Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

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Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Our future income, cash flows and fair values relevant to financial instruments depend upon prevalent market interest rates. Market risk refers to the risk of loss from adverse changes in market prices and interest rates. We do not use derivatives for trading or speculative purposes and only enter into contracts with major financial institutions based on their credit ratings and other factors.

Analysis of Debt between Fixed and Variable Rate

We use interest rate swap agreements and fixed rate debt to reduce our exposure to interest rate movements. As of December 31, 2020, our consolidated debt was as follows (in millions):

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​​​Estimated Fair
​​Carrying ValueValue
Fixed rate debt​$11,864.8​$13,131.5
Variable rate debt subject to interest rate swaps​181.4​181.4
Total fixed rate debt (including interest rate swaps)​12,046.2​13,312.9
Variable rate debt​1,366.8​1,366.8
Total outstanding debt​$13,413.0​$14,679.7

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Interest rate derivatives and their fair values as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2018 were as follows (in thousands):

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Fair Value at Significant Other
Notional Amount​​​​​​​​​Observable Inputs (Level 2)
As of​As of​​​​​​​​​As of​As of
December 31,​December 31,​Type of​Strike​Effective​Expiration​December 31,​December 31,
20202019DerivativeRateDateDate20202019
Currently-paying contracts​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
$—​$29,000(1)​Swap1.016​Apr 6, 2016​Jan 6, 2021​$—​$175
​—​75,000(1)​Swap1.164​Jan 15, 2016​Jan 15, 2021​—​345
​104,000(1)​300,000(1)​Swap1.435​Jan 15, 2016​Jan 15, 2023​(2,773)​945
​77,352(2)​75,825(2)​Swap0.779​Jan 15, 2016​Jan 15, 2021​(9)​931
$181,352​$479,825​​​$(2,782)​$2,396
(1)Represents debt which bears interest based on one-month U.S. LIBOR.
(2)Represents debt which bears interest based on one-month CDOR. Translation to U.S. dollars is based on exchange rates of $0.79 to 1.00 CAD as of December 31, 2020 and $0.77 to 1.00 CAD as of December 31, 2019.

Sensitivity to Changes in Interest Rates

The following table shows the effects if assumed changes in interest rates occurred, based on fair values and interest expense as of December 31, 2020:

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​​​​
​Change
Assumed event​($ millions)
Increase in fair value of interest rate swaps following an assumed 10% increase in interest rates​$0.1
Decrease in fair value of interest rate swaps following an assumed 10% decrease in interest rates​(0.1)
Increase in annual interest expense on our debt that is variable rate and not subject to swapped interest following a 10% increase in interest rates​0.4
Decrease in annual interest expense on our debt that is variable rate and not subject to swapped interest following a 10% decrease in interest rates​(0.4)
Increase in fair value of fixed rate debt following a 10% decrease in interest rates​13.1
Decrease in fair value of fixed rate debt following a 10% increase in interest rates​(28.2)

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Interest risk amounts were determined by considering the impact of hypothetical interest rates on our financial instruments. These analyses do not consider the effect of any change in overall economic activity that could occur in that environment. Further, in the event of a change of that magnitude, we may take actions to further mitigate our exposure to the change. However, due to the uncertainty of the specific actions that would be taken and their possible effects, these analyses assume no changes in our financial structure.

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, we had foreign operations, including through our investments in unconsolidated joint ventures, in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Brazil and we have added Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Sweden and Kenya as part of the Interxion Combination, which closed in March 2020. As such, we are subject to risk from the effects of exchange rate movements of foreign currencies, which may affect future costs and cash flows. Our foreign operations are conducted in the British pound sterling, Euro, Canadian dollar, Brazilian real, Singapore dollar, Australian dollar, Japanese Yen, Hong Kong dollar, South Korean won, Swiss franc, Danish krone, Swedish krona and the Kenyan shilling. Our primary currency exposures are to the British pound sterling, Euro and the Singapore dollar. As a result of the Ascenty joint venture and deconsolidation of Ascenty, our exposure to foreign exchange risk related to the Brazilian real is limited to the impact that currency has on our share of the Ascenty

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joint venture’s operations and financial position. We attempt to mitigate a portion of the risk of currency fluctuation by financing our investments in the local currency denominations and we may also hedge well-defined transactional exposures with foreign currency forwards or options, although there can be no assurances that these will be effective. As a result, changes in the relation of any such foreign currency to U.S. dollars may affect our revenues, operating margins and distributions and may also affect the book value of our assets and the amount of stockholders’ equity. For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, operating revenues from properties outside the United States contributed $1,301.8 million, $627.4 million and $564.4 million, respectively, which represented 33.3%, 19.5% and 18.5% of our operating revenues, respectively. Net investment in properties outside the United States was $9.3 billion and $3.7 billion as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. Net assets in foreign operations were approximately $5.7 billion and $(1.4) billion as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively.

Other

Certain operating costs incurred by us, such as electricity, are subject to price fluctuations caused by the volatility of underlying commodity prices. In 2020, we added 154 megawatts of renewable energy contracts across our U.S. portfolio, bringing the total executed under long-term contracts to 556 megawatts of renewable energy. In 2019, we entered into a power purchase agreement to secure the renewable energy attributes from a solar farm in Virginia. In 2018, we entered into power purchase agreements to secure the renewable energy attributes from a solar farm in North Carolina to support the renewable energy needs of a customer in Virginia.

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