China's GDS Doubles 2026 Data Centre Sales Target
GDS plans to sell a data centre in Langfang, China to its C-REIT (Image: GDS) China’s largest data centre operator outside the state sector, GDS Holdings, has doubled its full-year 2026 sales target to 1. . .
GDS plans to sell a data centre in Langfang, China to its C-REIT (Image: GDS)China’s largest data centre operator outside the state sector, GDS Holdings, has doubled its full-year 2026 sales target to 1 gigawatt after achieving record bookings in the first half. Chairman and CEO William Huang credited AI demand for driving strong sales as the firm announced in earningsreleased late Thursdaythat it had secured 263 megawatts of new bookings in the April to June period – refreshing the 208 megawatt single-quarter record it achieved in the previous quarter. “Our sales momentum is the strongest we have ever seen,” Huang said. “We are very excited about the opportunities in China ahead of us, driven mainly by AI demand. ”Despite the signals of future prosperity, the company continued to record losses on an operating basis. Chief financial officer Daniel Newman said he expects the company’s expanding pipeline to translate into higher revenue starting in the second half of 2027. DayOne Stake Boosts Bottom LineGDS swung to a net profit of RMB 838 million ($124. 3 million) in the April through June period from a net loss of RMB 71 million in the year-earlier period, thanks to a roughly RMB 960 million gain resulting from an increase in valuation for DayOne, the company’s former offshore unit, which was valuedat around $11 billion in a series C equity financing roundclosed in June. William Huang, chairman and chief executive of GDS Holdings also chairs DayOne (Image: GDS)GDS continues to hold a 19. 9 percent stake in DayOne, which Bloomberg reported last weekhas confidentially filed for a US IPOwhich is expected to raise around $5 billion. Absent the DayOne revaluation, GDS’s underlying business remained in the red, with the data centre operator losing around RMB 122. 3 million on an operating basis, according to Mingtiandi calculations. The new bookings promise stronger growth in the future for the Shanghai-based company as revenue rose just 6. 5 percent to RMB 3. 09 billion in the second quarter, compared to the same period a year earlier. Investors were heartened by the company’s results with HKEX-listed shares in GDS closing Friday up 10. 31 percent after its earnings had been posted after the market closed on Thursday. Tech Giants Drive DemandThe company is boosting its full year estimate for new bookings amid a surge of AI demand, with the GDS winning new business from each of its three largest hyperscale customers in the second quarter. The company did not name those customers, but historically GDS has counted Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud among its clients. “China’s tech giants and emerging AI leaders are driving the adoption of advanced models. This has led to a structural upgrade in the demand for computing power and AI infrastructure,” said Huang. In addition to recording 471 megawatts of binding commitments in the first six months of 2026, GDS also secured 600 megawatts of reservations for future expansion by existing customers. . The company aims to end 2026 with over 1 gigawatts of new reservations on top of its 1 gigawatts sales target. “This provides us with high visibility for new orders in the next couple of years as customers convert reservations to binding commitments,” Huang said. Newman said customers would move into around 90 megawatts of capacity in the second half of this year, slowing from the 145 megawatts recorded in the January through June period, and predicted that new occupancy in 2027 would more than double this year’s figure. The company raised its full-year revenue guidance to between RMB 12. 7 billion and RMB 13. 0 billion, up from theRMB 12. 4 billion to RMB 12. 9 billion forecastthree months ago. Scaling Up in Inner MongoliaGDS announced plans in May to invest RMB 30 billion to RMB 50 billion in the next three years in AI infrastructure. In June, the company signed a strategic partnership agreement with the local government of Ulanqab in northern China’s Inner Mongolia,committing to invest RMB 30 billion in the next five yearsto build a number of high-density and gigawatt-scale data centre parks in the city. Continuing its monetisation moves, GDS is preparing to sell a second asset to its Shanghai-listed C-REIT, which Newman noted is currently under regulatory review. The asset is located south of Beijing in the Hebei province city of Langfang and comprises three data centre buildings, according tothe REIT’s filing with Shanghai Stock Exchangelast month. GDS hadraised RMB 2. 4 billion from its C-REIT IPOlast year.