References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20212023 (this "Annual Report") to “the Company,” “Iron Mountain,” “we,” “us”"the Company", "Iron Mountain", "we", "us" or “our”"our" include Iron Mountain Incorporated, a Delaware corporation, and its predecessor, as applicable, and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

We have made statements in this Annual Report that constitute “forward-looking statements”"forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws. These forward-looking statements concern our current expectations regarding our future results from operations, economic performance, financial condition, goals, beliefs, future growth strategies, investment objectives, plans and current expectations, such as our (1) expectations and assumptions regarding the impact of the COVID-19 (as defined below) pandemic on us and our customers, including on our businesses, financial position, results of operations and cash flows, (2) commitment to future dividend payments, (3) expected change in volume of records stored with us, (4) expected growth in revenue, organic revenue, including 2022 consolidated organic storage rental revenue growth rate and consolidated organic total revenue growth rate, and Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below), (5) expectations that profits will increase in our growth portfolio, including our higher-growth markets, (6) expectations related to our revenue management programs and continuous improvement initiatives, (7) expectations related to monetizing our owned industrial real estate assets as part of our capital recycling program, (8) expected ability to identify and complete acquisitions and drive returns on invested capital, (9) anticipated capital expenditures, (10) expected benefits related to Project Summit (as defined below), and (11) other forward-looking statements related to our business, results of operations and financial condition.achievements. These forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and you should not rely upon them except as statements of our present intentions and of our present expectations, which may or may not occur. When we use words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates”"believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "plans", "intends", "pursue", "will" or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, our expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from our expectations. In addition, important factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, among others:

Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements appearing in this report.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS.

We help organizations around the world protect their information, reduce storage costs, comply with regulations, facilitate corporate disaster recovery and better use their information and IT infrastructure for business advantages, regardless of its format, location or life cycle stage. We do this by storing physical records and data backup media, offering information management solutions and providing data center space for enterprise-class colocation and hyperscale deployments. We offer comprehensive records and information management services and data management services, along with the expertise and experience to address complex storage and information management challenges such as rising storage rental costs, legal and regulatory compliance and disaster recovery requirements. We provide secure and reliable data center facilities to protect digital information and ensure the continued operation of our customers’ IT infrastructure, with reliable and flexible deployment options. Our asset lifecycle management ("ALM") business allows us to provide end-to-end asset lifecycle services for hyperscale, corporate data center and corporate end-user device assets.

Founded in an underground facility near Hudson, New York in 1951, Iron Mountain Incorporated, a Delaware corporation ("IMI"), has approximatelymore than 225,000 customers in a variety of industries in 6360 countries around the world, as of December 31, 2021.2023. We currently serve customers across an array of market verticals - commercial, legal, financial, healthcare, insurance, life sciences, energy, business services, entertainment and government organizations, including approximately 95%more than 90% of the Fortune 1000. As of December 31, 2021,2023, we employed approximately 25,00027,000 people. We are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”"NYSE") and are a constituent of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and the MSCIMorgan Stanley Capital International ("MSCI") REIT index. As of December 31, 2021,2023, we were number 605641 on the Fortune 1000.

We have been organized and have operated as a REIT beginning with our taxable year ended December 31, 2014.

Our company has been a market leader in the physical ecosystem supporting information storage and retrieval, as most businesses have relied on paper documents or computer tapes to store their valuable information. Over time, customers are increasing their digital information, with the new information storage ecosystem being a hybrid of physical and digital mediums.media. We are a different company thanto the one we have been historically.in our past. The strategic journey we are on is driving this change and our focus remains on the four pillars outlined below to continue to grow and evolve our business.

In October 2019,September 2022, we announced oura global program ("Project Summit") designed to accelerate the growth of our business ("Project Matterhorn"). Project Matterhorn investments focus on transforming our operating model to a global operating model. Project Matterhorn focuses on the formation of a solution-based sales approach that is designed to allow us to optimize our shared services and best practices to better position us for futureserve our customers' needs. We are investing to accelerate growth and achievementto capture a greater share of the large, global addressable markets in which we operate. We expect to incur approximately $150.0 million in costs annually related to Project Matterhorn from 2023 through 2025. Costs are comprised of (1) restructuring costs, which include (i) site consolidation and other related exit costs, (ii) employee severance costs and (iii) certain professional fees associated with these activities and (2) other transformation costs, which include professional fees such as project management costs and costs for third party consultants who are assisting in the enablement our strategic objectives. We expandedgrowth initiatives. Total costs related to Project SummitMatterhorn during the first quarter of 2020 to include additional opportunities to streamline our businessyears ended December 31, 2023 and operations, as well as accelerated the timing of certain opportunities previously identified. As a result of this initiative, we simplified our global structure, rebalanced resources to focus on higher growth areas, realigned our management structure to create a more dynamic, agile organization,2022 were approximately $175.2 million and made investments to enhance the customer experience. All Project Summit activities were completed in 2021, resulting in $375.0$41.9 million, in annual Adjusted EBITDA benefits of which $165.0 million were delivered in 2020 and $160.0 million were delivered in 2021, with the remainder to come in 2022. Project Summit charges totaled approximately $450.0 million since the program's inception. For further details on Project Summit, see the "Overview" section of “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this Annual Report.respectively.

The amount of revenues derived from our business segments and other relevant data, including financial information about geographic areas and product and service lines, for the years ended December 31, 2021, 20202023, 2022 and 2019,2021, are set forth in Note 11 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.

The Global RIMRecords and Information Management ("Global RIM") Business segment includes several distinct offerings.

