AI does not live in the cloud.
It lives in buildings.
That is the part investors need to keep in front of them. Models, chips, workloads, and inference all need physical space, power, cooling, and connectivity. McKinsey has estimated that global demand for AI-ready data-center capacity could rise at roughly 33% a year through 2030, while other industry estimates point to a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure buildout over the same stretch. Meanwhile, the capex arms race is still on. Alphabet raised its 2025 capex outlook to $91 billion to $93 billion, Microsoft’s quarterly capex recently hit $34.9 billion, and Amazon has been tied to roughly $125 billion of 2025 capex tied heavily to AI infrastructure.
That is why this REIT trade still matters.
The opportunity is not just buying “AI stocks.” It is owning the landlords and infrastructure portfolios that can collect rent, raise cash flow, and pay dividends while the buildout keeps going.
The Pureer Data-Center REIT
Company: Digital Realty Trust (SYM: DLR)
Global data-center REIT with direct exposure to hyperscaler, interconnection, and AI infrastructure demand.
If the goal is direct exposure to the AI data-center wave, Digital Realty is still one of the cleanest ways to get it.
In fourth-quarter 2025, the company reported FFO per share of $1.89 and Core FFO per share of $1.86. Revenue reached about $1.6 billion, up 14% year over year, and management introduced 2026 Core FFO guidance of $7.90 to $8.00 per share. The company also said total 2025 bookings exceeded $1.2 billion, with a year-end backlog of $817 million of annualized GAAP base rent at Digital Realty’s share. That is the kind of backlog investors want to see in a demand-heavy market.
The dividend still gives investors something while they wait.
Digital Realty declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.22 per share, payable on March 31, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 13, 2026. With the stock trading around $175.42 on March 27, that works out to an indicated yield of about 2.78%. That is not huge, but it is real income attached to one of the most direct AI-infrastructure landlords in the market.
This is the stock for investors who want the purest shot at the trend.
The risk is valuation and execution. Data-center REITs do not stay cheap for long when the market believes the demand story, and they can wobble hard if leasing momentum cools or power constraints delay deployments. But if AI demand keeps pulling forward leasing and interconnection needs, Digital Realty still looks like one of the strongest seats at the table.
The Higher-Yield AI Infrastructure Name
Company: Iron Mountain (SYM: IRM)
Storage-and-data-center REIT with faster yield and a rapidly growing digital infrastructure business.
Iron Mountain is not a pure data-center REIT in the same way Digital Realty is.
That is part of what makes it interesting.
In fourth-quarter 2025, Iron Mountain reported $1.843 billion in revenue, up 16.6% year over year, and AFFO of $430 million, or $1.44 per share, up 16%. The company said its growth businesses — data center, digital, and asset lifecycle management — collectively grew more than 40% year over year in the quarter and more than 30% for the full year. It also guided for 2026 revenue growth of 10% to 13% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 12% to 14%. That is not a sleepy records-storage story anymore.
The income profile is stronger too.
Recent dividend data show Iron Mountain’s next quarterly payment at $0.864 per share, payable on April 3, 2026, to shareholders who owned the stock before the March 16 ex-dividend date. With IRM trading around $98.30 on March 27, the indicated annual dividend is about $3.46, which works out to a yield near 3.5%. That is a more substantial paycheck than Digital Realty offers right now.
That is the appeal here.
Investors get a company still benefiting from its legacy storage business while its data-center segment grows much faster. It is a more blended story, but that also means the stock is not dependent on one single growth engine. The risk is that Iron Mountain is less of a clean AI-pure-play than DLR, so it may not always get the same multiple or enthusiasm. But for investors who want more yield with real AI-infrastructure upside, it is hard to ignore.
The Diversified Basket
ETF: Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure Real Estate ETF (SYM: SRVR)
ETF that spreads AI data-center and digital infrastructure exposure across multiple REITs and related real-estate names.
Some investors will not want to bet on one landlord.
That is where SRVR comes in.
Pacer says the fund aims to offer exposure to global companies that generate revenue from data and tech infrastructure, including real estate, power generation, and connectivity. Recent fund data show about $349.6 million in assets, a 0.49% expense ratio, and a dividend yield around 3.0%. The ETF traded around $30.50 on March 27. Top holdings include exactly the kinds of names investors would expect: Equinix, Digital Realty, American Tower, Crown Castle, and Iron Mountain.
That makes SRVR the simplest portfolio tool in the group.
Instead of trying to decide whether Digital Realty or Iron Mountain will win more of the next leasing cycle, investors can own the basket. That reduces single-name risk and still keeps the portfolio tied to the same data-center, tower, and connectivity buildout. The trade-off is obvious: the upside will not be as sharp as the best single stock if one name really catches fire. But the portfolio is sturdier, and in a theme this capital-intensive, sturdier is not a bad thing.
Bottom line:
DLR is the pureer AI data-center REIT.
IRM offers the better current yield with a rapidly growing data-center business.
SRVR is the cleaner diversified basket for investors who want the theme without the single-stock risk.
Today's Top Story: Secret currency of Elon Musk?
Mark Zuckerberg: $1 annual salary.
Elon Musk: $0 from Tesla.
Larry Ellison: $1.
Larry Page, Sergey Brin: $1 each.
The people who understand AI best - who are building the technology that will determine the winners and losers of the next economy - are refusing to be paid in dollars.
A Wall Street veteran named Louis Navellier has watched wealthy Americans operate for 47 years. He says this pattern has nothing to do with modesty. It isn't PR either.
It's the clearest signal in American finance.
These men aren't avoiding income. They're choosing a different kind of income - one that compounds, gets taxed at dramatically lower rates, and could be used to buy billion-dollar assets without ever touching a bank account.
What they take instead of dollars? Navellier says most Americans have access to the same kind of wealth - building tools. They've just never been told they do.
He's come forward publicly - for what he says is the most urgent briefing of his career - to explain exactly what it is and how to get it.
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Written by Ian Cooper