Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 5,562,140	$ 5,071,654	$ 4,368,428
Costs and operating expenses:
Cost of revenues	2,810,184	2,605,475	2,193,149
Sales and marketing	651,046	633,702	581,724
General and administrative	935,018	826,694	745,906
Transaction costs	24,781	34,413	38,635
Impairment charges	15,790	0	0
Gain on asset sales	(44,310)	(6,013)	0
Total costs and operating expenses	4,392,509	4,094,271	3,559,414
Income from operations	1,169,631	977,383	809,014
Interest income	27,697	14,482	13,075
Interest expense	(479,684)	(521,494)	(478,698)
Other income	27,778	14,044	9,213
Loss on debt extinguishment	(52,825)	(51,377)	(65,772)
Income before income taxes	692,597	433,038	286,832
Income tax expense	(185,352)	(67,679)	(53,850)
Net income	507,245	365,359	232,982
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests	205	0	0
Net income attributable to Equinix	$ 507,450	$ 365,359	$ 232,982
Earnings per share (EPS) attributable to Equinix:
Basic EPS (in dollars per share)	$ 6.03	$ 4.58	$ 3.03
Weighted-average shares for basic EPS (in shares)	84,140	79,779	76,854
Diluted EPS (in dollars per share)	$ 5.99	$ 4.56	$ 3.00
Weighted-average shares for diluted EPS (in shares)	84,679	80,197	77,535