Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Access earnings results, analyst expectations, report, slides, earnings call, and transcript.

Overview

The earnings call summary indicates strong financial performance with double-digit revenue growth, robust customer momentum, and strategic expansions in AI and multi-cloud markets. The Q&A section highlights firm pricing, effective capital management, and secured power for xScale projects, with no significant negative sentiment from analysts. The company's raised guidance and strong recurring revenue growth outlook further support a positive sentiment. However, management's vague responses on specific metrics prevent a stronger rating.

Key Financial Performance

MRR growth 8% year-over-year on a normalized and constant currency basis. This growth is attributed to continued revenue acceleration and a diversified customer base.

Annualized gross bookings $394 million, a 25% increase year-over-year and up 14% over Q2. This growth is driven by a diversified set of customers across geographies, industries, and segments.

Adjusted EBITDA margins Strong for the quarter, with AFFO up 12% year-over-year on a normalized and constant currency basis. This improvement is due to strong operating results, favorable net interest expense, and timing of recurring CapEx spend.

Interconnection revenue $422 million, an 8% year-over-year increase on a normalized and constant currency basis. This growth is partially driven by a 57% year-over-year increase in fabric bookings in Q3.

Global Q3 revenues Approximately $2.32 billion, up 5% over the same quarter last year. Recurring revenue growth stepped up 8%, underpinned by continued bookings momentum.

Global Q3 adjusted EBITDA $1.15 billion or approximately 50% of revenues, up 8% over the same quarter last year. This includes a $4 million FX headwind compared to prior guidance rates.

Global Q3 AFFO $965 million, up 12% over the same quarter last year. This increase is attributed to strong operating performance, disciplined balance sheet management, and timing of recurring CapEx spend.

Global MRR churn 2.3% in Q3, stepping down as expected. This reflects improved customer retention.

Net interconnection additions 7,100 net physical and virtual connections in Q3, bringing the total to more than 499,000. This growth is supported by cloud and enterprise connectivity.

Global MR per cabinet yield Stepped up $41 quarter-over-quarter on a normalized and constant currency basis. This increase is due to higher densities, strong interconnection, and firm pricing across regions.

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Operating Highlights

Distributed AI Infrastructure Solution: Introduced a new AI-ready networking backbone and Fabric Intelligence software to support enterprise inferencing workloads. Showcased capabilities at the first AI Summit with partners like NVIDIA, Dell, and Adobe.

Interconnection Products: Added 7,100 net physical and virtual connections in Q3, bringing the total to over 499,000. Interconnection revenue grew 8% year-over-year to $422 million.

Land Acquisitions: Closed substantial land acquisitions in Amsterdam, Chicago, Johannesburg, London, and Toronto to support over 900 megawatts of retail and xScale capacity.

New Markets: Opened the 77th market in Chennai, India, and added new data centers in Monterrey, Mexico.

Revenue Growth: Achieved 8% year-over-year MRR growth and record annualized gross bookings of $394 million, a 25% increase year-over-year.

Profitability: Adjusted EBITDA margins remained strong, and AFFO increased by 12% year-over-year. Raised guidance for adjusted EBITDA, AFFO, and AFFO per share for the full year.

Build Bolder Initiative: Aimed to double capacity by 2029 with a total developable capacity now at 3 gigawatts, a 50% increase from last quarter.

Customer Engagement: Closed over 4,400 deals with more than 3,400 customers in Q3, reflecting demand for AI and non-AI workloads.

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Risk or Challenges

Regulatory Risks: The company faces challenges in meeting strict regulatory standards and requirements, as evidenced by ING's migration of its core banking infrastructure to Equinix to comply with such standards.

Supply Chain and Expansion Risks: The company is heavily investing in land acquisitions and expansion projects to double capacity by 2029. This aggressive expansion strategy could face risks related to project delays, cost overruns, or challenges in securing necessary resources.

Economic and Market Uncertainties: The company’s financial performance is subject to economic uncertainties, including currency fluctuations, as highlighted by the FX headwinds impacting revenues and adjusted EBITDA.

Competitive Pressures: The company operates in a highly competitive market, with significant demand for AI and cloud services. Maintaining its market-leading position requires continuous innovation and investment, which could strain resources.

Strategic Execution Risks: The Build Bolder initiative and other strategic moves require precise execution to meet long-term goals. Any missteps in execution could adversely impact profitability and market position.

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Guidance & Outlook

Revenue Growth: The company expects a quarter-over-quarter MRR step-up greater than $60 million, indicating significant year-over-year growth. Full-year revenue growth is projected at 7% to 8% on a normalized and constant currency basis.

Adjusted EBITDA and AFFO: Adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2025 has been raised by $21 million, with margins expected to range between 49% and 50%. AFFO guidance has been increased by $31 million, with AFFO projected to grow between 11% and 13%, and AFFO per share growth expected to range between 8% and 10%.

