NextDC loses $3 billion in value after earnings downgrade

NextDC’s shares fell more than 40 per cent on Wednesday after the company cut its earnings outlook, wiping $3 billion from its market value. The downgrade followed delays to power-grid upgrades for M3, its Melbourne data-centre facility, which affected the timing of contracted capacity and revenue.

NextDC removed A$140 million in contracted revenue from its fiscal 2027 outlook, according to the company’s statement reported by mingtiandi.com. It lowered its net-revenue guidance to A$475 million–A$500 million, from A$615 million–A$640 million, and its underlying EBITDA guidance to A$245 million–A$265 million, from A$385 million–A$410 million.

The Sydney Morning Herald also connected the downgrade to delayed high-voltage power-line work serving the West Footscray M3 site. NextDC said the next grid supply for West Footscray was not expected until mid-2027, delaying delivery and billing of contracted capacity.

Chief executive Craig Scroggie told investors that Jemena had advised the company that parts of the network work required for the next increase in grid supply to M3 Melbourne had been suspended. These accounts describe the grid delays as the immediate constraint behind the revised outlook.

The Sydney Morning Herald described community opposition as the backdrop to delays in installing high-voltage power lines. Its account also reported that the incident involving a power pole in suburban Melbourne affected a major source of the company’s growth.

The other accounts focus on grid upgrades and supply delays; they do not provide the same detail about community opposition or the power-pole incident. Scroggie said NextDC would stop work on projects without an existing customer commitment.

The company also said it had paused projects not backed by customer contracts and redirected capital toward capacity its customers had already contracted. Those decisions tie construction spending to contracted demand while the delayed M3 supply affects when the company can deliver and bill some capacity.

The revenue and earnings guidance cuts quantify the financial effect NextDC associates with the delay. The reported share-price decline reduced the company’s market value by $3 billion; the Sydney Morning Herald said its valuation had exceeded $11 billion earlier in 2026.

The account from mingtiandi.com reported that the shares closed at A$53.5 on Wednesday, down 41.72 per cent from the start of trading.

The sources differ in emphasis rather than in the central cause: the Sydney Morning Herald foregrounds community opposition and the power-pole incident, while mingtiandi.com details the revenue removed and the revised financial ranges, and smbtech.au focuses on the projected timing of new grid supply and Jemena’s suspended network work.