While Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) stock surged 34.9% over the past year and the S&P 500 gained 12.2%, the infrastructure REITs powering AI’s physical backbone have been left behind. These five companies house, cool, and connect the servers running ChatGPT and Gemini, yet their stock performance has lagged far behind Nvidia and the broader market. They offer dividend yields ranging from 3% to 5% alongside direct exposure to AI infrastructure demand.
| Stock | YTD Return | 1-Year Return | Dividend Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| EQIX | 20.6% | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| DLR | 13.8% | 6.3% | 2.8% |
| AMT | 6.3% | −1.6% | 3.6% |
| IRM | 27.6% | 12.3% | 3.3% |
| CCI | −1.6% | −2.1% | 4.9% |
5. Crown Castle: The Dividend Survivor
Crown Castle (NYSE: CCI) operates 40,000 cell towers connecting data centers to end users, but it has struggled. Revenue declined 4.2% year-over-year in Q4 2025 after divesting its fiber business, and management slashed the dividend 32% from $1.565 to $1.0625 per share quarterly. Adjusted EBITDA fell to $718 million. Crown Castle remains the only pure-play U.S. tower REIT, with a 4.9% dividend yield. Raymond James still sees value, with recovery dependent on carriers deploying newly acquired spectrum. Management expects 3.5% organic growth in 2026, calling this the low point before spectrum auctions drive densification.
4. American Tower: The Tower Giant
American Tower (NYSE: AMT) owns 148,000+ communications sites plus a U.S. data center network. Q3 2025 revenue of $2.72 billion beat estimates, growing 7.7% year-over-year on strong hybrid-cloud and AI-related demand. Adjusted EBITDA reached $1.82 billion, up 7.6%. The company raised its quarterly dividend 4.9% to $1.70 per share and lifted full-year guidance. JPMorgan maintains an Overweight rating with a $245 price target, citing its global footprint as essential for AI inference at the network edge. The stock trades at 30x trailing earnings, yet the one-year return shows the market hasn’t priced in AI upside.
3. Digital Realty Trust: The Hyperscaler Landlord
Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR) operates 300+ data centers across six continents, serving every major cloud provider. Q4 2025 revenue of $1.63 billion beat estimates, growing 4% year-over-year. The company signed $1.2 billion of new leases in 2025, with hyperscale bookings exceeding $800 million. CEO Andy Power noted that inference drives where data and networks meet, positioning Digital Realty’s presence in major population centers as critical for AI scaling. Barclays recently upgraded the stock; Mizuho holds an Outperform rating with a $180 price target. Trading at 49x earnings with a 2.8% yield, consecutive quarters of billion-dollar-plus bookings confirm hyperscalers are committing capacity.
2. Equinix: The Interconnection King
Equinix (NASDAQ: EQIX) dominates global interconnection with 500,000+ connections across 270+ data centers. Q4 2025 revenue of $2.42 billion missed estimates, but the company delivered record gross bookings of $474 million, up 42% year-over-year. CEO Adaire Fox-Martin noted that approximately 60% of its largest deals were driven by AI workloads in Q4, up from 50% earlier in 2025. Full-year AFFO per share grew 9.5%, and the company raised its dividend 10% to $5.16 quarterly. Barclays holds an $894 price target; BMO rates it Outperform at $1.050. Equinix trades at 67x earnings, reflecting its position as the neutral ground where enterprise AI infrastructure converges.
1. Iron Mountain: The Transformation Story
Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) leads this list for combining the strongest financial performance with the least market recognition. Q4 2025 revenue of $1.843 billion beat estimates and grew 16.6% year-over-year, the fastest among peers. Data center revenue surged 39.1% while asset lifecycle management exploded 70% as hyperscalers decommission aging servers. CEO William Meaney announced 400 MW of capacity energizing over the next 24 months, targeting AI inference workloads. The company raised its dividend 10% to $0.864 quarterly for the fourth consecutive year and guided 2026 AFFO growth to 11%. Trading at 216x trailing earnings (distorted by restructuring costs) but just 59x forward, Iron Mountain offers the cleanest growth story with a 3.3% yield.
Why the Disconnect Matters
These REITs pay dividends while Nvidia does not. They sign decade-long leases with investment-grade tenants while semiconductor stocks ride volatile product cycles. The wholesale colocation market is projected to reach over $200 billion by 2033, growing at a 11% CAGR. Iron Mountain’s 27.6% year-to-date return has outpaced its peers. The other four have seen more modest returns as investors have focused on AI semiconductor stocks rather than the infrastructure layer beneath them. Income-focused investors have noted that these REITs offer dividend yields alongside AI infrastructure exposure, with less price volatility than semiconductor stocks.
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