Chinese data center developer GDS Holdings is expecting more than 1GW of new sales by end-2026, raising its sales targets to 1GW for the full year, according to its chairman and CEO, William Huang.
Speaking on the company’s Q2 2026 earnings call, Huang said the company expects more than 1GW in new reservations, with total binding commitments for the first half of the year sitting at more than 2GW, and a further 600MW reserved.
GDS has raised its full year sales target to 1GW based on this new expectation, and also raised its capex guidance for the year from $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion.
The company began the year with a backlog of 450MW, rising to 757MW by the end of Q2. GDS believes this backlog can generate $326,254 of adjusted EBITDA per megawatt on average.
“We delivered solid financial and operational results in the second quarter of 2026, reflecting our continued commitment to disciplined execution,” said Huang. “During the quarter, we ramped up backlog delivery while maintaining a high level of net new bookings. As things stand today, we are on track to achieving a record sales commitment for this year, which is much higher than our original target.
We are very excited about the opportunities in China ahead of us, driven mainly by AI demand. We are confident in our ability to capture these massive opportunities and expand our business at scale.”
Huang said that China’s “tech giant and emerging AI leaders” are driving the adoption of advanced AI models, leading to structural upgrades in the demand for computing power and AI infrastructure.
“GDS is uniquely positioned to address this opportunity as a result of our strategic customer relationships, presence across all key markets in China, track record of execution, and financing capability,” he said. “The strength of our platform is clearly evident in the composition of our first half bookings.”
As part of the earnings call, GDS revealed that net revenue for the quarter had increased 6.5 percent year-over-year, to $455.1 million. The company said this increase was directly related to the “ramp-up” of its data centers.
Cost of revenue also increased to $357.2 million, a 9.6 percent increase year-over-year (YoY).
The company also recorded a gross profit of $97.9 million, a 3.6 percent decrease from the same period last year. Gross profit margin also declined, from 21.5 percent to 23.8 percent, YoY, which GDS said was due to higher levels of utility costs as a percentage of net revenue.
Total area committed and pre-committed at the end of Q2 2026 sat at 784,800 sqm (8.447 million sq ft), up from 663,960 sqm (7.146 million sq ft) in Q2 2025 (18.2 percent YoY) and 725,485 sqm (7.809 million sq ft) in Q1 2026 (8.2 percent quarter-over-quarter).
The company’s utilization rate sat at 79.2 percent at the end of Q2 2026, compared with 77.5 percent at the end of Q2 2025, and 77.3 percent at the end of Q1 2026.
Earlier this year, the company announced it had hit $1.6 billion in revenue for 2025 and expected to reach $1.8 billion in 2026.
GDS Holdings was founded in 2006 and operates dozens of data centers across Greater China, including Suzhou Kunshan, Chengdu, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing.
The company also has international interests through its former international division turned separate company, DayOne, in which it possesses a non-controlling 35.6 percent equity interest.
More in Investment / M&A / Financing
More in Construction & Site Selection
