A data centre costs most of its money before it earns anything: land, building, power and cooling all come first. If the space then fills slowly, the owner carries those costs with little income. That is why the industry relies on signing customers early, building in phases, and using long contracts in which customers commit to pay for capacity whether or not they use all of it. Whether a site makes money before it is full depends mostly on these choices.
Leasing before building
Digital Realty reports that at the end of 2025 it had 769 MW of projects underway, and that 64% of this activity was pre-leased, meaning customers had signed before the space was ready. It also explains that some space is built on a speculative basis, without a signed customer, while other space is built for customers who signed first.
Committed contracts
In a take-or-pay contract the customer pays for the agreed capacity whether or not it uses it. CoreWeave reports that its customers generally buy capacity this way on multi-year contracts, with a weighted-average duration of about five years, and that its remaining performance obligations, revenue contracted but not yet earned, were US$60.7 billion at the end of 2025, up from US$15.1 billion a year earlier. It also notes that committed contracts typically provide for certain prepayments at contract inception.
| Tool | How it helps before the site is full |
|---|---|
| Pre-leasing | Income is agreed before construction finishes |
| Phased building | Money is spent in stages as demand appears |
| Take-or-pay contracts | Customers pay for capacity even if they use less |
| Prepayments | Cash arrives at the start of a contract |
The limits
These tools move risk; they do not remove it. CoreWeave lists as a risk that there is no guarantee customers will keep entering into take-or-pay contracts. A contract is only as good as the customer behind it, and long contracts depend on that customer's own business.
What is not certain
- Company figures are as reported in their filings; past contracts and backlogs do not predict future ones.
- Contract terms vary widely and are often confidential.
Sources and method
- Digital Realty Trust, Inc., Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1297996/000110465926015365/dlr-20251231x10k.htm
- CoreWeave, Inc., Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1769628/000176962826000104/crwv-20251231.htm
Method: each link was opened on 29 October 2026 and every figure was taken from the page or filing cited beside it, in the currency stated there. No figure was estimated. Company examples describe what those companies report about themselves; they are not recommendations.
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This article provides general information, not investment advice or an offer of securities.