedures for evaluating new real estate investments to ensure that they meet our financial, technical and other criteria. We expect to continue to acquire additional assets as part of our growth strategy. We intend to aggressively manage and lease our assets to increase their cash flow. We may continue to build out our development portfolio when justified by anticipated demand and returns.
We may acquire properties subject to existing mortgage financing and other indebtedness or we may incur new indebtedness in connection with acquiring or refinancing these properties. Debt service on such indebtedness will have a priority over any cash dividends with respect to Digital Realty Trust, Inc.’s common stock and preferred stock. We are committed to maintaining a conservative capital structure. Our goal is to average through business cycles the following financial ratios: 1) a debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA ratio around 5.5x, 2) a fixed charge coverage of greater than three times, and 3) floating rate debt at less than 20% of total outstanding debt. In addition, we strive to maintain a well-laddered debt maturity schedule, and we seek to maximize the menu of our available sources of capital, while minimizing the cost.
Changes in political conditions, geopolitical turmoil, political instability, civil disturbances, restrictive governmental actions or nationalization in the countries in which we operate, including escalations in political and trade tensions involving the U.S. and regulatory and legislative changes, could potentially result in adverse effects on our, and our customers’, operations.
Summary of 2026 Significant Activities
We completed the following significant activities during the three months ended March 31, 2026:
● During the quarter, we closed on acquisitions totaling approximately $280 million in the aggregate, primarily in Investments in properties, net in Sofia, Bulgaria, Milan, Italy, Portland and Atlanta.
● During the three months ended March 31, 2026, Digital Realty Trust, Inc. generated net proceeds of approximately $875 million from the issuance of approximately 4.9 million common shares under the 2024 Sales Agreement at an average price of $178.36 per share after payment of approximately $4.3 million of commissions to the agents. Subsequent to March 31, 2026, Digital Realty Trust, Inc. generated net proceeds of approximately $435 million from the issuance of approximately 2.4 million common shares under the 2024 Sales Agreement at an average price of $181.21 per share after payment of approximately $2.2 million of commissions to the agents. As of April 29, 2026, approximately $570 million remains available for future sales under the 2024 Sales Agreement.
Revenue Base
Most of our revenue consists of rental income generated by the data centers in our portfolio. Our ability to generate and grow revenue depends on several factors, including our ability to maintain or improve occupancy rates. A summary of our data center portfolio and the DLR Share of White Space IT Load (excluding capacity under development or held for development) is shown below.
Note: Table excludes data centers held for sale or contribution.
(1) White Space IT Load represents uninterruptible power systems backed utility power in megawatts dedicated to Digital Realty’s operated data center capacity.
(2) Occupancy excludes capacity under active development and capacity held for development.