The Global Data Center Business segment provides enterprise-class data center facilities and hyperscale-ready capacity to protect mission-critical assets and ensure the continued operation of our customers’ IT infrastructure with secure, reliable and flexible data center options. The world’s most heavily regulated organizations have trusted us with their data centers for over 15 years, and as of December 31, 2021,2023, five of the top 10 global cloud providers were Iron Mountain Data Center customers.

The Corporate and Other Business segment consists primarily of Adjacent Businessesour Fine Arts and ALM businesses and other corporate items.items ("Corporate and Other").

Corporate and Other Business segment also includes costs related to executive and staff functions, including finance, human resources and IT, which benefit the enterprise as a whole.

Our business has the following attributes:

In addition, our Global Data Center businessBusiness has the following attributes:

We compete with thousands of storage and information management services providers around the world, as well as storage and information management services managed and operated internally by organizations. We believe that competition for records and information customers is based on price, reputation and reliability, quality and security of storage, quality of service and scope and scale of technology. While the majority of our competitors operate in only one market or region, we believe we provide a differentiated global offering that competes effectively in these areas.

We also compete with numerous data center developers, owners and operators, many of whom own properties similar to ours in some of the same metropolitan areas where our facilities are located. We believe that competition for data center customers is based on availability of power, security considerations, location, connectivity and rental rates, and we generally believe we compete effectively in each of these areas. Additionally, we believe our strong brand, global footprint and excellent commercial relationships enable us to compete successfully and provide significant cross-sell opportunities with our existing customer base.

EMPLOYEES

As of December 31, 2021,2023, we employed approximately 9,00010,500 employees in the United States and approximately 16,00016,500 employees outside of the United States. As of December 31, 2021,2023, approximately 500400 employees were represented by unions in North America and approximately 1,250725 employees were represented by unions in Latin America. All union employees are currently under renewed labor agreements or operating under an extension agreement.

BENEFIT PROGRAMS

We provide our employees with benefits that are designed to support their overall physical, financial, emotional and social well-being. These benefits vary by location but maygenerally include health and welfare benefits, paid time off, and programs to support financial security. Additionally, employees are able to access emotional well-being resources through global employee assistance programs. Certain unionized employees receive benefits through unions and are not eligible to participate in our benefit programs. In addition to base compensation and other usual benefits, a significant portion of full-time employees participate in some form of incentive-based compensation program that provides payments based on revenues, profits or attainment of specific objectives for the unit in which they work. 

We are committed to integrating responsible and sustainable practices throughout our organization to help our operations to have a positive impact on the environment and the communities in which we operate. We aim to give back to the communities where we live and work, and believe that this commitment helps in our efforts to attract and retain employees. We offer philanthropic support to our global community through our Living Legacy Initiative, which is our commitment to help preserve and make accessible cultural and historical information and artifacts. We encourage volunteerism in the communities in which we live and work through our Moving Mountains volunteer program, offering paid time off for employees to help community-based and civic-minded organizations.

For strategic risk transfer purposes, we maintain a comprehensive insurance program with insurers that we believe to be reputable and thatwhich have adequate capitalization in amounts that we believe to be appropriate. Property insurance is purchased on a comprehensive basis, including flood and earthquake (including excess coverage), subject to certain policy conditions, sublimits and deductibles. Property is insured based upon the replacement cost of real and personal property, including leasehold improvements, business income loss and extra expense. Other types of insurance that we carry, which are also subject to certain policy conditions, sublimits and deductibles, include medical, workers’ compensation, general liability, umbrella, automobile, professional, cyber, warehouse legal liability and directors’ and officers’ liability policies.

We are required to comply with numerous U.S. federal, state, and foreign laws and regulations covering a wide variety of subject matters which may have a material effect on our capital expenditures, earnings and competitive position.

For example, some of our currentcurrently and formerly owned or leased properties were previously used by entities other than us for industrial or other purposes, or were affected by waste generated from nearby properties, that involved the use, storage, generation and/or disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, including petroleum products. In some instances, this prior use involved the operation of underground storage tanks or the presence of asbestos-containing materials. Where we are aware of environmental conditions that require remediation, we undertake appropriate activity, in accordance with all legal requirements. Although we have from time to time conducted limited environmental investigations and remedial activities at some of our former and current facilities, we have not undertaken an environmental reviewreviews of all of our properties, including those we have acquired.properties. We therefore may be potentially liable for environmental costcosts and may be unable to sell, rent, mortgage or use contaminated real estate owned or leased by us. Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, we may be liable for environmental compliance and remediation costs to address contamination, if any, located at owned and leased properties as well as damages arising from such contamination, whether or not we know of, or were responsible for, the contamination, or the contamination occurred while we owned or leased the property. Environmental conditions for which we might be liable may also exist at properties that we may acquire in the future. In addition, future regulatory action and environmental laws may impose costs for environmental compliance that do not exist today.

In addition, we are subject to numerous U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to data privacy and cybersecurity, which are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time. We have an established privacy compliance framework and devote substantial resources, and may in the future have to devote significant additional resources, to facilitate compliance with these laws and regulations, and to investigate, defend or remedy actual or alleged violations or breaches. Any failure by us to comply with, or remedy any violations or breaches of, these laws and regulations could negatively impact our operations, result in the curtailment of certain of our operations, the imposition of fines and penalties, liability resulting fromand litigation, restrictions on our ability to carry on or expand our operations, significant costs and expenses and reputational harm.

For more information about laws and regulations that could affect our business, see “Item"Item 1A. Risk Factors”Factors" included in this Annual Report.

