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Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by Equinix, Inc. ("Equinix" or the "Company") and reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, which in the opinion of management are necessary to fairly state the financial position and the results of operations for the interim periods presented. The condensed consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2018 has been derived from audited consolidated financial statements as of that date. The condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), but omit certain information and footnote disclosure necessary to present the statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). For further information, refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in Equinix's Form 10-K as filed with the SEC on February 22, 2019. Results for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire fiscal year.

Consolidation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Equinix and its subsidiaries, including the acquisitions of Switch Datacenters' AMS1 data center business in Amsterdam, Netherlands from April 18, 2019, Metronode from April 18, 2018 and Infomart Dallas from April 2, 2018. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Derivatives and Hedging Activities

The Company uses derivative instruments, including foreign currency forwards and options and cross-currency interest rate swaps, to manage certain foreign currency exposures. Derivative instruments are viewed as risk management tools by the Company and are not used for speculative purposes. The Company recognizes all derivatives on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheets at fair value. The accounting for changes in the value of a derivative depends on whether the contract qualifies and has been designated for hedge accounting. In order to qualify for hedge accounting, a derivative must be considered highly effective at reducing the risk associated with the exposure being hedged and there must be documentation of the risk management objective and strategy, including identification of the hedging instrument, the hedged item and the risk exposure, and the effectiveness assessment methodology. For cash flow hedges, the Company uses regression analysis at the time they are designated to assess their effectiveness. Hedge designations are reviewed on a quarterly basis to assess whether circumstances have changed that would disrupt the hedge instrument’s relationship to the forecasted transactions or net investment.

The Company uses the forward method to assess effectiveness of qualifying foreign currency forwards that are designated as cash flow hedges, whereby, the change in the fair value of the derivative is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified to the same line item in the condensed consolidated statement of operations that is used to present the earnings effect of the hedged item when the hedged item affects earnings. The Company uses the spot method to assess effectiveness of qualifying foreign currency exchange options that are designated as cash flow hedges, whereby, the change in fair value due to foreign currency exchange spot rates is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified to the same line item in the condensed consolidated statement of operations that is used to present the earnings effect of the hedged item when the hedged item affects earnings, and the change in fair value of the excluded component is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) and amortized on a straight-line basis to the same line item in the condensed consolidated statement of operations that is used to present the earnings effect of the hedged item. When two or more derivative instruments in combination are jointly designated as a cash flow hedging instrument, as with foreign currency exchange option collars, they are treated as a single instrument. If the hedge relationship is terminated for any derivatives designated as cash flow hedges, then the change in fair value of the derivative recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) is recognized in earnings when the previously hedged item affects earnings, consistent with the original hedge strategy. For hedge relationships discontinued because the forecasted transaction is not expected to occur according to the original strategy, any related derivative amounts recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) are immediately recognized in earnings.

The Company uses the spot method to assess effectiveness of cross-currency interest rate swaps that are designated as net investment hedges, whereby, the change in fair value due to foreign currency exchange spot rates is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) and the change in fair value of the excluded component is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) and amortized to interest expense on a straight-line basis.

From time to time, the Company also uses foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge against the effect of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on a portion of its net investment in the foreign subsidiaries. The Company uses the spot method to assess effectiveness of qualifying foreign currency forwards that are designated as net investment hedges, whereby, the change in fair value due to foreign currency exchange spot rates is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) and the change in fair value of the excluded component is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) and amortized to interest expense on a straight-line basis.

Foreign currency gains or losses associated with derivatives that are not designated as hedging instruments for accounting purposes are recorded within other income (expense) in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations, with the exception of (i) foreign currency embedded derivatives contained in certain of the Company’s customer contracts and (ii) foreign exchange forward contracts that are entered into to hedge the accounting impact of the foreign currency embedded derivatives, which are recorded within revenues in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

For further information on derivatives and hedging activities, see Note 6 below.

Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments

Net Investment Hedges. The Company is exposed to the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on the value of investments in its foreign subsidiaries whose functional currencies are other than the U.S. Dollar. In order to mitigate the impact of foreign currency exchange rates, the Company has entered into various foreign currency debt obligations, which are designated as hedges against the Company's net investments in foreign subsidiaries. As of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the total principal amounts of foreign currency debt obligations designated as net investment hedges were $4,130.2 million and $4,139.8 million, respectively.

