Data center REITs own and operate the facilities that house servers, networking equipment, and cloud infrastructure for hyperscalers, enterprises, and cloud providers. Equinix and Digital Realty are the two global leaders, with interconnected campuses in every major digital hub. The AI boom has created extraordinary demand for power-dense GPU data center space that is straining available power capacity in key markets. Hyperscaler colocation demand from AWS, Azure, and Google is driving record pre-leasing activity.
Pre-leasing rates and power under contract are the leading demand indicators. Watch megawatt capacity additions in pipeline. Power procurement constraints (utility interconnection queues) are becoming the primary limiting factor. Interconnection revenue per cabinet signals ecosystem density value.