> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.sotkn.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What Does Iron Mountain Do? The Records Company Building 1.4 GW of Data Centers - URL: https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-iron-mountain-do/ - Published: 2026-10-13T13:26:58.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-13T13:26:58.000Z - Description: Iron Mountain is best known for storing paper records, but its fastest-growing business is data centers: 528.5 MW leasable across 31 facilities at 30 June 2026, 97.1% leased, with 1,372.9 MW of total potential capacity. Q2 2026 data center revenue was $262.9m, up 38.8%. - Author: Sean - Tags: #layer-ai-data-centers Iron Mountain is a US real estate investment trust that stores physical records for more than 240,000 customers and, increasingly, rents data center power to hyperscalers. At 30 June 2026 it had 528.5 MW of leasable data center capacity across 31 facilities in 21 markets, 97.1% leased, and a total potential portfolio of 1,372.9 MW. Its Global Data Center segment earned $262.9 million of revenue in the second quarter of 2026, up 38.8% on a year earlier, and the company leased another 75 MW in July, including 51 MW in Mumbai. `AI DATA CENTERS` · `Data as at 5 Aug 2026` · `Next update: after Iron Mountain's Q3 2026 results` **Affects:** AI Data Centers · US · India · Singapore · Hyperscalers Iron Mountain is the eighth company on the [AI Data Centers layer](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/), and the odd one out. [Equinix](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-equinix-do/) and [Digital Realty](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-digital-realty-do/) are data center landlords first. Iron Mountain is a records-storage company whose boxes throw off steady cash, and it is using that cash and its balance sheet to build hyperscale halls in Virginia, Phoenix, Europe and India. Read [What Is an AI Data Center?](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/what-is-an-ai-data-center/) first if the terms are new. **In short:** Iron Mountain has two engines. The old one stores records and backup tapes in about 1,300 facilities in 61 countries and earned $1,434m of Global RIM revenue in Q2 2026\. The new one is data centers: 528.5 MW leasable at 30 June 2026, 97.1% leased, $262.9m of Q2 segment revenue at a 52.2% Adjusted EBITDA margin. It has 160.2 MW under construction, 71.2% pre-leased, and 684.2 MW held for development. The bind is not demand. It is turning land into energised, leased halls fast enough, and paying for it with a balance sheet already at 4.8x net lease-adjusted leverage. *Education only, not advice to buy or sell any security. Figures are from Iron Mountain's Q2 2026 earnings release, supplemental and presentation of 5 August 2026, its Form 10-Q for the quarter to 30 June 2026, and its 26 June 2026 notes filing, dated as shown. All $ figures are US dollars.* ## Numbers that matter Leasable data center capacity 528.5 MW 31 facilities, 21 markets; up from 450.2 MW a year earlier · 30 Jun 2026 **Live** Leased 97.1% Stabilized halls 97.4%; Q2 churn 2.0% · 30 Jun 2026 **Paid** Under construction 160.2 MW 114.0 MW (71.2%) pre-leased; $1,449.1m total expected investment · 30 Jun 2026 **Building** Total potential capacity 1,372.9 MW 528.5 operating + 160.2 building + 684.2 held for development · 30 Jun 2026 **Pipeline** Q2 data center revenue $262.9m +38.8%; segment Adjusted EBITDA $137.3m, 52.2% margin · Q2 2026 **Paid** New leasing, Jan–Jul 2026 110 MW 13 MW in Q2; 75 MW in July incl. 51 MW Mumbai and 25 MW London · 5 Aug 2026 **Signed** Status chips are Second Order's read. Iron Mountain says the July Mumbai and London leases went to major global hyperscalers but does not name them, so we do not either. ## What does Iron Mountain actually do? Store. Build. Rent. **Store records. Build halls. Rent power by the megawatt.** 1. **It stores records and data for big organisations.** Global RIM (records and information management) keeps paper records, backup tapes and archives, and sells digitisation and shredding around them. The company says it holds more than 735 million cubic feet of records, that an average box stays about 14.5 years, and that records retention was 93.4% in Q2 2026\. This is the cash engine: $1,434m of Q2 revenue, 70.7% of the group (our arithmetic: 1,434 ÷ 2,029). 