Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM) is an information management service provider operating as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). It’s a global data powerhouse with $6.9 billion in annual revenue that serves over 240,000 customers in 61 countries, notes Tom Hutchinson, editor of Cabot Dividend Investor.
The company was founded in 1951 as Iron Mountain Atomic Storage Corporation. The original location was a depleted iron ore mine in Livingston, New York. It was used to provide a secure location for corporate records that could survive a nuclear blast.
Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM)
Beyond the paranoia of the era, securing paper records turned out to be a practical business in high demand. Companies create massive paper trails over time of sensitive information that needs to be managed. Over the decades, through aggressive acquisitions and organic growth, the company grew large enough to go public and had the initial public offering on the NYSE in 1996.
In 2013, as the digital age blossomed, a data center division was established, and it became classified as a REIT in 2014. The company has since acquired data centers and boosted capacity in key markets. Information management is big business these days. The company estimates that the total addressable market for storage is $170 billion, of which they currently only have $6.9 billion.
While overall company revenues grew 12% in 2025, Data Center revenue increased 30% and ALM revenue grew 63% from the prior year. The two segments, which the company reports as just the Data Center segment, only account for 28% of companywide revenue but were responsible for two thirds of the revenue growth in 2025.
The stock currently pays $3.46 per year, which translates to a 3.2% yield at the recent price. The company has also grown the payout by 10% per year for the last four years straight.
Recommended Action: Buy IRM.
