Finding gold in Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain’s (NYSE: IRM) core business is providing storage, primarily of records, and information management services to companies and government organizations.

It’s also been expanding into related operations, such as data centers. The Boston-based company leads its industry, with a portfolio of more than 1,400 facilities spanning 47 countries. It has more than 220,000 customers, including about 94 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies.

In 2014, the company reorganized into a real estate investment trust (REIT). REITS are required to pay out at least 90 percent of their income as dividends, and Iron Mountain recently yielded a fat 6.4 percent.

What’s wonderful about the storage business is that customers are willing to sign multiyear agreements to help keep their documents safe. Those agreements keep revenue flowing into Iron Mountain’s bank account, even during economic slowdowns.

Management plans to steadily increase revenue and profits between now and 2020, in part via $100 million in annual spending on acquisitions and expanding its capabilities in art storage and data-center management.

Documentation management and storage is boring, but boring businesses that crank out predictable profits can be great investments.

Iron Mountain shares aren’t a screaming bargain right now, but they’ll likely reward long-term investors.