Leases

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Leases [Abstract]

Leases

Leases

We lease space at certain of our data centers from third parties, primarily data centers acquired as part of the Telx Acquisition and European Portfolio Acquisition, and certain equipment under noncancelable lease agreements. Leases for our data centers expire at various dates through 2034. As of March 31, 2019, certain of our data centers, primarily in Europe, are subject to ground leases. The termination dates of these ground leases range from 2024 to 2982. In addition, our corporate headquarters along with several regional office locations are subject to leases with termination dates ranging from 2019 to 2027.

The leases may contain renewal and/or early termination options that are not reasonably certain of exercise as of March 31, 2019. Also, the leases generally require us to make fixed rental payments that increase at defined intervals during the term of the lease plus pay our share of common area, real estate and utility expenses as incurred. The leases neither contain residual value guarantees nor impose material restrictions or covenants on us. Further, the leases have been classified and accounted for as either operating or finance leases.

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases as of March 31, 2019 was as follows (in thousands):

	Balance Sheet Classification	Balance as of March 31, 2019
Assets:
Operating lease assets	Operating lease right-of-use assets	$	660,586
Finance lease assets	Buildings and improvements	124,371
Total leased assets		$	784,957
Liabilities:
Operating lease liabilities	Operating lease liabilities	$	725,470
Finance lease liabilities	Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities	167,764
Total lease liabilities		$	893,234

The components of lease expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019 were as follows (in thousands):

Lease cost	Income Statement Classification	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Finance lease cost:
Amortization of right-of-use assets	Depreciation and amortization	$	1,227
Interest on lease liabilities	Interest expense	1,646
Operating lease cost	Rental property operating and maintenance	23,114
Total lease cost		$	25,987

As of March 31, 2019, the weighted average remaining lease term for our operating leases and finance leases was 13 years and 25 years, respectively. We do not include renewal options in the lease term for calculating the lease liability unless we are reasonably certain we will exercise the option or the lessor has the sole ability to exercise the option. The weighted average incremental borrowing rate was 4.1% for operating leases and 3.9% for finance leases at March 31, 2019. We assigned a collateralized interest rate to each lease based on the term of the lease and the currency in which the lease is denominated.

The minimum commitment under operating leases, excluding fully prepaid ground leases, as of December 31, 2018 was as follows (in thousands):

2019	$	84,712
2020	87,396
2021	86,212
2022	81,976
2023	80,707
Thereafter	539,047
Total	$	960,050

Future minimum lease payments and their present value for property under capital lease obligations as of December 31, 2018, are as follows (in thousands):  

2019	$	11,657
2020	13,108
2021	13,207
2022	13,706
2023	14,219
Thereafter	285,774
	351,671
Less amount representing interest	(137,827		)
Present value	$	213,844

Maturities of lease liabilities as of March 31, 2019 were as follows (in thousands):

	Operating lease liabilities			Finance lease liabilities
Remainder of 2019	$	62,313		$	5,351
2020	84,415			8,823
2021	83,181			8,868
2022	79,187			9,332
2023	78,382			9,788
Thereafter	548,011			234,658
Total undiscounted future cash flows	935,489			276,820
Less: Imputed interest	(210,019		)	(109,056		)
Present value of undiscounted future cash flows	$	725,470		$	167,764

Lessor accounting

We recognized revenue from our lease agreements aggregating $3.0 billion for the year ended December 31, 2018. This revenue consisted primarily of rental revenues and tenant recoveries for the year ended December 31, 2018, aggregating $2.1 billion and $0.6 billion, respectively.

Prior to January 1, 2019, we recognized rental revenue from our operating leases on a straight-line basis over the respective lease terms. We commenced recognition of rental revenue at the date the property was ready for its intended use and the tenant took possession of, or controlled the physical use of, the property.

Prior to January 1, 2019, we considered tenant recoveries related to payments of real estate taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs and maintenance, common area expenses, and other operating expenses as lease components. We recognized these tenant recoveries as revenue when services were rendered in an amount equal to the related operating expenses incurred that were recoverable under the terms of the applicable lease and classified as tenant reimbursements revenue.

Effective January 1, 2019

Under the new lease ASUs, each lease agreement is evaluated to identify the lease and nonlease components at lease inception. The total consideration in the lease agreement is allocated to the lease and nonlease components based on their relative stand-alone selling prices. The new lease ASUs govern the recognition of revenue for lease components, and revenue related to nonlease components is subject to the revenue recognition ASU. Tenant recoveries for utilities, repairs and maintenance, and common area expenses are considered nonlease components. If a lessee makes payments for taxes and insurance directly to a third party on behalf of a lessor, lessors are required to exclude them from variable payments and from recognition in the lessors’ income statements. Otherwise, tenant recoveries for taxes and insurance are classified as additional lease revenue recognized by the lessor on a gross basis in their income statements.

