LIVE
DLR
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. · Real Estate
$188.15
+1.00% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
IRM
Iron Mountain Incorporated · Real Estate
$127.83
+3.49% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
DLR
1
IRM
4
Comparison scoreboard
IRM LEADS 4/5AI Score
DLR 40.5
IRM ✓49.5
1Y Return
DLR +6.87%
IRM ✓+24.38%
Fwd P/E
DLR 148.17
IRM ✓47.59
Target Up.
DLR ✓+10.69%
IRM +3.38%
Op. Margin
DLR 13.45%
IRM ✓20.96%
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
DLR vs IRM Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Digital Realty and Iron Mountain are both REITs with data center exposure, but from very different starting points. Digital Realty is a pure-play global data center REIT at the center of AI infrastructure demand. Iron Mountain is primarily a physical records management company adding data centers as a growth business. DLR is the direct AI infrastructure beneficiary; IRM is a diversified REIT using records management cash flows to fund data center expansion.
DLR vs IRM is the pure-play global data center REIT with 300+ facilities serving AI infrastructure hyperscaler demand at unprecedented scale (Digital Realty) versus the world's largest physical records management company transforming into a data center operator using stable records revenue to fund digital infrastructure expansion (Iron Mountain) — concentrated AI data center exposure vs records management cash flow funding emerging data center growth.
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
IRM holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. IRM leads on both 1-year return (+24.38%) and forward P/E (47.59x vs 148.17x for DLR), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. IRM leads on both revenue growth (21.60%) and operating margin (20.96%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for DLR (+10.69%) than for IRM (+3.38%).
Normalized 1Y performance
DLR
IRM
Recent returns
DLR
IRM
Analyst price targets & sentiment
DLR
Price target range
analyst mean$198.44
current price$188.15
+10.7% upside to analyst mean
IRM · 10 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (1.9/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$44.00
analyst high$140.00
analyst mean$131.55
current price$127.83
+3.4% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
DLR may suit investors who:
- →prefer pure-play global data center REIT exposure to AI infrastructure capacity demand at hyperscaler and enterprise scale
- →value Digital Realty's global presence enabling hyperscalers requiring multi-continent data center capacity within a single provider relationship
- →want data center REIT compounding from AI-driven demand acceleration with international geographic diversification across 50+ metros
- →are comfortable with power availability constraints limiting development pace, hyperscaler in-house development risk, and interest rate sensitivity from capital-intensive REIT development
IRM may suit investors who:
- →prefer the unique combination of records management defensible recurring revenue financing data center growth — two businesses with complementary cash flow profiles
- →value Iron Mountain's above-average dividend yield supported by records management's near-permanent cash flow from documents that customers never retrieve
- →want data center growth exposure with a less AI-pure-play setup from a company with stable legacy revenue reducing business risk vs pure-play data center REITs
- →are comfortable with physical records management secular decline, smaller data center scale vs DLR and Equinix, and transformation execution risk
Performance & AI score
| Metric | DLR | IRM |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 40.5 | 49.5 |
| AI rank | #1044 | #507 |
| Latest close | $188.15 | $127.83 |
| 1M return | +1.00% | +3.49% |
| 6M return | +26.79% | +61.02% |
| 1Y return | +6.87% | +24.38% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | DLR | IRM |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.65K (+6.5%) started 2025-06-18 | $12.45K (+24.5%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $15.99K (+59.9%) started 2021-06-21 | $38.76K (+287.6%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $35.78K (+257.8%) started 2016-06-20 | $106.07K (+960.7%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | DLR | IRM |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $62.62B | $37.86B |
| Trailing P/E | 46.57 | 138.30 |
| Forward P/E | 148.17 | 47.59 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | 4.81 |
| EV/Revenue | 13.77 | 7.96 |
| Analyst target | $198.44 | $131.55 |
| Target upside | +10.69% | +3.38% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | DLR | IRM |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 11.10% | 21.60% |
| Earnings growth | 62.20% | 860.00% |
| EPS growth | +62.20% | +860.00% |
| FCF margin | +33.09% | -6.89% |
| Operating margin | 13.45% | 20.96% |
| Profit margin | 23.96% | 3.76% |
| ROIC proxy | 5.83% | N/A |
| Return on equity | 5.83% | N/A |
| Dividend yield | 2.72% | 2.72% |
| Beta | 0.97 | 1.22 |
| Debt/equity | 78.08 | N/A |
| Current ratio | 1.83 | 0.77 |
| Quick ratio | 1.79 | 0.63 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
DLR max drawdown17.83%
IRM max drawdown25.93%
DLR max wkly drop7.67%
