Global data center colocation provider Equinix has released its financial achievements for the fourth quarter and the entirety of 2023, marking an impressive milestone with over $8 billion in revenue and extending its streak of quarterly revenue growth to 21 years. Throughout 2023, the company reported a 13% increase in annual revenues on an as-reported basis, reaching $8.2 billion – a figure that adjusts to a 15% rise when normalized for constant currency.
Equinix’s operational success would further be underscored by the closing of nearly 17,000 deals with over 5,900 customers, reflecting its robust market position and the trust it has garnered across its expansive colocation customer base. A record-breaking 90 megawatts of xScale hyperscale leasing was achieved, driven by heightened demand from hyperscale players for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud deployment support.
Examining Equinix’s detailed financials for 2023, the company reported operating income of $1.443 billion, up 20% from the year before, and net income of $969 million, a 38% increase. The company primarily attributed this increase to additional income and strong operational performance, even in the face of higher income taxes. Per-share net income soared by 34% to $10.31.
“2023 was another strong year for Equinix – we delivered more than $8 billion of revenues, achieving an amazing 21 years of consecutive quarterly revenue growth, all while driving AFFO per share performance above the top end of our long-term expectations. We made substantial progress on our ambitious agenda, positioning the business to capitalize on the immense opportunities that lie ahead,” said Charles Meyers, CEO and President at Equinix. “Digital transformation, especially in an AI-driven world, is as important as ever to our customers. In this context, the significance of Platform Equinix and its strong competitive advantages has never been more crucial. We plan to continue our focus on creating a platform that allows our customers to build hybrid and multicloud infrastructure, when they want, where they want, and with the ecosystem of partners they need.”
2024 Outlook
According to Equinix, revenues for 2024 will be between $8.793 and $8.893 billion, indicating a growth of 7 to 9% on an as-reported basis or 7 to 8% when adjusted for constant currency and eliminating the impact of power pass-through on year-over-year growth. Revenues in the first quarter of 2024 are anticipated to range from $2.127 to $2.147 billion, while adjusted EBITDA – which accounts for foreign exchange benefits and integration expenses associated with recent acquisitions – is projected to be between $960 and $980 million.
According to Equinix’s forward-looking projection, the company expects its Adjusted EBITDA margin to reach 47% in 2024 and its Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) to range from $3.306 to $3.376 billion, which represents a 9 to 12% rise over the previous year. The company’s operational competence, strategic investments, and adeptness at navigating the intricate world of financing and expanding digital infrastructure are all reflected in this vision.
To support future expansion and infrastructure development, Equinix intends to make significant capital expenditures in both recurring and non-recurring sectors, including xScale-related costs. It is anticipated that these investments would strengthen Equinix’s standing as a pillar of the digital economy and allow it to keep offering its international clients top-notch services and infrastructure solutions.
2023 and 2024 Business Highlights
- Equinix’s growth is anchored in the company’s strategic expansion and investment across its impressive portfolio of 260 colocation data centers spanning 71 metropolitan areas in 33 countries.
- Equinix’s aggressive expansion includes 49 major construction projects underway in 35 markets across 21 countries, with 11 dedicated xScale hyperscale builds aimed at bolstering retail and hyperscale capacity through 2024. In a significant push into new markets, Equinix opened 14 new colocation data centers in key metropolitan areas worldwide, from Dublin to Tokyo, and announced seven additional projects in cities including Dallas and Madrid.
- Across more than 100 of its data centers worldwide, Equinix intends to expand support for liquid cooling technologies in response to the growing need for sophisticated cooling solutions required for high-density, compute-intensive applications like artificial intelligence (AI). With this project, Equinix claims to be demonstrating its dedication to enabling the next wave of technology developments inside its facilities.
- A record 90 megawatts of capacity have been leased throughout the EMEA and APAC regions for the company’s xScale data center portfolio, demonstrating the extraordinary demand for hyperscale infrastructure in support of growing AI and cloud projects. Due to this demand, Equinix has increased its global xScale hyperscale leasing capacity to 300 megawatts.
- Equinix also made progress toward asset ownership, as seen by the purchase of the London 8 IBX data center, which raised its owned asset revenue to 66%. This action is in line with the business’s long-term plan to keep ownership of its assets.
- With the introduction of a fully managed private cloud solution, Equinix is demonstrating its commitment to innovation by enabling businesses to easily manage the NVIDIA DGX AI supercomputing infrastructure. With the help of this service, enterprises wishing to take advantage of artificial intelligence can create and run unique generative models with more efficiency.
- Customers like Harrison.ai and Continental AG, who want to take advantage of Equinix’s extensive ecosystem and worldwide reach for their private AI deployments, have made the business a desirable site for implementing AI infrastructure. This development is a component of a broader trend toward private cloud solutions that provide improved performance and security.
- Equinix has implemented over 462,000 interconnections worldwide, and its global interconnection franchise continues to be a key component of its growth. Equinix’s leadership in cloud ecosystem connectivity is further cemented with the announcement in the fourth quarter of the addition of four new native cloud on-ramps.
- With over 50% of new clients and 35% of bookings in the fourth quarter alone, the Equinix Channel program is still growing at a rapid pace. business leaders like NVIDIA and HPE have partnered with Equinix to achieve success in a variety of business verticals, demonstrating the adaptability and attractiveness of Equinix’s products.
- Even with its financial success, Equinix has not wavered from its commitment to sustainability, moving closer to its Future First Sustainability plan. Equinix has demonstrated its commitment to become climate neutral by 2030 by designating 100% of the profits from the $4.9 billion in green bonds towards energy saving programs, green building projects, and Power Purchase Agreements (PPA). Equinix is a leader in digital infrastructure and environmental stewardship, and the execution of a new PPA in Australia further demonstrates the company’s efforts to overcome regional barriers to the use of renewable energy.
