23/10/2026
My phone hasn't stopped ringing about NextDC since yesterday. Here's what I've been telling people. 👇
NextDC is a Brisbane company that runs data centres. Yesterday it told the market the power upgrade for its big Melbourne site has stalled. The local power company paused the works after community opposition and without council consent, and the extra power now isn't expected until FY28. When trading reopened, the shares fell about 40% in a single day.
No power means NextDC can't deliver all the space its customer signed up for, or bill for it. So about $140 million came out of this year's revenue forecast.
The part that rattled people is the loans. NextDC's bank loans let it count income from contracts due to start billing within 24 months. If billing slips, those contracts may count for less, and drawing more on those loans could get harder. For balance: the company says it's within its loan rules today and has about $8.7 billion of liquidity, mostly undrawn loans.
Swipe through for the simple version. ➡️
General advice only. Consider your objectives, financial situation and needs before acting. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Luke Harlow, AR 1237865 of Synchron Advice Pty Ltd, AFSL 243313. Queensland Financial Group: Buachailli Pty Ltd (CAR 456040) and Wolrah Holdings Pty Ltd (CAR 1296391).
Sources: NEXTDC ASX release "M3 Melbourne Power Delay & Revised FY27 Guidance", 21 Oct 2026; ABC News, 21 Oct 2026; chart: Yahoo Finance (NXT.AX), 22 Oct 2026.