{"id":22676,"date":"2026-10-04T05:32:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T05:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=22676"},"modified":"2026-10-04T05:32:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T05:32:35","slug":"op-ed-whats-so-great-about-data-centres-as-investments-imponderables-and-liquidity-that-works-like-a-fire-hose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=22676","title":{"rendered":"Op-Ed: What\u2019s so great about data centres as investments? Imponderables and liquidity that works like a fire hose."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you start innocently wandering about on the subject of <strong>data centre return on investment,<\/strong> expect metrics as you\u2019ve never seen before. The AI breakdown of the values is actually <strong>relatively brief and covers everything from capital expenditure to revenue and depreciation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s <strong>a litany of standardized costs and revenue metrics down to token scale that could make a house brick wish it was in a coma.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What it isn\u2019t is vague. This is actual accountancy on the hyperscale level. For a nice change, the AI sector is playing by business rules.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pretty orgasmic so far, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If, however, you dig around in the evolution of data centres, this serene vista complicates itself. You find that they\u2019ve existed since the 1940s. They\u2019re evolving into AI more or less directly off the Cloud data centres. <strong>This Australian study produces some shudder-worthy information about power usage and sheer size<\/strong> that would make Godzilla consider a new career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Data centre return on investment can actually be measured in watts. According to iTnews Asia, <strong>power constraints are a major obstacle<\/strong>. Bear in mind we\u2019re talking about current levels of power consumption, not future levels.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-direct-and-indirect-costs-are-biting\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Direct and indirect costs are biting<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Where\u2019s the money? This is <strong>the one and only working issue in global headlines about data centre ROI.<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Not everyone\u2019s happy with the overall effect of AI on the world\u2019s capital<\/strong> investment markets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AI is now heavily weighted in the S&amp;P 500<\/strong>, with big AI stocks adding value, but also adding risk to the index. One crashing AI stock could overbalance index-based investments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Capital expenditure on AI is dwarfing other sectors.<\/strong> Everything else is going begging. The AI sector is acting like a black hole, sucking in capital and related debt. A credit squeeze shouldn\u2019t surprise anyone. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Deployment is slow and unimpressive.<\/strong> About 7% of firms report full deployment, according to <em>McKinsey Global Surveys on the state of AI, 2017- 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Token costs are going up.<\/strong> That\u2019s not good news when you bear in mind the exploding population of AI agents using tokens. This in-process expenditure was considered hard to measure a year ago. Now it\u2019s more speculative than factual.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u201cAI bubble\u201d is now looking a lot more like the \u201cAI blowout\u201d across the board. In this wholesome environment, surviving your own costs seems to be the main theme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you were very unromantically writing an article on data centre return on investment, you could picture some outcomes. Like maybe an empty meeting room with a few remaining drink bottles, an overturned chair, and a lonely laptop.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-yes-people-are-making-big-money-from-data-centres\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Yes, people are making big money from data centres<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Nvidia posted a spectacular report on its revenue<\/strong> which was up by 85% back in May. <em>Note that this is revenue, not necessarily profits as such.<\/em> This is also Nvidia, a huge major player. It doesn\u2019t just naturally follow that everyone else will perform as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They\u2019re also making distinctions and segmenting their numbers properly. According to Siliconangle.com link above:<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Results from the data center business were broken down into two segments. Hyperscaler cloud providers accounted for more than half of all data center sales at more than $38 billion, Kress (Nvidia CFO Colette Kress) said. The other $37 billion is tied to the new AI clouds, industrial and enterprise markets segment, now known as ACIE, and saw revenue triple year over year.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OK, now suppose you\u2019re not Nvidia. You\u2019re not feeding the top end of the market, but on a much lower scale anywhere in between. Competition is ferocious, and worse, desperate to cover outlays.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Checking profitability of data centres isn\u2019t just a rabbit hole. It\u2019s a rabbit warren. <strong>Equinix<\/strong> is a good example. This company is \u201c<em>a global digital infrastructure and real estate investment trust (REIT) company that provides data center colocation and interconnection services.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Equinix reported a pretty solid Q2 2026. After a bit more digging and <strong>asking Gemini specifically,<\/strong> the profit figure took some finding even with a direct search on Google. Equinix profits turn out to be $479 million in Q2. It\u2019s nice to know someone is making money out of this hysterical circus, but there\u2019s clearly a lot more to come in the data centres ROI saga.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-but\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">But\u2026<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\u2019s not happening, or at least not happening publicly, adds caveats to the sector as a whole, and data centres in particular. The orchestra is only just tuning up on data centres as investments. We haven\u2019t got to <em>Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star<\/em> yet. What happens when all this shakes out into real market values?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Private equity is conspicuously absent from the headlines about data centres. Since when do they not want a piece of the action on big money investments? Where are the hedge funds? Are we suddenly sleaze-free in a major investment sector?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are evidently not heading back to a pastoral existence, either. Put a muzzle on the hoedown until we get more data. There is a very unmissable bottom line here. ROI on data centres <em>must<\/em> hit paydirt. The debt alone can sink a lot of players and the wider markets and credit market with ease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Put it this way: how much of this information would you be prepared to underwrite yourself? Is this a no-risk sector? Other questions, like <em>\u201cWhat about funding the rest of the entire global economy?\u201d<\/em> might seep in somehow, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Data centres are infrastructure.<\/em> Infrastructure can\u2019t remain static in the face of so much continuously emerging technology. \u201cDepreciation\u201d can be a polite word for \u201ctotal obsolescence\u201d. At these prices, updating and upgrading whole tiers of AI infrastructure could be murderously expensive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How many eggs can fit in this basket before some go rotten?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:90px; background:#4ecdc4; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114300\" data-width=\"728\" data-height=\"90\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114300});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u4e3b\u680f\uff1a\u591a\u5e7f\u544a\u5806\u53e0 -->\r\n  <div style=\"display:grid; gap:2px;\">\r\n    <div style=\"height:60px; background:#45b7d1; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114308\" data-width=\"468\" data-height=\"60\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114308});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:250px; background:#ffe066; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114299\" data-width=\"300\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114299});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:250px; background:#ff9ecd; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114305\" data-width=\"250\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114305});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:139px; background:#c792ea; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114302\" data-width=\"133\" data-height=\"139\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114302});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:125px; background:#91e7ac; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t\r\n<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114303\" data-width=\"125\" data-height=\"125\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114303});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u7ad6\u680f\uff1a160\u00d7600 \u6574\u5217\u9ad8\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row:3\/8; height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/> Op-Ed: What\u2019s so great about data centres as investments? Imponderables and liquidity that works like a fire hose.<br \/>\n<br \/>#OpEd #Whats #great #data #centres #investments #Imponderables #liquidity #works #fire #hose<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you start innocently wandering about on the subject of data centre return on investment,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[12355,2345,1408,416,16553,16551,124,16552,7300,962,7922],"class_list":["post-22676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-centres","tag-data","tag-fire","tag-great","tag-hose","tag-imponderables","tag-investments","tag-liquidity","tag-oped","tag-whats","tag-works"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675.png",1200,675,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675-768x432.png",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675-1024x576.png",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675.png",1200,675,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675.png",1200,675,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675-1115x675.png",1115,675,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675-800x500.png",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675-540x340.png",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TechTO-14-1200x675-400x250.png",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=7\" rel=\"category\">Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}