2. **It builds and owns data centers.** The Global Data Center segment had 31 facilities at 30 June 2026\. The biggest blocks are Northern Virginia (seven buildings, 232.4 MW) and Phoenix (three buildings plus Scottsdale, 129.2 MW) (our arithmetic from the site table). Outside the US it runs halls in Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Singapore (SIN-1, 6.8 MW, fully leased) and India through Web Werks (13.2 MW, 64.4% leased). 3. **It rents power to hyperscalers on long leases.** The company says it underwrites pre-leased hyperscale deals of 10 to 15 years. Weighted average lease expiry across the portfolio was 10.2 years, and 60.1% of leased megawatts expire after 2033\. New and expansion leases signed in Q2 averaged $205 per kilowatt per month, and renewals were signed 11.8% higher on a cash basis. | Step | What it means | Where the risk sits | | ----- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Store | Records, tapes and digital services for 240,000+ customers in 61 countries | Slow decline of paper over time; price increases doing most of the growth | | Build | Turn 684.2 MW of held land into powered halls | Utility power dates, construction cost and the leverage it adds | | Rent | Lease megawatts to hyperscalers for 10–15 years | A few large tenants; unleased halls if demand pauses | The growth sits in the pipeline table. At 30 June 2026, 160.2 MW was under construction. The pre-leased projects due first are VA-9 Phase 1 (14 MW, Q4 2026), Miami MIA-1 (16 MW, Q4 2026) and VA-9 Phase 2 (14 MW, Q1 2027). London LON-3 (25 MW, Q1 2027) and Madrid MAD-2/3 (20 MW, Q1 2027) were still not pre-leased. That leaves 46.2 MW under construction without a tenant at quarter end (our arithmetic: 160.2 − 114.0). Asia is small today and big on the land map. Singapore and India together are 20.0 MW of the 528.5 MW operating base, or 3.8% (our arithmetic: 6.8 + 13.2). But Web Werks in India holds 152.6 MW for future development (149.7 MW new plus 2.9 MW expansion), 22.3% of all held-for-development megawatts (our arithmetic: 152.6 ÷ 684.2). The 51 MW Mumbai lease signed in July is the first big draw on that bank. The filings do not say which Mumbai building it sits in or when it is due to be energised. --- ## How does Iron Mountain make money? It charges storage rent and service fees on records, and rent plus power charges on data center halls. Q2 2026 in order: - **Group revenue** — $2,029m, up 18.5% reported and 16.8% organic. Storage rental was $1,135m and service $894m. - **Global RIM** — $1,434m, up 8%. Records storage is rent on boxes, raised each year; service covers retrieval, shredding and digital work. - **Global Data Center** — $262.9m, up 38.8%, almost all of it storage rental ($258.9m). Segment Adjusted EBITDA was $137.3m, a 52.2% margin, up from 50.8%. That is 13.0% of group revenue (our arithmetic: 262.9 ÷ 2,029). - **Corporate and Other** — $333m, up 67%, largely asset lifecycle management, which wipes, resells and recycles old IT gear, including from hyperscale data centers. - **Group profit** — Adjusted EBITDA $727m (35.8% margin), AFFO $433m or $1.44 a share, net income $106m. The quarterly dividend was set at $0.864 a share; the trailing AFFO payout ratio was 60.0%. **Our arithmetic.** Annualising Q2, the data center segment earns about $1.04m of Adjusted EBITDA per leasable megawatt a year (137.3 × 4 ÷ 528.5). The lease schedule shows $1,044.2m of annualised GAAP rent across 615.7 leased megawatts, which is more than the 528.5 MW live because it includes signed leases on halls not yet built. Leasable capacity grew 17.4% in a year (528.5 vs 450.2 MW). The company says its backlog at 30 June supports data center revenue growth of 25% or more in 2026, and an additional $370 million of growth beyond 2026 before the July leases. Full-year 2026 guidance was raised to revenue of $7,940–8,010m, Adjusted EBITDA of $2,945–2,975m and AFFO of $1,760–1,780m. **Who funds the build.