These ‘underappreciated winners of AI’ also pay solid income

⦿ Executive Snapshot

What: Data center real estate investment trusts (REITs) are emerging as significant beneficiaries of the growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Who: Key players include Global X ETFs, Wells Fargo Investment Institute, and specific REITs like Equinix, Digital Realty Trust, and Iron Mountain.
Why it matters: As AI technology expands, data center REITs are positioned to support this growth while providing steady income, highlighting their critical role in the AI economy.

Data center REITs are up nearly 40% year to date as of April 30, according to Nareit.
Wells Fargo identifies unprecedented demand for data center REITs, citing durable growth prospects and solid pricing power.
The Global X Data Center & Digital Infrastructure ETF, which includes these REITs, has gained 40% this year and is rated five stars by Morningstar.
Equinix operates over 280 data centers globally and has a 1.9% dividend yield, with shares up 38% year to date.
Digital Realty Trust operates more than 300 data centers and has a 2.5% yield, gaining nearly 22% in 2026.

Data center REITs are often described as the "toll booths" of the AI economy, as they support various AI interactions through their infrastructure.
The historical growth of cloud services and enterprise digitization has laid a solid foundation for these REITs, allowing them to pivot towards AI-driven developments without being solely reliant on AI.

Immediate market implications include a strong performance outlook for data center REITs as they capitalize on rising AI demand, potentially leading to increased investment in infrastructure.
Long-term implications suggest that as AI use cases continue to expand, data center REITs will solidify their role in the broader real estate and tech landscape, influencing future capital flows and market dynamics.

Potential risks include regulatory challenges surrounding data management and privacy that could impact the operations of data center REITs.
Competition from emerging technologies or alternative data storage solutions may threaten the market position of traditional data center operators.

Investors should watch for additional private portfolios of data centers entering public markets, which may signal increased capital flow into the sector.
Future developments in AI applications and their infrastructure demands will be critical indicators of the ongoing success of data center REITs.