Digital Realty's signed-not-started rent rose to $2.5 billion. Equinix's contracts reached $15.9 billion. The third quarter, read back.

Every figure below was read from Digital Realty's and Equinix's own filings on sec.gov and is cited with its accession: the third-quarter results furnished on Form 8-K, the September 10-Qs, and the June filings they are read against. Outlook figures are the companies' own and are labelled as company guidance. We show no analyst estimates, no consensus and no share prices, because none of them is filed, and nothing from the earnings calls, which are not filings either. Shares, sums and differences the companies do not print are our arithmetic on filed values and are marked (Ours.) Research, not investment advice.

The AI build-out has a headline number at the cloud companies: capex. At the landlords who rent them the halls, demand shows up in duller lines: rent signed but not yet started, megawatts under construction, operating cash against building cost, the tenants, and whose money pays.

Equinix (EQIX) furnished its third-quarter results on 28 October (8-K 0001101239-26-000178) and filed its 10-Q the same day (0001101239-26-000180). Digital Realty (DLR) furnished its release and financial supplement on 29 October (8-K 0001104659-26-120212) and filed its 10-Q on 30 October (0001104659-26-120710). The line that moved most is Digital Realty's: "a record total backlog of $2.5 billion of annualized GAAP base rent at 100% share", against $1.9 billion in June.

How to read this post

Each section gives the June figure, then the September one. Digital Realty files its financial supplement as Exhibit 99.1; Equinix files only its press release, so its September lines come from the 8-K and the 10-Q. Short on time: read sections 1, 2 and 5.

1. Signed, not yet commenced: Digital Realty's backlog

June (Exhibit 99.1 to 0001104659-26-086270): $1.9 billion of annualized GAAP base rent at 100% share, $1.4 billion at Digital Realty's share, and a nine-month lag between signing and commencement for leases signed in the quarter.

September (Exhibit 99.1 to 0001104659-26-120212): "The backlog of signed-but-not-commenced leases at quarter-end was $2.5 billion of annualized GAAP base rent at 100% share, and $1.8 billion at Digital Realty's share." The weighted-average lag for leases signed in the third quarter "was 17 months".

The presentation (Exhibit 99.2, same accession) rolls the backlog forward at Digital Realty's share: $1,427 million in June, plus $627 million signed, less $207 million commenced, gives $1,846 million. (Ours: 1,427 + 627 − 207 = 1,847, the $1 million is the company's rounding.) By expected start: $371 million in 2026, $831 million in 2027 and $643 million in 2028 and later, against $635 million, $480 million and $312 million in June. (Ours: the 2027 share went from 34% to 45%.) The timing is "based on estimated future commencement date at time of signing. Actual commencement dates may vary."

Equinix still files no backlog amount. Its July release spoke of "a record backlog" without a figure; the October release (0001101239-26-000178) does not use the word.

2. New signings, in rent and in megawatts

June: second-quarter bookings of $307 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue at 100% share, $208 million at Digital Realty's share, 129.8 megawatts at 100% share. In July the company announced "two hyperscale leases, representing $410 million of annualized GAAP base rent at 100% share".

September: "total bookings that are expected to generate $855 million of annualized GAAP rental revenue, at 100% share; at Digital Realty's share, total bookings were $627 million, including a $130 million contribution from the 0-1 MW category and a $22 million contribution from interconnection." The leasing table gives 267.2 megawatts at 100% share and 184.8 at Digital Realty's share (0001104659-26-120212). (Ours: $855 million is 2.8 times the second quarter's $307 million.) The release does not say how much of the quarter came from the two July leases. Renewals added $261 million of annualized cash rent, with rates up "11.8% on a cash basis".

Equinix counts bookings as recurring revenue signed, annualized. June: $424 million, up 23% year on year (0001101239-26-000145). September: "record annualized gross bookings of $533 million, up 35% year over year" (0001101239-26-000178). (Ours: $109 million more than the second quarter.) It still gives no megawatt figure.

3. Equinix's contracted revenue: $15.0 billion to $15.9 billion

June 10-Q (0001101239-26-000147): approximately $15.0 billion of revenue "expected to be recognized in future periods related to unsatisfied performance obligations".

September 10-Q (0001101239-26-000180): "Approximately $15.9 billion of revenues, including deferred installation revenues, are expected to be recognized in future periods related to unsatisfied performance obligations as of September 30, 2026." The share expected "over the next two years" is still about 65%. (Ours: about $10.3 billion, against $9.8 billion in June.) The figure still leaves out "the usage of metered power" and "service fees from xScale® data centers that are based on future events".

