DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (DBRG) Presents At Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference 2025 Transcript

DigitalBridge CEO Marc Ganzi highlighted the firm's significant capital expenditure and strategic focus on power and capital formation as key drivers across its digital infrastructure portfolio. The company is experiencing robust demand in towers, driven by surging mobile data traffic, AI inferencing shifting to mobile devices, and machine-to-machine connectivity, with new colocation leases outpacing amendments. In data centers, DigitalBridge is deploying $50 billion in CapEx, leveraging its 22 GW power bank and asset-light, fund-based model to generate substantial carried interest, with 28% flowing to public shareholders. Ganzi emphasized the critical challenge of U.S. power supply and DigitalBridge's unique approach to building grid-independent microgrids, positioning power as a core competitive differentiator, while also focusing on Fee-Related Earnings (FRE) growth and margin expansion for investors.

Analysis

DigitalBridge (DBRG) is aggressively capitalizing on unprecedented, AI-driven demand across its digital infrastructure portfolio, with a strategic focus on securing power and raising capital. CEO Marc Ganzi highlighted that the tower sector is experiencing its best leasing demand since 2013, driven by a 3-5x projected increase in mobile data traffic, the shift of AI inferencing to mobile devices, and exponential growth in machine-to-machine connectivity. A key inflection point is that new, higher-value colocation leases are now outpacing amendments, signaling a new growth cycle. In data centers, DBRG is deploying $50 billion in CapEx, leveraging a 22-gigawatt power bank that significantly exceeds the combined capacity of public REITs like Digital Realty and Equinix. The company's key differentiator is its ability to develop grid-independent power, allowing it to offer capacity to hyperscalers today, mitigating a critical industry bottleneck. For investors, the value proposition is twofold: near-term growth in Fee-Related Earnings (FRE), with a stated goal of reaching a 40% margin, and the immense, long-term value embedded in carried interest. Management provided a direct formula where each megawatt developed generates approximately $800,000 in carry, positioning the conversion of its power bank as the primary, though currently under-appreciated, driver of future shareholder value.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Investors should monitor the conversion of the company's 22-gigawatt power bank into active leases, as management has provided a clear formula linking each megawatt to significant carried interest, representing a core component of the company's long-term valuation.
• The firm's asset-light model and proprietary power development strategy present a distinct competitive advantage over capital-constrained public REITs like DLR and EQIX, warranting consideration for a long-term sector outperformance thesis.
• Pay close attention to near-term growth in Fee-Related Earnings (FRE) and progress toward the stated 40% margin target, as these metrics provide the most immediate financial validation of the company's strategy while the larger carried interest value proposition matures.
• Re-evaluate exposure to the tower and mobile infrastructure sub-sector, as management sees demand fundamentals, driven by AI and M2M growth, as the strongest since 2013, with a notable shift to higher-value colocation leases.