Dj Prologis Inc. Stock Underperforms Thursday When Compared To Competitors

With a market cap of $105.7 billion, San Francisco, California-based Prologis, Inc. is a leading global logistics real estate company that specializes in high-barrier, high-growth markets. The company owns and operates 1.2 billion square feet of logistics facilities across 19 countries, serving approximately 6,700 customers primarily in business-to-business and retail/online fulfillment sectors.

Shares of the industrial real estate developer have underperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. PLD has risen 9.1% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied 35.9%. In 2024, shares of PLD are down 14.4%, compared to SPX’s 25.8% gain on a YTD basis.

Zooming in further, PLD’s underperformance becomes more evident when compared to the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund’s 26.6% gain over the past 52 weeks and 8.7% return on a YTD basis.

Elon Musk‘s fortune skyrocketed past $300 billion on Friday, fueled by a sharp rally in Tesla Inc. 's stock after Donald Trump's election as the 47th U.S. president.

According to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List, Musk’s net worth reached $305 billion — distantly followed by Oracle Inc. co-founder Larry Ellison at around $231 billion, and Amazon.com Inc. 's Jeff Bezos, who trails at approximately $225 billion.

Musk is now more than $100 billion richer than Meta Platform Inc.‘s CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The electric carmaker's shares rocketed nearly 30% over the week, driving the company's market capitalization beyond the $1 trillion mark and delivering Musk a massive windfall.

Other than deriving much of his wealth from Tesla, Musk has also diversified his fortune in SpaceX, founded in 2002, which is worth nearly $210 billion based on a tender offer launched during the second half of 2024. Musk owns an estimated 42% stake.

Musk bought Twitter in a $44 billion (enterprise value) deal in 2022, although Forbes estimates that the social media company, which he renamed X, is worth nearly 70% less as of August 2024.

Musk owns an estimated 60% of xAI, which he founded in 2023. Private investors valued the company at $24 billion in May 2024.

Why Trump's Victory Was A Big Win For Musk

Trump's stance on tariffs, specifically on vehicles imported from Europe and China, could potentially make it tougher for foreign carmakers to compete in the U.S. market — an advantage that could drive up Tesla's market share on its home turf.

A Trump presidency would likely mean the end of EV subsidies and tax credits during Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call.

The impact would be slight for Tesla and devastating for its competitors. “But long term probably actually helps Tesla, would be my guess, yes,” Musk has said.

Musk has also been an active political backer for Trump's 2024 campaign, reportedly donating over $130 million to support his re-election efforts.

Trump’s victory speech didn't shy away from showing gratitude either.

As Forbes highlighted, Trump took nearly 4 minutes in his first speech to praise Musk, calling him a "super genius" and highlighting Tesla's achievements, from SpaceX's rocket launches to the expanding satellite internet network.

"A star is born — Elon!" Trump declared.

Musk has expressed enthusiasm about heading a proposed Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.), where he'd lead efforts to trim wasteful spending from the federal budget. Trump touted Musk as the ideal candidate to serve as the "Secretary of Cost-Cutting," potentially overseeing an ambitious plan to slash $2 trillion in federal expenses.

Musk’s Wealth Outpaces 475 S&P 500 Companies

To put his wealth into perspective, Musk could theoretically buy out companies in the S&P 500 with valuations smaller than his own, a list as big as 474 names.

Major corporations like Chevron , valued at $287 billion, and The Coca-Cola Company at $276 billion, are now "within reach" for Musk's personal fortune.

With $305 billion, Musk could also theoretically acquire three companies in the $100 billion range, like Prologis , Deere & Company and Lam Research Corporation , with cash to spare.

Read Next:

• S&P 500 Breaks 6,000 Points, Dow Soars Above 44,000, Small Caps Eye Strongest Week In 4 Years, Tesla Hits $1 Trillion: What’s Driving Markets Friday?

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Iron Mountain Incorporated IRM reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share of $1.13, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.11.

Results reflect solid performances in the storage and service segments and the data center business. However, higher interest expenses in the quarter acted as a dampener. The company reaffirmed its outlook for 2024.

Quarterly total revenues of $1.56 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by just 0.06%.

On a year-over-year basis, AFFO per share and total revenues increased 10.8% and 12.2%, respectively.

According to William L. Meaney, president and CEO of Iron Mountain, “We are pleased to report a very strong third quarter and continued strong momentum in the second half of 2024, resulting in all-time record Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and AFFO.”

Behind the Headlines

Storage rental revenues were $935.7 million in the third quarter, up 9% year over year. We had estimated quarterly storage rental revenues to be $935.6 million.

Service revenues increased 17.4% from the prior-year quarter to $621.7 million.

The Global Data Center business reported revenues of $153.2 million in the third quarter, rising 20.1% year over year. Our estimate was pegged at $156 million.

The adjusted EBITDA rose 13.6% year over year to $568.1 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin came at 36.5%, increasing 50 basis points year over year.

However, interest expenses flared up 21.8% year over year to $186.1 million in the quarter. We projected the metric to be $178 million.

Balance-Sheet Position

IRM exited the third quarter with $168.5 million of cash and cash equivalents, up from $144.3 million as of June 30, 2024.

Dividend Update

Concurrently, IRM announced a quarterly cash dividend of 71.5 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2024. The dividend will be paid out on Jan. 7, 2024, to its shareholders on record as of Dec. 16, 2024.

2024 Guidance

Iron Mountain reaffirmed its guidance for 2024 and now expects to be on track to achieve the upper end of the 2024 guidance range.

It expects AFFO per share of $4.39-$4.51. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $4.49, which lies within the company’s guided range.

Revenues are estimated to be $6.00-$6.15 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be $2.175-$2.225 billion.

Iron Mountain currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Iron Mountain Incorporated Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Iron Mountain Incorporated price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Iron Mountain Incorporated Quote

Performance of Other REITs

Prologis, Inc. PLD reported third-quarter 2024 core funds from operations (FFO) per share of $1.43, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.37. This compares favorably with the year-ago quarter’s figure of $1.30.

The quarterly results reflected a rise in rental revenues and healthy leasing activity. However, high interest expenses are an undermining factor. In addition, PLD increased its 2024 core FFO per share guidance range.

Crown Castle Inc. CCI reported third-quarter 2024 AFFO per share of $1.84, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.80. The reported figure also increased by 4% from the year-ago quarter.

Results reflected a rise in site rental revenues and a decline in total operating expenses year over year. However, a decrease in services and other revenues affected the results to some extent. CCI maintained its outlook for 2024.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

Zacks Investment Research