DLR vs. O: Digital Realty Trust vs. Realty Income Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) and Realty Income (O) both fall under the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group, but DLR is classified in Specialized REITs while O is classified in Retail REITs.

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) and Realty Income (O) are REITs — read their payout ratios and P/E alongside FFO (funds from operations) rather than at face value.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 5.69% and Realty Income (O) at 2.83% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Neither Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Realty Income (O) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is well served by net margin: heavy depreciation makes net income a poor profitability proxy in their businesses, where FFO-based measures are the standard read.

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Realty Income (O) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), funding costs are part of the core business, so net margin and ROE are the cleaner profitability reads.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 10.04% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Realty Income (O) at 9.07% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for DLR.

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Realty Income (O) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 1.23 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Realty Income (O) at 2.06 sits above its industry’s typical mid-range — comfortable liquidity, though possibly with more idle current assets relative to peers.

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 0.77 and Realty Income (O) at 0.73 keep leverage in the lower quartile of their industries, with less balance-sheet debt relative to equity than most peers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Realty Income (O) at 4.96% pays a yield in its industry’s typical range, while Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 2.77% falls in the bottom quartile of its peers.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Realty Income (O) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): their distributions are mandated and conventionally measured against FFO, so the accounting-earnings ratio overstates both.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

P/E ratio is not a meaningful valuation yardstick for either Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Realty Income (O) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 10.69 and Realty Income (O) at 10.22 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

Realty Income (O) at 1.55 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 2.76 carries an above-peer premium to book — DLR is pricier on assets.

Valuation Metrics