Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM), a prominent real estate investment trust focused on information management services, experienced a 5.01% stock plummet during Thursday's intraday trading session. This decline was primarily driven by the company's fourth-quarter 2024 earnings release, which revealed revenue of $1.58 billion, falling short of Wall Street's expectations of $1.6 billion. Additionally, the company's adjusted earnings per share of $0.50 missed analysts' estimates of $0.53.
However, the earnings report highlighted several positive developments that tempered the stock's decline. Iron Mountain's data center business showed robust growth, with a 96% capacity lease rate and expanded development plans. The company's adjusted EBITDA reached a record $605 million, marking a 15.2% year-over-year increase, driven by the strong performance of the data center segment and improved cost efficiencies.
Furthermore, Iron Mountain announced a 10% increase in its quarterly dividend, reflecting the company's confidence in its growth outlook and commitment to shareholder returns. The company's strategic initiatives, such as expanding its data center capacities and developing its digital solutions portfolio, position it well to capitalize on the growing demand for secure data management and server hosting services.