The Company also uses cross-currency interest rate swaps to hedge a portion of its net investment in its European operations. As of June 30, 2019, U.S. Dollar to Euro cross-currency interest rate swap contracts with a total notional amount of $750.0 million were outstanding, with maturity dates in April 2022, January 2024 and January 2025. At maturity of each outstanding contract, the Company will receive U.S. Dollars from and pay Euros to the contract counterparty. During the term of each contract, the Company receives interest payments in U.S. Dollars and makes interest payments in Euros based on a notional amount and fixed interest rates determined at contract inception. The Company did not have any cross-currency interest rate swaps outstanding as of December 31, 2018.

Cash Flow Hedges. The Company hedges its foreign currency translation exposure for forecasted revenues and expenses in its EMEA region between the U.S. Dollar and the British Pound, Euro, Swedish Krona and Swiss Franc. The foreign currency forward and option contracts that the Company uses to hedge this exposure are designated as cash flow hedges. As of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the total notional amounts of these foreign exchange contracts were $853.2 million and $760.9 million, respectively.

The Company enters into intercompany hedging instruments ("intercompany derivatives") with wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company in order to hedge certain forecasted revenues and expenses denominated in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. Simultaneously, the Company enters into derivative contracts with unrelated third parties to externally hedge the net exposure created by such intercompany derivatives.

Income Taxes

The Company elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes ("REIT") beginning with its 2015 taxable year. As a result, the Company may deduct the distributions made to its stockholders from taxable income generated by the Company and its qualified REIT subsidiaries ("QRSs"). The Company's dividends paid deduction generally eliminates the U.S. taxable income of the Company and its QRSs, resulting in no U.S. income tax due. However, the Company's taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRSs") continue to be subject to income taxes on any taxable income generated by them. In addition, the foreign operations of the Company will continue to be subject to local income taxes regardless of whether the foreign operations are operated as QRSs or TRSs.

The Company provides for income taxes during interim periods based on the estimated effective tax rate for the year. The effective tax rate is subject to change in the future due to various factors such as the operating performance of the Company, tax law changes and future business acquisitions.

Assets Held for Sale

Assets and liabilities to be disposed of that meet all of the criteria to be classified as held for sale as set forth in the accounting standard for impairment or disposal of long-lived assets are reported at the lower of their carrying amounts or fair values less costs to sell. Assets are not depreciated or amortized while they are classified as held for sale.

For further information on assets held for sale, see Note 5 below.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016, Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The ASU requires the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The ASU requires enhanced disclosures to help investors and other financial statement users better understand significant estimates and judgments used in estimating credit losses, as well as the credit quality and underwriting standards of an organization's portfolio. These disclosures include qualitative and quantitative requirements that provide additional information about the amounts recorded in the financial statements. In addition, the ASU amends the accounting for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities and purchased financial assets with credit deterioration. The ASU is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for all organizations for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company will adopt this new ASU on January 1, 2020. The Company expects this ASU to impact its accounting for allowances for doubtful

accounts and is currently evaluating the extent of the impact that the adoption of this standard will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements.

Accounting Standards Adopted

In August 2017, FASB issued ASU 2017-12 Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. This ASU was issued to improve the financial reporting of hedging relationships to better portray the economic results of an entity’s risk management activities in its financial statements and to simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance in current GAAP. This ASU permits hedge accounting for risk components involving nonfinancial risk and interest rate risk, requires an entity to present the earnings effect of the hedging instrument in the same income statement line item in which the hedged item is reported, no longer requires separate measurement and reporting of hedge ineffectiveness, eases the requirement for hedge effectiveness assessment, and requires a tabular disclosure related to the effect on the income statement of fair value and cash flow hedges. This ASU is effective for annual or any interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018 with early adoption permitted.