ThroughAt Iron Mountain, we are using our approachinfluence and expertise to Corporate Social Responsibility, wedrive innovations that will not only see ourselves as havingprotect and elevate the power of our own responsibility to society,customers’ work, but also in helpingmake a lasting, positive impact on people, planet, and performance. Our four focus areas, where we can deliver uniquely through owned operations and customers' enablement, are safeguarding our customers with their own environmental, socialcustomers’ information, empowering employees, serving our communities, and governance (ESG) goals, and helping them gain value, make improvements and save costs. We areprotecting the environment.

Iron Mountain is committed to responsible, sustainable growth. To that end,growth, and this is highlighted through initiatives and targets within the company. We have successfully achieved seven of the ambitious sustainability goals we have publicly adopted 20 goalsset in 2021 to address our environmental footprint, corporate philanthropy, and volunteerism and DEI practices. As signatories of The Climate Pledge, weWe are on a pathcommitted to reach net zero carbongreenhouse gas emissions by 2040. WeAs an employer, we are committed to the safety and well-being of our employees and strive to cultivate a culture of inclusion that values diverse perspectives across our global workforce. Iron Mountain and its employees also make a social impact in the communities in which we operate through charitable giving and volunteerism.

We have beenOur work continues to receive recognition. In 2023, Iron Mountain received the Low Carbon Hero Award recognizing our efforts to implement social and technical practices to reduce our carbon footprint. Also in 2023, Iron Mountain joined EV100 and is committed to electrifying 100% of our company cars and 50% of our vans by 2030. With operations in 60 countries, Iron Mountain was recognized for our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. We ranked 93rd on Newsweek’s 2022 listas the most international committed fleet in the 2023 EV100 Annual Report.

Iron Mountain is committed to transparent reporting on our sustainability efforts and corporate responsibility efforts in accordancewe leverage widely adopted reporting frameworks to report annually on our results. Our annual sustainability report, aligned with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative. Our corporate responsibility reportInitiative framework, highlights our progress against key measures of success for our effortscommunity, environment and people. In addition, we continue to work to further align our reporting with the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures to disclose climate-related financial risks and opportunities, and in 2022 we completed our first climate scenario analysis. The process brought together our most senior leaders from across all business units and functions to explore the potential impacts of climate change related to several different warming scenarios. The analysis resulted in the community, our environment,identification of seven strategic themes where Iron Mountain should focus its future discussions regarding climate resilience, which include physical impacts, business strategy and for our people. innovation, and reputational and societal risks.

We face many risks. If any of the events or circumstances described below actually occur, we and our businesses, financial condition or results of operations could suffer, and the trading price of our debt or equity securities could decline. Our current and potential investors should consider the following risks and the information contained under the heading “Cautionary"Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements”Statements" before deciding to invest in our securities.

BUSINESS RISKS

As part of our strategic growth plan, including Project Matterhorn, we expect to invest in our existing businesses, including records and information management storage and services businesses in our higher-growth markets, data centers, asset life cycle management and secure information technology asset disposition, consumer storageALM business and other adjacentcomplementary businesses, and in new businesses, business strategies, products, services, technologies and geographies, and we may selectively divest certain businesses.geographies. These initiatives may involve significant risks and uncertainties, including:

Our new ventures are inherently risky and we can provide no assurance that such strategies and offerings will be successful in achieving the desired returns within a reasonable timeframe, if at all, and that they will not adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results.

Our Records Management and Data Management service revenue growth is being negatively impacted by declining activity rates as stored records and tapes are becoming less active and more archival, and these activity levels were further negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.archival. The amount of information available to customers digitally or in their own information systems has been steadily increasing in recent years, and we believe this trend will continue. As a result, our customers are less likely than they have been in the past to retrieve records and rotate tapes, thereby reducing their activity levels. At the same time, many of our costs related to records and tape related services remain relatively fixed. In addition, our reputation for providing secure information storage is critical to our success, and actions to manage cost structure, such as outsourcing certain transportation, security or other functions, could negatively impact our reputation and adversely affect our business. Ultimately,business, and, if we are unable to appropriately align our cost structure with decreased levels of service activity, our operating results could be adversely affected.

We derive substantial revenues from rental fees for the storage of physical records and computer backup media and from storage related services. Storage volume and/or demand for our traditional storage related services may decline as our customers adopt alternative storage technologies or as retention requirements evolve, which may require significantly less space than traditional physical records and tape storage. To date, our customers’ shift from paper and tape storage to alternative technologies has not accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While volumes in our Global RIM Business segment were relatively steady in 20212023 and we expect them to remain relatively consistent in the near term, we can provide no assurance that our customers will continue to store most or a portion of their records as paper documents or as tapes, or that the paper documents or tapes they do store with us will require our storage related services at the same levels as they have in the past. A significant shift by our customers to storage of data through non-paper or non-tape-based technologies, whether now existing or developed in the future, could adversely affect our businesses. In addition, the digitization of records may shift our revenue mix from the more predictable storage revenue to service revenue, which is inherently more volatile.

We and our customers are subject to numerous U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to data privacy and cybersecurity. These regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time. There are also a number of legislative proposals pending before the U.S. Congress, various state legislative bodies and foreign governments concerning data protection that could affect us. In addition, a growing number of U.S. and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies have adopted consumerdata breach notification requirements and other requirements if consumer information is accessed by unauthorized persons and additionalincreased enforcement of regulations regarding the use, access, accuracy and security of such information are possible. In the U.S., we are subject to various state laws which provide for disparate notification regimes. In addition,personal information. Finally, as a result of the continued emphasis on information security and instances in which personal information has been compromised, our customers are requesting that we take increasingly sophisticated measures to enhance security and comply with data privacy regulations, and that we assume higher liability under our contracts.

