Teksas ve Cape Town, Veri Merkezi Kapısını Sıkılaştırıyor. Dijital Emlak ve Equinix Yine de Yararlanabilir

Texas and Cape Town Are Tightening the Data-Center Gate. Digital Realty and Equinix Could Still Benefit

Habib Ur Rehman

Tue, September 15, 2026 at 12:52 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• EQIX -3.76%
• DLR -5.01%

The AI data-center boom is running into the same two scarce resources in very different places: power and political permission. Texas ordered a broad audit of projects in ERCOT's 474-gigawatt interconnection queue in August. On September 13, the Financial Times reported that campaigners are challenging a proposed 122,500-square-meter hyperscale project near Cape Town International Airport tied to Equinix.

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR) and Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) increasingly depend on something that cannot be bought as quickly as servers: community and grid acceptance.

Scarcity can raise the value of what is already built

Digital Realty publicly committed on August 7 to Texas Governor Greg Abbott's data-center standards. For Digital Realty Trust, Inc., existing powered campuses become more valuable when interconnection queues slow new supply. Its global customer relationships and utility experience can also help it navigate standards that are harder for speculative developers.

Development timing is the trade-off. A REIT earns returns by leasing capacity after spending capital. Power studies, transmission work, water obligations and audits can stretch the period between investment and rent.

Equinix, Inc. faces a comparable issue in South Africa, though the factual status is still contested. The Financial Times reviewed a planning application identifying Equinix as developer, while Equinix said it had no active plans to develop the site. Campaigners want the approval overturned because of concerns about power, water and the planning framework.

That uncertainty is itself instructive. For Equinix, scarce, connected colocation capacity becomes harder to replicate as permitting tightens. The counterpoint is that hyperscale expansion can become politically expensive before a server ever arrives.

Hedge funds increased exposure to both landlords

Insider Monkey's database showed 73 hedge funds holding Digital Realty in Q2 2026, up from 46 in Q1. D. E. Shaw increased its stake 43% to 1,542,316 shares. Equinix also had 73 holders, up from 65, with Coatue Management increasing its position 17% to 1,273,517 shares. Those filings predate the Texas audit and Cape Town challenge.

Digital Realty had 8,390,668 shares sold short on August 31, 2.27% of float, with 3.97 days to cover.

Local resistance is not automatically bearish for established operators. If it limits new supply while demand stays strong, existing facilities gain scarcity value. The line flips when restrictions delay the operators' own pipeline. For Digital Realty and Equinix, AI demand may be abundant. The scarce asset is increasingly permission to turn that demand into powered square footage.

While we acknowledge the potential of DLR and EQIX as investments, we believe certain other AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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