The Company adopted ASU 2017-12 on January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective approach. For cash flow hedges existing on the date of adoption, the Company recognized the cumulative effect of the change on the opening balance of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) with a corresponding adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings for amounts previously recognized in earnings related to ineffectiveness. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases and issued subsequent amendments to the initial guidance, collectively referred to as "Topic 842." Topic 842 replaces the guidance in former ASC Topic 840, Leases. The new lease guidance increases transparency and comparability among organizations by requiring the recognition of the following for all leases (with the exception of short-term leases) at the commencement date: (1) a lease liability, which is a lessee's future obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis; and (2) a right-of-use ("ROU") asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee's right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. Topic 842 allows entities to adopt with one of two methods: the modified retrospective transition method or the alternative transition method.

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted Topic 842 using the alternative transition method. Therefore, results for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2019 are presented under Topic 842, while comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under accounting standards in effect for those periods. The Company recognized the cumulative effects of initially applying the standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption.

In adopting the new guidance, the Company elected to apply the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance which allows the Company not to reassess (1) whether any expired or existing contracts contain leases under the new definition of a lease; (2) lease classification for any expired or existing leases; and (3) whether previously capitalized initial direct costs would qualify for capitalization under Topic 842. The Company also elected to apply the land easements practical expedient which permits the Company not to assess at transition whether any expired or existing land easements are, or contain, leases if they were not previously accounted for as leases under Topic 840.

Upon adoption of Topic 842, the Company also elected to adopt the practical expedient which allows the Company to combine qualified non-lease and lease components by underlying class of asset based, on predominance, as a lessor. Occasionally, the Company enters into revenue contracts with customers for data center and office spaces, which contain both lease and non-lease components. In general, lease and non-lease components related to the use of space and solutions provided in a data center, which share the same pattern of transfer, will be combined and accounted for under ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. Lease and non-lease components related to the use of office space, which share the same pattern of transfer, will be combined and accounted for under Topic 842. Lease components which are not classified as operating leases do not qualify for the practical expedient. Non-lease components, which do not have similar patterns of transfers, such as professional services and goods for resale, are also excluded from combination.

Adoption of the standard had a significant impact on the Company's financial results, including the (1) recognition of new ROU assets and liabilities on its balance sheet for all operating leases; and (2) de-recognition of existing build-to-suit assets and liabilities with cumulative effects of initially applying the standard as an adjustment to the retained earnings. The cumulative effect of the changes made to its consolidated January 1, 2019 balance sheet from the adoption of Topic 842 was as follows (in thousands):



Balance Sheet	Balances at December 31, 2018		Adjustments due to adoption of Topic 842			Balances at January 1, 2019
Assets
Other current assets	$	274,857	$	(15,949	)	$	258,908
Property, plant and equipment, net	11,026,020		(293,111		)	10,732,909
Operating lease right-of-use assets	—		1,468,762			1,468,762
Intangible assets, net	2,333,296		(23,205		)	2,310,091
Other assets	533,252		(63,468		)	469,784
Liabilities
Current portion of operating lease liabilities	—		144,405			144,405
Current portion of finance lease liabilities	—		70,795			70,795
Current portion of capital lease and other financing obligations	77,844		(77,844		)	—
Other current liabilities	126,995		(6,455		)	120,540
Operating lease liabilities, less current portion	—		1,312,262			1,312,262
Finance lease liabilities, less current portion	—		1,165,188			1,165,188
Capital lease and other financing obligations, less current portion	1,441,077		(1,441,077		)	—
Other liabilities	629,763		(88,272		)	541,491
Equity
Retained Earnings	889,948		(5,973		)	883,975

Revenue Recognition

Contract Balances

The following table summarizes the opening and closing balances of the Company's accounts receivable, net; contract asset, current; contract asset, non-current; deferred revenue, current; and deferred revenue, non-current (in thousands):



	Accounts receivable, net		Contract asset, current			Contract asset, non-current		Deferred revenue, current		Deferred revenue, non-current
Beginning balances as of January 1, 2019	$	630,119	$	9,778		$	16,396	$	73,142	$	46,641
Closing balances as of June 30, 2019	752,680		9,346			18,883		77,026		46,517
Increase/(decrease)	$	122,561	$	(432	)	$	2,487	$	3,884	$	(124	)

The difference between the opening and closing balances of the Company's accounts receivable, net, contract assets and deferred revenues primarily results from revenue growth and the timing difference between the satisfaction of the Company's performance obligation and the customer's payment. The amounts of revenue recognized during the six months ended June 30, 2019 from the opening deferred revenue balance as of January 1, 2019 was $62.6 million.