** Data center growth capex was $472.0m in Q2 and $880.1m in the first half, 84.2% of all growth capex (our arithmetic: 880.1 ÷ 1,044.9). The 10-Q plans about $2.2bn of total capex for 2026\. Part of the bill sits with partners: AZP-3, VA-4, VA-5, VA-6 and VA-7 are held by consolidated joint ventures (176.0 MW, our arithmetic), a Virginia 9 joint venture was formed in Q2, and Frankfurt FRA-1 sits in a 20%-owned joint venture with AGC Equity Partners. Reported megawatts for consolidated joint ventures are shown at 100%, not Iron Mountain's share. **Who gets paid.** Iron Mountain, as halls commence and records rents rise. Builders and power-equipment suppliers, as $1.4bn of development spend lands. Bondholders and banks, as debt funds the gap. **Who pays.** Hyperscalers on 10–15 year leases, and records customers paying higher box rents every year. Money sticks when a megawatt is energised and the lease commences, not when land is added to the potential-capacity line. --- ## What limits it? Power dates first. Debt second. Tenant concentration third. 1. **Land is not capacity until the utility delivers.** 684.2 MW is held for development, but only megawatts with energisation dates can be leased. The presentation puts available-to-lease capacity that will be energised in the next 24 months at about 325 MW. Past that, the filings give no dated schedule for the Richmond (216 MW), Virginia (195 MW) or India (149.7 MW) land. 2. **The build runs on borrowed money.** Net debt was $17.28bn at 30 June 2026, net lease-adjusted leverage 4.8x against a 4.5–5.5x target, and credit ratings BB- (S&P) and Ba3 (Moody's). On 26 June it sold $1.5bn of 6.250% notes due 2035 to repay revolver borrowings. Higher rates or a slower records engine would squeeze how much growth capex the company can fund without issuing equity. 3. **A few tenants carry the growth.** The new leases are with major global hyperscalers, and the company describes its development deals as pre-leased hyperscale contracts. It does not name them or give a tenant concentration table in the documents we used, so we do not estimate one. 4. **Some halls are still unleased.** London LON-1 was 58.1% leased and Madrid MAD-1 41.2% at 30 June; LON-3 and MAD-2/3 (45 MW combined) were under construction without pre-leases. Europe is where filling, not building, is the open question. Where the filings are silent we say so. They do not name data center tenants, give rent per kilowatt by market, or date the Mumbai lease's energisation, so we do not invent any of those. --- ## Who else does this? Roles, not a league table. | Company | What it does | What makes it different | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Iron Mountain** | Stores records; builds and leases data centers to hyperscalers | 528.5 MW live, 97.1% leased; 1,372.9 MW potential; records cash funds the build | | **[Equinix](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-equinix-do/)** | Rents space and connections; many customers per building | $2.625bn Q2 revenue; Asia-Pacific 20% of it | | **[Digital Realty](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-digital-realty-do/)** | Owns 310 data centres and leases space, power and connections | 2,799 MW occupied of 3,102 MW; $1.9bn signed-not-yet-paying backlog | | **[Keppel DC REIT](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-keppel-dc-reit-do/)** | Owns finished halls and distributes the rent | 62.8% of assets in Singapore; mostly short colocation leases | | **[NEXTDC](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-nextdc-do/)** | Builds and runs data centres in Australia and Asia-Pacific | 740.1 MW contracted, 175.0 MW billing; much larger forward book | | **[Digital Core REIT](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-digital-core-reit-do/)** | Owns stakes in sponsor-built halls; SGX-listed | 11 halls, US$1.9bn at its share; Asia share moving toward 22% | What separates Iron Mountain is where the money comes from. Digital Realty and Equinix fund data centers from data center cash. Keppel DC REIT and Digital Core REIT own finished halls. NEXTDC is a pure build-and-bill story. Iron Mountain funds hyperscale halls from a records business with very sticky customers, which lets it build without being a pure data center balance sheet, but also means data centers are still only about 13% of revenue. --- ## What would change this view? The read on the model weakens if: - Pre-leased projects due in Q4 2026 and Q1 2027 (VA-9, MIA-1) slip, delaying commencement and the 25%+ 2026 data center growth the company