Key Highlights

• Total Revenue rose 16% to A$496.5 million and net revenue rose 16% to A$405.0 million, above guidance.

• NEXTDC expects 197MW to convert to billing in FY27 and a further 221MW in FY28, which is 74% of the Forward Order Book converting within two years.

• NEXTDC guides to FY27 net revenue of A$615 million to A$640 million and underlying EBITDA of A$385 million to A$410 million, both growth of more than 50% on FY26 as the company describes it.

• The company has raised A$9.75 billion of new Capital since August 2025 and pro forma Liquidity rose from A$5.5 billion to A$8.7 billion.

How does a data centre operator pay for a build-out that dwarfs its current revenue? NEXTDC Limited (ASX:NXT) offered its answer with its FY26 results on 27 August 2026. Contracted utilisation rose 202% to 740.1 megawatts (MW) on a pro forma basis, Capital Expenditure reached a record A$3.4 billion, and the company reported pro forma liquidity of A$8.7 billion after raising A$9.75 billion of new capital since August 2025. For FY27 it guides to capital expenditure of A$5.25 billion to A$5.75 billion.

The FY26 result

Total revenue rose 16% to A$496.5 million and net revenue rose 16% to A$405.0 million, above guidance. Underlying EBITDA rose 15% to A$248.8 million, also above guidance. Statutory net profit after tax was A$82.1 million, compared with a loss of A$60.5 million the previous year. The company added 80MW of built capacity during the year, taking built capacity to 287.9MW, and said capital expenditure was A$397 million above the top of guidance.

Revenue growth is modest relative to the capital being deployed. That reflects timing: contracted capacity converts into billing only once halls are built and customers ramp up.

Contracted versus billing capacity

The key distinction is between contracts and billing. The Forward Order Book was 565.1MW on a pro forma basis, more than 3.2 times current billing utilisation, and the CEO said every megawatt in it is a binding customer contract. NEXTDC expects 197MW to convert to billing in FY27 and a further 221MW in FY28, which is 74% of the Forward Order Book converting within two years. The remaining 147MW converts across FY29 and FY30. Contracted billing is expected to reach 740MW by FY30.

Those conversion timings are management schedules. They depend on construction, power connection and customer readiness, so delays shift revenue to later periods.

FY27 guidance

NEXTDC guides to FY27 net revenue of A$615 million to A$640 million and underlying EBITDA of A$385 million to A$410 million, both growth of more than 50% on FY26 as the company describes it. That growth is the visible payoff of the contracting wave, but it comes alongside the largest spending programme in the company's history.

How the build-out is funded

Funding is the crux. The company has raised A$9.75 billion of new capital since August 2025 and pro forma liquidity rose from A$5.5 billion to A$8.7 billion. Capital raising of this scale brings dilution risk when Equity is used and interest cost when Debt is used. Net revenue and EBITDA are small relative to the capex plan, so returns depend on long contract terms and high utilisation of the new capacity.

Projects and competitive position

In Sydney, S3 added 16MW of built capacity in FY26, and the S4 expansion is described as on schedule. M4 in Melbourne has early works in progress, and the CEO said FY27 delivery priorities include M2, M3, S4 and KL1. NEXTDC competes with Equinix, Digital Realty, AirTrunk, CDC Data Centres and others for hyperscale, enterprise and AI-related workloads. Its advantages are a national footprint, interconnection ecosystems and secured power, while a risk is that hyperscale customers negotiate hard on price and can concentrate Demand with few operators.

Execution and capital intensity

The CEO said the focus for FY27 is execution. That matters because data centre construction depends on equipment supply, construction labour, and grid connections, and each delay pushes billing back. Cost Inflation could raise the capex required per megawatt. The company has also taken on a larger balance sheet, which increases sensitivity to interest rates and refinancing conditions.

What the numbers imply about returns

A simple comparison illustrates the scale. FY26 underlying EBITDA was A$248.8 million, while FY26 capital expenditure was A$3.4 billion, roughly fourteen times higher, and FY27 capex guidance is up to A$5.75 billion against EBITDA guidance of A$385 million to A$410 million. That arithmetic is ours, and it does not mean returns are poor, since the spending builds capacity that bills over many years.

Risks and what to monitor

Major risks include delays in construction or power delivery, cost overruns, customer concentration and contract terms, reliance on AI-driven demand that may shift, funding costs, dilution from equity raising, technology change such as higher rack densities, and regulatory or planning hurdles. Readers should weigh these against the contractual protection that the binding Forward Order Book provides.

Items to watch include quarterly updates on contracted utilisation, progress on S4, M2, M3 and KL1, the amount of capacity converting to billing against the 197MW FY27 schedule, the AGM, the half-year result due around February 2027 on the usual timetable though unconfirmed, and any further capital raising. Management commentary on pricing per megawatt would also help investors assess returns on the new capacity. Readers should also compare management's schedule with independent data on power availability and construction progress in Sydney and Melbourne, since those factors drive conversion timing.