Equinix, Digital Realty, American Tower: AFFO vs Dividend

What each company reports as AFFO, and what it paid

The table puts each company's own AFFO per share next to the dividend per share it declared for the same quarter. The percentage is our arithmetic, the dividend over AFFO, except where noted as the company's own figure. AFFO is a non-GAAP measure and each company defines it. Equinix's 10-Q is explicit that its measures “may not be the same non-GAAP financial measures, and may not be calculated in the same manner, as those of other companies.”

Four things the quote pages do not show.

Equinix has the lowest payout and the fastest dividend growth, and the quarter was flattered. The dividend went from $4.69 in the second quarter of 2025 to $5.16, up 10.0% (our arithmetic). Its long-term outlook now says dividend growth “Approximates AFFO per Share Growth,” of 9% to 12% a year. But the release says Q2 revenue and AFFO were helped by “one-time xScale fees,” and the 10-Q puts $124 million of the Americas revenue increase down to non-recurring services provided to its joint ventures. Even if the whole $124 million fell to AFFO, which overstates it because it carries costs, Q2 AFFO would be about $1,044 million over 99.1 million diluted shares, about $10.53, and a payout near 49% (our arithmetic).

Digital Realty's Q2 is the one quarter that does not look like the others. The release shows a net promote of $187.9 million inside Core FFO, from the June 30 purchase of Blackstone's stake in two joint ventures (the 10-Q records $201 million of promote income and $14 million of promote expense). The company reports Core FFO both ways: $2.65 and $2.13 per share. AFFO starts from Core FFO, so the $2.47 includes it. The company does not guide AFFO; it guides Core FFO excluding net promote to $8.15 to $8.20 for 2026, against an indicated dividend of $4.88, 59.7% (our arithmetic on the midpoint). The dividend has been $1.22 in each of the last five quarters.

American Tower's coverage is steady, and the distribution is growing 5.3%. The $1.79 declared in Q2 2026 is up 5.3% over a year. Its CEO described Q2 as “mid-single-digit AFFO per share growth, normalized for one-time DISH churn.” The 2026 AFFO outlook of $11.00 to $11.17 per share is 3.0% above 2025 at the midpoint, so the distribution is growing faster than the AFFO it comes from.

None of the three covers its capital spending from AFFO after dividends except American Tower. That is the next section.

Who pays for growth: cash after dividends, capex and new shares

All figures are for the first six months of 2026 unless stated. Our arithmetic subtracts dividends from AFFO and compares the remainder with capital spending.

Reading it: Equinix and Digital Realty spent more on building than their AFFO left after dividends, by $1.63 billion at Equinix in the half (our arithmetic: $2,834 million less $1,204 million). Both filled the gap with outside money, Equinix mostly with debt, Digital Realty with debt and a lot of stock. American Tower's capex was below what it kept, and it bought back shares. The 10-Q of each says how the money is used. Digital Realty's: net proceeds from the ATM are used “to temporarily repay borrowings” under the global revolving credit facilities, “to acquire additional properties or businesses” and “to fund development opportunities,” among other purposes.

Debt and maturities from the Q2 2026 10-Qs

Each company defines leverage differently, so the table keeps the company's own definition where it gives one, and says where we computed it.

What stands out:

• Equinix is the least exposed to near-term refinancing. About a quarter of its notes principal falls due by 2029, against about half at Digital Realty and American Tower (our arithmetic). Its Q2 10-Q is also where the one-time fees flatter EBITDA: the $1,396 million is a quarter with the xScale fees in it, so the 3.8 times would be higher on a smoother quarter. On the guidance midpoint for 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $5.24 billion it would be 4.0 times (our arithmetic).
• American Tower has $5.23 billion classified as current at June 30, the portion due within twelve months, and the rest of 2026 includes a $1 billion 3.375% note due October 15, 2026, which is today. Its September 14 8-K says the proceeds of the new notes would be used to repay $600.0 million of 1.450% notes due 2026, to repay revolver debt and for general corporate purposes; no filing yet shows the October repayment, because there is no Q3 10-Q.
• Digital Realty's debt is more global and more fixed than the headline. Its supplement shows 92% unsecured, 82% non-USD and 90% fixed, a 4.5 year weighted average maturity and a 2.9% weighted average coupon on its pro rata debt, which is a different basis from the table above because it includes its share of joint-venture debt. The October 2026 euro notes carry a 5.125% coupon.

