$DLR

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order pausing construction of data centers drawing 50 MW or more for one year, blocking discretionary environmental permits and requiring a Generic Environmental Impact Statement, according to USA Today. The order also signals a push to repeal sales tax exemptions for large facilities. Digital Realty said the pause may shift investment. Candidate: Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Oracle mentioned.

The article says the Global X Data Center & Digital Infrastructure ETF (DTCR) is up 38% year to date and 55% over the past year, citing $2.14 billion in net assets. It highlights top holdings Equinix (12%), Digital Realty (11%), American Tower (10%), and Crown Castle (7%). It points to the 10-year Treasury yield and Equinix’s Q2 2026 annualized gross bookings of $424 million and 53% adjusted EBITDA margin as key drivers.

HSBC upgraded Digital Realty Trust to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $240 from $210, according to the report. Digital Realty Trust shares rose, closing around $200.15, up about 1.3% on Aug. 14.

Equinix (EQIX) and Digital Realty (DLR) raised full-year 2026 guidance in separate earnings releases. Equinix lifted 2026 AFFO per diluted share midpoint to $42.99 and annualized its $5.16 quarterly dividend to $20.64, implying a 48.0% payout. Digital Realty raised 2026 ex-net-promote core FFO midpoint to $8.175 with a $1.22 quarterly dividend, implying 59.7%.

Analyst notes on Friday included KeyBanc reiterating Apple as underweight, citing iPhone 17 carrier survey data slightly positive but with iPhone 18 price uncertainty. Bernstein upgraded Wayfair to Outperform, raising its PT to $125. Morgan Stanley reiterated Nvidia as overweight. Other calls covered Fox, Intuitive Machines, Cinemark, SanDisk, Energy Fuels, Digital Realty, SpaceX, Dell, Micron, and T-Mobile.

The article reports Friday’s Wall Street analyst research calls after cooler-than-expected CPI and PPI helped lift the S&P 500 to a record and Nasdaq up 0.81%. It cites upgrades, downgrades, and initiations including JPMorgan upgrading FoxA to Overweight with an $82 target and RBC initiating Krystal Biotech (KRYS) at $400. It also lists multiple other price targets across stocks.

Mecklenburg County approved a July demolition permit for the century-old Court Arcade building at 725 E. Trade St. in Charlotte, ending preservation efforts. Digital Realty Trust owns the site and says saving the facade is not feasible. The permit lasts one year; demolition timing has not been announced. Digital Realty bought the building last year for about $9.5 million.

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) said it raised 2026 Core FFO per share guidance to $8.15-$8.20, excluding net promote. The article cites a record $1.9B annualized GAAP base rent backlog and 25.4% cash renewal rent growth. It also notes DLR trades at 21.84x forward earnings and plans 2026 net development capex of $4.25-$4.75B.

NVIDIA (NVDA) outlined an 800 VDC power distribution architecture for AI data centers, aiming to reduce energy losses from AC-to-DC conversion. The company said it was developed with Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL) via the Open Compute Project. Eaton (ETN) and Vertiv (VRT) rose; Eaton has a $502 target from Evercore and raised 2028 EPS estimate to $20.29.

ABI Research forecasts global data center facilities will rise from 8,821 in 2026 to over 12,000 by 2035, driven by AI capacity. It projects dedicated AI data center capacity of 43.6 GW by 2031 and 94.8 GW by 2035. AWS, Meta and Microsoft lead US capacity, while Equinix, QTS, Digital Realty and CyrusOne lead colocation by active IT power.