We have an established privacy compliance framework and devote substantial resources, and may in the future have to devote significant additional resources, to facilitate compliance with global laws and regulations, our customers’ data privacy, data residency and security demands, and to investigate, defend or remedy actual or alleged violations or breaches. Any failure by us to comply with, or remedy any violations or breaches of, laws and regulations or customer requirements could negatively impact our operations, result in the curtailment of certain of our operations, the imposition of fines and penalties, contractual liability resulting fromand litigation, restrictions on our ability to carry on or expand our operations, significant costs and expenses and reputational harm.

Our reputation for providing secure information storage to customers is critical to the success of our business. Our reputation or brand, and specifically, the trust our customers place in us, could be negatively impacted in the event of perceived or actual failures by us to store information securely. Although we seek to prevent and detect attempts by unauthorized users to gain access to our IT systems, and incur significant costs to do so, our IT and network infrastructure has in the past been and may in the future be vulnerable to attacks by hackers, including state-sponsored organizations with significant financial and technological resources, breaches due to employee error, fraud or malice or other disruptions (including, but not limited to, computer viruses and other malware, denial of service, and ransomware), which may involve a privacy breach requiring us to notify regulators, clients or employees and enlist identity theft protection. Moreover, until we have migrated businesses we acquire onto our IT systems or ensured compliance with our information technology security standards, we have in the past and may in the future face additional risks because of the continued use of predecessor IT systems. We have outsourced,utilize remote work arrangements and expect to continue to outsource certain support services, including cloud storage systems and cloud computing services, to third parties, which has in the past and may in the future subject our IT and other sensitive information to additional risk. In addition, the continuation of remote work arrangements as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased and could further increase our cybersecurity risks. A successful breach of the security of our IT systems could lead to theft or misuse of our customers’ proprietary or confidential information or our employees’ personal information and result in third party claims against us, regulatory penalties, and reputational harm. Although we maintain insurance coverage for various cybersecurity risks, there is no guarantee that all costs or losses incurred will be fully insured. Damage to our reputation could make us less competitive, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Strategic acquisitions are an important element of our growth strategy and the success of any acquisition we make depends in part on our ability to integrate the acquired business and realize anticipated synergies. The process of integrating acquired businesses, particularly in new markets or for new offerings, may involve unforeseen difficulties and may require a disproportionate amount of our management’s attention and our financial and other resources.

For example, the success of our significant acquisitions depends, in large part, on our ability to realize the anticipated benefits, including cost savings or revenue acceleration from combining the acquired businesses with ours. To realize these anticipated benefits, we must be able to successfully integrate our business and the acquired businesses, and this integration is complex and time-consuming. We may encounter challenges in the integration process including the following:

Further, our acquisitions subject us to liabilities (including tax liabilities) that may exist at an acquired company, some of which may be unknown. Although we and our advisors conduct due diligence on the businesses we acquire, there can be no guarantee that we are aware of all liabilities of an acquired company. These liabilities, and any additional risks and uncertainties related to an acquired company not known to us or that we may deem immaterial or unlikely to occur at the time of the acquisition, could negatively impact our future business, financial condition and results of operations.

We can give no assurance that we will ultimately be able to effectively integrate and manage the operations of any acquired business or realize anticipated synergies. The failure to successfully integrate the cultures, operating systems, procedures and information technologies of an acquired business could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our customer contracts typically contain standardized provisions limiting our liability regarding the services we perform and the loss or destruction of, or damage to, records, information, or other items stored with us; however, some of our contracts with large customers and some of the contracts assumed in our acquisitions contain no such limits or contain non-standard limits. We can provide no assurance that our limitation of liability provisions will be enforceable in all instances or, if enforceable, that they would otherwise protect us from liability. In the past, we have had relatively few disputes with our customers regarding the terms of their customer contracts, and most disputes to date have not been material, but we can provide no assurance that we will not have material disputes in the future. Moreover, as we expand our operations ininto new businesses, including digital solutions, ALM, and the storage of valuable items, and respond to customer demands for higher limitation of liability, our exposure to contracts with higher or no limitations of liability and disputes with customers over contract interpretation may increase. Although we maintain a comprehensive insurance program, we can provide no assurance that we will be able to maintain insurance policies on acceptable terms or with high enough coverage amounts to cover losses to us in connection with customer contract disputes.

As of December 31, 2021,2023, we operated in over 60 countries outside the United States. Our international operations account for a significant portioncountries. The global nature of our overall operations,business and as part of our growth strategy, we expect its share to increase as we continue to acquire or investwhich includes continued acquisitions and investments in businesses in select foreign markets, including countries where we do not currently operate. International operations areoperate, is subject to numerous risks, including:

As part of our growth strategy, particularly in connection with our international and data center expansion, we currently, and may in the future, co-invest with third parties using joint ventures.ventures or other co-investment vehicles. These joint ventures can result in our holding non-controlling interests in, or having shared responsibility for managing the affairs of, a property or portfolio of properties, business, partnership, joint venture or other entity. As a result, inIn connection with our pursuit or entrance into any such joint venture, we may be subject to additional risks, including:

Each of these factors may result in returns on these investments being less than we expect or in losses, and our financial and operating results may be adversely affected.

Our Global Data Center Business depends on providing customers with highly reliable facilities, power infrastructure and operations solutions, and we will need to retain and hire qualified personnel to manage our data centers. Service interruptions or significant equipment damage could result in difficulty maintaining service levelservice-level commitment obligations that we owe to certain of our customers. Service interruptions or equipment damage may occur at one or more of our data centers because of numerous factors, including: human error; equipment failure; physical, electronic and cyber security breaches; fire, hurricane, flood, earthquake and other natural disasters; water damage; fiber cuts; extreme temperatures; power loss or telecommunications failure; war, terrorism and any related conflicts or similar events worldwide; and sabotage and vandalism.