Development pipeline and capital expenditure

Digital Realty's pipeline is a different scale from the other two's data center spend: its 1,402 megawatts under construction carry a total investment of $20.18 billion (100% share) against its own $18.77 billion of total debt. The release's stated average yield on the projects is 11.5%. What a reader can check is how much of the capacity is already leased (54%) and, in the next filing, how much of the remaining cost is financed with the debt and stock described below.

Customers: who pays the rent

For American Tower the 10-Q says DISH delivered a notice on September 24, 2025 purporting to be excused from its collocation agreement, that “as of January 2026” it has been in default, that American Tower delivered termination notices effective June 2, 2026, and that, in its words, “Beginning on January 1, 2026, 100% of DISH revenue will be reflected in churn.” In its Q2 release the CEO describes the one-time DISH churn as the reason the reported growth is below the “mid-single-digit” normalized figure. Organic tenant billings growth for the U.S. and Canada is guided at about 0.5% for 2026.

Recent equity raising, and the Blackstone transaction

Digital Realty is the only one of the three with a large new-share story, and it has four parts, all in filings dated 2026.

1. ATM sales. From April 1 to May 3, 2026 it sold about 2.4 million shares for $435.2 million at an average $181.21. A new $7.5 billion program replaced the 2024 agreement on May 4, and through June 30 it sold about 6.2 million shares for about $1.2 billion at an average $191.63, with $6.3 billion still available. For the six months, about 13.5 million shares and about $2.5 billion, against about 3.5 million shares and $605 million in the first half of 2025.
2. Blackstone, June 29 and 30, 2026. The 8-K says the company agreed to buy “Blackstone’s blended 64% interests” in the Digital Carver Dulles 9 and Digital Carver Brickyard joint ventures from affiliates of Blackstone Inc. for $1,231 million in cash and non-voting common stock valued at $2,346,087,437.83. The joint ventures are developing three hyperscale data centers totaling 288 megawatts in Northern Virginia, at a gross value of $7.8 billion including assumed debt and remaining capex. The 10-Q shows 12,310,249 shares issued, which is about $190.6 per share (our arithmetic), and a total acquisition cost of about $5.2 billion including $726 million of assumed debt. The filings name “Blackstone” as the seller; they do not say which Blackstone funds held the interests.
3. Teraco and Columbia Capital, still to close. On June 22 the company agreed to issue 3,425,031 shares, about $644.4 million, for about 16% of its Teraco joint venture (taking it to 77%) under a put right exercised by partners. For Columbia Capital it agreed to pay $45 million in cash and 2,337,036 shares, with up to $290 million more in cash or 1,457,506 shares on milestones. The two are 5.8 million shares, 1.6% of the June 30 count (our arithmetic).
4. The share count. Common shares outstanding were 343.557 million at December 31, 2025, 348.924 million at March 31 and 370.010 million at June 30, 2026 (up 7.7% in six months, our arithmetic). Because the Blackstone shares arrived on the last day of the quarter, Q2's weighted diluted count of 360.6 million does not yet show them in full, which is why the per-share AFFO for Q3 will be struck on a larger base.

Equinix's equity activity is small by comparison: a 2024 program of up to $2.0 billion, about $700 million still available at June 30, 2026, no spot sales in 2026, and 465 thousand shares sold forward in May and June at a weighted $1,070.52, a $498 million settlement value, with contractual maturity in January 2027. Shares outstanding were 98,288 thousand at December 31, 2025 and 98,671,686 on July 28, 2026 (up 0.4%, our arithmetic). American Tower's only issuance in the 10-Q equity statement is under employee plans.

