Well covered — records plus data centers, payout in the high 50s. A 3.14% yield on a $0.864 quarterly dividend, raised in December 2025 from $0.785, is covered by AFFO: the $3.456 annual dividend is about 59% of the $5.90 midpoint of 2026 AFFO guidance, inside management's low-60s target range. Q2 AFFO was $1.44 per share, up 16.1% year over year, revenue rose 18.5%, and net lease-adjusted leverage was 4.8×, the lowest since before the 2014 REIT conversion.
Key risk: Data-center build-out — growth capital is heavy and hyperscale lease signings are lumpy, so if leasing slips, AFFO growth slows while debt taken for development stays.
Changes if: AFFO payout pushes well past ~59%, or net lease-adjusted leverage rises materially above 4.8×. The cushion, not the headline yield, is the tripwire.
- ✓AFFO coverage check: AFFO guidance of $5.87–$5.93 per share for 2026 covers the $3.456 annual dividend — about 59% paid out at the midpoint, inside the company's low-60s target range.
- ✓Yield check: 3.14% indicated — $0.864/qtr × 4 at the $109.96 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Earned storage and services income, not a special or return of capital.
- ✓Balance-sheet check: Net lease-adjusted leverage of 4.8× in Q2 2026, inside the company's 4.5×–5.5× target range, with Q2 revenue up 18.5% and data-center revenue up about 39%.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.