Summary
- Iron Mountain is yielding 9.7%, the highest REIT in the Industrial and Data Center sectors.
- Remember that the company has a service component and does not really have a direct peer at this time.
- We are maintaining our Speculative Strong Buy recommendation as we consider Project Summit benefits and the more recent sale-leaseback transactions strong indicators that Iron Mountain’s dividend will get safer.
- This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community, iREIT on Alpha. Get started today »
Iron Mountain’s (IRM) mission statement is “to be the trusted guardian of assets most important to its customers.”
This mission statement is far-reaching as the globally recognized storage and information management service company serves over 230,000 customers in 5-+ countries on five continents. Organizations in every major industry and of all sizes – including more than 95% of the Fortune 1000 – rely on Iron Mountain as their information management partner.
Investor Presentation
What would Herman Knaust, founder of Iron Mountain in 1951, think today if he was able to witness the growth of the business that started out as a depleted iron ore mine in Hudson Valley, New York?
Hailed as the “Mushroom King” by his Hudson River Valley neighbors, Knaust first made his fortune by growing and marketing mushrooms. In 1936, he paid $9,000 for the mine and 100 acres of land so that he could have more space to grow his product.
By 1950, the mushroom market had shifted, so Knaust decided upon a new business venture - one that would make good use of his mine, which he named "Iron Mountain."
Over the years Knaust used his “iron mountain” to store valuables and he even set up a sales office in the Empire State Building. One of the first customers was East River Savings Bank, which brought microfilm copies of deposit records and duplicate signature cards in armored cars to the new mountain facility for storage.
