At a glance
- NEXTDC will spend up to A$5.75bn on building in FY27, well above the A$3.4bn it spent in FY26.
- Revenue and earnings are both guided to grow by more than half in FY27.
- Customers have signed for 565MW that is not switched on yet, and 197MW of it is due to start earning revenue during FY27.
- The reported A$82.1m profit follows a change in how three sites are valued, and NEXTDC says its old method would have shown a loss.
- Grid rules being written in New South Wales and nationally apply at new connections, which puts the pipeline in scope rather than the capacity already sold.
NEXTDC guides FY27 spending to A$5.75bn
NEXTDC released its FY26 result to the ASX after the market closed on 27 August 2026, for the year ended 30 June 2026. A briefing follows at 9:30am AEST on 28 August 2026. Net revenue was A$405.0 million, up from A$350.2 million in FY25. Underlying earnings, struck before interest, tax, depreciation and one-off items, were A$248.8 million, ahead of the A$230 million to A$240 million the company had guided.
The megawatt figures in the release were not new. NEXTDC told the market on 21 July 2026 that customers had signed for 740.1MW, on a basis that includes contracts settled after 30 June. It reported 175.0MW switched on and earning revenue at the same time. Both figures were covered when they were disclosed.
What arrived with the result is the price of delivering them. NEXTDC guided FY27 capital spending to between A$5,250 million and A$5,750 million, which it calls the largest capital program in its history. Available funding at 30 June 2026 was A$8,676 million. Up to A$500 million of the guided spending is customer fit-out work NEXTDC expects to be reimbursed for.
That makes FY27 a question about the balance sheet rather than about demand. Cloud and AI data centre customers hold 75 per cent of the capacity under contract, chief executive Craig Scroggie says every megawatt in the order book is a binding contract, and NEXTDC puts the earnings embedded in what it has already sold at more than A$1.0 billion a year once it is all running. FY26 underlying earnings were A$248.8 million.
| Measure | FY26 result | FY27 guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Net revenue | A$405.0m | A$615m to A$640m |
| Underlying earnings | A$248.8m | A$385m to A$410m |
| Capital spending | A$3,397m | A$5,250m to A$5,750m |
Source: NEXTDC FY26 results announcement and FY26 results presentation, 27 August 2026.
A$9.75bn raised since August 2025 leaves A$8.7bn available
NEXTDC has raised A$9.75 billion since August 2025, across senior debt, hybrid securities, subordinated notes and the A$1.5 billion equity raise taken to the market in May 2026. Available funding stands at A$8,676 million, from A$5,496 million a year earlier. It is made up of A$876 million in cash, A$7,100 million of undrawn senior debt facilities and a A$700 million hybrid tranche not yet drawn. Net debt is A$751 million and gearing 11 per cent, down from 19 per cent.
At the top of the guided range, one year of building takes about two thirds of that, and the spending runs past FY27. NEXTDC has 537MW under construction, puts total planned capacity above 3GW, and expects a further 221MW of contracted capacity to start earning revenue in FY28. The A$2.3 billion senior debt upsize it closed in July 2026 took total facilities to an A$8.7 billion limit, A$1.6 billion of it drawn.
Two other Australian operators reported in the same fortnight on different footing. DigiCo is selling three American data centres to fund an 88MW Sydney upgrade, and Goodman builds through capital raised from outside investors. NEXTDC is funding its build on its own balance sheet.
A$3.2bn of sites move onto the books at market value
NEXTDC reported a statutory profit after tax of A$82.1 million, against a A$60.5 million loss in FY25. Behind it is a change in how three sites are accounted for. NEXTDC signed long-term agreements with hyperscale customers covering all, or substantially all, of M3 Melbourne and S4 Sydney, determined that those agreements are operating leases, and moved the two sites out of property, plant and equipment into investment property, where they are carried at market value and no longer depreciated. M5 Melbourne went in on the same basis when it was acquired in June 2026. Colocation space at those sites stays on the old treatment, at cost less depreciation. The balance sheet carries A$3,237 million of investment properties, against none a year earlier.
Each transfer runs from the date that site's use changed, December 2025 for M3 Melbourne and April 2026 for S4 Sydney, and no prior year is restated. A A$495.6 million revaluation was recognised on transfer and a further A$128.8 million fair value gain went through the profit line, A$624.4 million between them. The result also carries an income tax benefit of A$53.6 million.
Without the change, FY26 would have been a loss before tax of A$108.4 million. NEXTDC published that comparison itself, worked on its FY25 method, and labels the figures unaudited and prepared for comparison only. The same basis puts FY25 at a A$58.7 million loss. Carrying leased, stabilised data centre assets at market value is standard practice for a landlord, so this is a change of method rather than of business, and the treatment is new in FY26. It does separate the headline profit from the underlying earnings line NEXTDC guides on.
537MW is in construction and more than 3GW is in plan
Built capacity reached 287.9MW during FY26. NEXTDC's own measure is that 257 per cent of built capacity was under contract at 30 June 2026, against 173 per cent at 31 December 2025. Selling ahead of the build is the model, and that ratio has climbed for two years.
S4 Sydney is upgraded to 365MW of planned capacity, with 250MW in progress. M3 Melbourne is at 225MW planned, 60MW of it built and 165MW in progress. M2 Melbourne is adding 60MW to the 60MW already there, M4 Melbourne has planning approval and early works underway on 150MW, and M5 Melbourne is a 1.2GW site NEXTDC has acquired. Scroggie named M2, M3, S4 and KL1 in Kuala Lumpur as the FY27 delivery priorities.
Behind them the pipeline is earlier and slower. S5 at Macquarie Park remains in design and planning, and S7 at Eastern Creek is planned above 550MW and still at design and town planning stage. Offshore, Tokyo is in excavation with completion set for FY30, and Auckland has a resource consent lodged for about 15MW, behind the Asian pipeline NEXTDC set out after KL1 opened. Its Australian sites carry enclaves on the government's hosting certification register, and it heads the 2026 ranking of Australian data centre operators.
New grid rules take effect at connection and approval from 2027
NEXTDC told investors that power arrangements are in place across the capacity it has contracted, and that the reforms being drafted in New South Wales and at Commonwealth level apply at the point of a new grid connection or a new planning approval. On that reading its operating sites and its 565MW order book sit outside the changes. The company says it has written confirmation from Transgrid that the network capacity allocation policy it published in August 2026 does not apply to S4 Sydney. That policy reaches loads of 30MW or more seeking a new transmission connection in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and S4 Sydney has its connection arranged already.
S5, S7, the Melbourne sites and the rest of the 3GW plan will connect and seek approval after those rules land. The New South Wales data centre guidelines are open for comment until 14 September 2026, and the national framework agreed by governments is recommendations that phase in from 2027. Both are expected to carry upfront network charges, bonds and renewable energy commitments. NEXTDC chairs the industry energy policy and technical committee and sits on the Australian Energy Market Commission's technical working group.
What to watch
The 28 August briefing. The result landed after the market closed on 27 August 2026, so the first trading response comes the following day. The funding question is the one analysts will put on the call.
The 197MW conversion. NEXTDC expects 197MW to start earning revenue in FY27 and 221MW in FY28. Guidance of more than 50 per cent growth in both revenue and earnings depends on that schedule holding.
The New South Wales consultation. Comment closes on 14 September 2026, and the guidelines will govern how S5, S7 and the rest of the pipeline connect and win approval.
The next capital raise. NEXTDC has signalled none. FY27 spending, the 537MW already in construction and the FY28 conversion schedule are what decide whether one is needed before the order book is delivered.