# Digital Realty

**Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/digital-realty  
**Vertical:** Cloud Infrastructure  
**Subcategory:** Data Center REITs  
**Tier:** Leader  
**Website:** digital-realty.com  
**Last Updated:** 2026-04-14

## Summary

Global data center REIT with 300+ facilities in 25+ countries; AI infrastructure surge driving record hyperscaler demand; power availability is key competitive moat; $5.5B FY2024 revenue.

## Company Overview

Digital Realty Trust is one of the world's largest data center real estate investment trusts (REITs), founded in 2004 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, trading on NYSE (DLR). The company owns, operates, and develops data centers across 50+ metropolitan markets in 25+ countries, managing over 300 facilities and more than 35 million rentable square feet of critical digital infrastructure. For FY2024, Digital Realty generated approximately $5.5 billion in revenues under CEO Andy Power, who succeeded Bill Stein in 2023, with the company experiencing its strongest demand environment in history driven by hyperscaler and AI infrastructure buildouts from Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon, and major cloud and enterprise customers requiring massive compute capacity for AI training and inference workloads.

Digital Realty's PlatformDIGITAL is a global data center ecosystem that connects enterprises to cloud service providers, network providers, and IT service partners across a highly interconnected data center campus environment. The company's strategy emphasizes scale campuses—large land parcels in key markets accommodating multi-hundred-megawatt campus developments—that meet hyperscaler requirements for tens to hundreds of megawatts of power per facility. Power availability has become the binding constraint on data center development globally: Digital Realty's land and power procurement expertise, utility relationships, and pre-entitled sites in constrained markets like Ashburn (Virginia), Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Amsterdam, Dublin, Singapore, and Tokyo represent a competitive moat that cannot be replicated quickly by new entrants. Data center capacity pre-leasing has extended to 3-4 year horizons in supply-constrained markets.

In 2025-2026, Digital Realty competes primarily with Equinix (EQIX)—focused on colocation and interconnection—and with hyperscalers that build their own data centers at massive scale. The AI infrastructure buildout has pulled forward demand dramatically: NVIDIA GPU cluster deployments require enormous power density (50-200+ kW per rack versus 5-10 kW historically), driving demand for highly power-dense facilities beyond typical retail colocation standards. Digital Realty's joint ventures with Black Creek Group, GI Partners, and Brookfield Asset Management provide capital for development without full balance sheet commitment, while its partnerships with local utility companies to accelerate power delivery are critical differentiators. Rising energy costs, water usage for cooling, and data center environmental impact are governance concerns that Digital Realty addresses through renewable energy procurement commitments.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What does Digital Realty do?
Digital Realty is the world's largest provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions. The company owns, operates, and develops data centers globally, providing the physical infrastructure and connectivity that enables enterprises, cloud providers, and technology companies to store, process, and distribute their data. Digital Realty serves over 5,000 customers across 300+ facilities in 25+ countries on six continents.

### When was Digital Realty founded?
Digital Realty was formally incorporated in Maryland in March 2004, though its operational roots trace back to 2001. The company was formed by GI Partners, which contributed 21 data centers acquired through bankruptcy auctions. Digital Realty became a public company on November 4, 2004, through an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, celebrating its 20th anniversary as a public company in November 2024.

### Where is Digital Realty headquartered?
Digital Realty is headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States. The company maintains a global presence with regional offices and operations spanning the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific, supporting its 300+ data centers across 50+ metropolitan areas in 25+ countries.

### What is PlatformDIGITAL?
PlatformDIGITAL is Digital Realty's comprehensive global data center platform that delivers scalable colocation, secure interconnection, and advanced connectivity solutions. It provides customers with a secure data meeting place and proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx) methodology, enabling them to deploy infrastructure faster, reduce risk, and transform their data centers into competitive advantages. The platform connects customers to an extensive ecosystem of cloud providers, network carriers, and technology partners.

### How much revenue does Digital Realty generate?
Digital Realty generated $5.55 billion in revenue for 2024, an increase from $5.47 billion in 2023. The company reported Adjusted EBITDA of $751 million in Q4 2024 alone, representing a 7% increase year-over-year. For 2025, Digital Realty expects total revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth of more than 10% on a normalized and constant currency basis.

### Who are Digital Realty's main competitors?
Digital Realty's main competitors in the global data center market include Equinix (the second-largest global provider), CyrusOne, CoreSite, QTS Realty Trust, and regional players like NTT Data Centers, Iron Mountain Data Centers, and various local providers in specific markets. The company competes on the basis of global reach, interconnection capabilities, customer service, and scale.

### What makes Digital Realty different from competitors?
Digital Realty differentiates itself through its unmatched global scale (300+ data centers across six continents), carrier-neutral positioning that provides customers with choice and flexibility, extensive interconnection ecosystem through PlatformDIGITAL, strong commitment to sustainability (75% renewable energy in 2024), and ability to serve customers from edge to hyperscale with consistent service delivery worldwide. The company's 20-year operating history and market capitalization exceeding $55 billion also demonstrate proven stability and financial strength.

### How many employees does Digital Realty have?
As of December 31, 2024, Digital Realty had 3,936 employees, representing a 7.42% increase from 3,664 employees in 2023. This workforce growth reflects the company's global expansion and increased operational complexity as it serves a growing customer base across multiple continents.

### Is Digital Realty hiring?
Yes, Digital Realty continues to hire across various functions including data center operations, sales, engineering, finance, and corporate support. With 84% of employees recommending the company to friends and a commitment to diversity and inclusion, Digital Realty offers career opportunities across its global footprint. Interested candidates can find current openings on the company's careers page.

### What are Digital Realty's sustainability initiatives?
Digital Realty has set ambitious sustainability goals and made significant progress. In 2024, the company reached 1.5 GW of renewable energy capacity under contract, achieved 75% renewable energy usage globally (9% increase from prior year), matched 185 data centers with 100% renewable energy, and deployed HVO 100 renewable diesel across 30 global sites covering 17% of its operating portfolio. The company publishes an annual Impact Report detailing its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and commitments.

### What is Digital Realty's market position?
Digital Realty is the world's largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center solutions, with a market capitalization exceeding $55 billion. The company's portfolio spans more than 300 data centers comprising 41 million square feet across 50+ metros in 25+ countries, serving over 5,000 customers. Digital Realty is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol DLR and is structured as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).

### What was the Interxion acquisition?
In October 2019, Digital Realty announced the acquisition of Interxion, a leading European colocation provider, for approximately $8.4 billion. The transaction closed on March 12, 2020, with 92.3% of Interxion shares tendered in the exchange offer. This transformative acquisition dramatically expanded Digital Realty's European presence and created a truly global platform capable of serving customers across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific with consistent service delivery and interconnection capabilities.

## Tags

b2b, cloud-native, global, infrastructure, proptech, public, saas

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*Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*