First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights
- Net revenue increased by 23.6% year-over-year (“Y-o-Y”) to
RMB3,367.1 million (US$488.1 million ) in the first quarter of 2026 (1Q2025:RMB2,723.2 million ). Net revenue excluding some one-time items wasRMB2,938.0 million (US$425.9 million ), an increase of 7.9% Y-o-Y. - Net income increased by 247.1% Y-o-Y to
RMB2,652.1 million (US$384.5 million ) in the first quarter of 2026 (1Q2025:RMB764.1 million ). - Net income margin was 78.8% in the first quarter of 2026 (1Q2025: 28.1%).
- Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) increased by 47.2% Y-o-Y to
RMB1,948.7 million (US$282.5 million ) in the first quarter of 2026 (1Q2025:RMB1,323.8 million ). Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) excluding some one-time items wasRMB1,430.3 million (US$207.3 million ), an increase of 8.0% Y-o-Y. See “Non-GAAP Disclosure” and “Reconciliations of GAAP and non-GAAP results” elsewhere in this earnings release. - Adjusted EBITDA margin (non-GAAP) was 57.9% in the first quarter of 2026 (1Q2025: 48.6%). Adjusted EBITDA margin (non-GAAP) excluding some one-time items was 48.7%.
First Quarter 2026 Operating Highlights
- Total area committed and pre-committed increased by 11.7% Y-o-Y to 725,485 sqm as of
March 31, 2026 (March 31, 2025 : 649,561 sqm). - Area utilized increased by 12.7% Y-o-Y to 520,929 sqm as of
March 31, 2026 (March 31, 2025 : 462,423 sqm). - Area in service increased by 10.4% Y-o-Y to 674,269 sqm as of
March 31, 2026 (March 31, 2025 : 610,685 sqm) - Utilization rate (area utilized divided by area in service) was 77.3% as of
March 31, 2026 (March 31, 2025 : 75.7%).
“We started 2026 with very strong sales,” said Mr.
“In the first quarter, our revenue increased by 7.9% and adjusted EBITDA grew by 8.0% year-over-year (excluding some one-time items),” added Mr.
First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Net revenue in the first quarter of 2026 was
Cost of revenue in the first quarter of 2026 was
Gross profit was
Gross profit margin was 33.6% in the first quarter of 2026, or 23.9% excluding some one-time items, compared with 23.7% in the same period last year.
Adjusted Gross Profit (“Adjusted GP”) (non-GAAP) is defined as gross profit excluding depreciation and amortization, operating lease cost relating to prepaid land use rights, accretion expenses for asset retirement costs and share-based compensation expenses allocated to cost of revenue. Adjusted GP was
Adjusted GP margin (non-GAAP) was 58.0% in the first quarter of 2026, or 51.8% excluding some one-time items, compared with 53.4% in the same period last year. The normalized Y-o-Y decrease was mainly due to a higher level of utility costs as a percentage of net revenue.
Selling and marketing expenses, excluding share-based compensation expenses of
General and administrative expenses, excluding share-based compensation expenses of
Research and development costs were
Net interest expenses for the first quarter of 2026 were
Foreign currency exchange loss for the first quarter of 2026 was
Others, net for the first quarter of 2026 was
Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries for the first quarter of 2026 was nil, compared with
Income tax expenses for the first quarter of 2026 were
Share of results of equity method investees for the first quarter of 2026 was an income of
Net income in the first quarter of 2026 was
Basic income per ordinary share in the first quarter of 2026 was
Diluted income per ordinary share in the first quarter of 2026 was
Basic income per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) in the first quarter of 2026 was
Diluted income per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) in the first quarter of 2026 was
Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) is defined as net income (loss) excluding net interest expenses, income tax expenses (benefits), depreciation and amortization, operating lease cost relating to prepaid land use rights, accretion expenses for asset retirement costs, share-based compensation expenses, impairment losses of long-lived assets, share of results of equity method investees and gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries. Adjusted EBITDA was
Adjusted EBITDA margin (non-GAAP) was 57.9% in the first quarter of 2026, or 48.7% excluding some one-time items, compared with 48.6% in the same period last year. The normalized Y-o-Y increase was mainly due to cost savings at the corporate level.