How they compare with non-traded vehicles

Readers who own non-traded REITs ask what a listed REIT in the same sector would have paid and how it is financed. This page only has primary sources for the listed side, so the comparison stays qualitative.

• Where the sponsor's money sits. Digital Realty lists Blackstone (50% in one Americas joint venture, 20% in an EMEA one) and Realty Income (20%) among its unconsolidated joint-venture partners, and runs its own “Digital Realty DC Partners NA Fund.” Realty Income's 10-Q, in our Realty Income page, is where its data center loans appear. The Form D page covers the private data center fund raises.
• A listed REIT's distribution is a board choice you can watch quarterly. Digital Realty has held $1.22 for five quarters while Equinix raised its dividend 10.0% and American Tower 5.3% (our arithmetic). A non-traded fund's distribution is set by a board and a sponsor you cannot trade away from; see non-traded REIT vs publicly traded REIT and, for a private digital infrastructure fund where distributions were suspended, StratCap Digital Infrastructure REIT.
• Listed REITs fund growth in public markets and say so. The share counts, ATM programs and note issues above are in filings the day they happen. If you own a REIT ETF rather than the stocks, our ETF holdings page shows which funds hold American Tower and the data center REITs.

What a reader can do with this

This page is analysis of public documents, not investment, legal or tax advice. What the filings let you check yourself:

• Compare AFFO payout with growth in the dividend, not only the yield. Equinix: 43.8% payout and a 10.0% raise. Digital Realty: a flat $1.22 and a payout between 49.5% and about 63% depending on whether the promote is counted. American Tower: 66.1% and a 5.3% raise.
• Ask what is paying for the growth. AFFO after dividends, capex, new debt and new shares are all in the 10-Q. A company that spends more than it keeps is either issuing something or borrowing; the table above says which.
• Watch five dated items. American Tower's $1 billion 3.375% note due today; Digital Realty's Teraco and Columbia Capital share issuances in the second half; Equinix's January 2027 forward settlement; the DISH chapter 11 case; and every company's Q3 2026 10-Q, which has not been filed. The next filing resets every figure on this page.
• Check concentration against your other holdings. If your REITs, ETFs and non-traded vehicles all lean on the same hyperscale or carrier customers, the list above is where to start.

If a large part of your income depends on a few of these names, a conversation with a qualified adviser about how they sit alongside the rest of your holdings may be worth having.

FAQ

All figures are from SEC filings read on EDGAR on October 15, 2026. Equinix, Inc. (CIK 1101239): Form 10-K for 2025 (accession 0001101239-26-000032); Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (0001101239-26-000147); earnings-release 8-Ks for Q4 2025 (0001101239-26-000030), Q1 2026 (0001101239-26-000089) and Q2 2026 (0001101239-26-000145); 8-K of July 27, 2026 (0001101239-26-000148). Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (CIK 1297996): Form 10-K for 2025 (0001104659-26-015365); Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (0001104659-26-089296); earnings releases and supplements attached to 8-Ks for Q4 2025 (0001104659-26-010887) and Q2 2026 (0001104659-26-086270); 8-Ks of June 22 (0001193125-26-276844), June 29 (0001193125-26-288761), October 6 (0001193125-26-415814) and October 9, 2026 (0001193125-26-419168). American Tower Corporation (CIK 1053507): Form 10-K for 2025 (0001053507-26-000035); Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (0001053507-26-000133); earnings-release 8-Ks for Q4 2025 (0001053507-26-000032), Q1 2026 (0001053507-26-000094) and Q2 2026 (0001053507-26-000131); 8-K of September 14, 2026 (0001193125-26-390605). Our arithmetic is shown where used. This is analysis of public documents, not investment, legal or tax advice.