At a glance
- Five ASX companies reported data centre results between 20 and 27 August 2026, and none of the capacity they described earns before FY27.
- NEXTDC will spend up to A$5.75 billion in FY27, the largest capital program in its history, and three of the others guided higher too.
- Customers have signed for 565MW at NEXTDC that is not switched on.
- Goodman, DigiCo and Megaport shares each fell on their reporting day, and twelve analysts asked Goodman when the spending comes back.
- Four rule changes arrived in the same fortnight, and they apply where the next projects connect and seek approval.
Five FY26 results inside eight days
Australia's listed data centre builders reported their FY26 results inside eight days. Goodman and Megaport reported on 20 August 2026, DigiCo on 21 August, Macquarie Technology on 26 August and NEXTDC on 27 August.
The new capacity starts earning in FY27 at the earliest, and every company is spending more to get there.
The spending is going into capacity customers have already signed for, which makes this a contracted cycle rather than a speculative one. Capital is also being pulled back to Australia, with DigiCo selling American sites to pay for Sydney. And the questions on the results calls moved off demand and onto timing.
When the new capacity starts earning
| Company | What is due | When |
|---|---|---|
| Goodman | 0.5GW under construction across ten projects | Early 2027 to 2030 |
| Megaport | A first test batch of graphics processors | December 2026 quarter |
| DigiCo | First 10MW of the Sydney upgrade, then 42MW | End of FY27, then FY28 |
| Macquarie Technology | First 6MW at Macquarie Park finished | September 2026 |
| NEXTDC | 197MW of contracted capacity, then 221MW | FY27, then FY28 |
Source: company FY26 results announcements and investor presentations, 20 to 27 August 2026, in order of reporting date. Goodman gave a window and told analysts it would not be specific about individual projects.
Macquarie Technology expects its Macquarie Park building to be ready in September 2026 and guides the revenue to the second half of FY27, with an anchor customer still in negotiation. Megaport, which has bought graphics processors of its own, spends on them roughly a year before they earn.
Customers have signed for 565MW at NEXTDC that is not switched on. Goodman holds secured power for 3.6GW and has built 0.7GW of it.
Goodman counts electricity it has arranged across 16 cities. NEXTDC counts capacity customers have contracted. Adding them gives a wrong answer.
DigiCo is selling American data centres to build in Sydney
DigiCo is the clearest change since the half-year. It has conditional agreements over three of its five American sites and is putting the proceeds into its Sydney campus. That costs it the American income before the Australian capacity replaces it, so FY27 earnings are guided below FY26.
Goodman fielded twelve questions about when the spending pays
Twelve analysts asked Goodman a version of one question on 20 August 2026: when the money spent on data centres starts coming back. Goodman answered on the returns, and said it would not put dates on individual projects. Chief executive Greg Goodman told the AFR that FY27 is a year of development earnings, with rents flowing in 2028, 2029 and 2030.
The shares fell 3.5 per cent that day, the AFR reported, the weakest performer on the S&P/ASX 200 real estate index. DigiCo and Megaport also closed lower on their own reporting days. Citi analyst Howard Penny said "the key investor debate will now centre on the earnings cadence from recently signed leases".
Anthropic asked New South Wales about up to 5GW
An Infrastructure NSW email dated 18 March 2026 records that Anthropic's chief executive wanted to discuss locating up to 5GW of AI training capacity in New South Wales, outside Sydney. The ABC published the emails on 26 August 2026 and says the figure reflected initial interest, with no timeframe attached.
Australia has 1.6GW of operating data centre capacity. Cushman & Wakefield separately counts 2.44GW of colocation capacity leased before construction, on its own definitions. The two counts do not add, and both are small against what one customer was asking about.
Four rule changes arrived between 14 and 26 August 2026
| Instrument | What it does | From |
|---|---|---|
| Transgrid connection policy | A large new transmission connection in New South Wales and the ACT has to show it is ready to build within three months, or it can lose its place | 14 August 2026 |
| NSW data centre guidelines | Offers a 75-day assessment to projects that contract new wind and storage | 17 August 2026 |
| NSW energy consultation | Proposes charging data centres for the network upgrades they trigger | Closes 14 September 2026 |
| National standards | Mandatory rules on energy, water and land use | Legislation intended early 2027 |
Source: Transgrid, the New South Wales government and the National Cabinet statement, 14 to 26 August 2026. The connection charges the consultation proposes need an amendment to the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act that is still before parliament.
What the rules reward
The rules apply to what gets built next. Anything already connected and sold keeps the terms it was approved under.
NEXTDC told investors the 565MW it has already sold falls outside the changes, and the rest of its plan falls inside.
Expect a rush to lodge before the standards become law in early 2027. An application already filed is judged on the rules of the day, so more should arrive, and bigger ones. Zerra DC filed a 1.44GW Queensland campus on 17 August 2026, nine days before first ministers agreed the standards.
Queensland is the likelier destination. It kept room to use its own energy mix, while New South Wales sells speed in return for contracted wind and storage. A filed application still has to survive: the ABC reports Queensland has twice voided applications already lodged and waiting.
Holding grid capacity has stopped being free. Under the Transgrid policy a connection agreement signed early has to be backed by a real project inside three months, so capacity held as an option can be lost.
What to watch
NEXTDC's FY27 revenue guidance. It guides revenue and earnings growth above 50 per cent, and that rests on 197MW starting to earn on the schedule it published.
The New South Wales energy consultation. Submissions close on 14 September 2026, and the connection charges proposed there need the amending bill to pass.
Large applications lodged before the standards. How many arrive, and how big they are, is the clearest read on how operators are treating the early 2027 deadline.
The February 2027 half-year reports. They cover the six months to 31 December 2026, the first period with some of this capacity running.