We also purchase significant amounts of electricity and water for cooling from generating facilities and utility companiessuppliers that are subject to environmental laws, regulations and permit requirements. These environmental requirements are subject to material change, which could result in increases in our electricity suppliers’ compliance costs that may be passed through to us.us or otherwise constrain the availability of such resources. In addition, climate change may increase the likelihood that our data centers are affected by some of these factors.

While these risks could impact our overall business, they could have a more significant impact on our Global Data Center Business, where we have service levelservice-level commitment obligations to certain of our customers. As a result, service interruptions or significant equipment damage at our data centers could result in difficulty maintaining service levelservice-level commitments to these customers and potential claims related to such failures. Because our data centers are critical to many of our customers’ businesses, service interruptions or significant equipment damage at our data centers could also result in lost profits or other indirect or consequential damages to our customers, which could in turn result in contractual liability to our customers or impair our ability to obtain and retain customers, which would adversely affect both our ability to generate revenue and our results of operations.

We also rely on third party telecommunications carriers to provide internet connectivity to our customers. These carriers may elect not to offer or to restrict their services within our data centers or may elect to discontinue such services. Furthermore, carriers may face business difficulties, which could affect their ability to provide telecommunications services or the quality of such services. If connectivity is interrupted or terminated, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. Events such as these may also impact our reputation as a data center provider which could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our Global Data Center Business is susceptible to regional costs of power, power shortages, planned or unplanned power outages and limitations on the availability of adequate power resources. We rely on third parties to provide power to our data centers. We are therefore subject to an inherent risk that such third parties may fail to deliver such power in adequate quantities or on a consistent basis. If the power delivered to our data centers is insufficient or interrupted, we would be required to provide power through the operation of our on-site generators, generally at a significantly higher operating cost. Additionally, global fluctuations in the price of power can increase the cost of energy, and we may be limited in our ability to, or may not always choose to, pass these increased costs on to our customers. We also rely on third party telecommunications carriers to provide internet connectivity to our customers. These carriers may elect not to offer or to restrict their services within our data centers or may elect to discontinue such services. Furthermore, carriers may face business difficulties, which could affect their ability to provide telecommunications services or the quality of such services. If connectivity is interrupted or terminated, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. Events such as these may also impact our reputation as a data center provider which could adversely affect our results of operations.

Expanding our Global Data Center Business requires significant capital commitments. In addition, we may be required to commit significant operational and financial resources in connection with the organic growth of our Global Data Center Business, generally 12 to 1824 months in advance of securing customer contracts, and we may not have enough customer demand to support these data centers when they are built.

There can be no assurance we will have sufficient customer demand to support the data centers we have acquired, or that we will not be adversely affected by the risks noted above under "Significant costs or disruptions at our data centers could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations", which could make it difficult for us to realize expected returns on our investments, if any.

Having the United States Government as a customer subjects us to certain regulatory and contractual requirements. Failure to comply with these requirements could subject us to investigations, price reductions, up to treble damages, and civil penalties. Noncompliance with certain regulatory and contractual requirements could also result in us being suspended or debarred from future United States Government contracting. We may also face private derivative securities claims because of adverse government actions. Any of these outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, operating results, financial position and reputation.

Because our business is heavily dependent on real estate,As of December 31, 2023, we operated approximately 1,400 facilities worldwide, including approximately 600 in the United States, and face special risks attributable to the real estate we own or lease. Such risks include:

Some of our current and formerly owned or leased properties were previously used by entities other than us for industrial or other purposes, or were affected by waste generated from nearby properties, that involved the use, storage, generation and/or disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, including petroleum products. In some instances, this prior use involved the operation of underground storage tanks or the presence of asbestos-containing materials. Where we are aware of environmental conditions that require remediation, we undertake appropriate activity, in accordance with all legal requirements. Although we have from time to time conducted limited environmental investigations and remedial activities at some of our former and current facilities, we have not undertaken an environmental review of all of our properties, including those we have acquired. We therefore may be potentially liable for environmental costs like those discussed above and may be unable to sell, rent, mortgage or use contaminated real estate owned or leased by us. Environmental conditions for which we might be liable may also exist at properties that we may acquire in the future. In addition, future regulatory action and environmental laws may impose costs for environmental compliance that do not exist today.

Unexpected events, including fires or explosions at our facilities, war or other military conflict, including an escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, or terrorist activities, natural disasters such as earthquakes and wildfires, unplanned power outages, supply disruptions, failure of equipment or systems, and severe weather events, such as droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, and flooding, could adversely affect our reputation and results of operations through physical damage to our facilities and equipment and through physical damage to, or disruption of, local infrastructure. During the past several years, we have seen an increase in the frequency and intensity of severe weather events and we expect this trend to continue due to climate change. Some of our key facilities worldwide are vulnerable to severe weather events, and global weather pattern changes may also pose long-term risks of physical impacts to our business. Our customers rely on us to securely store and timely retrieve their critical information, and, while we maintain disaster recovery and business continuity plans that would be implemented in these situations, these unexpected events could result in customer service disruption, physical damage to one or more key operating facilities and the information stored in those facilities, the temporary closure of one or more key operating facilities or the temporary disruption of information systems, each of which could negatively impact our reputation and results of operations. In addition, these unexpected events could negatively impact our reputation if such events result in adverse publicity, governmental investigations or litigation or if customers do not otherwise perceive our response to be adequate.