guides to. - LON-3 and MAD-2/3 complete in 2027 without tenants, leaving 45 MW of new European halls earning nothing. - New leasing falls well short of the roughly 325 MW the company expects to have energised and available over the next 24 months. - Net lease-adjusted leverage moves above the 5.5x top of the target range as data center capex keeps rising. - Records retention or storage price increases weaken, cutting the cash that funds the build. It stays intact while pre-leased halls commence on schedule, leased percentage stays near 97%, leverage holds inside 4.5–5.5x, and the Mumbai and London leases turn into dated, energised capacity. --- ## Practical takeaways - Iron Mountain is a records-storage REIT with a fast-growing hyperscale data center arm, not a pure data center landlord. - At 30 Jun 2026: 528.5 MW leasable, 97.1% leased, 160.2 MW under construction (71.2% pre-leased), 1,372.9 MW total potential. - Q2 2026: data center revenue $262.9m (+38.8%), segment Adjusted EBITDA $137.3m at a 52.2% margin; group revenue $2,029m. - Our arithmetic: data centers are 13.0% of group revenue; about $1.04m of segment EBITDA per leasable MW a year; Asia is 3.8% of live MW but 22.3% of held land. - The stuck step is energising held land on time and funding it at 4.8x leverage. --- ## FAQ **What does Iron Mountain do?** Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) stores physical records and backup data for more than 240,000 customers in 61 countries, and builds and leases data centers, mostly to hyperscalers. At 30 June 2026 it had 528.5 MW of leasable data center capacity across 31 facilities, 97.1% leased. **How big is Iron Mountain's data center business?** Global Data Center revenue was $262.9m in Q2 2026, up 38.8%, with segment Adjusted EBITDA of $137.3m. It is about 13% of group revenue. Total potential capacity is 1,372.9 MW: 528.5 MW operating, 160.2 MW under construction and 684.2 MW held for development. **Does Iron Mountain have data centers in Asia?** Yes. It runs SIN-1 in Singapore (6.8 MW, fully leased) and data centers in India through Web Werks (13.2 MW operating). Web Werks also holds 152.6 MW for development, and in July 2026 Iron Mountain leased 51 MW in Mumbai to a major global hyperscaler. **Who are Iron Mountain's data center customers?** The company says its recent leases went to major global hyperscalers and that development deals are pre-leased for 10 to 15 years. It does not name the tenants, so we do not either. **How does Iron Mountain pay for its data center build?** Mostly from operating cash flow, debt and joint venture partners. Data center growth capex was $880.1m in the first half of 2026\. Net lease-adjusted leverage was 4.8x at 30 June 2026, and it sold $1.5bn of 6.250% notes due 2035 on 26 June 2026. **Is Iron Mountain a good investment?** We do not make buy or sell calls, and nothing here is a recommendation. We can tell you what it owns, how it gets paid and which numbers would change the picture. The decision is yours. --- ## Keep reading on the map - **The layer:** [AI Data Centers](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/) - **The term:** [What Is an AI Data Center?](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/what-is-an-ai-data-center/) - **US landlords:** [What Does Equinix Do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-equinix-do/) · [What Does Digital Realty Do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-digital-realty-do/) · [What Does Applied Digital Do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-applied-digital-do/) - **Singapore landlords:** [What Does Keppel DC REIT Do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-keppel-dc-reit-do/) · [What Does Digital Core REIT Do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-digital-core-reit-do/) - **Australia builders:** [What Does NEXTDC Do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-nextdc-do/) · [What Does Macquarie Technology Do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/what-does-macquarie-technology-do/) - **Where it happens:** [Singapore](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/singapore/) The members cut on a stuck step is already live: [When utilities bill data centers before power, where does cash