Iron Mountain Incorporated
Orin's own judgment of how firmly the evidence points one way — not the chance the price goes up.
Iron Mountain's data center and digital transformation pivot is driving accelerating top-line growth — Q1 2026 revenue rose 21.6% YoY and Q2 2026 rose 18.5% YoY, with management targeting a 300MW data center pipeline — but the capital intensity required to fund this pivot remains extreme, with FY2025 free cash flow of -$932M on $2.27B of CapEx and total debt of $19.1B against negative stockholders' equity of -$981M.
At 81.8x trailing earnings versus a peer median of 29.9x, the stock prices in near-flawless execution, yet FY2025 EPS of $0.49 declined 19.7% YoY and insiders net sold $170M of stock over 24 months. The stock sits between its 50-day ($117.93) and 200-day ($113.13) moving averages with neutral RSI of 49.3, offering no compelling technical setup in either direction. The growth story is real but the risk/reward at this valuation and leverage profile does not justify an upgrade from hold.
What could go wrong
- Capital intensity and leverage. FY2025 free cash flow was -$932M with CapEx of $2.27B, total debt reached $19.1B, and stockholders' equity is negative at -$981M, making the balance sheet highly sensitive to interest rate moves and execution missteps.
- Valuation compression risk. At 81.8x trailing PE versus a peer median of 29.9x — 174% above the median — any deceleration in revenue growth or data center leasing could trigger a sharp de-rating.
- Insider selling signal. Over the trailing 24 months insiders net sold 1.65M shares for $170M, and the CEO sold shares at $109.57–$110.72 in early October 2026, suggesting limited insider conviction at current levels.
- Earnings quality concerns. FY2025 gross margin collapsed to 25.7% from 56.2% in FY2024 while operating margin expanded to 20.4% from 16.4%, pointing to a significant cost reclassification that complicates earnings quality assessment.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: quarterly results · FY25 fundamentals · peer comparison · insider trades. Orin's read on IRM; not advice.
How has the share price moved?
Up 8.3% over twelve months, from $106.46 on 27 Oct 2025 to $115.34 at the Tue 27 Oct 2026 close. Its highest close in that time was $133.06 on 23 Jun 2026; the last close is 13.3% below it.
- Green line: the closing price each trading day.
- Grey line: the average closing price over the last 50 trading days.
- Dashed amber line: the same over the last 200 trading days — a slower, smoother line.
- Bars along the bottom: shares traded each day — green when it closed higher than the day before, rose when lower (the most, 6.2M, on 19 Nov 2025).
- Flags: the company's filings, on the day they were made (a 10-Q is the quarterly report and a 10-K the annual report; an 8-K reports a major event).
On file
All IRM filingsLargest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| BlackRock | $4.2B | 0.1% |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | $3.2B | 0.1% |
| Vanguard Capital Management | $2.4B | 0.1% |
| State Street | $2.2B | 0.1% |
| Geode Capital Management | $1.1B | 0.1% |
| FMR | $994.4M | 0.0% |
| Morgan Stanley | $559.2M | 0.0% |
| Charles Schwab Investment Management | $538.5M | 0.1% |
| Northern Trust | $533.4M | 0.1% |
| Norges Bank | $532.4M | 0.1% |
91 of the 815 filers we track · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 255 Form 4 filings; open-market trades net −$170.4M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 31 sales — the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about IRM
Orin answers questions about IRM from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.
Start 3 free days →How is it priced, against its own past and its sector?
Priced at 68.5× its last 12 months of profit (Thu 5 Nov close); the typical Real Estate company on the NYSE is at 42.4×.
| Measure | Now | Its usual | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 68.5× | — | 42.4× |
| P/S | 4.03×above usual | 3.55× | — |
| EV/EBITDA | 13.8×below usual | 20.5× | — |
| P/B | below zero | — | — |
- P/E: no usual level — it ran from 26.0× to 172× over its last 5 fiscal years, so a middle value says little.
- P/B: no usual level — it ran from 17.7× to 96.5× over its last 5 fiscal years, so a middle value says little.
- P/B: below zero — it owes more than it owns on its books.
