Balance Sheet Components (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term and Long-Term Investments

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term and long-term investments consisted of the following as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017		2016
Cash and cash equivalents:
Cash (1)	$	985,382	$	345,119
Cash equivalents:
Money market funds	427,135		400,388
Certificate of deposit	—		2,969
Total cash and cash equivalents	1,412,517		748,476
Short-term and long-term investments:
Certificates of deposit	31,351		6,988
Publicly traded equity securities	6,163		6,463
Total short-term and long-term investments	37,514		13,451
Total cash, cash equivalents and short-term and long-term investments	$	1,450,031	$	761,927

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(1)Excludes restricted cash.

Summary of Cost and Estimated Fair Value of Marketable Securities

The balance of certificates of deposits, by contractual maturity, as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017		2016
Due within one year	$	28,271	$	3,409
Due after one year through three years	3,080		3,579
Total	$	31,351	$	6,988

Net Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Available-for-Sale Securities

The net unrealized gains (losses) on its investments as of December 31 were comprised of the following (in thousands):

	2017								2016
	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value		Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
Certificate of deposit	$	31,351	$	—	$	—	$	31,351	$	6,988	$	—	$	—	$	6,988
Publicly traded equity securities	3,716		2,447		—		6,163		4,850		1,613		—		6,463
Total	$	35,067	$	2,447	$	—	$	37,514	$	11,838	$	1,613	$	—	$	13,451

Accounts Receivable, Net

Accounts receivable, net, consisted of the following as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017			2016
Accounts receivable	$	594,541		$	411,920
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(18,228		)	(15,675		)
Accounts receivable, net	$	576,313		$	396,245

Activities of Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

The following table summarizes the activity of the Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts (in thousands):

Balance as of December 31, 2014	$	9,466
Provision for allowance for doubtful accounts	5,037
Net write-offs	(3,438		)
Impact of foreign currency exchange	(713		)
Balance as of December 31, 2015	10,352
Provision for allowance for doubtful accounts	8,260
Net write-offs	(2,521		)
Impact of foreign currency exchange	(416		)
Balance as of December 31, 2016	15,675
Provision for allowance for doubtful accounts	5,627
Net write-offs	(4,546		)
Impact of foreign currency exchange	1,472
Balance as of December 31, 2017	$	18,228

Other Current Assets

Other current assets consisted of the following as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017		2016
Prepaid expenses	$	64,832	$	79,258
Taxes receivable	110,961		102,002
Restricted cash, current	26,919		15,065
Other receivables	7,797		46,809
Derivative instruments	4,175		54,072
Other current assets	17,343		22,190
Total other current assets	$	232,027	$	319,396

Property, Plant and Equipment, Net

The Company’s estimated useful lives of its property, plant and equipment are as follows:

Core systems	3-25 years
Buildings	12-50 years
Leasehold improvements	12-40 years
Personal Property	3-10 years

Property, plant and equipment, net consisted of the following as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017			2016
Core systems	$	6,334,702		$	4,760,868
Buildings	3,906,686			2,785,799
Leasehold improvements	1,850,351			1,599,424
Construction in progress	425,428			645,388
Personal property	798,133			622,069
Land	423,539			237,349
	13,738,839			10,650,897
Less accumulated depreciation	(4,344,237		)	(3,451,687		)
Property, plant and equipment, net	$	9,394,602		$	7,199,210

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The following table presents goodwill and other intangible assets, net, for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands):

	2017			2016
Goodwill:
Americas	$	1,561,512		$	469,438
EMEA	2,610,899			2,281,306
Asia-Pacific	239,351			235,320
	$	4,411,762		$	2,986,064
Intangible assets, net:
Intangible assets - customer relationships	$	2,682,656		$	839,593
Intangible assets - trade names	73,295			69,519
Intangible assets - favorable leases	39,470			38,139
Intangible assets - licenses	9,696			9,697
Intangible assets - others	—			19
	2,805,117			956,967
Accumulated amortization - customer relationships	(334,985		)	(183,270		)
Accumulated amortization - trade names	(71,728		)	(43,830		)
Accumulated amortization - favorable leases	(10,196		)	(8,027		)
Accumulated amortization - licenses	(3,236		)	(2,591		)
Accumulated amortization - others	—			(18		)
	(420,145		)	(237,736		)
Total intangible assets, net	$	2,384,972		$	719,231

Carrying Amount of Goodwill by Geographic Regions

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by geographic regions are as follows (in thousands):

	Americas			EMEA			Asia-Pacific		Total
Balance as of December 31, 2015	$	460,203		$	374,070		$	228,927	$	1,063,200
Purchase accounting adjustments - TelecityGroup	—			2,215,567			—		2,215,567
Purchase accounting adjustments - Paris IBX Data Center Acquisition	—			48,835			—		48,835
Asset held for sale adjustments	—			1,605			—		1,605
Impact of foreign currency exchange	9,235			(358,771		)	6,393		(343,143		)
Balance as of December 31, 2016	469,438			2,281,306			235,320		2,986,064
Purchase accounting adjustments - Verizon Data Center Acquisition	1,095,262			—					1,095,262
Purchase accounting adjustments - Other 2017 acquisitions	—			163,993			—		163,993
Impact of foreign currency exchange	(3,188		)	165,600			4,031		166,443
Balance as of December 31, 2017	$	1,561,512		$	2,610,899		$	239,351	$	4,411,762

