In a June investor presentation, the company noted that it has some 290 data centers across 47 metro areas around the world, and that it’s the sixth-largest publicly traded U.S. REIT. Its top five customers include IBM, Facebook, and Oracle — with roughly 30 to 40 data centers for each.
The only knock against Digital Realty Trust is that it’s not exactly a bargain stock at recent levels. Its price-to-sales ratio, for example, was recently 10.7, above its five-year average of 8.3. So if you want to invest in it, you might add it to a watch list, or buy in incrementally over time, or just buy anyway — with a very long-term outlook.
If you expect that our planet will keep needing more data centers to support ever-growing digital activity, Digital Realty Trust is a promising business in which to invest.
Image source: Getty Images.
2. NextEra Energy
Next up, NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE). You may not find energy companies that exciting, but this one kind of is.
It’s also a dividend-paying stock, recently yielding 2.1%. It’s worth considering dividend payers for a Roth IRA, because that way, any dividends paid can end up avoiding taxation. Most dividends today face a 15% tax rate for most investors, and that rate may go up in coming years, especially for higher earners. President Biden, for example, is interested in seeing capital gains tax rates go up.