CyrusOne today announced its Q3 2021 earnings and provided updates on its colocation and hyperscale data center leasing activity, as well as its development pipeline.
In Q3 2021, CyrusOne reported revenue of $304m, a 6.9% increase quarter-over-quarter, and adjusted EBITDA of $149m, a 5.1% increase quarter-over-quarter. Therefore, the company’s EBITDA margin was 49.1% in Q3 2021, a ~80 bps decline quarter-over-quarter.
Operational Performance in Q3 2021 – CyrusOne
CyrusOne operates 57 data centers, representing 971 megawatts of power capacity across 5.05 million sqft of colocation space.
New Leases
In Q3 2021, CyrusOne’s new data center lease signings were $37.8m (annual revenue), down 9.6% from the $41.8m of signings during Q2 2021. However, new lease signings were in-line with CyrusOne’s recent quarterly average of $35m+. In total, the new lease signings represented 19.9 megawatts of power capacity and 100k sqft. Decomposing the lease signings further:
- Hyperscale: over 500-kilowatt signings were $28.0m, equivalent to 74% of total signings
- Colocation: under 500-kilowatt signings were $9.8m, equivalent to 26% of total signings
Pricing
Overall, new lease rates were $159 per kilowatt, representing a 15% improvement from $138 per kilowatt in the prior quarter.
Geography
In Q3 2021, CyrusOne’s geographic mix of new lease signings was as follows:
- United States: new lease signings were $11.0m, equivalent to 29% of total signings
- Europe: new lease signings were $26.8m, equivalent to 71% of total signings
During Q3 2021, CyrusOne had notable hyperscale leasing wins from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft in London, UK, which together comprised 10+ megawatts of power capacity. In contrast, CyrusOne’s U.S. leasing in Q3 2021 was principally colocation deals, with very little hyperscale activity.
Overall, the weighted-average lease term of CyrusOne’s new lease signings was 9.0 years. Indeed, this compares to the weighted average remaining lease term of the company’s portfolio of 4.3 years.
Backlog
At the end of Q3 2021, CyrusOne’s backlog (i.e., signed but not commenced leases) reached $106m of annualized revenue. Notably, this represents an 18% decrease from the company’s backlog of $129m at the end of Q2 2021.
Churn / Renewal Rates
CyrusOne’s recurring rent quarterly churn remained low in Q3 2021 at 0.5%, as compared to 0.8% in Q2 2021. Nearly all of the company’s renewals during Q3 2021 were from enterprise customers, with hyperscale renewals forthcoming in future quarters.
Additionally, CyrusOne reported like-for-like renewal rates down 3% on a cash basis, and up 1% on a GAAP basis.
Utilization
As of Q3 2021, CyrusOne’s data center portfolio utilization was 86% for stabilized properties and 84% overall.
Development Pipeline
CyrusOne has development projects underway in 4 markets including London, Frankfurt, Northern Virginia (Sterling), and San Antonio. In aggregate, this development pipeline comprises ~$385m of investment, adding 48.5 megawatts of power capacity and 211k colocation sqft plus 469k sqft of powered shell to CyrusOne’s portfolio. Importantly, 82% of the square footage under development is already pre-leased.
| Market | Colocation sqft | Powered Shell sqft | Critical Load |
| London | 98k | 118k | 26 megawatts |
| Frankfurt | 73k | — | 17 megawatts |
| Northern Virginia | 40k | 225k | 6 megawatts |
| San Antonio | — | 125k | — |
| Total | 211k | 469k | 48.5 megawatts |
CyrusOne is allocating its development budget in the markets of London (~$155m), Frankfurt (~$130m), Northern Virginia – Sterling (~$80m), and San Antonio (~$23m).
Developments Completed – Q3 2021
In Q3 2021, CyrusOne completed construction on 38 megawatts of power capacity across 161k sqft in the markets of Phoenix, Northern Virginia, New York, Cincinnati, Paris, and Frankfurt.
Land Parcels for Future Development
As part of its Q3 2021 earnings release, CyrusOne notes that it purchased land for future development in Frankfurt, Germany and San Antonio, Texas for a combined ~$23m. Below are details on each land purchase:
- Frankfurt, Germany: 6-acre site providing 21 megawatts of potential power capacity
- San Antonio, Texas: 10-acre site providing 21 megawatts of potential power capacity
Uniquely, upon completion of these developments, CyrusOne’s data center portfolio will offer 100+ megawatts of power capacity in the San Antonio market. Indeed, this market showcases CyrusOne’s growth alongside Microsoft, who is the company’s main tenant in San Antonio.
