Iron Mountain Raises Its Dividend 15% as Data Center Revenue Surges 34%
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Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM) told shareholders on November 5, 2026, that it is increasing its dividend by 15%. The quarterly payout grows from $0.864 to $0.993 per share. In the same statement, Iron Mountain said it has signed 137 megawatts of new data center leases year to date. Leasing momentum supports the raise. A company built on storing paper boxes now pays for its dividend raises with server halls.
“Based on our strong 2026 growth and continued positive outlook, we are pleased to increase the dividend by 15%,” Iron Mountain CEO William Meaney said.
Data Centers Now Drive the Growth
In Q3, Global Data Center revenue rose 34.0% to $273.6 million. Legacy Global RIM grew 7.0%. Data center adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 56.3% from 52.6%, and renewal pricing rose 10% on a cash basis. Quarterly leasing came to 102.5 MW, including 51 MW in Mumbai. Growth businesses supplied 11 of the 16 percentage points of 2026 consolidated growth.
“It won’t be that many years before it’s 50% of the company,” Meaney said of the growth portfolio.
Records storage still funds that growth. It is tracking toward its 38th consecutive year of organic storage rental growth at a 44% segment margin.
AFFO Covers the Raise With Room to Spare
Q3 AFFO hit $1.53 per share. Management targets a payout ratio in the low 60s percent.
“In light of our performance in 2026 and outlook for AFFO, our Board increased our quarterly dividend by 15% to $0.993 per share,” Iron Mountain CFO Barry Hytinen said.
The new payout equals about 63% of Q4 guided AFFO of $1.57 per share. Iron Mountain’s full-year AFFO per share guidance of $5.94-$6.00 implies roughly 15% growth, matching the raise. Year-to-date free cash flow improved by nearly $400 million. At $109.02, the forward yield is about 3.6%.
Iron Mountain Is Outpacing Pure-Play Peers on Payout Growth
Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR) held its dividend at $1.22 per quarter from Q1 2025 through Q1 2026, despite signing a 200-megawatt AI inference lease. Its cash renewal spread was 5.0%. Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last raised its dividend 10%, and it previously guided long-term AFFO per share growth of 9-12% on $5-$6 billion of 2026 capex.
“Customer demand is broad-based and growing,” Equinix CEO Adaire Fox-Martin said.
Iron Mountain’s hybrid model gives it a smaller data center base and faster percentage growth, while record cash flow supports its build costs. The same AI expansion funding this raise is lifting a whole bench of power, cooling, and networking suppliers, which we rounded up in a free report on seven AI infrastructure names that aren’t chipmakers.
Leverage Is the Risk to Track
Net lease-adjusted leverage of 4.8x is the lowest since the 2014 REIT conversion. However, the current portion of long-term debt rose to $1,232.9M from $216.1M, and shareholders’ equity stands at -$1.06 billion. Capacity under construction requires $3.468B in total investment. Investors noticed: shares fell 6.57% over the past week, though they remain up 34.42% year to date.
What Income Investors Should Watch Next
AFFO fully covers the dividend, and it is growing as fast as the payout. Over the next 24 months, roughly 325 megawatts should come online. For income investors, Iron Mountain offers faster dividend growth than its pure-play peers, and that growth depends on leasing momentum and debt refinancing. The stock is worth watching around the late-February earnings report and the early March investor day.
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Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
