Earnings Call Intelligence Subscribe
Home › Call Sheets › DLR › Q1'26
Call sheet · Q1'26

Digital Realty Trust (DLR)

Q1'26 earnings call · held April 23, 2026 · compared with the Q4'25 call · management-credibility review
9/12
Disclosure score
2 medium, 5 low flags
Financial quality
Bottom line
The sleeper story is DLR's Atlantic corridor strategy - 800MW planned across Charlotte-Atlanta creates the first credible alternative to Northern Virginia for hyperscale customers seeking East Coast capacity. Everyone will focus on the record $707M bookings, but the real story is execution risk: commencement lags doubled to 19 months and same-store NOI growth collapsed to 2.5% despite record leasing. The binding constraint is utility power delivery, not demand - even on owned land, they're 'still working through things with the power company.' Most revealing quote: 'We are not anywhere near done yet' on enterprise AI adoption, suggesting this 21% penetration is just the start. My view changes if same-store NOI doesn't accelerate meaningfully in Q2 or if they delay Atlanta power guidance again next quarter.

The 30-second version

  • The sleeper story: Atlantic hub expansion is creating a new hyperscale corridor
  • Record bookings mask a development execution problem
  • Same-store NOI growth collapsed to 2.5% on currency-adjusted basis

What changed this quarter

MetricQ4'25Q1'26Change
Core FFO per share$1.86 (8% YoY growth)$2.40 (15% YoY growth)700 bps acceleration
Total bookings (100% share)$400M quarterly$707M quarterly77% sequential jump, 2nd highest ever
Zero-to-one MW bookings$96M (quarterly record)$98M (new record)40%+ vs Q1 2025, third record in four quarters
Backlog (100% share)$1.4B$1.8B29% sequential growth
Same-capital cash NOI (constant FX)4.5% growth2.5% growth200 bps deceleration blamed on OpEx comp
Development pipeline$10B+ under construction$16.5B under construction65% sequential increase
Power-based occupancy~89%~90%Still sub-90% despite record leasing
Commencement lag~9 months typical19 months averageMore than doubled, driven by 200MW Charlotte lease
Leverage4.9x4.7xMultiyear low despite development ramp
AI portion of 0-1MW bookings~19%21%Gradual uptick in enterprise AI

Accountability tracked

7 new promises made4 narrative shifts flagged6 prior promises scored
Inside the full report
The complete write-up covers the full promise ledger with kept/missed calls, disclosure-quality scoring, the metrics-vanished check, verification items, and the questions to ask next quarter.
Read the full DLR Q1'26 report Subscribe
About Research ↗Call SheetsCredibility IndexMissed PromisesScreens13F BooksData & InstitutionalPrivacyTermsSubscribe
This is a free preview. The full write-up and promise ledger are published to subscribers on Substack.
Scores, kept-promise rates, and flags on this site reflect the author's opinion, applying a stated methodology to statements management made on public earnings calls. Informational and educational purposes only - not investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Sources believed reliable but not guaranteed; the author may hold positions in the securities discussed.

Follow what management promises next

Get free previews of our earnings-call research: the key changes, management scores, and questions worth investigating. Subscribe for full call sheets and deeper analysis.

Subscriptions are managed by Substack. If the form does not load, subscribe directly. Or follow the RSS feed.