IRM max wkly drop13.34%
5Y risk snapshot
DLR max drawdown48.52%
IRM max drawdown39.03%
DLR max wkly drop12.32%
IRM max wkly drop20.38%
10Y risk snapshot
DLR max drawdown48.52%
IRM max drawdown39.03%
DLR max wkly drop15.91%
IRM max wkly drop21.66%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | DLR | IRM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +6.54% | +24.53% |
| CAGR | +6.55% | +24.57% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.20 | 0.71 | |
| Max drawdown | 17.83% | 25.93% | |
| Max daily drop | 3.98% | 6.85% | |
| Max wkly drop | 7.67% | 13.34% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +38.37% | +228.60% |
| CAGR | +6.72% | +26.91% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.21 | 0.80 | |
| Max drawdown | 48.52% | 39.03% | |
| Max daily drop | 8.73% | 9.84% | |
| Max wkly drop | 12.32% | 20.38% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +149.86% | +455.67% |
| CAGR | +9.60% | +18.72% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.31 | 0.58 | |
| Max drawdown | 48.52% | 39.03% | |
| Max daily drop | 10.97% | 15.04% | |
| Max wkly drop | 15.91% | 21.66% |
Business comparison
| Category | DLR | IRM |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Digital Realty Trust, Inc. | Iron Mountain Incorporated |
| Sector | Real Estate | Real Estate |
| Industry | N/A | REIT - Specialty |
| Core business | Digital Realty is one of the world's largest data center REITs, owning and operating 300+ data centers across 50+ metros globally. Digital Realty leases colocation and wholesale data center space to cloud providers (hyperscalers), enterprises, and network service providers. AI infrastructure demand has significantly accelerated demand for Digital Realty's data center capacity — the company is developing new powered campuses and expanding existing facilities. Digital Realty's PlatformDIGITAL connects customers across its global data center network. | Iron Mountain is uniquely positioned as both the world's largest physical records management company and a growing data center operator. Iron Mountain's legacy business stores physical documents (paper records, tapes, hard drives) for legal, financial, and healthcare customers in secure storage facilities. This records management business generates steady recurring revenue as customers pay ongoing storage fees for documents they must retain for legal, regulatory, or compliance reasons. Iron Mountain has been converting its physical storage facilities and expertise into data center operations as the company diversifies toward digital infrastructure. |
| Investor focus | Investors track same-store NOI growth, new data center development pipeline, signed lease bookings (especially hyperscaler AI capacity leases), and re-leasing spreads on expiring leases. | Investors track data center revenue growth and leasing velocity, records management revenue stability, AFFO (Adjusted Funds From Operations) per share, and the physical-to-digital business mix shift. |
DLR strengths
- →Global data center network creates interconnection value — customers can connect to clouds, networks, and partners within Digital Realty facilities, creating sticky ecosystem advantages
- →AI infrastructure demand is unprecedented — hyperscaler AI training and inference capacity requirements are driving the largest data center leasing cycle in history
- →Scale and global presence enable serving the largest hyperscaler customers (AWS, Azure, Google, Meta) who need multi-market, multi-continent presence
IRM strengths
- →Records management is one of the most defensible recurring revenue businesses — customers never retrieve and shred stored documents without triggering significant liability concerns, creating near-permanent storage revenue
- →Iron Mountain's global secure storage real estate network is an existing physical presence that enables data center co-location without greenfield land acquisition
- →Data center expansion is Iron Mountain's growth engine — from a small data center base, IRM is growing this segment rapidly with differentiated secure co-location positioning
Risks to watch — DLR
- →Power availability is the primary data center constraint — Digital Realty's development pipeline is limited by utility power delivery timelines of 3–7 years for new sites
- →Hyperscaler in-house data center development increases as AWS, Azure, and Google build their own facilities — reducing the share of capacity outsourced to Digital Realty
- →Interest rate sensitivity: data center development is capital-intensive and REITs use significant debt — higher rates compress data center REIT valuations and development economics
Risks to watch — IRM
- →Physical records management is a declining secular market — digital document management and cloud-native enterprises reduce new physical record creation over time
- →Iron Mountain's data center operations are smaller and less established than pure-play data center REITs (Digital Realty, Equinix) — competing for hyperscaler leases requires scale advantages IRM is still building
- →High dividend yield reflects IRM's complex business — investors must assess whether AFFO truly supports the dividend through records management secular decline and data center investment cycle
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