On January 1, 2019, we adopted the practical expedient that allowed us to not separate expenses reimbursed by our customers (“rental recoveries”) from the associated rental revenue if certain criteria were met. We assessed these criteria and concluded that the timing and pattern of transfer for rental revenue and the associated rental recoveries are the same and as our leases qualify as operating leases, we accounted for and presented rental revenue and rental recoveries as a single component under rental and other services in our condensed consolidated income statements for the three months ended March 31, 2019.

Costs to execute leases

The new lease ASUs require that lessors and lessees capitalize, as initial direct costs, only incremental costs of a lease that would not have been incurred if the lease had not been obtained. Effective January 1, 2019, costs that we incur to negotiate or arrange a lease regardless of its outcome, such as fixed employee compensation, tax, or legal advice to negotiate lease terms, and costs related to advertising or soliciting potential tenants will be expensed as incurred.

We estimate that approximately $37 million of initial direct costs that were capitalized in 2018 would have been expensed if the new lease ASUs that are effective on January 1, 2019 had been in effect during 2018. Future expenses as a result of the change in the accounting for initial direct costs will depend on the future events that are not yet known; therefore, the ultimate impact on initial direct leasing costs from the adoption of the lease ASUs might differ from our estimate.

Under the package of practical expedients that we elected on January 1, 2019, we were not required to reassess whether initial direct leasing costs capitalized prior to the adoption of the new lease ASUs in connection with the leases that commenced prior to January 1, 2019, qualify for capitalization under the new lease ASUs. Therefore, we continue to amortize these initial direct leasing costs.

We lease our operating properties to customers under agreements that are classified as operating leases. We recognize the total minimum lease payments provided for under the leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term if we determine that it is probable that substantially all of the lease payments will be collected over the lease term. Otherwise, rental revenue is recognized based on the amount contractually due. Generally, under the terms of our leases, the majority of our rental expenses, including common area maintenance, real estate taxes and insurance, are recovered from our customers. We record amounts reimbursed by customers in the period that the applicable expenses are incurred, which is generally ratably throughout the term of the lease. The reimbursements are recognized in rental and other services revenue in the condensed consolidated income statements as we are the primary obligor with respect to purchasing and selecting goods and services from third-party vendors and bearing the associated credit risk. The following table summarizes the minimum lease payments due from our customers on leases with lease periods greater than one year for space in our operating properties, prestabilized development properties and leases of land subject to ground leases at March 31, 2019 (in thousands):    

	Operating leases
Remainder of 2019	$	1,761,276
2020	1,949,524
2021	1,714,577
2022	1,411,271
2023	1,211,576
Thereafter	4,400,329
Total	$	12,448,553

These amounts do not reflect future rental revenues from the renewal or replacement of existing leases unless we are reasonably certain we will exercise the option or the lessor has the sole ability to exercise the option. We exclude reimbursements of operating expenses and rental increases that are not fixed.

Leases

Leases

We lease space at certain of our data centers from third parties, primarily data centers acquired as part of the Telx Acquisition and European Portfolio Acquisition, and certain equipment under noncancelable lease agreements. Leases for our data centers expire at various dates through 2034. As of March 31, 2019, certain of our data centers, primarily in Europe, are subject to ground leases. The termination dates of these ground leases range from 2024 to 2982. In addition, our corporate headquarters along with several regional office locations are subject to leases with termination dates ranging from 2019 to 2027.

The leases may contain renewal and/or early termination options that are not reasonably certain of exercise as of March 31, 2019. Also, the leases generally require us to make fixed rental payments that increase at defined intervals during the term of the lease plus pay our share of common area, real estate and utility expenses as incurred. The leases neither contain residual value guarantees nor impose material restrictions or covenants on us. Further, the leases have been classified and accounted for as either operating or finance leases.

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases as of March 31, 2019 was as follows (in thousands):

	Balance Sheet Classification	Balance as of March 31, 2019
Assets:
Operating lease assets	Operating lease right-of-use assets	$	660,586
Finance lease assets	Buildings and improvements	124,371
Total leased assets		$	784,957
Liabilities:
Operating lease liabilities	Operating lease liabilities	$	725,470
Finance lease liabilities	Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities	167,764
Total lease liabilities		$	893,234

The components of lease expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019 were as follows (in thousands):

Lease cost	Income Statement Classification	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Finance lease cost:
Amortization of right-of-use assets	Depreciation and amortization	$	1,227
Interest on lease liabilities	Interest expense	1,646
Operating lease cost	Rental property operating and maintenance	23,114
Total lease cost		$	25,987

As of March 31, 2019, the weighted average remaining lease term for our operating leases and finance leases was 13 years and 25 years, respectively. We do not include renewal options in the lease term for calculating the lease liability unless we are reasonably certain we will exercise the option or the lessor has the sole ability to exercise the option. The weighted average incremental borrowing rate was 4.1% for operating leases and 3.9% for finance leases at March 31, 2019. We assigned a collateralized interest rate to each lease based on the term of the lease and the currency in which the lease is denominated.