stick?](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/utilities-bill-data-centers-before-power-where-cash-sticks/). This page stays the free Stack read of the Iron Mountain model. ## Sean Writes Second Order by TKN — a plain-English map of AI infrastructure. Who gets paid, where money sticks, which step is stuck. Not investment advice. [Author page →](https://www.sotkn.com/author/sean/) · [Editorial standards →](https://www.sotkn.com/editorial-standards/) ## How we check this Figures come from Iron Mountain's Q2 2026 supplemental financial information (which includes the earnings release) and earnings presentation of 5 August 2026, its Form 10-Q for the quarter to 30 June 2026, and its 26 June 2026 Form 8-K on the 2035 notes, plus the peer filings listed below, each dated. Where we work something out ourselves, the arithmetic is shown in full. The filings do not name data center tenants, give rent per kilowatt by market, or date the Mumbai lease's energisation, so we do not estimate those. **Last reviewed:** 13 Oct 2026 · **Next review:** after Iron Mountain's Q3 2026 results Spot an error? Tell us and we will correct it and note the change here. [Our editorial standards →](https://www.sotkn.com/editorial-standards/) ## References 1. Iron Mountain, [Supplemental Financial Information, Second Quarter 2026 (includes the Q2 2026 earnings release)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1020569/000102056926000068/q22026srpfinal.htm?ref=sotkn.com) (company, SEC exhibit 99.3), 5 Aug 2026 — leasable MW, leased %, lease expiry schedule and WALE, leasing price per kW, operating portfolio by site, development table, total potential capacity, capex, capitalisation 2. Iron Mountain, [Q2 2026 Earnings Presentation](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1020569/000102056926000068/ironmountainq22026earnin.htm?ref=sotkn.com) (company, SEC exhibit 99.2), 5 Aug 2026 — 110 MW leased through July incl. 51 MW Mumbai and 25 MW London, \~325 MW available to lease in 24 months, 1.4 GW developable, backlog, segment revenue, 2026 guidance 3. Iron Mountain, [Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1020569/000102056926000071/irm-20260630.htm?ref=sotkn.com) (company, SEC filing), 5 Aug 2026 — Global Data Center segment revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, margin drivers, Frankfurt JV and Virginia 9 JV, 2026 capex plan 4. Iron Mountain, [Form 8-K: issuance of 6.250% Senior Notes due 2035](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1020569/000110465926078307/tm2618739d1%5F8k.htm?ref=sotkn.com) (company, SEC filing), 26 Jun 2026 — $1.5bn notes at par, \~$1,481.8m net proceeds, use of proceeds to repay revolver borrowings 5. Iron Mountain, [Iron Mountain Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results](https://investors.ironmountain.com/news/news-details/2026/Iron-Mountain-Reports-Second-Quarter-2026-Results/default.aspx?ref=sotkn.com) (company press release), 5 Aug 2026 — record quarter, raised 2026 guidance, $0.864 quarterly dividend 6. Equinix, [Equinix Reports Second-Quarter Results, Raises 2026 Guidance and Long-Term Outlook](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1101239/000110123926000145/a991eqix-q226xpr.htm?ref=sotkn.com) (company, SEC exhibit 99.1), 29 Jul 2026 — revenue by line and region, adjusted EBITDA, debt, 2026 guidance, 2027–2029 outlook 7. Digital Realty, [Second Quarter 2026 Financial Supplement and earnings release](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1297996/000110465926086270/dlr-20260723xex99d1.htm?ref=sotkn.com) (company, SEC exhibit 99.1), 23 Jul 2026 — bookings, backlog, 310 data centres, 2,799 MW occupied of 3,102 MW, Northern Virginia stake, debt 8. Keppel DC REIT, [Unaudited results for the first half year ended 30 June 2026 (media release)](https://www.keppel.com/file/media/2026/jul/23-jul-kdcr/kdcr-1h-2026-financial-highlights-mrel.pdf?ref=sotkn.com) (company, SGX filing), 23 Jul 2026 — distributable income, DPU, occupancy, WALE, leverage, cost of debt 9. NEXTDC, [FY26 Record Results and Record FY27 Growth Guidance (ASX release)](https://announcements.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20260827/pdf/073c04gt4ts40y.pdf?ref=sotkn.com) (company, ASX filing), 27 Aug 2026 — contracted and billing MW, forward order book, FY27 guidance, capex, liquidity, power position