Our operating revenues and results of operations are impacted by significant changes in commodity prices. In particular, our secure shredding operations generate revenue from the sale of shredded paper for recycling. Further, significant declines in the cost of paper may continue to negatively impact our revenues and results of operations, and increases in other commodity prices, including steel, may negatively impact our results of operations.

We rely on IT infrastructure, including hardware, networks, software, people and processes, to provide information to support assessments and conclusions about our operating performance. We are in the process of upgrading a number of our IT systems, including consolidating our existing finance operations platforms, and we face risks relating to these transitions. For example, we may incur greater costs than we anticipate training our personnel on the new systems, we may experience service disruptions or errors in accurately capturing data or retaining our records, and we may be delayed in meeting our various reporting obligations. There can be no assurance that we will manage our IT systems and implement these new systems as planned or that we will do so without disruptions to our operations, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We have a significant amount of indebtedness. As of December 31, 2021,2023, our total long-term debt was approximately $9.3 billion,$12,034.6 million, stockholders equity was approximately $856$211.6 million and we had cash and cash equivalents (including restricted cash) of approximately $256$222.8 million. Our substantial indebtedness could have important consequences to our current and potential investors. These risks include:

Despite our current indebtedness levels, we may still incur substantially more debt, particularly in order to execute on our strategic growth plan. The termsCertain of our indentures generally do not cap the maximum amount of additional funds that may be borrowedindebtedness, including indebtedness under our Credit Agreementcredit agreement, is paid at floating interest rates, and possible future credit arrangements.as a result, our interest expense or the cost of our debt may increase due to rising interest rates or changes to benchmark rates.

Our Credit Agreement and our indentures contain covenants restricting or limiting our ability to, among other things:

These restrictions and our long-term commitment to reducemaintain our leverage ratio may adversely affect our ability to pursue our acquisition and other growth strategies, including our strategic growth plan.

Upon the occurrence of a “change"change of control,”control", as defined in our indentures, we will be required to offer to repurchase all of our outstanding senior notes. However, it is possible that we will not have sufficient funds at the time of a change of control to make the required repurchase of any outstanding notes or that restrictions in our Credit Agreement will not allow such repurchases. Certain important corporate events, however, such as leveraged recapitalizations that would increase the level of our indebtedness, would not constitute a “change"change of control”control" under our indentures.

IMI is a holding company; substantially all of its assets consist of the equity in its subsidiaries, and substantially all of its operations are conducted by its direct and indirect consolidated subsidiaries. As a result, its ability to make payments on its debt obligations will be dependent upon the receipt of sufficient funds from its subsidiaries, whose ability to distribute funds may be limited by local capital requirements, joint venture and co-investment vehicle structures and other applicable restrictions. However, our various debt obligations are guaranteed, on a joint and several and full and unconditional basis, by IMI’s U.S. subsidiaries that represent the substantial majority of its U.S. operations.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR TAXATION AS A REIT

We have elected to be taxed as a REIT for federal income tax purposes beginning with our 2014 taxable year. We believe that our organization and method of operation comply with the rules and regulations promulgated under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”"Code"), such that we will continue to qualify for taxation as a REIT. However, we can provide no assurance that we will remain qualified for taxation as a REIT. We also have invested in a subsidiary that has elected to be taxed as a REIT and therefore must independently satisfy all REIT qualification requirements, and we may in the future invest in other such subsidiaries. If such subsidiary REIT were to fail to qualify as a REIT, it may cause us to fail to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT. If we fail to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, including as a result of a cascading failure of any subsidiary REIT to remain qualified as a REIT, we will be subject to federal income taxation at corporate income tax rates unless certain relief provisions apply.

Qualification for taxation as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex provisions of the Code to our operations, as well as various factual determinations concerning matters and circumstances not entirely within our control. There are limited judicial or administrative interpretations of applicable REIT provisions of the Code.

If, in any taxable year, we fail to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT and are not entitled to relief under the Code:

Any such corporate tax liability could be substantial and would reduce the amount of cash available for other purposes. If we fail to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, we may need to borrow additional funds or liquidate some investments to pay any additional tax liability. Accordingly, funds available for investment and distributions to stockholders could be reduced.

We expect to continue paying regular quarterly distributions; however, the amount, timing and form of our regular quarterly distributions will be determined, and will be subject to adjustment, by our board of directors. To remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, we are generally required to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gain) each year, or in limited circumstances, the following year, to our stockholders. Generally, we expect to distribute all or substantially all of our REIT taxable income. If our cash available for distribution falls short of our estimates, we may be unable to maintain distributions that approximate our REIT taxable income and may fail to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT. In addition, our cash flows from operations may be insufficient to fund required distributions as a result of nondeductible expenditures or as a result of differences in timing between the actual receipt of income and the payment of expenses and the recognition of income and expenses for federal income tax purposes, or the effect of nondeductible expenditures.purposes.

To the extent that we satisfy the 90% distribution requirement but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on our undistributed taxable income if the actual amount that we distribute to our stockholders for a calendar year is less than the minimum amount specified under the Code.

In order to satisfy our REIT distribution requirements and maintain our qualification and taxation as a REIT, or to fund capital expenditures, future growth and expansion initiatives, we may need to borrow funds, sell assets or raise equity, even if our financial condition or the then-prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings, sales or offerings. Furthermore, the REIT distribution requirements and our commitment to investors on dividend growth may result in increasing our financing needs to fund capital expenditures, future growth and expansion initiatives, which would increase our indebtedness. An increase in our outstanding debt could lead to a downgrade of our credit ratings, which could negatively impact our ability to access credit markets. Further, certain of our current debt instruments limit the amount of indebtedness we and our subsidiaries may incur. Additional financing, therefore, may be unavailable, more expensive or restricted by the terms of our outstanding indebtedness. For a discussion of risks related to our substantial level of indebtedness, see “Risks"Risks Related to Our Indebtedness.”

To remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, we must satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets and the amounts we distribute to our stockholders. Thus, compliance with these tests may require us to refrain from certain activities and may hinder our ability to make certain attractive investments, including the purchase of non-REIT qualifying operations or assets, the expansion of non-real estate activities, and investments in the businesses to be conducted by our TRSs,taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRSs"), and, to that extent, limit our opportunities and our flexibility to change our business strategy and execute on our strategic growth plan. This may restrict our ability to acquire certain businesses, enter into joint ventures or co-investment vehicles, or acquire minority interests of companies. Furthermore, acquisition opportunities in domestic and international markets may be adversely affected if we need or require the target company to comply with some REIT requirements prior to closing.

We conduct a significant portion of our business activities, including our information management services businesses and several of our international operations, through domestic and foreign TRSs. Under the Code, no more than 20% of the value of the assets of a REIT may be represented by securities of one or more TRSs. Similar rules apply to other nonqualifying assets. These limitations may affect our ability to make additional investments in non-REIT qualifying operations or assets or in international operations through TRSs.

If we fail to comply with specified asset ownership tests applicable to REITs as measured at the end of any calendar quarter, we generally must correct such failure within 30 days after the end of the applicable calendar quarter or qualify for statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our qualification for taxation as a REIT. As a result, we may be required to liquidate assets or to forgo our pursuit of otherwise attractive investments or executing on portions of our strategic growth plan. These actions may reduce our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.

Our ability to receive distributions from our TRSs is limited by the rules with which we must comply to maintain our qualification for taxation as a REIT. In particular, at least 75% of our gross income for each taxable year as a REIT must be derived from real estate, which generally includes gross income from providing customers with secure storage space or colocation or wholesale data center space. Consequently, no more than 25% of our gross income may consist of dividend income from our TRSs and other nonqualifying types of income. Thus, our ability to receive distributions from our TRSs may be limited, which may impact our ability to fund distributions to our stockholders using cash flows from our TRSs. Specifically, if our TRSs become highly profitable, we might become limited in our ability to receive net income from our TRSs in an amount required to fund distributions to our stockholders commensurate with that profitability.

In addition, a significant amount of our income and cash flows from our TRSs is generated from our international operations. In many cases, there are local withholding taxes and currency controls that may impact our ability or willingness to repatriate funds to the United States to help satisfy REIT distribution requirements.

Our operations include an extensive use of TRSs. The net income of our TRSs is not required to be distributed to us, and income that is not distributed to us generally is not subject to the REIT income distribution requirement. However, there may be limitations on our ability to accumulate earnings in our TRSs and the accumulation or reinvestment of significant earnings in our TRSs could result in adverse tax treatment. In particular, if the accumulation of cash in our TRSs causes (1)(i) the fair market value of our securities in our TRSs to exceed 20% of the fair market value of our assets or (2)(ii) the fair market value of our securities in our TRSs and other nonqualifying assets to exceed 25% of the fair market value of our assets, then we will fail to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT. Further, a substantial portion of our operations are conducted overseas, and a material change in foreign currency rates could also affect the value of our foreign holdings in our TRSs, negatively impacting our ability to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT.

Even if we remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to some federal, state, local and foreign taxes, including taxes on any undistributed income, and state, local or foreign income, franchise, property and transfer taxes. In addition, we could in certain circumstances be required to pay an excise or penalty tax, which could be significant in amount, in order to utilize one or more relief provisions under the Code to maintain our qualification for taxation as a REIT.

A portion of our business is conducted through wholly-owned TRSs because certain of our business activities could generate nonqualifying REIT income as currently structured and operated. The income of our domestic TRSs will continue to be subject to federal and state corporate income taxes. In addition, our international assets and operations will continue to be subject to taxation in the foreign jurisdictions where those assets are held or those operations are conducted. Any of these taxes would decrease our earnings and our available cash.

The REIT provisions of the Code limit our ability to hedge assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Generally, income from hedging transactions that we enter into to manage risk of interest rate changes with respect to borrowings made or to be made by us to acquire or carry real estate assets and income from certain currency hedging transactions related to our non-United States operations, as well as income from qualifying counteracting hedges, do not constitute “gross income”"gross income" for purposes of the REIT gross income tests. To the extent that we enter into other types of hedging transactions, the income from those transactions is likely to be treated as nonqualifying income for purposes of the REIT gross income tests. As a result of these rules, we may need to limit our use of advantageous hedging techniques or implement those hedges through our TRSs. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities because our TRSs would be subject to tax on income or gains resulting from hedges entered into by them and may expose us to greater risks associated with changes in interest rates or exchange rates than we would otherwise want to bear. In addition, hedging losses in any of our TRSs generally will not provide any tax benefit, except for being carried forward for possible use against future income or gain in the TRSs.

Dividends payable by United States corporations to noncorporate stockholders, such as individuals, trusts and estates, are generally eligible for reduced United States federal income tax rates applicable to “qualified dividends.”"qualified dividends". Distributions paid by REITs generally are not treated as “qualified dividends”"qualified dividends" under the Code, and the reduced rates applicable to such dividends do not generally apply. However, for tax years beginning before 2026, REIT dividends paid to noncorporate stockholders that meet specified holding period requirements are generally taxed at an effective tax rate lower than applicable ordinary income tax rates due to the availability of a deduction under the Code for specified forms of income from passthrough entities. More favorable rates will nevertheless continue to apply to regular corporate “qualified”"qualified" dividends, which may cause some investors to perceive that an investment in a REIT is less attractive than an investment in a non-REIT entity that pays dividends, thereby reducing the demand and market price of our common stock.