- "Its usual" is the middle of its own last 5 fiscal years.
P/E: the share price divided by one year of profit per share — roughly how many years of today's profit the price pays for. A company that loses money has no P/E.
P/S: the company's total market value divided by one year of revenue. Used when there is no profit to measure.
EV/EBITDA: the price of the whole company (its shares plus its debt, minus its cash) divided by one year of operating profit before interest, tax and write-downs.
P/B: the share price divided by the book value per share — what the company owns minus what it owes, as its accounts record it. When book value is tiny, P/B swings wildly and says little.
What do the analysts who cover it publish?
The analysts' average 12-month price target is $143 (from $132 to $155) — 24% above the Tue 27 Oct close price. That is their published opinion, not Orin's.
$143
$132 – $155 · +24% against the last close
- 5 buy or overweight
- 0 hold
- 0 underweight or sell
Price target: the share price an analyst publishes for about 12 months ahead. It is the opinion of the firm that wrote it; the average is across the firms that cover the company.
Overweight / underweight: analysts' rating words: overweight means the firm expects the stock to do better than the others it covers, underweight worse. Their words, not Orin's.
How is it priced next to the companies it is compared to?
Priced at 68.5× its last 12 months of profit. Only 2 of the 4 companies it is compared to made a profit (DLR 82.5×, EQIX 64.1×), so there is no typical P/E.
| Company | Market value | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross margin | Net margin | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRMIron Mountain Incorporated | $31B | 68.5× | 13.8× | n/a | 5.9% | n/m |
| BLZEBackblaze, Inc. | $573M | lost money | 60.1× | 62.0% | −13.1% | −24% |
| DLRDigital Realty Trust, Inc. | $66B | 82.5× | 24.3× | n/a | 11.7% | 3% |
| EQIXEquinix, Inc. | $99B | 64.1× | 26.9× | n/a | 15.6% | 11% |
| RXTRackspace Technology, Inc. | $731M | lost money | 10.9× | 13.9% | −5.9% | n/m |
- BLZE, RXT: lost money over the last 12 months, so no P/E.
- IRM, RXT: return on equity is not meaningful (n/m) — book value is below zero.
- IRM, DLR, EQIX: gross margin is not used (n/a) for a bank, an insurer or a property trust — what it sells is money or space, not goods.
- The list of companies is the data vendor's choice, so it can include a company a person would not have picked.
Market value: the share price times the number of shares — what the whole company is priced at.
P/E: the share price divided by one year of profit per share — roughly how many years of today's profit the price pays for. A company that loses money has no P/E.
EV/EBITDA: the price of the whole company (its shares plus its debt, minus its cash) divided by one year of operating profit before interest, tax and write-downs.
Gross margin: the share of each $1 of sales left after the direct cost of making what was sold.
Net margin: the share of each $1 of sales kept as profit after every cost. Below zero, the company lost money.
ROE: return on equity: one year of profit as a share of the shareholders' money in the business (its book value).
Is it priced high or low compared with its own past?
Priced at 68.5× its last 12 months of profit (Thu 5 Nov close). It has no full fiscal year on file since its history starts, so there is nothing of its own to compare with.
- Now68.5×
P/E: the share price divided by one year of profit per share — roughly how many years of today's profit the price pays for. A company that loses money has no P/E.
Fiscal year (FY): the company's own 12-month accounting year, which need not match the calendar year.
How has its sector been priced?
Real Estate companies on the NYSE were priced at a typical 42.4× their yearly profit (Tue 27 Oct close).
- Now42.4×
- Each year is the middle of that calendar year's daily sector P/E; "Now" is the Tue 27 Oct close figure, the same one in the table above.
Sector P/E: the middle P/E of the companies in the same sector on the same stock exchange, as the data vendor works it out each day.
What does a cash-flow model say a share is worth?
It spends more cash than it brings in, so a cash-flow model gives no usable value (both versions come out below zero).
Discounted cash flow: a model's estimate of what the company is worth today, from the cash it is forecast to make in future years. Small changes in the forecast move it a lot, and it says little about a company that loses money.