Key Highlights

  • Total revenues reached $1.9 billion, 21% above the same quarter last year.
  • Core FFO per share came to $2.10, compared with $1.89 in the third quarter of 2025.
  • Record bookings should produce $855 million of annualized GAAP base rent at 100% share.
  • Backlog of signed but not yet commenced leases hit a record $2.5 billion at 100% share.
  • 2026 Core FFO per share guidance was raised to $8.30 to $8.35, excluding net promote.

Record bookings push Backlog to $2.5 billion

Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR), based in Austin, Texas, owns, develops and operates data centers offering colocation and interconnection to cloud, technology, financial services and enterprise customers. As of September 30, 2026, its 311 data centers held about 3.2 gigawatts of IT capacity, with roughly 9.8 gigawatts of buildable capacity. It reported third quarter 2026 results on October 29, 2026.

Bookings set a record and should generate $855 million of annualized GAAP base rent at 100% share, or $627 million at the company's share. Backlog of signed but not commenced leases reached a record $2.5 billion at 100% share and $1.8 billion at the company's share.

Revenue rises 21% while FFO depends on promote comparisons

Total revenues were $1.9 billion, 21% above the third quarter of 2025 and 10% above the prior quarter when excluding $201 million of promote income recorded in the second quarter. Net Income available to common stockholders was $185 million, or $0.48 per share, versus $0.15 a year earlier.

Funds from operations totaled $742 million, or $1.97 per share, compared with $1.65 a year ago and $2.73 in the previous quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $978 million, 13% higher than a year earlier.

Core FFO of $2.10 reflects strong renewal pricing

Core FFO per share, excluding net promote, was $2.10 against $1.89 a year earlier and $2.13 in the second quarter. For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, it totaled $6.27.

Renewal leases signed during the quarter represented $261 million of annualized cash rental revenue, with rates up 11.8% on a cash basis and 17.0% on a GAAP basis. CEO Andy Power pointed to record leasing and a growing backlog.

Land purchases, a Teraco stake and new Capital sources

In the quarter, Digital Realty acquired $742 million of land in the Indianapolis, Atlanta, Chicago and Charlotte metro areas. The Indianapolis site supports over one gigawatt of IT capacity.

After quarter end, it agreed to buy an additional 16% stake in Teraco for about $688 million, mostly through 3.4 million new shares. That move would lift its ownership from 61% to approximately 77%. It also closed $1.4 billion of initial cornerstone Equity commitments for a new perpetual capital strategy targeting stabilized hyperscale data centers in North America.

Balance sheet carries $19.5 billion of debt

Total Debt was about $19.5 billion at September 30, 2026, including $17.9 billion of unsecured debt. Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA stood at 5.2x.

Through its at-the-market program, the company sold about 2.4 million shares during the quarter at a weighted average price of $191.84, generating net proceeds of about $450 million, and roughly $2.9 billion year to date. In October it issued 1 billion euros of 5.125% notes due 2036, along with Swiss franc bonds due 2029, 2032 and 2036.

A raised outlook sets the next benchmark

Management increased 2026 Revenue guidance, excluding promote income, to $7.050 billion to $7.125 billion, and Adjusted EBITDA guidance to $3.800 billion to $3.850 billion. Core FFO per share, excluding net promote, is now expected at $8.30 to $8.35. Turning the backlog into commenced leases is the item to monitor.