Key Highlights

  • Pro forma contracted utilisation was 740.1 MW against billing utilisation of 175.0 MW.
  • FY26 total Revenue was $496.5 million, up 16%, and net revenue was $405.0 million, above the $390 million to $400 million guidance.
  • FY27 guidance is net revenue of $615 million to $640 million, underlying EBITDA of $385 million to $410 million and capex of $5.25 billion to $5.75 billion.
  • NEXTDC has raised $9.75 billion since August 2025 and reports pro forma Liquidity of $8.7 billion.

Why is NEXTDC Limited (ASX:NXT) guiding to record Capital spending for FY27? Because, on its own account, FY26 was the largest contracting year in its history. In its result of 27 August 2026 for the year to 30 June 2026, the data centre operator reported pro forma contracted utilisation of 740.1 megawatts (MW) against billing utilisation of 175.0MW, and guided to Capital Expenditure of $5.25 billion to $5.75 billion for FY27 (all figures Australian dollars).

The gap between contracted and billing capacity

The central point is timing. Contracted capacity only becomes revenue as it is built, energised and converted to billing. NEXTDC reports a Forward Order Book of 565.1MW pro forma, more than 3.2 times current billing utilisation, and says contracted EBITDA from existing contracts is expected to exceed $1.0 billion.

It expects 197MW to convert to billing in FY27 and a further 221MW in FY28. Built capacity was 287.9MW at year end, up 38%, meaning a large part of the contracted load still depends on construction being delivered on schedule.

The year-on-year changes are large. Pro forma contracted utilisation rose 202% and billing utilisation rose 58%, while about 80MW of new capacity was added during FY26. Pro forma figures include contracts signed but not yet in billing, so the two measures are not like for like.

FY26 reported results

Total revenue was $496.5 million, up 16% from $427.2 million. Net revenue was $405.0 million, also up 16% and above the $390 million to $400 million guidance. Underlying EBITDA was $248.8 million, up 15% and above guidance of $230 million to $240 million.

Statutory net profit after tax was $82.1 million, against a $60.5 million loss in FY25. That figure includes a $128.8 million Fair Value gain on Investment properties. The company also presented a loss after tax of $103.9 million on its historical accounting basis, unaudited, so the headline profit depends heavily on property revaluation.

Capital expenditure was a record $3,397 million, above the $2.7 billion to $3.0 billion guidance, which the company attributed to land purchases and accelerated construction.

What NEXTDC does

NEXTDC builds and operates data centres and sells space, power and interconnection to enterprise, cloud, government and hyperscale customers. Revenue is driven by the megawatts in billing, the price and term of contracts, and recurring connectivity fees. Costs are driven by power, staffing and, as the build-out scales, financing and Depreciation of new assets.

The project pipeline is broad. In Sydney, S4 capacity has been lifted to 365MW, with 250MW in progress. In Melbourne, M2 has 60MW in progress, M3 has 165MW in progress with a hyperscale Lease commenced in FY26, and a new site, M5, has been acquired and is being planned for up to 1.2 gigawatts. KL1 in Kuala Lumpur opened to a foundation customer in May 2026, while Tokyo has begun excavation and Auckland has a resource consent lodged. Planning continues at Sydney's S5 and S7 sites, with S5 construction expected to begin in FY27.

FY27 guidance

Guidance, at constant currency, is net revenue of $615 million to $640 million, underlying EBITDA of $385 million to $410 million, and capital expenditure of $5.25 billion to $5.75 billion.

Interpretation (own arithmetic): the midpoints of $627.5 million and $397.5 million imply growth of roughly 55% in net revenue and 60% in EBITDA on FY26 actuals, consistent with the company's own stated ranges. The $1.0 billion contracted EBITDA figure is larger than FY27's guided EBITDA, which suggests Earnings from existing contracts would build over several years rather than in FY27 alone. That is an inference, as the company's extract does not give a timetable for the $1.0 billion.

Funding

Funding is the other half of the story. The company says it has raised $9.75 billion since August 2025 and reports pro forma liquidity of $8.7 billion, up from $5.5 billion. At 30 June 2026 it had drawn $1,600 million of senior Debt and $1,750 million of subordinated capital, with $876 million of cash and $4.8 billion of undrawn senior debt. A delayed draw on its Hybrid Securities B is available until May 2027.

Interpretation (own arithmetic): deducting a mid-range FY27 capital budget of $5.5 billion from $8.7 billion of liquidity leaves about $3.2 billion, before Operating Cash Flow and before capital needs beyond FY27. This is illustrative only and ignores timing.

Risks and what to monitor

Key risks include construction delivery and power availability, cost overruns against a record spending programme, interest and financing costs on rising debt and subordinated capital, and the pace at which contracted megawatts convert to billing. Large contracts from a small number of customers can also make results lumpy, which is a general observation rather than a disclosed figure.

Watch the company's updates on utilisation and billing conversion, progress at S4, M3 and KL1, any further capital raising, and progress through FY27 against the guided ramp in revenue and EBITDA, including the 197MW expected to convert to billing.