DLR Boosts Data Center Infrastructure: Is It a Growth Catalyst?
Digital Realty DLR has been rapidly making strides in boosting its data center infrastructure to capitalize on the ever-expanding artificial intelligence (AI) frenzy. With the rise of cloud computing, the Internet of Things and Big Data, and an increasing number of companies outsourcing IT infrastructure, data center REITs are witnessing strong market momentum.
Digital Realty’s Strategy in Action
Against this backdrop, in early March 2026, Digital Realty entered Portugal with the acquisition of a data center in Lisbon expected to support up to 2.4 MW of IT load and likely to be ready for service in early 2027. By establishing a presence in Lisbon, the company gains access to an important connectivity gateway linking Europe with the Americas and Africa.
Further strengthening its European footprint, Digital Realty expanded into Bulgaria through the acquisition of Telepoint, a highly connected interconnection hub in Sofia. The deal adds two data centers to its portfolio and strengthens its presence in Southeast Europe.
Earlier in January 2026, Digital Realty announced plans to enter Malaysia through an agreed-upon arrangement to acquire CSF Advisers. The entity owns TelcoHub 1 data center in Cyberjaya, one of the most established data center hubs in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area.
Apart from these international expansion efforts, Digital Realty has been investing in additional capacity and partnerships to support future growth. During the fourth quarter of 2025, Digital Realty acquired two land parcels totaling around 20 acres in the Portland metro area for $23.6 million. These are expected to support 85 megawatts of IT capacity.
DLR Mivne entered into a JV with MedOne Ltd., the leading data center operator in Israel. The JV acquired around 2.5 acres of land to develop an 18-megawatt campus for $29 million. DLR made contributions to the tune of an additional 40% interest in five operating data centers to its Digital Realty DC Partners NA Fund, with its stake at 80% at year-end.
These strategic investments and market entries underscore Digital Realty’s focus on scaling its platform and strengthening its presence in key global connectivity hubs. Such initiatives are likely to position the company well to capture the rising demand for digital infrastructure in the coming years.
How Are Other Data Center REITs Capitalizing on Growth Opportunities?
Equinix EQIX continues focusing on acquisitions and developments to expand data center capacity in key markets and strengthen its competitive positioning and global reach. In June 2025, Equinix completed its acquisition of three data centers in Manila, Philippines, for $183 million from Total Information Management. As of Dec. 31, 2025, it had 52 major projects underway across 35 markets in 24 countries, including 9 xScale builds.
Iron Mountain IRM is supplementing its storage segment’s performance with expansion in its faster-growing businesses, most notably the data center segment. In February 2025, in a strategic partnership with Ooredoo Group, Iron Mountain announced that it would take a minority equity stake in Ooredoo’s carrier-neutral data center company, MENA Digital Hub.
DLR’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of DLR have risen 17.7% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 5.2%.
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From a valuation standpoint, DLR trades at a forward 12-month price-to-FFO of 22.36, above the industry, as well as its one-year median of 20.52. It carries a Value Score of D.
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DLR’s 2026 funds from operations per share has been revised marginally upward to $7.96 over the past month.
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At present, Digital Realty carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