Liquidity
As of
Total short-term debt was
During the first quarter of 2026, the Company obtained new debt financing and refinancing facilities of
First Quarter 2026 Operating Results
Sales
Total area committed and pre-committed at the end of the first quarter of 2026 was 725,485 sqm, compared with 649,561 sqm at the end of the first quarter of 2025 and 670,106 sqm at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 11.7% Y-o-Y and an increase of 8.3% quarter-over-quarter (“Q-o-Q”), respectively. In the first quarter of 2026, gross additional total area committed was 59,342 sqm. Net additional total area committed was 55,379 sqm.
Data Center Resources
Area in service at the end of the first quarter of 2026 was 674,269 sqm, compared with 610,685 sqm at the end of the first quarter of 2025 and 668,283 sqm at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 10.4% Y-o-Y and an increase of 0.9% Q-o-Q, respectively.
Area under construction at the end of the first quarter of 2026 was 118,411 sqm, compared with 132,208 sqm at the end of the first quarter of 2025 and 73,994 sqm at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, a decrease of 10.4% Y-o-Y and an increase of 60.0% Q-o-Q, respectively.
Commitment rate for area in service was 92.8% at the end of the first quarter of 2026, compared with 90.9% at the end of the first quarter of 2025 and 93.0% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. Pre-commitment rate for area under construction was 84.4% at the end of the first quarter of 2026, compared with 71.6% at the end of the first quarter of 2025 and 66.1% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025.
Move-In
Area utilized at the end of the first quarter of 2026 was 520,929 sqm, compared with 462,423 sqm at the end of the first quarter of 2025 and 504,843 sqm at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 12.7% Y-o-Y and an increase of 3.2% Q-o-Q, respectively. In the first quarter of 2026, gross additional area utilized was 19,405 sqm. Net additional area utilized was 16,086 sqm.
Utilization rate for area in service was 77.3% at the end of the first quarter of 2026, compared with 75.7% at the end of the first quarter of 2025 and 75.5% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025.
Partial Sale of DayOne Ordinary Shares
During the first quarter of 2026, the Company completed the
Subsequently in
Private Placement of
During the first quarter of 2026, the Company completed a private placement of
Business Outlook
The Company confirms that the previously provided guidance of total revenues for the year of 2026 of
This forecast reflects the Company’s preliminary view on the current business situation and market conditions, which are subject to change.
Conference Call
Management will hold a conference call at
Participants should complete online registration using the link provided below at least 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. Upon registration, participants will receive the conference call access information, including dial-in numbers, a personal PIN and an e-mail with detailed instructions to join the conference call.
Participant Online Registration:
https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIdae3e37d5e2a42a7b9679deaf921ff79
A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's investor relations website at https://investors.gds-services.com.
Non-GAAP Disclosure
Our management and board of directors use Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted GP and Adjusted GP margin, which are non-GAAP financial measures, to evaluate our operating performance, establish budgets and develop operational goals for managing our business. We believe that the exclusion of the income and expenses eliminated in calculating Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted GP can provide useful and supplemental measures of our core operating performance. In particular, we believe that the use of Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental performance measure captures the trend in our operating performance by excluding from our operating results the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest expense), asset base charges (primarily depreciation and amortization, operating lease cost relating to prepaid land use rights, accretion expenses for asset retirement costs and impairment losses of long-lived assets), other non-cash expenses (primarily share-based compensation expenses), and other income and expenses which we believe are not reflective of our operating performance (primarily gain or loss on deconsolidation of subsidiaries and share of results of equity method investees), whereas the use of adjusted gross profit as a supplemental performance measure captures the trend in gross profit performance of our data centers in service by excluding from our gross profit the impact of asset base charges (primarily depreciation and amortization, operating lease cost relating to prepaid land use rights and accretion expenses for asset retirement costs) and other non-cash expenses (primarily share-based compensation expenses) included in cost of revenue. In addition, we exclude the income (loss) from discontinued operations from our Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin to measure our financial performance from continuing operations, which will be consistent with our future financial performance disclosure.
We note that depreciation and amortization is a fixed cost which commences as soon as each data center enters service. However, it usually takes several years for new data centers to reach high levels of utilization and profitability. The Company incurs significant depreciation and amortization costs for its early stage data center assets. Accordingly, gross profit, which is a measure of profitability after taking into account depreciation and amortization, does not accurately reflect the Company’s core operating performance.
We also present these non-GAAP measures because we believe these non-GAAP measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties as measures of the financial performance of companies in our industry.
These non-GAAP financial measures are not defined under
We mitigate these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable
For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned “Reconciliations of GAAP and non-GAAP results” set forth at the end of this press release.
