Aslan Research · Data centers
DIGITAL REALTY TRUST, INC. (DLR)
Data as of 2026-08-21 · 27 quarters · filed in USD
Committed money is growing faster than the business: commitments rose 23% per year, versus 11% annual revenue growth and 10% annual expense growth. The business generated $6.3 billion of revenue against $5.6 billion of expenses over the trailing year, leaving a narrower spread than the revenue total alone suggests.
Earned, collected early, and merely signed
Reports — of debt; has promised $4.4B
Total committed money includes $1.2 billion of leases and $3.2 billion of purchases. The purchase commitments make up the larger share of obligations beyond reported debt.
What the promised total is made of, latest quarter
Spending, by reported line
When the promises come due
The next five years bring $7.0 billion of commitments against $14.7 billion of promised revenue, a 0.5x due-to-promised-revenue ratio. Another $7.2 billion falls after year five, so the longer-dated obligation remains material even after the near-term wall.
The rates that matter
Expenses as filed vs after cited reconciliation
9 patterns worth a second look
The filings link customer-reimbursable construction commitments to company-funded construction obligations. They also report substantial pro-rata secured debt of unconsolidated entities outside consolidated indebtedness, plus recurring financing, ownership, fees and development commitments involving Digital Core REIT and other joint-venture counterparties. Results include material one-time disposition gains and promote income alongside operating performance; filings also show a substantive revision to FY2021 net income and inconsistent scales for 5 XBRL facts.
circular financing · 1
Customer-reimbursable construction commitments link company-funded construction obligations to amounts expected from customers.
off balance sheet · 1
The filings repeatedly report substantial pro-rata secured debt of unconsolidated entities outside consolidated indebtedness.
one time dressing · 1
The filings present material one-time disposition gains and promote income alongside operating performance.
redefinition · 2
Customer concentration shifted from annualized rent to annualized recurring revenue and later total revenue.
The reported Global Revolving Credit Facility capacity and maturity changed across filings.
related party exposure · 1
The filings report recurring financing, ownership, fees and development commitments involving Digital Core REIT and other joint-venture counterparties.
subsequent event · 1
Subsequent financing and redemption events materially recontextualized period-end liquidity and debt disclosures.
tagging quality · 1
5 XBRL facts were reported at inconsistent scales across filings (e.g. us-gaap:WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding).
value revision · 1
The FY2021 net income amount was substantively revised between the FY2021 filing and a later proxy filing.