--- title: "Digital Realty filed a 1GW Indiana campus as Bernstein says only 35% of announced US capacity gets built" description: "The $64 billion REIT just filed a 1GW campus in Kokomo, its third giant land bet at once, while Bernstein's 'bragawatts' study and an October 29 earnings print test whether announced campuses ever become signed leases." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Data Center" published: 2026-10-22T16:13:48.471Z modified: 2026-10-22T16:13:48.471Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/digital-realty-filed-a-1gw-indiana-campus-as-bernstein-says-only-35-of-announced-us-capacity-gets-built language: en keywords: "Digital Realty, Data Centers, AI Capex, REITs, Earnings" --- # Digital Realty filed a 1GW Indiana campus as Bernstein says only 35% of announced US capacity gets built > The $64 billion REIT just filed a 1GW campus in Kokomo, its third giant land bet at once, while Bernstein's 'bragawatts' study and an October 29 earnings print test whether announced campuses ever become signed leases. [Digital Realty](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/digital-realty), the $64 billion data center landlord, picked Kokomo, Indiana this week as its newest gigawatt bet: three buildings, 476 acres, roughly 1GW of IT capacity and 3 million square feet, complete by 2033, drawing 1.5GW from [Duke Energy](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/duke-energy) at an estimated $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion [1]. It is the third giant campus on its desk at once, and the market is asking the same question at all three: does announced land become signed leases? ## The landlord of the AI boom is filing campuses faster than tenants sign In [De Soto, Kansas](https://theinference.org/article/digital-realty-is-offering-de-soto-households-up-to-1-000-a-year-to-say-yes-to-its-data-center), the company has [pledged $20 million, up to $1,000 a year per household for ten years](https://www2.ljworld.com/news/general-news/2026/oct/19/data-center-company-plans-up-to-1000-a-year-in-tax-utility-credits-for-de-soto-households/), to win support for a campus where phase one alone is 280 acres and nine buildings [2]. Details with the city are not final, and neighbors have petitioned against it [2]. In Forest Park, Georgia, [Hunterbrook reported](https://hntrbrk.com/investigations/digital-realty) that crews on its $3 billion campus on a $120 million former Army dump unearthed combustible white phosphorus in December 2025, five 30-gallon drums removed, with remediation tagged above $100 million [3]. Kokomo, by contrast, comes with no tax abatement sought, but a residents' group notes its noise and water commitments are voluntary [1]. *Chart: **Bernstein scores Digital Realty a top-credibility builder, unlike the bragawatts** Bar chart of Bernstein credibility scores: Digital Realty, Equinix and CoreSite at 5, Joule Capital Partners 2.05, Vermaland 0.75, O'Leary Digital 0.35* *Bernstein Research credibility scores out of 5, from an analysis of 5,000+ planned North American data centers using Aterio construction-tracking data, as reported by Business Insider, October 2026. [4]* ## The receipts arrive Thursday Bernstein's "bragawatts" study gives the counterweight: [only about 35% of roughly 500GW of announced US capacity is likely to be built](https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-centers-never-built-bragawatts-kevin-oleary-2026-10), yet it scores Digital Realty at the top of its credibility table, alongside [Amazon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/amazon) and Google [4]. That matters because shareholders are funding the build ahead of leases: [EUR 1 billion of new 5.125% notes due 2036](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/digital-realty-prices-eur-1-billion-notes-digital-realty-stock-is-valued-at-usd-64-2-billion/70371561) [5], a Q2 revenue beat at $1.92 billion, up 28.9%, beside an EPS miss at $1.21 against $1.98 expected, and a dividend payout ratio near 237% [6]. *Chart: **Revenue growth accelerated through 2026, hitting 28.9% year over year in Q2** Column chart of Digital Realty quarterly revenue from Q3 2024 to Q2 2026, rising from $1.43B to $1.92B* *Digital Realty quarterly revenue, US dollars in billions, calendar quarters, from its SEC filings, retrieved 22 October 2026. [7]* Q3 lands after the close on October 29, with [analysts at $0.527 EPS on $1.75 billion](https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/upcoming-digital-realty-trust-dlr-expected-to-announce-earnings-on-thursday-2026-10-22/) [6]. The print, not the press release, tells whether Kokomo, De Soto and Forest Park convert. Watch the backlog. ## Takeaway Digital Realty is stacking three gigawatt-scale campus bets on the strength of Bernstein ranking it a top-credibility builder, but with a 237% dividend payout ratio and only 35% of announced US capacity likely to be built, Thursday's Q3 print and its backlog decide whether filed land becomes signed leases. ## Sources 1. [ET Datacenters, Digital Realty proposes 1GW data center campus in Indiana, 22 October 2026](https://datacenters.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/investments-deals/digital-realty-proposes-1gw-data-center-campus-in-indiana/135104451) 2. [Lawrence Journal-World, Data center company plans up to $1,000 a year in tax, utility credits for De Soto households, 19 October 2026](https://www2.ljworld.com/news/general-news/2026/oct/19/data-center-company-plans-up-to-1000-a-year-in-tax-utility-credits-for-de-soto-households/) 3. [Hunterbrook Media, Building a Data Center on a Toxic Army Munitions Dump, 18 October 2026](https://hntrbrk.com/investigations/digital-realty) 4. [Business Insider, AI data center boom: 65% of announced capacity may never get built, October 2026](https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-centers-never-built-bragawatts-kevin-oleary-2026-10) 5. [Ad-hoc-news, Digital Realty prices EUR 1 billion notes, 22 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/digital-realty-prices-eur-1-billion-notes-digital-realty-stock-is-valued-at-usd-64-2-billion/70371561) 6. [MarketBeat, Digital Realty Trust (DLR) Expected to Announce Earnings on Thursday, 22 October 2026](https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/upcoming-digital-realty-trust-dlr-expected-to-announce-earnings-on-thursday-2026-10-22/) 7. [Digital Realty, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 22 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001297996) --- Digital Realty filed a 1GW Indiana campus as Bernstein says only 35% of announced US capacity gets built — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/digital-realty-filed-a-1gw-indiana-campus-as-bernstein-says-only-35-of-announced-us-capacity-gets-built