4. Power under construction

June (0001104659-26-086270): 1,402 megawatts under construction at 100% share, 54% leased, $15.02 billion of a $20.18 billion budget still to spend, an average expected stabilized yield of 11.5%. Northern Virginia: 422 megawatts, 56% leased, completion expected in the third quarter of 2027.

September (0001104659-26-120212): 1,464 megawatts, 63% leased. Total investment is $21.99 billion at 100% share, of which $15.62 billion is still to be spent; at Digital Realty's own share, $15.29 billion and $10.27 billion. (Ours: 71% of the 100%-share budget is still ahead.) The average yield is 11.6%. Northern Virginia now shows 390 megawatts, 85% leased, completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2027. A footnote says current investment "Excludes $2.2 billion related to the impact of purchase accounting" on the three Northern Virginia projects bought on 30 June. The 10-Q (0001104659-26-120710) repeats open construction contracts "of approximately $4.1 billion", the June figure, including "amounts reimbursable of approximately $314.0 million".

Equinix counts projects, not megawatts. In July it gave 52 projects underway in 33 markets; the October release gives no project count. It says instead "nearly 40% more cabinets planned for delivery in 2026 than initially anticipated". Its 10-Q commitments grew: "approximately $6.4 billion of unaccrued capital expenditure contractual commitments", against $6.1 billion in June, and total purchase commitments of $8,759 million, against $8,239 million, with $3,409 million due in 2027 (0001101239-26-000180).

5. Capex against operating cash

Digital Realty, nine months to 30 September (10-Q 0001104659-26-120710): operating cash of $1,977.5 million and improvements to investments in real estate of $3,166.2 million. (Ours: improvements exceeded operating cash by $1,188.7 million; at June the gap was $189.0 million.) Acquisitions took $2,944.0 million and investments in unconsolidated entities $745.4 million; common stock issued brought in $2,952.9 million. The supplement puts third-quarter development capex at $1,154.5 million, against $747.1 million in the second quarter. The 2026 development capex guide, net of partner contributions, stayed at $4,250–4,750 million (0001104659-26-120212), and the 10-Q expects "approximately $0.8 billion to $1.2 billion of capital expenditures" for the rest of the year.

Equinix, same nine months (10-Q 0001101239-26-000180): operating cash of $3,027 million against purchases of other property, plant and equipment of $4,392 million and real-estate acquisitions of $234 million. (Ours: equipment purchases exceeded operating cash by $1,365 million; at June, $1,050 million.) Purchases of equity investments were $1,153 million, against $54 million a year earlier. Free cash flow, as Equinix defines it, was negative $801 million (0001101239-26-000178). The 2026 ranges did not move: non-recurring capex of $4,710–5,690 million and "Total capital expenditures ... between $5 and $6 billion". The October release does not restate the 2027–2029 outlook it gave in July.

6. Who signs: the top tenants

June: Digital Realty's 20 largest customers were 53.1% of annualized recurring revenue; the two largest, a "Fortune 50 Software Company" at 10.8% and Oracle at 10.0%.

September (0001104659-26-120212): the top 20 are 53.5%. The Fortune 50 software company is 10.6% with 8.2 years remaining, Oracle 9.9% with 10.6 years. (Ours: 20.5% between them.) Meta Platforms is sixth at 2.0%. The "Leading AI Chip Maker" is ninth at 1.6%, still the longest term on the list at 13.4 years. Equinix is eighth, at 1.9% across 15 locations.

Equinix spreads its demand wider. Its September 10-Q: "Our largest customer accounted for approximately 2% of our recurring revenues" and "Our 50 largest customers accounted for approximately 35%", against 36% in the June 10-Q.

7. Partners' money: funds and joint ventures

June: Digital Realty's U.S. hyperscale fund had "more than $3 billion of equity commitments", its share of unconsolidated entities' debt was $1,985 million, and the 2026 guide for dispositions and asset contributions was $1,000–1,500 million.

September (0001104659-26-120212): the share of unconsolidated debt is $2,131 million, and the guide is $1,500–2,000 million. After the quarter, the release says, Digital Realty "closed $1.4 billion of initial cornerstone equity commitments to our new perpetual capital strategy focused on stabilized hyperscale data centers in North America". It also bought "an additional 16% stake in Teraco for approximately $688 million", mainly with 3.4 million new shares, taking its ownership "from 61% to approximately 77%". An 8-K of 30 October (0001193125-26-441892) registers the resale of those shares. In the quarter it bought $742 million of land, including Indianapolis-area land "to support over one gigawatt of IT capacity".

