GDS (NASDAQ:GDS) Trading Up 7.2% Following Earnings Beat

GDS Holdings (NASDAQ:GDS)’s stock price rose 7.2% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $35.00 and last traded at $35.1080. 905,416 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 2,188,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.74.

The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter. GDS had a net margin of 30.70% and a return on equity of 18.63%. The firm had revenue of $454.51 million during the quarter.

Key Headlines Impacting GDS

Here are the key news stories impacting GDS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI is transforming GDS’s business, with sales momentum at its strongest level ever. Record first-half bookings and rising demand for high-performance data centers support the company’s growth outlook. GDS CEO says AI is transforming the business as sales momentum hits strongest level ever
• Positive Sentiment: GDS set a 1-gigawatt sales target for 2026, while its backlog is building toward a significant increase in customer move-ins expected in 2027. The stronger booking pipeline could improve future revenue visibility. GDS Q2 earnings call focuses on AI demand and 1-GW sales target
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its 2026 revenue outlook to approximately $1.9 billion, above the roughly $1.8 billion analyst consensus. Reported second-quarter revenue of about $475.1 million also exceeded expectations near $454.3 million. GDS Holdings reports second-quarter 2026 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported earnings comparisons vary by source and measurement: one account showed quarterly EPS of $0.52 versus a $0.01 consensus estimate, while another reported $0.56 versus a $1.35 estimate. The conflicting figures may have contributed to investor uncertainty despite solid operating trends. GDS Holdings misses Q2 earnings and revenue estimates
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings miss highlighted by Zacks may have outweighed the revenue beat and upbeat AI commentary, particularly if investors are focused on profitability and the company’s ability to convert its expanding backlog into earnings and cash flow.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on GDS shares. Piper Sandler set a $36.00 price objective on GDS in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded GDS from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised GDS from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of GDS from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of GDS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GDS news, VP Yixin Qian sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.25, for a total value of $352,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 66,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,356,991.25. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Qing Ye sold 37,394 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total transaction of $1,354,036.74. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 7.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of GDS by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in GDS by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,177,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,723,000 after purchasing an additional 442,414 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in GDS by 73.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in GDS by 640.6% during the first quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 780,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,466,000 after purchasing an additional 675,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in GDS during the first quarter worth $11,988,000. 33.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GDS Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.62.

About GDS

GDS Holdings Limited, founded in 2001 and headquartered in Shanghai, is a leading network-neutral data center services provider in China. The company operates a portfolio of state-of-the-art data center facilities designed to support the mission-critical IT infrastructure of cloud service providers, internet enterprises, financial institutions, and government entities. GDS was among the first Chinese providers to offer high-density colocation solutions, catering to customers with demanding computing and storage requirements.

GDS specializes in delivering scalable colocation, cross-connect, and interconnection services within its facilities, enabling clients to establish high-speed, low-latency connections to major cloud platforms and internet exchange points.