Financial research concept

Data Center Annualized Rent: In-Place Contractual Rent Run Rate

Data center annualized rent converts in-place monthly contractual rent into a twelve-month run rate, helping investors measure the recurring lease base already in effect.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 19, 2026
  1. Annualized rent measures the in-place lease base
  2. Annualized rent is not GAAP revenue
  3. In-place rent differs from backlog
  4. Product mix matters
  5. Primary-source examples
  6. Part of the Data Center Operating Model
  7. See It in Company Research
  8. Continue Research

Data center annualized rent is a run-rate measure of contractual rent from leases already in place under the issuer's stated definition.

Digital Realty defines annualized rent as monthly contractual rent, specifically cash base rent before abatements, multiplied by 12.

Annualized rent measures the in-place lease base

At December 31, 2025, Digital Realty disclosed annualized rent across its portfolio by product and metropolitan area.

The measure translates the current contractual monthly base into a yearly run rate.

It is useful for understanding the scale and mix of rent already under commenced leases.

Annualized rent is not GAAP revenue

Multiplying current monthly contractual rent by 12 does not mean the company will recognize exactly that amount of revenue during the next twelve months.

Actual GAAP revenue can differ because of:

  • lease commencements and expirations;
  • contractual rent escalators;
  • abatements;
  • straight-line accounting;
  • foreign exchange;
  • acquisitions and dispositions; and
  • changes in ownership share.

The metric is therefore a run-rate lens rather than a forecast.

In-place rent differs from backlog

Data Center Signed-Not-Commenced Backlog covers leases that have been signed but have not yet commenced.

Annualized rent covers the contractual rent base already in place.

As signed backlog commences, it can migrate into the in-place rent base, but the translation is not necessarily one-for-one because timing, ownership, lease terms, and subsequent portfolio changes matter.

Product mix matters

Digital Realty reports annualized rent across smaller 0-1 megawatt deployments, larger greater-than-1-megawatt deployments, and other space.

Two portfolios with the same annualized rent can therefore have different customer concentration, power requirements, lease duration, renewal risk, and capital intensity.

Primary-source examples

Data center annualized rent is most useful as an in-place contractual rent run rate, distinct from recognized revenue and future signed backlog.

Part of the Data Center Operating Model

Connect billed capacity, recurring rent and interconnection revenue, new bookings, signed-not-commenced backlog, and renewal repricing to understand data-center demand and monetization.

How the model fits together
  • Capacity and recurring monetization: Cabinet utilization shows how much Equinix cabinet capacity is billed. Digital Realty annualized rent and Equinix interconnection revenue are separate recurring-revenue lenses, so they add monetization context without forming a standardized cross-company formula.
  • Bookings, backlog, and repricing: Equinix Annualized Gross Bookings capture near-term recurring revenue expected to start within 90 days, while Digital Realty signed-not-commenced backlog captures future annualized GAAP base rent awaiting lease commencement. Renewal rental-rate change then shows repricing on expiring Digital Realty leases. These measures describe different stages and must not be treated as interchangeable.

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

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