Net Book Value of Intangible Assets by Geographic Regions

Changes in the net book value of intangible assets by geographic regions are as follows (in thousands):

	Americas			EMEA			Asia-Pacific			Total
Balance as of December 31, 2014	$	62,954		$	62,185		$	22,388		$	147,527
Nimbo acquisition	1,089			—			—			1,089
Bit-isle acquisition	—			—			111,374			111,374
Asset held for sale adjustments	—			(784		)	—			(784		)
Write-off of intangible asset	—			(357		)	—			(357		)
Amortization of intangibles	(11,432		)	(11,675		)	(4,339		)	(27,446		)
Impact of foreign currency exchange	(1,968		)	(5,014		)	144			(6,838		)
Balance as of December 31, 2015	50,643			44,355			129,567			224,565
TelecityGroup acquisition	—			694,243			—			694,243
Paris IBX Data Center Acquisition	—			11,758			—			11,758
Sale of Terra Power	—			—			(2,460		)	(2,460		)
Write-off of intangible asset	(573		)	—			—			(573		)
Amortization of intangibles	(11,348		)	(97,715		)	(13,799		)	(122,862		)
Impact of foreign currency exchange	1,395			(90,280		)	3,445			(85,440		)
Balance as of December 31, 2016	40,117			562,361			116,753			719,231
Verizon Data Center Acquisition	1,693,900			—			—			1,693,900
Other 2017 acquisitions	—			112,645			—			112,645
Write-off of intangible asset	—			(725		)	—			(725		)
Amortization of intangibles	(84,749		)	(79,105		)	(13,154		)	(177,008		)
Impact of foreign currency exchange	(2,895		)	36,043			3,781			36,929
Balance as of December 31, 2017	$	1,646,373		$	631,219		$	107,380		$	2,384,972

Estimated Future Amortization Expense Related to Intangibles

Estimated future amortization expense related to these intangibles is as follows (in thousands):

Years ending:
2018	$	196,469
2019	191,298
2020	184,602
2021	176,740
2022	172,547
Thereafter	1,463,316
Total	$	2,384,972

Other Assets

Other assets consisted of the following as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017		2016
Deferred tax assets, net	$	66,031	$	62,308
Prepaid expenses	89,784		80,888
Debt issuance costs, net	10,670		6,611
Deposits	48,296		40,893
Restricted cash	11,265		9,706
Derivative instruments	4,110		15,907
Other assets	11,594		9,985
Total other assets	$	241,750	$	226,298

Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses

Accounts payable and accrued expenses consisted of the following as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017		2016
Accounts payable	$	101,744	$	60,211
Accrued compensation and benefits	214,585		172,808
Accrued interest	100,347		95,832
Accrued taxes(1)	130,272		133,562
Accrued utilities and security	68,916		44,202
Accrued professional fees	13,830		14,071
Accrued repairs and maintenance	11,232		5,430
Accrued other	78,331		55,623
Total accounts payable and accrued expenses	$	719,257	$	581,739

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(1)Includes income taxes payable of $56.4 million and $44.0 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Other Current Liabilities

Other current liabilities consisted of the following as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017		2016
Deferred installation revenue	$	74,452	$	61,399
Customer deposits	16,598		13,894
Derivative instruments	34,466		10,819
Deferred recurring revenue	12,848		18,704
Deferred rent	6,546		4,158
Dividends payable	11,181		11,999
Asset retirement obligations	1,716		10,036
Other current liabilities	2,107		2,131
Total other current liabilities	$	159,914	$	133,140

Other Liabilities

Other liabilities consisted of the following as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017		2016
Asset retirement obligations	$	96,823	$	92,979
Deferred tax liabilities, net	252,287		274,341
Deferred installation revenue	117,021		96,744
Deferred rent	97,782		76,566
Accrued taxes	64,378		56,208
Dividends payable	6,669		8,495
Customer deposits	10,849		4,773
Deferred recurring revenue	4,236		2,681
Derivative instruments	6,381		140
Other liabilities	5,284		10,321
Total other liabilities	$	661,710	$	623,248

Summary of Asset Retirement Obligation Liability

The following table summarizes the activities of the Company’s asset retirement obligation ("ARO") (in thousands):

Asset retirement obligations as of December 31, 2014	$	64,858
Additions	17,337
Adjustments (1)	(4,676		)
Accretion expense	3,349
Impact of foreign currency exchange	(2,386		)
Asset retirement obligations as of December 31, 2015	78,482
Additions	22,955
Adjustments (1)	(2,366		)
Accretion expense	6,685
Impact of foreign currency exchange	(2,741		)
Asset retirement obligations as of December 31, 2016	103,015
Additions	17,736
Adjustments (1)	(34,576		)
Accretion expense	7,335
Impact of foreign currency exchange	5,029
Asset retirement obligations as of December 31, 2017	$	98,539

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⁽¹⁾ The ARO adjustments are primarily due to lease amendments, acquisition of real estate assets and other adjustments.