Realty Income's Data Center Bet Could Turbocharge Dividend Growth Over the Next Decade

Realty Income's (NYSE: O) developed a stellar reputation as a brick-and-mortar retailer REIT, defying the headwinds that are supposed to be destroying the retail industry. In fact, this landlord has raised its annual per-share dividend for nearly 29 consecutive years. And by no small amount either. Since listing itself on the NYSE in 1994, it's upped its dividend by an average of 4.1% per year.

Shareholders may see this growth pace perk up for the foreseeable future as this retail-focused real estate investment trust eases its way into the data center business. Here's what you need to know.

Yes, that Realty Income -- the retailer REIT

It's true! The landlord to some of the retail industry's most resilient names, like Dollar General, Walmart, and Home Depot, is getting into the data center industry.

OK, it technically entered this business back in late 2023 by acquiring an 80% interest in two data centers then under construction in Northern Virginia that would ultimately be steered by AI infrastructure outfit Digital Realty.

That $800 million commitment was trumped in a big way just last month, however, when Realty Income formed a joint venture with Cloud Capital and an unnamed institutional investor. Together, they're initially committing over $6 billion to hyperscale data centers, leaving the door open to greater investment in the future.

Image source: Getty Images.

At first blush, it appears this REIT is moving into waters beyond its core proficiency. That's not quite the case. The business model here is essentially the same as its brick-and-mortar retailing operation -- Realty Income builds or buys a structure, and then converts it into a space that generates rental income.

In this case, the "renters" are simply companies leasing cloud-based access to computing servers. As Realty Income's CEO, Sumit Roy, commented on the agreement, the "announcement affirms the strength of our business model and its ability to translate across sectors, including digital infrastructure."

Accelerated income growth ahead

One data center deal isn't necessarily game-changing for Realty Income. For that matter, neither is a small handful. For perspective on the amount of capital this real estate investment trust is actually putting into the business, the current net value of the company's real estate portfolio stands at $54 billion, which turned over $5.7 billion in revenue last year into nearly $4 billion worth of operating funds to pass along to shareholders, plus an additional $1.0 billion in net income. Its current data center efforts aren't likely to move the needle much just yet.

Be patient, though. It's unlikely that Realty Income will back away from the hyperscale data center business now that it's proven it's comfortable with it. If anything, it's more likely than not to continue adding these projects to its portfolio. It matters simply because, according to Precedence Research, the worldwide data center market is poised to grow at an average yearly pace of nearly 27% through 2035. There's money to be made here.

Just don't lose perspective on this. While the opportunity for revenue growth is significant, hyperscale data centers also require a great deal of up-front capital and a somewhat slow payback period. It's still more of an income growth investment than a typical growth holding.

James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Digital Realty Trust, Home Depot, Realty Income, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.