GDS (NASDAQ:GDS) Issues Earnings Results

GDS (NASDAQ:GDS) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $1.56, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $426.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $436.44 million. GDS had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 8.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.47 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from GDS’s conference call:

• GDS said AI-driven demand is accelerating and that year-to-date new bookings already exceeded 340 MW, putting the company on track to meet or beat its 2026 target of at least 500 MW.
• Management highlighted a large pipeline, with 1.8 GW of total bookings at the end of 1Q26 and more than 1 GW of bookings plus reservations year to date, which they said gives near-term visibility into follow-on orders.
• The company reported a stronger balance sheet after capital recycling and financing activity, ending with over RMB 19 billion in cash and time deposits while lowering net debt to annualized adjusted EBITDA to 4.7x.
• Management said development economics remain stable, with unit development cost around RMB 20,000 per kW and stabilized portfolio yields at roughly 10% to 11%, supporting an estimated 20% ROE on incremental investment over a six-year cycle.
• GDS expects utilization and move-ins to accelerate, guiding to about 70,000 sq m of move-ins in 2026 and a much larger step-up in 2027 as backlog converts into billable capacity.

GDS Stock Down 6.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GDS opened at $37.92 on Wednesday. GDS has a 52-week low of $22.53 and a 52-week high of $48.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.70 and a 200-day moving average of $39.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of 73.39 and a beta of 0.46.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GDS. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GDS during the first quarter worth $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of GDS during the first quarter worth about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GDS by 41.6% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in GDS by 113.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in GDS by 245.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. 33.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on GDS shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of GDS in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of GDS from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research cut shares of GDS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GDS from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.90.

About GDS

GDS Holdings Limited, founded in 2001 and headquartered in Shanghai, is a leading network-neutral data center services provider in China. The company operates a portfolio of state-of-the-art data center facilities designed to support the mission-critical IT infrastructure of cloud service providers, internet enterprises, financial institutions, and government entities. GDS was among the first Chinese providers to offer high-density colocation solutions, catering to customers with demanding computing and storage requirements.

GDS specializes in delivering scalable colocation, cross-connect, and interconnection services within its facilities, enabling clients to establish high-speed, low-latency connections to major cloud platforms and internet exchange points.