Exchange Rate
This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into
Statement Regarding Preliminary Unaudited Financial Information
The unaudited financial information set out in this earnings release is preliminary and subject to potential adjustments. Adjustments to the consolidated financial statements may be identified when audit work has been performed for the Company’s year-end audit, which could result in significant differences from this preliminary unaudited financial information.
About
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
Phone: +86 (21) 2029-2203
Email: ir@gds-services.com
Phone: +86 (10) 6508-0677
Email: GDS@tpg-ir.com
Phone: +1 (212) 481-2050
Email: GDS@tpg-ir.com
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Amount in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and US dollars ("US$")) | |||||||
| As of | As of | ||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||
| Assets | |||||||
| Current assets | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 14,305,958 | 14,822,493 | 2,148,810 | ||||
| Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses | 2,467,358 | 2,957,449 | 428,740 | ||||
| Value-added-tax (“VAT”) recoverable | 284,967 | 290,929 | 42,176 | ||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 1,489,174 | 5,512,007 | 799,073 | ||||
| Total current assets | 18,547,457 | 23,582,878 | 3,418,799 | ||||
| Non-current assets | |||||||
| Long-term investments in equity investees | 10,052,348 | 9,337,471 | 1,353,649 | ||||
| Property and equipment, net | 38,053,824 | 37,874,775 | 5,490,689 | ||||
| Prepaid land use rights, net | 16,119 | 16,000 | 2,320 | ||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 4,831,624 | 4,810,838 | 697,425 | ||||
| 5,461,058 | 5,422,296 | 786,068 | |||||
| Other non-current assets | 3,036,068 | 3,090,494 | 448,027 | ||||
| Total non-current assets | 61,451,041 | 60,551,874 | 8,778,178 | ||||
| Total assets | 79,998,498 | 84,134,752 | 12,196,977 | ||||
| Liabilities, Mezzanine Equity and Equity | |||||||
| Current liabilities | |||||||
| Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term borrowings | 2,951,734 | 3,222,777 | 467,205 | ||||
| Convertible bonds payable, current | 0 | 4,284,871 | 621,176 | ||||
| Accounts payable | 1,932,177 | 1,911,943 | 277,174 | ||||
| Accrued expenses and other payables | 1,437,173 | 1,248,513 | 180,996 | ||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | 110,133 | 106,538 | 15,445 | ||||
| Finance lease and other financing obligations, current | 697,142 | 1,861,268 | 269,827 | ||||
| Total current liabilities | 7,128,359 | 12,635,910 | 1,831,823 | ||||
| Non-current liabilities | |||||||
| Long-term borrowings, excluding current portion | 23,363,213 | 23,200,181 | 3,363,320 | ||||
| Convertible bonds payable, non-current | 12,144,371 | 7,683,099 | 1,113,815 | ||||
| Operating lease liabilities, non-current | 1,203,487 | 1,183,205 | 171,529 | ||||
| Finance lease and other financing obligations, non-current | 7,053,979 | 5,644,402 | 818,266 | ||||
| Other long-term liabilities | 1,368,028 | 1,346,196 | 195,157 | ||||
| Total non-current liabilities | 45,133,078 | 39,057,083 | 5,662,087 | ||||
| Total liabilities | 52,261,437 | 51,692,993 | 7,493,910 | ||||
| Mezzanine equity | |||||||
| Redeemable preferred shares | 1,056,663 | 3,119,496 | 452,232 | ||||
| Total mezzanine equity | 1,056,663 | 3,119,496 | 452,232 | ||||
| Ordinary shares | 562 | 562 | 81 | ||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 31,706,498 | 31,736,579 | 4,600,838 | ||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (829,319 | ) | (869,439 | ) | (126,042 | ) | |
| Accumulated deficit | (5,094,729 | ) | (2,446,027 | ) | (354,600 | ) | |
| 25,783,012 | 28,421,675 | 4,120,277 | |||||
| Non-controlling interests | 897,386 | 900,588 | 130,558 | ||||
| Total equity | 26,680,398 | 29,322,263 | 4,250,835 | ||||
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and equity | 79,998,498 | 84,134,752 | 12,196,977 | ||||
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Amount in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and US dollars ("US$") except for number of shares and per share data) | |||||||||
