DIGITAL REALTY TRUST, INC. vs Public Storage, two REIT stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Public Storage rents orange lockers at extraordinary margins with almost no maintenance cost; Digital Realty rents server halls that devour capital. The margin gap is real even through REIT accounting: Public Storage nets 39% and earns 20.4% on equity, among the best economics in the sector, against Digital Realty's thinner, capex-heavy returns. Public Storage yields 3.70% and converts 5.57% of its price to free cash; Digital Realty yields little and generates 3.73%. Both trade at depreciation-distorted P/Es best ignored, Public Storage at 33.5 and Digital Realty at 51.3. Public Storage runs 1.04 turns of debt, Digital Realty carries data-center leverage. The comparison sets the cheapest real estate to operate against the most expensive: self-storage throws off cash from cinderblock and asphalt, data centers plow it back into power and cooling, and the returns favor the simpler business.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | DLR | PSA |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $193.23 | $324.33 |
| Market cap | $68.3B | $57.1B |
| Sector | REIT | REIT |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| P/E | 51.3 | 33.5 |
| P/B | 2.87 | 6.12 |
| P/S | 10.77 | 11.74 |
| EV/EBITDA | 24.6 | 40.8 |
| Revenue growth | +12.6% | +2.9% |
| Operating margin | 16.4% | 39.0% |
| Net margin | 9.3% | 39.2% |
| Return on equity | 2.5% | 20.4% |
| Return on assets | 1.2% | 9.6% |
| Return on invested capital | 2.4% | 2.5% |
| FCF yield | 3.7% | 5.6% |
| Dividend yield | — | 3.7% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 1.04 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.69 | 3.49 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 8 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.