Snapshot
Equinix Inc reported $2.42B of revenue in Q4 2025, up 7.0% year over year, with diluted EPS of $2.69 and an operating margin of 17.4%.
- Revenue
- $2.42B
- YoY growth
- +7.0%
- Diluted EPS
- $2.69
- Operating margin
- 17.4%
What management said
- •In addition, in light of Regulation Fair Disclosure, it is our policy not to comment on its financial guidance during the quarter unless it is done through an explicit public disclosure.
- •Demand for our solutions has never been higher, and our teams have stepped up exceptionally well to capitalize on it.
- •I also want to thank our customers and partners for the trust they have placed in Equinix as we intensified our investment in growth, investment that is already paying off.
- •Our bookings have accelerated dramatically, our recurring revenue growth rate continues to climb, and we are managing our spend with great discipline.
- •All of these factors are combining to fuel an expansion pipeline and growth in FFO per share materially ahead of expectations.
- •This is reflected in both our revenue and our AFFO per share outlook.
- •Monthly recurring revenue, the most powerful driver of long-term value creation, grew 10% in Q4 and 8% for the full-year on a normalized and constant currency basis.
- •For bookings, the leading indicator for revenue performance, the story is even stronger.
- •We delivered record capacity to meet growing demand, including 23,250 cabinets in our retail footprint and more than 90 MW in our xScale business in 2025.
- •We delivered more than 30% of this retail capacity ahead of schedule, which we believe will accelerate our growth in 2026 and beyond.
- •Now, let me share some recent customer wins and use cases that really showcase what's driving this demand.
- •We are working with Alembic as they deploy the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with NVIDIA Grace Blackwell systems to expand their addressable market through distributed AI.
What went well
- •Q4 revenues were $2.4 billion, up 7% over the same quarter last year, fueled by monthly recurring revenue that grew 10% year-over-year, with full-year MRR up 8%.
- •The company delivered record Q4 annualized gross bookings of $474 million, up 42% year-over-year and 20% from Q3, plus over $60 million of pre-sales, contributing to full-year 2025 bookings of $1.6 billion, up 27%.
- •Global Q4 adjusted EBITDA was $1.2 billion, approximately 49% of revenues and up 15% year-over-year, while Q4 FFO was $877 million, up 13%.
- •The company surpassed 500,000 interconnections worldwide, with interconnection revenue up 9% year-over-year and 7,800 net interconnections added in the quarter.
- •Q4 transaction volume was the highest ever at over 4,500 deals with more than 3,400 unique customers, and approximately 60% of the largest deals were driven by AI workloads, up from approximately 50% earlier in the year.
- •Net cabinets billing increased by 4,300, the highest underlying level in three years, and MRR per cabinet yield stepped up $65 quarter-over-quarter.
What went wrong
- •The large xScale Hampton lease expected to close in Q4 shifted to Q1, reflecting the fluid nature of xScale lease signings.
- •Q4 revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and FFO each absorbed FX headwinds versus prior guidance rates of $8 million, $4 million, and $2 million respectively.
- •Some one-time planned benefits in Q4 will not repeat in Q1, and 2026 will absorb both accelerated and increased expansion drag from growth investments.
Guidance changes
| Metric | Period | Previous | Current | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue growth | FY 2026 | Analyst Day expectations (June 2025) | 9%-10%, including ~40 bps from xScale lease timing | raised / meaningfully ahead |
| MRR growth | FY 2026 | prior | 8%-10% | guidance set |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | FY 2026 | ~49% in 2025 | approximately 51%, a 200 bps improvement | +200 bps |
| AFFO growth | FY 2026 | prior | 9%-11% | guidance set |
| AFFO per share growth | FY 2026 | prior summer expectations | 8%-10%, 300 bps higher at midpoint after adjusting for 100 bps of xScale timing | raised |
| CapEx | FY 2026 | prior | $3.7B-$4.2B including ~$280M recurring | guidance set |
| Cash dividend per share | FY 2026 | 2025 level | increase 10%, totaling approximately $2 billion paid | +10% |
Performance breakdown
| Metric | YoY change | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | up 7% | continued strength in monthly recurring revenues (up 10%); included an $8M FX headwind |
| Monthly recurring revenue | up 10% | steady quarterly improvement throughout 2025 on bookings momentum |
| Adjusted EBITDA | up 15% | continued focus on higher operating leverage while investing in growth; included a $4M FX headwind |
| FFO | up 13% | strong performance including seasonally higher recurring CapEx spend; included a $2M FX headwind |
| Interconnection revenue | up 9% | added 7,800 net interconnections and surpassed the 500,000 interconnection milestone |
| Stabilized asset revenue | up 6% (constant currency) | 187 stabilized assets, 82% utilized, generating a 27% cash-on-cash return, aided by higher density and one-off Q4 price increases |
Earnings call themes & trends
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annualized gross bookings | $394 million in Q3 | $474 million in Q4, full-year $1.6 billion up 27% | accelerating |
| AI share of largest deals | approximately 50% earlier in the year | approximately 60% in Q4 | rising |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | ~50% in 2025 quarters | ~49% in Q4; FY2026 guided to ~51% | improving long term |
| xScale build-out | negotiations underway | Hampton asset contributed to Americas JV in January; ~1 GW of ~3 GW developable capacity earmarked for xScale | expanding |
| Net leverage | 3.6x in Q3 | 3.8x annualized adjusted EBITDA | rising modestly |
| CFO transition | Keith Taylor as CFO | Keith Taylor retirement announced; successor search underway, Taylor to advise for a year | transition |
Q&A summary
Where is the AI bookings momentum coming from, and will the 60% AI share keep rising?
Adaire Fox-Martin said roughly half of the 60% AI-driven largest deals were deployed by non-cloud/IT companies in retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, financial services, and content sectors, demonstrating broadening enterprise AI adoption. There were also 11 liquid-cooled deployments in Q4, five in New York City, and she views AI as a continued positive tailwind.
Is the multi-year Analyst Day guidance still relevant, or is 9% the new AFFO-per-share baseline?
Keith Taylor emphasized strong underlying momentum across top-line execution, cost management, and efficient capital raising, said the company is on the right trajectory and delighted with 2026, but declined to discuss 2027 and beyond as premature, noting currency tailwinds and faster-than-anticipated investment.
Do the AI deals look different from traditional deals, and what drove the acceleration since June Investor Day?
Adaire Fox-Martin cited two drivers: external robust, broad-based demand across all segments, verticals, and regions; and internal execution including accelerated capacity and a ~49% Q4 pipeline conversion rate. AI deals averaged about 10 kVA per cabinet, a 33% density increase versus non-AI deals, with firm pricing throughout.
How much of churn is in Equinix's control versus customer workload optimization?
Adaire Fox-Martin explained churn has been at the lower end of the range due to earlier identification of available-to-renew (ATR) customers, customer success outreach, and predictive tooling, while acknowledging a portion of churn is not addressable; the company focuses resources where it can influence outcomes. 60% of existing customers added services in Q4.
How sustainable is the Q4 bookings level given capacity coming online in constrained markets?
Adaire Fox-Martin said annualized gross bookings have moved up every quarter, the Q1 pipeline is strong (45% of target closed), and the best line of fit is up and to the right, with some quarter-to-quarter variability. Keith Taylor added the company demand-shapes to proximate markets and continues investing across roughly 3 GW of capacity.