Equinix, September 10-Q (0001101239-26-000180): the xScale joint ventures stand at $687 million under the equity method, against $735 million in June. A new line sits beside them: the atNorth joint venture, about 34% owned, at $847 million. Maximum exposure to unconsolidated ventures rose to $2,561 million from $1,620 million, including a $392 million loan commitment and $278 million of future equity contributions.

8. Debt since June

Digital Realty, September (0001104659-26-120212): "approximately $19.5 billion of total debt outstanding", against $18.6 billion in June, and net debt at 5.2 times adjusted EBITDA, against 4.7. In the quarter it sold about 2.4 million shares under its at-the-market program "for net proceeds of approximately $450 million". The release puts its October notes in dollars: €1 billion at 5.125% due 2036 for "approximately €1 billion ($1.1 billion)" (8-Ks 0001193125-26-415815, 0001193125-26-419168), and Swiss francs 225, 185 and 100 million due 2029, 2032 and 2036 for about "CHF508 million ($611 million)" (0001193125-26-415814). The debt guide changed from $1,500–2,000 million at 4.5–5.5% in "2H-2026" to "~$1,750 million" at "~4.0%", timing "October". (Ours: $1.1 billion plus $0.611 billion is about $1.7 billion.)

Equinix: total debt principal of $25,217 million at 30 September (0001101239-26-000178), against $22,153 million at 30 June. (Ours: $3,064 million more; the $3.0 billion of August notes, 0001104659-26-092009, fall in that period.) On 9 November it issued €2.5 billion more (8-K 0001104659-26-124509): €650 million at 4.150% due 2028, €700 million at 4.800% due 2033, €500 million at 5.100% due 2035 and €650 million at 5.450% due 2038. Equinix "intends to allocate an amount equal to the net proceeds ... to finance or refinance ... one or more eligible green projects".

9. The guides the prints answer to

July guides are from 0001104659-26-086270 and 0001101239-26-000145. (Ours: Equinix's third-quarter revenue was $21 million above the $2,550 million midpoint; adjusted EBITDA was $6 million above the top of its range.) Equinix's fourth-quarter revenue guide is $2,684–2,724 million.

Run it yourself

Our leases evergreen explains why signed-not-started rent sits outside the balance sheet; the Meta read-back follows the same demand from the tenant's side, and our CoreWeave post follows it into the debt behind the GPUs.

Then write down the lines you will hold the two landlords to: $2.5 billion of backlog with a 17-month lag, 1,464 megawatts at 63% leased, $15.9 billion of performance obligations, and $4.25–4.75 billion and $5–6 billion of capex. Our Thesis Monitor reads each new filing against what you wrote and tells you which of them moved. If you work inside an agent, the same filings are on the EvidInvest MCP server. It is free to start, credit packs from $10, and there is no subscription.

The rent is signed in one filing and starts in another. Read the backlog first.

Sources. Digital Realty Trust Form 8-K of 29 October 2026, Exhibit 99.1 (Q3 2026 release and financial supplement) and Exhibit 99.2 (presentation): 0001104659-26-120212 (sec.gov). Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026: 0001104659-26-120710 (sec.gov). Form 8-K of 30 October 2026: 0001193125-26-441892. June lines: Form 8-K of 23 July 2026, Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2: 0001104659-26-086270; Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026: 0001104659-26-089296; Forms 8-K of 6 October 2026: 0001193125-26-415814, 0001193125-26-415815; 9 October 2026: 0001193125-26-419168. Equinix Form 8-K of 28 October 2026, Exhibit 99.1 (Q3 2026 release): 0001101239-26-000178 (sec.gov). Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026: 0001101239-26-000180 (sec.gov). Form 8-K of 9 November 2026 (euro notes): 0001104659-26-124509. June lines: Form 8-K of 29 July 2026, Exhibit 99.1: 0001101239-26-000145; Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026: 0001101239-26-000147. EDGAR was checked at 04:30 UTC on 10 November 2026. No analyst estimate, consensus figure, share price, price target or call remark appears on this page. Shares, sums and differences are arithmetic on those filed values, labelled as ours where they appear. Research, not investment advice.