Capital Expenditures: 2025 CapEx is expected to range between $3.8 billion and $4.3 billion, including approximately $290 million of recurring CapEx spend.

Capacity Expansion: The company plans to double its capacity by 2029, supported by recent land acquisitions in high-demand markets such as Amsterdam, Chicago, Johannesburg, London, and Toronto. This will add over 900 megawatts of retail and xScale capacity. Total developable capacity now stands at 3 gigawatts, a 50% increase from the previous quarter.

xScale Business: The xScale business is expected to contribute significantly to revenue in Q4, with advanced-stage negotiations for leasing the entire capacity at the Hampton campus. The demand for xScale capacity in major metros remains robust.

Bookings and Pipeline: Record annualized gross bookings of $394 million were achieved in Q3, with a presold balance of $185 million expected to generate revenue in future quarters. Over 40% of Q4 bookings have already been closed, with a strong pipeline heading into 2026.

AI and Cloud Infrastructure: The company is investing in distributed AI infrastructure, including an AI-ready networking backbone and Fabric Intelligence software, to support enterprise inferencing workloads. This aligns with the growing demand for AI and hybrid multi-cloud solutions.

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Shareholder Return Plan

The selected topic was not discussed during the call.

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Key Q&A

Q:How strategic are the new cloud on-ramps and network nodes like Nebius and Groq compared to traditional ones, and what is being done to attract AI magnets?

A:Equinix has a market-leading position in native cloud on-ramps and added two additional on-ramps this quarter. They have a strong presence of AI magnets in their ecosystem, including companies like Zetaris, Lyceum, Block, Groq, Outrider, Nebius, and CoreWeave. The team focuses on managing relationships with these companies to ensure their representation in the ecosystem.

Q:Is the change in sales approach to sell capacity further out from delivery driving presale activity, and how much pre-leasing activity is there for upcoming capacity?

A:The presales motion, extended to a 12-month window from the previous 3-6 months, has driven $185 million in annualized gross bookings for future quarters. Presales activity is evenly spread across upcoming capacity, with significant activity in high-demand locations like Frankfurt, London, and New York.

Q:What is the current pricing environment, and are there any updates on AFFO growth for next year?

A:Pricing remains firm with no dilution observed. For 2026, Equinix is focused on strong Q4 execution, revenue growth, RFS acceleration, cost efficiency, and effective capital management. Interest rates and financing costs are better than previously guided, and the company is raising capital effectively.

Q:Can you provide details on the 900 megawatts of land acquisitions and their use for retail versus xScale?

A:The land acquisitions in Amsterdam, Chicago, Johannesburg, London, and Toronto are significant for meeting customer demand. A substantial portion of the London and Chicago acquisitions will be earmarked for xScale business, while the split between retail and xScale is flexible to maximize value.

Q:What is the direction for the Chicago site and the use of xScale for large enterprise customers?

A:The Chicago site may co-locate xScale with retail on a single campus. Equinix is open to using xScale capacity for large enterprise customers if it aligns with customer needs and partner agreements.

Q:What is the demand for larger footprint retail deployments, and how does it relate to pre-leasing?

A:There is healthy demand for larger footprint retail deployments, with customers securing contiguous capacity through presale arrangements, especially in high-demand markets.

Q:What is the confidence level in power availability for the 12 xScale projects and future land acquisitions?

A:All 12 xScale projects have secured power, and recent land acquisitions either have committed power or are in advanced discussions with power providers. Equinix does not buy land speculatively and has strong utility relationships.

Q:What is the expected run rate for annualized gross bookings and presold gross bookings?

A:Annualized gross bookings show consistent growth but can be volatile. Presold gross bookings are not included in the $394 million figure and may increase if capacity in high-demand markets is limited.

Q:What is driving the uptick in cross-connect revenue and ARPU, and is it replicable in other regions?

A:The uptick is driven by customer mix, particularly technology and infrastructure providers in the Americas. As these segments grow in other regions, similar growth may occur.

Q:Does accelerating builds and capitalizing expenses affect AFFO growth?

A:Accelerating builds and capitalizing expenses, such as interest, may slightly increase capitalized interest. However, the cost to borrow is lower, and AFFO growth remains aligned with Analyst Day projections.

Q:What is the addressable market for distributed AI infrastructure solutions?

A:Equinix's connectivity, latency, edge processing, data residency, compliance, and intellectual property protection make it a viable platform for AI workloads. The interconnection revenue and fabric provisioning growth highlight the opportunity in this market.

Q:Review of Unclear Management Responses

A:Management avoided directly addressing the specific breakdown of anticipated megawatt delivery between retail and xScale for recent land acquisitions. They also did not provide a clear normal run rate for annualized gross bookings and presold gross bookings, citing potential volatility and market dynamics.

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Earnings Word Cloud

The most frequently occurring keywords in this quarter's earning call

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