Remaining performance obligations

As of June 30, 2019, approximately $7.6 billion of total revenues and deferred installation revenues are expected to be recognized in future periods, the majority of which will be recognized over the next 24 months. While initial contract terms vary in length, substantially all contracts thereafter automatically renew in one-year increments. Included in the remaining performance obligations is either 1) remaining performance obligations under the initial contract terms or 2) remaining performance obligations related to contracts in the renewal period once the initial terms have lapsed. The remaining performance obligations do not include variable consideration related to unsatisfied performance obligations such as the usage of metered power or any contracts that could be terminated without any significant penalties such as the majority of interconnection revenues. The remaining performance obligations above include revenues to be recognized in the future related to arrangements where the Company is considered the lessor.

Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments

Embedded Derivatives. The Company is deemed to have foreign currency forward contracts embedded in certain of the Company's customer agreements that are priced in currencies different from the functional or local currencies of the parties involved. These embedded derivatives are separated from their host contracts and carried on the Company's balance sheet at their fair value. The majority of these embedded derivatives arise as a result of the Company's foreign subsidiaries pricing their customer contracts in U.S. Dollar.

Economic Hedges of Embedded Derivatives. The Company uses foreign currency forward contracts to manage the foreign exchange risk associated with the Company's customer agreements that are priced in currencies different from the functional or local currencies of the parties involved ("economic hedges of embedded derivatives"). Foreign currency forward contracts represent agreements to exchange the currency of one country for the currency of another country at an agreed-upon price on an agreed-upon settlement date.

Foreign Currency Forward Contracts. The Company also uses foreign currency forward contracts to manage the foreign exchange risk associated with certain foreign currency-denominated monetary assets and liabilities. As a result of foreign currency fluctuations, the U.S. Dollar equivalent values of its foreign currency-denominated monetary assets and liabilities change. Gains and losses on these contracts are included in other income (expense), on a net basis, along with the foreign currency gains and losses of the related foreign currency-denominated monetary assets and liabilities associated with these foreign currency forward contracts.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Investments

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Investments. The fair value of the Company's investments in money market funds approximates their face value. Such instruments are included in cash equivalents. The Company's money market funds and publicly traded equity securities are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets. The fair value of the Company's other investments, including certificates of deposit, approximates their face value. The fair value of these investments is priced based on the quoted market price for similar instruments or nonbinding market prices that are corroborated by observable market data. Such instruments are classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. The Company determines the fair values of its Level 2 investments by using inputs such as actual trade data, benchmark yields, broker/dealer quotes, and other similar data, which are obtained from quoted market prices, custody bank, third-party pricing vendors, or other sources. The Company uses such pricing data as the primary input to make its assessments and determinations as to the ultimate valuation of its investment portfolio and has not made, during the periods presented, any material adjustments to such inputs. The Company is responsible for its condensed consolidated financial statements and underlying estimates.

The Company uses the specific identification method in computing realized gains and losses. Realized gains and losses on the investments are included within other income (expense) in the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations. Publicly traded equity securities are measured at fair value with changes in the fair values recognized within other income (expense) in the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Derivative Assets and Liabilities

Derivative Assets and Liabilities. For derivatives, the Company uses forward contract and option models employing market observable inputs, such as spot currency rates and forward points with adjustments made to these values utilizing published credit default swap rates of its foreign exchange trading counterparties and other comparable companies. The Company has determined that the inputs used to value its derivatives fall within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, therefore the derivatives are categorized as Level 2.

Segment Information

While the Company has a single line of business, which is the design, build-out and operation of IBX data centers, it has determined that it has three reportable segments comprised of its Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific geographic regions. The Company's chief operating decision-maker evaluates performance, makes operating decisions and allocates resources based on the Company's revenues and adjusted EBITDA performance both on a consolidated basis and based on these three reportable segments.