Analyst Index · Infrastructure & Telecoms

Jim Schneider

Senior Equity Research Analyst, Digital Infrastructure, Goldman Sachs

44%
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Not yet ranked: 1
Predictions scored: 5
Still to fall due

1 wrong

Scored predictions1

Wrong · 0%He offered a new outlook that pulls peak data center occupancy forward to 2025 (from late 2026) and predicts a gradual loosening of the supply-demand balance through 2027.Infrastructure & Telecoms · made Apr 2025 · due Dec 2025

What happened. Occupancy kept tightening after 2025. CBRE reported North American primary-market vacancy at a record low of 1.4% in H1 2026, and global vacancy across the 16 largest markets falling from 8.3% to 6.7% year on year to Q1 2026. Goldman's own December 2025 base case moved the peak to 2026 (around 93%). Year call: peak occupancy in 2025. Occupancy kept tightening into 2026, so 2025 was not the peak. Under the year-call ruling a peak in 2026 (one year off) would be Half right and 2027 or later Wrong; the peak year is not yet known, so the outcome is not locked in and the call stays pending until occupancy turns. Sources: datacenterdynamics.com, cnycentral.com, goldmansachs.com.

Paraphrased. Source: Goldman Revises Peak Data Center Occupancy Forecast (ZeroHedge, reporting Schneider's client note) · peak "in 2025"

Specific · counts 1Medium confidence

Still to fall due5 predictions

Dec 2026Goldman Sachs Research's base case is that the industry builds enough data center capacity to absorb increasing demand, with occupancy peaking at around 93% next year.Infrastructure & Telecoms · made Dec 2025 · source
Dec 2027Our analysts forecast that AI's slice of the overall data center market will double to 30% over the next two years, taking share from conventional and cloud workloads.Infrastructure & Telecoms · made Dec 2025 · source
Dec 2030Goldman Sachs Research estimates that there will be around 122 GW of data center capacity online by the end of 2030.Infrastructure & Telecoms · made Feb 2025 · source
Dec 2030Goldman Sachs Research forecasts global power demand from data centers will increase 50% by 2027 and by as much as 165% by the end of the decade (compared with 2023)Infrastructure & Telecoms · made Feb 2025 · source
Dec 2027our analysts project power demand will reach 84 GW by 2027, with AI growing to 27% of the overall marketInfrastructure & Telecoms · made Feb 2025 · source

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