Arthur William Stein
Analyst · Cantor Fitzgerald
Thank you, John. Good afternoon, and thank you, all of those who are joining us. I'd like to begin today by outlining our strategic vision for the company. We strive to enable our customers to build their future growth here, Digital Realty data centers around the world. We see IT as rapidly evolving from a cost center to a revenue generator. Corporate executives are widely coming to view data as a strategic asset. Data storage is a less critical function than the traffic and exchange of information. Against this backdrop, we believe proximity to major metropolitan areas such as London, New York, San Francisco and Singapore will take on renewed importance, not just for ultra-low latency applications, but for delivery of all matter of content to the broadest population bases with the deepest penetration of smartphones and connected devices. We are building a vibrant ecosystem that will enable our customers to exchange and transmit their data to myriad ultimate destinations as quickly and as efficiently as possible. If we are successful at facilitating our customer's future growth, we will also be successful at maximizing the value of our 4-data-center portfolio, and creating meaningful value for shareholders in the process. Our global footprint is a key differentiating factor. Over 90% of the business that we signed in the first quarter was with existing customers. And no one in the industry can match our ability to facilitate customer growth on a global scale. We produce high-quality data center solutions, and our cloud and network-based partnerships are nurturing an ecosystem that will likewise lead to product differentiation. This vision dovetails perfectly with our #1 objective of optimizing the return on our portfolio for driving improved return on invested capital through the lease-up of existing inventory. Matt Miszewski will have more to say regarding our progress on this front in his commentary. We are also undertaking a review of precisely which properties constitute our core portfolio. We believe capital recycling represents prudent real estate portfolio management. You can reasonably expect to see us cull the bottom 5% to 10% of our portfolio over the next several years. We expect to prune legacy, non-data-center assets, non-core markets and a handful of underperforming assets. Subject to our board's approval, proceeds will be used to shrink our capital structure on a leverage-neutral basis, which is to say, a portion of the proceeds will be used to pay down debt and a portion may be used to buy back stock, so long as we believe that the public market value of our portfolio is trading at a meaningful discount to its private market value. We will also continue to explore additional joint venture opportunities, which may serve to provide greater transparency on the private market value of our Turn-Key properties, in addition to the Powered Base Buildings that seeded the joint venture with Prudential Real Estate Investors last September. Our private capital initiative may also serve to demonstrate the significant value our development platform has created. Going forward, however, we are adopting a very disciplined approach in terms of taking on speculative development risk. For example, we now have the ability to deliver a data center pod in 12 to 16 weeks. So we no longer see the need to stockpile finished inventory, and we plan to transition to a build-to-order inventory program. Having a lease in hand before we build will enable us to reduce our risk profile, commit capital only for projects that meet our return thresholds, know our returns with certainty, and avoid accepting subpar returns under pressure. We offer a premium product and our ideal customer fully appreciates the value proposition that Digital Realty provides. This discipline will likely cause us to pass on some deals. But we believe it will lead to a healthier industry dynamic, better returns for our shareholders and a better match between the product that we offer and the customer base that appropriately values our offering. In addition to discipline, however, we must be vigilant about meeting our customer's needs. We cannot just offer them any color Model T they want so long as it's black. We must pay careful attention to the market's evolving product configuration requirements and be sure that we are equipped to provide the product that our customers [indiscernible]. Finally, we aim to implement some subtle shifts in our corporate culture. First and foremost, we will place renewed emphasis on serving customers in addition to managing properties. In our business, customer focus and value creation cannot be separated. Increased attention to our customers' business needs and technological evolution will enable us to anticipate changes, market dynamics, as well as technological shifts, and allow us to continue to match our product to market requirements, ultimately increasing the value of our portfolio. We've also entered a new era of candid dialogue with all constituents, including shareholders, as evidenced by the recent steps we've taken towards improving our disclosure. We have assembled an incredibly talented team of professionals. It is my mission to unleash the intellectual capital and creative energies of this reservoir of talent. One recent announcement that exemplifies both our efforts to unleash intellectual capital as well as our commitment to driving improved return on invested capital was Scott Peterson's promotion to Chief Investment Officer. Having closed some $6 billion in data center acquisitions, Scott is clearly one of the sector's most accomplished investors. But more importantly, he is also, in my opinion, one of the most astute. I could not be more pleased by Scott's well-deserved promotion. And now, I would like to turn the floor over to him to provide further detail on our capital allocation strategy going forward.