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BlackRock$BLK · filed: grew revenue 18.7% in FY2025 to $24.2BNew shipNext year $24.2B–$29.8B sealedCheck ▾Close ▴
What BlackRock filed
Grew revenue 18.7% in FY2025 to $24.2 billion, operating margin 29.1% against a 24.4% median for security brokers, dealers & flotation companies, equity 32.9% of assets, and dividend per share up 3 years running. Every figure links to the filing it came from on BlackRock’s card. New ship: no warning signs.
What the house said in advance
Revenue for the fiscal year after 2025-12-31 between $24.2B and $29.8B, an 80% range sealed on 26 Sept 2026 · receipt #592edd · graded in public by the revenue in BlackRock’s next annual report.
Figures as filed with the SEC. Ranges, scores and boats are statistical descriptions of past filings, not ratings or recommendations. Reporting, not advice.
In plain words
Sovereign-backed permanent capital just removed the largest U.S. hyperscale platform from the merchant-build financing cycle.
$40 billion
acquisition of Aligned Data Centers on Tuesday and immediately…
$5 billion
in growth capital
29
facilities across
$100 billion
tech-focused vehicle launched by Abu Dhabi in March 2024
A consortium led by BlackRock Infrastructure and Abu Dhabi's MGX closed the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers on Tuesday and immediately committed an additional $5 billion in growth capital. The transaction moves one of North America's largest hyperscale data center platforms into the hands of a permanent-capital vehicle backed by sovereign wealth.
Aligned operates 29 facilities across 11 U.S. markets, purpose-built for hyperscale tenants demanding multi-megawatt capacity and sub-10-millisecond latency to cloud availability zones. The platform was majority-owned by TA Associates and Aligned's management before the sale. The consortium structure splits economics between BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners fund and MGX, the $100 billion tech-focused vehicle launched by Abu Dhabi in March 2024. The $5 billion growth capital commitment is contractually earmarked for new site acquisition and power procurement, not operating expenses.
The structure matters because it separates Aligned from the merchant-build model that has compressed margins across the sector. Most U.S. data center developers lease sites to tenants under 15-year triple-net arrangements, then refinance at the asset level. Aligned will now build to spec with equity checks already cleared, eliminating construction-phase financing risk and allowing the platform to underprice levered competitors on long-duration hyperscale deals. MGX's participation signals a broader Gulf strategy: Abu Dhabi is paying to own the physical layer beneath AI compute, not just the chips. The $40 billion enterprise value implies Aligned traded at roughly 22x trailing EBITDA, a premium to the 18x sector median, justified by its contracted occupancy rate above 91% and weighted-average lease term of 12.7 years.
BlackRock is running the same trade it ran in utilities: acquire the infrastructure, lock in the offtake, let scarcity do the work. U.S. power grid constraints mean new hyperscale capacity in Virginia, Phoenix, and Dallas requires 18-24 months of utility coordination before energization. Aligned already holds interconnection agreements for 1.2 gigawatts of future capacity across its existing sites. The $5 billion equity buffer ensures the platform can move on those agreements without syndication delays. For allocators, this is confirmation that data center assets with contracted power and fiber are now priced as regulated-utility proxies, not real estate.
Operators should track Aligned's next two site announcements, expected in Virginia and Arizona within 90 days per management commentary. BlackRock will likely fold the platform into its Global Infrastructure V fund, which is targeting a Q2 2025 first close at $25 billion. MGX has publicly stated its intent to deploy $15 billion into AI-enabling infrastructure by year-end 2025, meaning additional bolt-on acquisitions for Aligned are probable. Power procurement announcements from Dominion Energy and APS will clarify whether the consortium is pre-buying capacity or building its own substations.
The Dallas headquarters stays intact. The consortium retained Aligned's full executive team, including CEO Andrew Schaap, who spent 14 years at Digital Realty before joining in 2015. That continuity, combined with sovereign backing and a growth check already wired, makes Aligned the first hyperscale platform immune to the refinancing cycle that begins pressuring the sector in late 2025.
Branded by POPS4 · proof in 60 seconds
For the principal
This pricing—22x EBITDA for contracted infrastructure—sets the floor for any hyperscale asset your office holds or underwrites.
For the operator
Watch Aligned's next two site announcements in 90 days; they'll clarify whether BlackRock is pre-buying utility capacity or building substations.
For the house
Long Digital Realty and Equinix on relative value; both now trade at discount to Aligned's exit multiple despite comparable contract books.
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