In order for us to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, no more than 50% of the value of outstanding shares of our capital stock may be owned, beneficially or constructively, by five or fewer individuals at any time during the last half of each taxable year. In addition, rents from “affiliated tenants”"affiliated tenants" will not qualify as qualifying REIT income if we own 10% or more by vote or value of the customer, whether directly or after application of attribution rules under the Code. Subject to certain exceptions, our certificate of incorporation prohibits any stockholder from owning, beneficially or constructively, more than (i) 9.8% in value of the outstanding shares of all classes or series of our capital stock or (ii) 9.8% in value or number, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of any class or series of our capital stock. We refer to these restrictions collectively as the “ownership limits”"ownership limits" and we included them in our certificate of incorporation to facilitate our compliance with REIT tax rules. The constructive ownership rules under the Code are complex and may cause the outstanding stock owned by a group of related individuals or entities to be deemed to be constructively owned by one individual or entity. As a result, the acquisition of less than 9.8% of our outstanding common stock (or the outstanding shares of any class or series of our capital stock) by an individual or entity could cause that individual or entity or another individual or entity to own constructively in excess of the relevant ownership limits. Any attempt to own or transfer shares of our common stock or of any of our other capital stock in violation of these restrictions may result in the shares being automatically transferred to a charitable trust or may be void. Even though our certificate of incorporation contains the ownership limits, there can be no assurance that these provisions will be effective to prevent our qualification for taxation as a REIT from being jeopardized, including under the affiliated tenant rule. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that we will be able to monitor and enforce the ownership limits. If the restrictions in our certificate of incorporation are not effective and, as a result, we fail to satisfy the REIT tax rules described above, then, absent an applicable relief provision, we will fail to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT.

In addition, the ownership and transfer restrictions could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for our stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders. As a result, the overall effect of the ownership and transfer restrictions may be to render more difficult or discourage any attempt to acquire us, even if such acquisition may be favorable to the interests of our stockholders.

At any time, the federal or state income tax laws governing REITs, the administrative interpretations of those laws, or local laws impacting our REIT structure for our international operations may be amended. Federal, state and local tax laws are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the IRS,United States Internal Revenue Service, the United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and state and local taxing authorities. Changes to the tax laws, regulations and administrative interpretations or local laws governing our international operations, which may have retroactive application, could adversely affect us. In addition, some of these changes could have a more significant impact on us as compared to other REITs due to the nature of our business and our substantial use of TRSs, particularly non-United States TRSs, or how we have structured our operations outside the United States to comply with REIT qualification requirements. We cannot predict with certainty whether, when, in what forms, or with what effective dates, the tax laws, regulations, administrative interpretations or local laws applicable to us may be changed or if such laws would impact our ability to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT or the costs of doing so.

GENERAL RISK FACTORS

As a REIT, we are generally required to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income to our stockholders. Furthermore, we are committed to growing our dividends, and have stated this publicly.

Our board of directors, in its sole discretion, will determine, on a quarterly basis, the amount of cash to be distributed to our stockholders based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, our results of operations, cash flow and capital requirements, economic conditions, tax considerations, borrowing capacity and other factors, including debt covenant restrictions that may impose limitations on cash payments, future acquisitions and divestitures, any stock repurchase program and general market demand for our space and related services. Consequently, our distribution levels may fluctuate and we may not be able to meet our public commitments with respect to dividend growth.

The design and effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting may not prevent all errors, misstatements or misrepresentations. While management will continue to review the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, there can be no guarantee that our internal control over financial reporting will be effective in accomplishing all control objectives all of the time. Furthermore, our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting with respect to entities that we do not control or manage may be substantially more limited than those we maintain with respect to the subsidiaries that we have controlled or managed over the course of time. Deficiencies, including any material weakness, in our internal control over financial reporting which may occur in the future could result in misstatements of our results of operations, restatements of our financial statements, a decline in our stock price, or otherwise materially adversely affect our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

We compete with multiple businesses in all geographic areas where we operate; our current or potential customers may choose to use those competitors instead of us. In addition, if we are successful in winning record storage customers from competitors, the process of moving their stored records into our facilities is often costly and time consuming. We also compete, in some of our business lines, with our current and potential customers’ internal storage and information management services capabilities and their cloud-based alternatives. These organizations may not begin or continue to use us for their future storage and information management service needs.

We are highly dependent on skilled and qualified personnel to operate our businesses. Furthermore, our contracts with the United States Government require us to use personnel with security clearances, and we may not be successful or may experience delays in attracting, training or retaining qualified personnel with the requisite skills or security clearances. The failure to attract and retain qualified employees or to effectively control our labor costs could negatively affect our competitive position and operating results. Our ability to control labor costs and attract qualified personnel is subject to numerous external factors, including prevailing wages, labor shortages, the impact of legislation or regulations governing wages and hours, labor relations, immigration, healthcare and other benefits, other employment-related costs and the hiring practices of our competitors.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.

As of December 31, 2021,2023, we conducted operations through 1,1841,145 leased facilities and 263232 owned facilities. Our facilities are divided among our reportable operating segments and Corporate and Other as follows: Global RIM Business (1,363)(1,287), Global Data Center Business (17)(30) and Corporate and Other Business (67)(60). These facilities contain a total of approximately 94.698.0 million square feet of space. A breakdown of owned and leased facilities by country (and by state within the United States) is listed below: