How did IRM's Q4 2024 earnings surprise impact investors?

Iron Mountain's (IRM) Q4 2024 earnings surprise had a negative impact on investors, as evidenced by the following points:

1. **Earnings Per Share (EPS) Miss**: The EPS for Q4 2024 was -0.01, which was a surprise compared to the expected value. A negative EPS can indicate a loss for the period, which typically leads to a negative perception among investors.

|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Revenue Surprise|Revenue Surprise YoY|market_code|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|IRM|IRM.N|Iron Mountain|2024 Q1|2.7E7|550|169|
|IRM|IRM.N|Iron Mountain|2024 Q2|3.0E7|275|169|
|IRM|IRM.N|Iron Mountain|2024 Q3|1.0E7|147.61904761904762|169|
|IRM|IRM.N|Iron Mountain|2024 Q4|-2.0E7|33.33333333333333|169|

2. **Decline in Share Price**: Following the earnings release, Iron Mountain's stock price experienced a significant drop of 7.11%. This decline suggests that investors reacted negatively to the earnings news.
3. **Underperformance Compared to Market**: Iron Mountain's stock underperformed the S&P 500, with a 1.2% increase in shares over a month. This underperformance could be a result of the negative earnings surprise, as investors may have shifted their confidence to other companies in the market.
4. **Record Revenue and Strategic Growth Initiatives**: Despite the negative surprise, Iron Mountain achieved record quarterly revenue of $1.6 billion, up 12% from the prior year. The company also set new adjusted EBITDA and funds from operations (FFO) records. However, these positive points may not have been enough to counterbalance the negative impact of the EPS miss.

In conclusion, while Iron Mountain's Q4 2024 earnings report highlighted the company's strategic growth initiatives and record revenues, the negative EPS surprise of -0.01 led to a decline in share price and underperformance compared to the market, indicating a negative impact on investors.