Shares of GDS Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: GDS) plunged 15.91% in pre-market trading on Wednesday following the release of its fourth-quarter financial results that fell short of analyst expectations. The data center operator's disappointing performance has raised concerns among investors about the company's growth trajectory.

GDS Holdings reported quarterly sales of $368.60 million, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $430.70 million by a significant 14.42%. Despite the miss, the reported figure represents a modest 2.37% increase compared to sales of $360.07 million in the same period last year. The substantial gap between actual results and market expectations appears to be the primary driver behind the stock's pre-market tumble.

While the company reported a net income of $573.9 million for the fourth quarter, or $3.12 per share, adjusted losses came in at 10 cents per share when accounting for discontinued operations. For the full year 2024, GDS Holdings posted a profit of $469.3 million, or $2.48 per share, with revenue reported at $1.41 billion.

Looking ahead, GDS Holdings provided guidance for the full year of 2025, expecting total revenues to be between RMB 11.29 billion to RMB 11.59 billion, implying a year-on-year increase of approximately 9.4% to 12.3%. However, this outlook may not be sufficient to allay investor concerns in the wake of the significant Q4 sales miss.