Equinix lifts its 2026 forecast after record $533m of bookings

Equinix raised its 2026 forecast for the third time this year after signing a record $533m of annualized gross bookings in the third quarter, up 35% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 11% to $2.57bn.

The data-center company now expects 2026 revenue of $10.33bn–$10.37bn and adjusted funds from operations, the cash-earnings measure it uses to size its dividend, of $43.71–$44.11 a share. Both ranges are higher than the company's previous guidance.

The figures come from the release Equinix furnished on Form 8-K after the market closed on Oct. 28 and the 10-Q it filed minutes later. The call was not used, and the investor presentation and supplemental data on its website were not used.

The recurring business carried the quarter. Recurring revenue, the monthly fees for space, power and connections, rose 10%* to $2.44bn. Interconnection revenue, from the cables customers run to each other inside Equinix buildings, also grew 10%, to $465m. The company added 6,900 net interconnections.

Total revenue fell 2%* from the second quarter. The drop was in one-off items: non-recurring revenue fell to $129m from $248m, while recurring revenue rose 2.7%* in the quarter.

All three regions grew. Americas revenue rose 11%* to $1.15bn, Europe, the Middle East and Africa 12%* to $878m and Asia-Pacific 10%* to $545m.

Profit grew faster than revenue. Operating income rose 27% to $600m. Net income attributable to shareholders rose 31% to $489m, or $4.93 a share, helped by a one-off fee tied to the atNorth deal; the 10-Q books $54m of other income, mostly that payment. Adjusted operating profit before depreciation and stock pay rose 15% to $1.32bn, a margin of 51.4%*. Adjusted funds from operations were $1.16bn, or $11.64 a share, up 18% a share. Stripping out the atNorth fee and currency, the company puts per-share growth at 12%.

For the fourth quarter Equinix expects revenue of $2.68bn–$2.72bn, up 11%–13% as reported from a year earlier. Its full-year adjusted margin guide stays at about 51%. Total capital spending is still expected to come in at $5bn–$6bn, and dividends at about $2.04bn.

Equinix is building faster than it earns. In the first nine months operating cash flow was $3.03bn, while purchases of property and equipment came to $4.39bn and real estate another $234m. Free cash flow, as the company defines it, was negative $801m. It paid $1.55bn in dividends over the same period.

Borrowing fills the gap. Debt principal rose to $25.2bn from $21.4bn at the end of 2025, after senior-note sales in March, May and August raised $5.4bn net. Cash stood at $2.36bn. On Oct. 28 the board declared a quarterly dividend of $5.16 a share, unchanged, payable Dec. 16 to holders of record on Nov. 18.

It also renewed its ability to raise money in the market. About an hour after its results Equinix filed two automatic shelf registrations, one covering stock, debt and other securities and one carrying over its at-the-market share program. That program allows up to $2bn of sales, and the prospectus says about $1.3bn has been sold since it began in October 2024. The cash-flow statement shows no share sales so far in 2026.

On Sept. 2 Equinix completed its investment in a new joint venture that bought atNorth, a Nordic operator of high-density data centers. It contributed $869m for about 34% of the venture's common and preference shares; the preference shares carry a 12% cumulative dividend. Equinix has also committed to lease a minimum amount of capacity from atNorth by the end of 2030, an obligation it says it cannot yet size.

The company launched Fabric One, a connectivity service with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud as lead partners, and an inference exchange with Nvidia and Together AI. It says it now expects to deliver nearly 40% more cabinets in 2026 than first planned. Forms 4 since August show only small activity by two officers and a director: a director contributed 4,000 shares to an exchange fund and later sold 125 under a trading plan; two officers sold small lots under trading plans or to cover tax on vested shares.

Equinix's core is in good shape: bookings at a record, recurring revenue growing at 10% and margins edging up. The cost is a building program that consumes more cash than the business throws off, funded so far this year with new debt, with a share-sale program on standby. As long as per-share cash earnings grow faster than the share count, that trade works. The atNorth fee flattered this quarter; next quarter's figures will show the underlying pace.

The dividend is payable Dec. 16. Watch how much stock Equinix sells under the new shelf, and fourth-quarter revenue against the $2.68bn–$2.72bn guide. Equinix has not set its next report date; it reported fourth-quarter results last year on Feb. 11.

*Rackline estimate from Equinix's release, 10-Q and filings.