| Three months ended | |||||||||
| RMB | RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||
| Net revenue | |||||||||
| Service revenue | 2,722,908 | 2,920,291 | 3,366,680 | 488,066 | |||||
| Equipment sales | 250 | 1,411 | 419 | 61 | |||||
| Total net revenue | 2,723,158 | 2,921,702 | 3,367,099 | 488,127 | |||||
| Cost of revenue | (2,078,333 | ) | (2,309,275 | ) | (2,235,580 | ) | (324,091 | ) | |
| Gross profit | 644,825 | 612,427 | 1,131,519 | 164,036 | |||||
| Operating expenses | |||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses | (32,764 | ) | (42,390 | ) | (36,560 | ) | (5,300 | ) | |
| General and administrative expenses | (238,936 | ) | (199,038 | ) | (177,438 | ) | (25,723 | ) | |
| Research and development expenses | (7,889 | ) | (7,732 | ) | (9,562 | ) | (1,386 | ) | |
| Impairment losses of long-lived assets | 0 | (1,561,235 | ) | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 365,236 | (1,197,968 | ) | 907,959 | 131,627 | ||||
| Other income (expenses): | |||||||||
| Net interest expenses | (441,477 | ) | (412,919 | ) | (379,847 | ) | (55,066 | ) | |
| Foreign currency exchange gain (loss), net | 1,018 | (261 | ) | (1,396 | ) | (202 | ) | ||
| Others, net | 9,685 | 3,167 | 97,614 | 14,151 | |||||
| Gain (loss) on deconsolidation of subsidiaries | 1,057,045 | (62,245 | ) | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes and share of results of equity method investees | 991,507 | (1,670,226 | ) | 624,330 | 90,510 | ||||
| Income tax expenses | (199,701 | ) | (23,283 | ) | (108,706 | ) | (15,759 | ) | |
| Share of results of equity method investees | (27,732 | ) | 1,230,749 | 2,136,513 | 309,729 | ||||
| Net income (loss) | 764,074 | (462,760 | ) | 2,652,137 | 384,480 | ||||
| Net income attributable to non-controlling interests | (1,053 | ) | (4,293 | ) | (3,435 | ) | (498 | ) | |
| Net income (loss) attributable to | 763,021 | (467,053 | ) | 2,648,702 | 383,982 | ||||
| Cumulative dividend on redeemable preferred shares | (13,455 | ) | (13,566 | ) | (24,521 | ) | (3,555 | ) | |
| Net income (loss) available to | 749,566 | (480,619 | ) | 2,624,181 | 380,427 | ||||
| Income (loss) per ordinary share | |||||||||
| Basic | 0.49 | (0.31 | ) | 1.67 | 0.24 | ||||
| Diluted | 0.43 | (0.31 | ) | 1.32 | 0.19 | ||||
| Weighted average number of ordinary share outstanding | |||||||||
| Basic | 1,484,257,047 | 1,554,302,551 | 1,554,302,551 | 1,554,302,551 | |||||
| Diluted | 1,797,675,770 | 1,554,302,551 | 2,031,672,616 | 2,031,672,616 | |||||
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) (Amount in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and US dollars ("US$")) | ||||||||
| Three months ended | ||||||||
| RMB | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||
| Net income (loss) | 764,074 | (462,760 | ) | 2,652,137 | 384,480 | |||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of nil tax | 16,434 | 103,487 | 130,646 | 18,940 | ||||
| Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss | 0 | (21,175 | ) | (17,334 | ) | (2,513 | ) | |
| Other comprehensive (loss) income from share of results of equity method investees | (3,394 | ) | 16,424 | (153,665 | ) | (22,277 | ) | |
| Comprehensive income (loss) | 777,114 | (364,024 | ) | 2,611,784 | 378,630 | |||
| Comprehensive income attributable to non-controlling interests | (1,161 | ) | (4,180 | ) | (3,202 | ) | (464 | ) |
| Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to | 775,953 | (368,204 | ) | 2,608,582 | 378,166 | |||
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Amount in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and US dollars ("US$")) | ||||||||
| Three months ended | ||||||||
| RMB | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||
| Net income (loss) | 764,074 | (462,760 | ) | 2,652,137 | 384,480 | |||
| Depreciation and amortization | 856,519 | 885,229 | 831,815 | 120,588 | ||||
| Amortization of debt issuance cost and debt discount | 31,804 | 26,454 | 20,116 | 2,916 | ||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 61,977 | 85,494 | 83,821 | 12,151 | ||||
| Share of results of equity method investees | 27,732 | (1,230,749 | ) | (2,136,513 | ) | (309,729 | ) | |
| (Gain) loss on deconsolidation of subsidiaries | (1,057,045 | ) | 62,245 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Impairment losses of long-lived assets | 0 | 1,561,235 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Others | 8,172 | (12,801 | ) | 16,709 | 2,422 | |||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities | 86,839 | 69,210 | (1,020,394 | ) | (147,927 | ) | ||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | 780,072 | 983,557 | 447,691 | 64,901 | ||||
| Purchase of property and equipment and land use rights | (1,009,328 | ) | (914,640 | ) | (770,045 | ) | (111,633 | ) |
| (Payments) receipts related to acquisitions and investments | (360,085 | ) | (9,828 | ) | 2,694,346 | 390,598 | ||
| Purchases of time deposits | 0 | (674,910 | ) | (4,414,802 | ) | (640,012 | ) | |
| Maturities of time deposits | 0 | 0 | 657,343 | 95,295 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (1,369,413 | ) | (1,599,378 | ) | (1,833,158 | ) | (265,752 | ) |
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 275,032 | 1,508,285 | 1,881,331 | 272,737 | ||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash | (242 | ) | (38,135 | ) | (79,342 | ) | (11,503 | ) |
| Net (decrease) increase of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash | (314,551 | ) | 854,329 | 416,522 | 60,383 | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period | 8,093,530 | 13,586,698 | 14,441,027 | 2,093,509 | ||||
| Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period | 7,778,979 | 14,441,027 | 14,857,549 | 2,153,892 | ||||
RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP RESULTS (Amount in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and US dollars ("US$") except for percentage data) | ||||||||
| Three months ended | ||||||||
| RMB | % of net revenue | RMB | % of net revenue | RMB | US$ | % of net revenue | ||
| Gross profit | 644,825 | 23.7 | 612,427 | 21.0 | 1,131,519 | 164,036 | 33.6 | |
| Depreciation and amortization | 790,737 | 29.0 | 827,079 | 28.2 | 781,191 | 113,249 | 23.2 | |
| Operating lease cost relating to prepaid land use rights | 12,016 | 0.4 | 11,564 | 0.4 | 12,921 | 1,873 | 0.4 | |
| Accretion expenses for asset retirement costs | 1,828 | 0.1 | 1,776 | 0.1 | 1,855 | 269 | 0.1 | |
| Share-based compensation expenses | 6,016 | 0.2 | 25,045 | 0.9 | 24,552 | 3,559 | 0.7 | |
| Adjusted GP | 1,455,422 | 53.4 | 1,477,891 | 50.6 | 1,952,038 | 282,986 | 58.0 | |
RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP RESULTS (Amount in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and US dollars ("US$") except for percentage data) | ||||||||||||||
| Three months ended | ||||||||||||||
| RMB | % of net revenue | RMB | % of net revenue | RMB | US$ | % of net revenue | ||||||||
| Net income (loss) | 764,074 | 28.1 | (462,760 | ) | (15.8 | ) | 2,652,137 | 384,480 | 78.8 | |||||
| Net interest expenses | 441,477 | 16.2 | 412,919 | 14.1 | 379,847 | 55,066 | 11.3 | |||||||
| Income tax expenses | 199,701 | 7.3 | 23,283 | 0.8 | 108,706 | 15,759 | 3.2 | |||||||
| Share of results of equity method investees | 27,732 | 1.0 | (1,230,749 | ) | (42.1 | ) | (2,136,513 | ) | (309,729 | ) | (63.5 | ) | ||
| (Gain) loss on deconsolidation of subsidiaries | (1,057,045 | ) | (38.8 | ) | 62,245 | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 856,519 | 31.4 | 885,229 | 30.3 | 831,815 | 120,588 | 24.7 | |||||||
| Operating lease cost relating to prepaid land use rights | 27,584 | 1.0 | 26,951 | 0.9 | 27,018 | 3,917 | 0.8 | |||||||
| Accretion expenses for asset retirement costs | 1,828 | 0.1 | 1,776 | 0.1 | 1,855 | 269 | 0.1 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expenses | 61,977 | 2.3 | 85,494 | 2.9 | 83,821 | 12,151 | 2.5 | |||||||
| Impairment losses of long-lived assets | 0 | 0.0 | 1,561,235 | 53.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | 1,323,847 | 48.6 | 1,365,623 | 46.7 | 1,948,686 | 282,501 | 57.9 | |||||||
Source: