Yahoo Finance Here's Why You Should Retain Equinix (EQIX) Stock for Now
Equinix, Inc. EQIX has been benefiting from the robust demand for data center infrastructure amid enterprises’ growing reliance on technology and acceleration in digital transformation strategies. Growth in cloud computing, the Internet of Things and elevated demand for third-party IT infrastructure have backed the upside.
The demand for high-performing data centers is anticipated to increase in the coming years, owing to the exponential rise in data traffic. Equinix is likely to capitalize on this positive trend, aiding long-term growth.
The company has a recurring revenue model, comprising colocation, related interconnection and managed IT infrastructure services. This assures stable cash flow generation. Over the last three years, 90% of the total revenues were recurring in nature. For 2023, we estimate recurring revenues to increase 13.4% year over year.
To meet the global demand for data centers, EQIX has been making concerted efforts to amplify its global footprint through the expansion of its International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers.
In 2022, the company opened or acquired 13 new IBX data centers, opened three xScale data centers through joint ventures and entered three new markets. As of the end of first-quarter 2023, Equinix’s total number of IBX and xScale data center facilities totaled 248.
Equinix’s encouraging development pipeline bodes well for its long-term growth.
On the balance-sheet front, EQIX exited the first quarter of 2023 with $6.6 billion of liquidity. Its investment-grade credit ratings of Baa2 from Moody’s, BBB rating from S&P Global Ratings and BBB+ from Fitch Ratings provide it access to the debt market. The company’s well-planned debt and equity funding strategy support its organic and acquisition-driven growth.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 14.6% in the year-to-date period compared with the real estate market’s growth of 0.8%.
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Considering the strong growth potential of this industry, competition is expected to increase from existing and new players in the space. The intense competition could prompt competitors to resort to aggressive pricing policies, making Equinix vulnerable to pricing pressure.
Equinix’s significant debt obligations amid a high-interest rate environment is worrisome. Also, high borrowing costs due to high interest rates could affect its ability to purchase or develop real estate. Our estimate for 2023 interest expenses suggests a year-over-year rise of 9.1%.
Given that a major part of the company’s business is outside the United States, adverse foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations could impair its top- and bottom-line growth to some extent.
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks from the REIT sector are Rexford Industrial Realty REXR, Stag Industrial STAG and Innovative Industrial Properties IIPR. Each of these companies carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rexford Industrial’s current-year funds from operations (FFO) per share has moved 1.4% northward over the past two months to $2.19.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Stag Industrial’s ongoing year’s FFO per share has been raised marginally upward over the past month to $2.25.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Innovative Industrial Properties’ 2023 FFO per share has moved 3.6% upward in the past month to $8.66.
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents FFO — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
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