Equinix Raises 2026 Guidance for Third Straight Quarter on Record Bookings

Equinix raised its 2026 guidance for the third straight quarter on Wednesday after the data center operator booked a record $533 million in annualized gross bookings, up 35% from a year earlier, on what it called robust demand and strengthening pricing.

The company now expects full-year revenue of $10.325 billion to $10.365 billion, up from prior guidance of $10.205 billion to $10.285 billion, according to the earnings release it filed with an 8-K on Wednesday. It lifted its forecast for adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, per share to $43.71 to $44.11 from $42.69 to $43.29.

Third-quarter results

Revenue rose 11% to $2.571 billion, or 12% on a normalized and constant currency basis. Operating income increased 27% to $600 million.

Net income attributable to common stockholders climbed 31% to $489 million, or $4.93 a share, helped by higher operating income and a one-time fee tied to Equinix's investment in the atNorth joint venture. Adjusted EBITDA rose 15% to $1.321 billion.

AFFO, a key cash earnings measure for real estate investment trusts, increased 20% to $1.156 billion, or $11.64 a share. Excluding the atNorth fee, AFFO per share rose 12% on a normalized and constant currency basis.

AI and interconnection demand

"Our Q3 results and raised full-year guidance reflect the differentiated position and growing importance of Equinix," CEO and President Adaire Fox-Martin said in the release.

Monthly recurring revenue grew by double digits for the fourth consecutive quarter, which the company said reflects its role serving both traditional and AI workloads. Interconnection revenue rose 10%, revenue from its Fabric networking service jumped 24%, and Equinix added 6,900 net interconnections.

The company said it now plans to deliver nearly 40% more cabinets in 2026 than initially anticipated. It also introduced Equinix Inference Exchange, developed with NVIDIA and Together AI, to help enterprises run AI inference workloads.

Raised outlook in detail

Equinix now expects 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $5.290 billion to $5.330 billion, a margin of about 51%, compared with prior guidance of $5.210 billion to $5.270 billion. AFFO is projected at $4.340 billion to $4.380 billion. The company attributed part of the increase to underlying performance and part to the atNorth joint venture and foreign exchange.

Total capital expenditures are expected to range between $5 billion and $6 billion. Expected cash dividends for the year were trimmed slightly to about $2.037 billion.

For the fourth quarter, Equinix forecast revenue of $2.684 billion to $2.724 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $1.328 billion to $1.368 billion.

Expansion moves

During the quarter, Equinix completed its investment in atNorth alongside CPP Investments, expanding its presence in the Nordic market. It also said it will fund all grid infrastructure costs for its Hampton data center project in Georgia under a 20-year commitment.

Sources

1. Equinix Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 28, 2026 (accession 0001101239-26-000178)

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