Digital Realty Expands Swiss Campus With 15MW ZUR4 Data Center

Digital Realty Trust DLR started construction of a new state-of-the-art data center, ZUR4, in Glattbrugg, Switzerland, expanding the company’s digital infrastructure in one of Europe’s important financial and data hubs. The facility is planned to deliver 15 megawatts of IT capacity across approximately 6,300 square meters and is scheduled for completion in 2028.

ZUR4 is being designed specifically to support high-density deployments and AI workloads. Digital Realty plans to equip the facility with advanced cooling systems and energy-efficient architecture, allowing it to support growing requirements of businesses developing AI and machine-learning applications.

The new facility will become part of Digital Realty’s existing campus in Switzerland, joining ZUR1, ZUR2 and ZUR3. Digital Realty’s European portfolio, including its Swiss data centers, is powered by 100% renewable energy. The Glattbrugg campus is expected to provide direct cloud connectivity and access to PlatformDIGITAL, Digital Realty’s global data center platform spanning more than 300 data centers worldwide.

The expansion is intended to increase locally operated, highly secure data center capacity for customers requiring data location, resilience and reliable connectivity as part of their digital infrastructure strategies.

DLR’s Other Data Center Deals

ZUR4 follows several other capacity-expansion moves by Digital Realty. During the second quarter, the company acquired two Malaysian data centers with 16.5 MW of IT capacity, along with land supporting another 14 MW. It also acquired a 64% stake in three fully leased Northern Virginia data centers totaling 288 MW while securing land in Kansas City capable of supporting up to 2 gigawatts of utility power.

For investors, these investments expand Digital Realty’s presence in major cloud and AI markets while adding capacity available for future leasing. The strategy is supported by strong demand: DLR ended the second quarter with a record $1.9 billion rental backlog and raised its 2026 Core FFO-per-share outlook to $8.15-$8.20. Management believes its connectivity, hyperscale and private-capital initiatives can extend its long-term growth runway.

Over the past six months, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 7.5%, outperforming the industry's growth of 3%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are American Tower AMT and Host Hotels & Resorts HST, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMT’s 2026 FFO per share is pinned at $11.07. This indicates year-over-year growth of 2.88%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HST’s 2026 FFO per share is pegged at $2.17. This calls for a year-over-year increase of 4.83%.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here

The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research