Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM – Free Report) reported fourth-quarter adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share of $1.24, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.20. This figure jumped 11.7% year over year.
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Iron Mountain’s results reflect solid performances in the storage and service segments and the data center business. However, higher interest expenses in the quarter undermined the performance to an extent. The company issued its outlook for 2025 and raised its dividend by 10.6% from the prior payment.
Quarterly total revenues of $1.58 billion lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.60 billion. However, the figure improved 11.3% year over year.
According to William L. Meaney, president and CEO of Iron Mountain, “We continue to execute well against our Project Matterhorn growth strategy, delivering double-digit revenue growth in Q4 with strength across each of our business segments.”
For the full year, IRM reported AFFO per share of $4.54, up 10.2% year over year. The figure also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.51. Revenues of $6.15 billion climbed 12.2% year over year but lagged the consensus mark of $6.17 billion.
Iron Mountain Incorporated Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Iron Mountain Incorporated price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Iron Mountain Incorporated Quote
IRM’s Fourth Quarter in Detail
Storage rental revenues were $942 million in the fourth quarter, up 8.1% year over year. We had estimated quarterly storage rental revenues of $947 million.
Service revenues increased 16.5% from the prior-year quarter to $639.3 million. The figure exceeded our estimate pegged at $634.4 million.
The Global Data Center business reported revenues of $170.2 million in the fourth quarter, rising 24% year over year. The figure exceeded our estimate of $159.2 million.
The adjusted EBITDA rose 15.2% year over year to $605.1 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 130 basis points to 38.3%.
However, interest expenses increased 4.5% year over year to $194.5 million in the quarter.
IRM’s Balance-Sheet Position
IRM exited the fourth quarter with $155.7 million of cash and cash equivalents, down from $168.5 million as of Sept. 30, 2024.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, the company has net debt of $13.68 billion, up from $13.31 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024, with weighted average years to maturity of 4.9 years and a weighted average interest rate of 5.7%.
IRM’s Dividend Raise
Concurrently with the fourth-quarter earnings release, IRM announced a quarterly cash dividend of 78.5 cents per share for the first quarter of 2025. The dividend reflects an increment of 10.6% over the prior quarter payment. It will be paid out on April 4, 2025, to its shareholders on record as of March 17, 2024.
2025 Guidance by IRM
Iron Mountain provided its guidance for 2025.
It expects AFFO per share between $4.85 and $4.95. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $4.91, which lies within the company’s guided range.
Revenues are estimated to be in the range of $6.65-$6.80 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be between $2.48 and $2.53 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 revenues is pegged at the higher end of the range at $6.80 billion.
IRM’s Zacks Rank
Iron Mountain currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Other REITs
Ventas, Inc. (VTR – Free Report) reported a fourth-quarter 2024 normalized FFO per share of 81 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The reported figure increased 6.6% from the prior-year quarter’s tally.
Results reflected an increase in same-store cash NOI, led by higher SHOP same-store average occupancy. VTR issued its guidance for 2025.
Equinix Inc. (EQIX – Free Report) reported a fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted FFO per share of $7.92, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.11. However, the figure improved 8.5% from the prior-year quarter.
Results reflected higher non-recurring charges undermining the performance. However, steady growth in colocation and interconnection revenues, led by strong demand for digital infrastructure, supported the results to an extent. EQIX issued its 2025 outlook.
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.
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