Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR)
Digital Realty is a global landlord that owns and operates the massive, secure buildings that house the servers powering the internet and cloud computing.
Is Digital Realty Trust, Inc. a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Essential infrastructure for the modern digital economy. Worth weighing: High valuation multiples suggest high expectations.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
What does Digital Realty Trust, Inc. do?
Think of Digital Realty as a high-tech property developer; instead of offices or shops, they build and manage 'data centres' where companies like tech giants and banks store their digital information. Its profits come from leasing this space, along with the necessary power and cooling systems, to clients on long-term contracts. What really moves the needle here is how they manage the massive electricity costs and capital investment required to keep these facilities running as the demand for AI and cloud services grows.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on momentum and quality, and weakest on value.
- ✓Pays a dividend - about 2.5% a year
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 30% over the year
- !High P/E of 245 - big growth is already priced in
- —
- Value screens low
Does Digital Realty Trust, Inc. pay a dividend?
Yes - Digital Realty Trust, Inc. currently pays a dividend of about 2.5% a year, which is £26 a year for every £1,000 invested (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it. An ISA doesn't shelter the US tax on this one →
What do the numbers say about Digital Realty Trust, Inc.'s dividend?
There's no rating here, and we don't judge whether the dividend will continue - that would be advice. Here are the figures income investors usually look at, and what each one means, so you can weigh it up yourself.
Figures are from the latest available data and can be distorted by one-off results. Past payments don't predict future ones, and a dividend can be cut at any time. This lays out the numbers to help you understand them - it is not a view on what will happen.
Most recent ex-dividend date: 15 Jun 2026. To receive a dividend you must already own the shares before the ex-dividend date; become a holder on or after it and the previous owner keeps that payment. Why the price usually falls that morning →
What do Digital Realty Trust, Inc.'s numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-09-11. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has Digital Realty Trust, Inc. actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Digital Realty Trust, Inc. fell as much as −30% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
Who owns Digital Realty Trust, Inc.?
About 96% of Digital Realty Trust, Inc., or about 96 in every 100 shares, is held by big institutions such as pension and index funds. The rest, roughly 4%, is held by the public and smaller investors.
What this does and doesn't tell you
This is a recent snapshot of the share register, and it moves. We don't read anything into who owns what - a high institutional share is common for any large listed company and is not a signal about it.
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
How much money does Digital Realty Trust, Inc. make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Where does each £100 of Digital Realty Trust, Inc.'s sales go?
A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £43 covers making the product or service, £45 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £12 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.
When does Digital Realty Trust, Inc. report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. is next scheduled to report on about 2026-10-22 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-23 | $0.73 | $0.62 | Missed -15% |
| 2026-04-23 | $0.45 | $0.46 | Beat +3% |
| 2026-02-05 | $0.39 | $0.40 | Beat +2% |
| 2025-10-23 | $0.23 | $0.34 | Beat +47% |
| 2025-07-24 | $0.31 | $0.39 | Beat +26% |
| 2025-04-24 | $0.24 | $0.38 | Beat +59% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, Digital Realty Trust, Inc. came in ahead of what analysts expected 5 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for Digital Realty Trust, Inc.?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
Digital Realty becomes the primary infrastructure provider for the AI economy.
Technological shifts make current data centre designs obsolete.
What are the pros and cons of Digital Realty Trust, Inc.?
A balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Essential infrastructure for the modern digital economy
- Strong revenue growth: How fast the company's sales grew versus a year ago. driven by cloud demand
- Reliable income stream through dividend payments
- High gross margins indicate efficient operations
- High valuation multiples suggest high expectations
- Significant debt required to fund expensive building projects
- Vulnerable to rising interest rates which increase borrowing costs
- Massive energy consumption makes them sensitive to electricity price spikes
- Potential for oversupply of data centre space in certain regions
- Rapid changes in server technology could require costly facility upgrades
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A sustained decline in global cloud computing spending
- A major shift in how data is stored that bypasses traditional data centres
Common questions about Digital Realty Trust, Inc.
Does Digital Realty Trust, Inc. pay a dividend?
Yes - Digital Realty Trust, Inc. currently pays a dividend of about 2.5% a year. Dividends are a share of profit paid to holders; the yield moves with the price and payouts can be cut.
When does Digital Realty Trust, Inc. report earnings next?
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-10-22. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
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This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.