The minimum commitment under operating leases, excluding fully prepaid ground leases, as of December 31, 2018 was as follows (in thousands):

2019	$	84,712
2020	87,396
2021	86,212
2022	81,976
2023	80,707
Thereafter	539,047
Total	$	960,050

Future minimum lease payments and their present value for property under capital lease obligations as of December 31, 2018, are as follows (in thousands):  

2019	$	11,657
2020	13,108
2021	13,207
2022	13,706
2023	14,219
Thereafter	285,774
	351,671
Less amount representing interest	(137,827		)
Present value	$	213,844

Maturities of lease liabilities as of March 31, 2019 were as follows (in thousands):

	Operating lease liabilities			Finance lease liabilities
Remainder of 2019	$	62,313		$	5,351
2020	84,415			8,823
2021	83,181			8,868
2022	79,187			9,332
2023	78,382			9,788
Thereafter	548,011			234,658
Total undiscounted future cash flows	935,489			276,820
Less: Imputed interest	(210,019		)	(109,056		)
Present value of undiscounted future cash flows	$	725,470		$	167,764

Lessor accounting

We recognized revenue from our lease agreements aggregating $3.0 billion for the year ended December 31, 2018. This revenue consisted primarily of rental revenues and tenant recoveries for the year ended December 31, 2018, aggregating $2.1 billion and $0.6 billion, respectively.

Prior to January 1, 2019, we recognized rental revenue from our operating leases on a straight-line basis over the respective lease terms. We commenced recognition of rental revenue at the date the property was ready for its intended use and the tenant took possession of, or controlled the physical use of, the property.

Prior to January 1, 2019, we considered tenant recoveries related to payments of real estate taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs and maintenance, common area expenses, and other operating expenses as lease components. We recognized these tenant recoveries as revenue when services were rendered in an amount equal to the related operating expenses incurred that were recoverable under the terms of the applicable lease and classified as tenant reimbursements revenue.

Effective January 1, 2019

Under the new lease ASUs, each lease agreement is evaluated to identify the lease and nonlease components at lease inception. The total consideration in the lease agreement is allocated to the lease and nonlease components based on their relative stand-alone selling prices. The new lease ASUs govern the recognition of revenue for lease components, and revenue related to nonlease components is subject to the revenue recognition ASU. Tenant recoveries for utilities, repairs and maintenance, and common area expenses are considered nonlease components. If a lessee makes payments for taxes and insurance directly to a third party on behalf of a lessor, lessors are required to exclude them from variable payments and from recognition in the lessors’ income statements. Otherwise, tenant recoveries for taxes and insurance are classified as additional lease revenue recognized by the lessor on a gross basis in their income statements.

On January 1, 2019, we adopted the practical expedient that allowed us to not separate expenses reimbursed by our customers (“rental recoveries”) from the associated rental revenue if certain criteria were met. We assessed these criteria and concluded that the timing and pattern of transfer for rental revenue and the associated rental recoveries are the same and as our leases qualify as operating leases, we accounted for and presented rental revenue and rental recoveries as a single component under rental and other services in our condensed consolidated income statements for the three months ended March 31, 2019.

Costs to execute leases

The new lease ASUs require that lessors and lessees capitalize, as initial direct costs, only incremental costs of a lease that would not have been incurred if the lease had not been obtained. Effective January 1, 2019, costs that we incur to negotiate or arrange a lease regardless of its outcome, such as fixed employee compensation, tax, or legal advice to negotiate lease terms, and costs related to advertising or soliciting potential tenants will be expensed as incurred.

We estimate that approximately $37 million of initial direct costs that were capitalized in 2018 would have been expensed if the new lease ASUs that are effective on January 1, 2019 had been in effect during 2018. Future expenses as a result of the change in the accounting for initial direct costs will depend on the future events that are not yet known; therefore, the ultimate impact on initial direct leasing costs from the adoption of the lease ASUs might differ from our estimate.

Under the package of practical expedients that we elected on January 1, 2019, we were not required to reassess whether initial direct leasing costs capitalized prior to the adoption of the new lease ASUs in connection with the leases that commenced prior to January 1, 2019, qualify for capitalization under the new lease ASUs. Therefore, we continue to amortize these initial direct leasing costs.

We lease our operating properties to customers under agreements that are classified as operating leases. We recognize the total minimum lease payments provided for under the leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term if we determine that it is probable that substantially all of the lease payments will be collected over the lease term. Otherwise, rental revenue is recognized based on the amount contractually due. Generally, under the terms of our leases, the majority of our rental expenses, including common area maintenance, real estate taxes and insurance, are recovered from our customers. We record amounts reimbursed by customers in the period that the applicable expenses are incurred, which is generally ratably throughout the term of the lease. The reimbursements are recognized in rental and other services revenue in the condensed consolidated income statements as we are the primary obligor with respect to purchasing and selecting goods and services from third-party vendors and bearing the associated credit risk. The following table summarizes the minimum lease payments due from our customers on leases with lease periods greater than one year for space in our operating properties, prestabilized development properties and leases of land subject to ground leases at March 31, 2019 (in thousands):    

	Operating leases
Remainder of 2019	$	1,761,276
2020	1,949,524
2021	1,714,577
2022	1,411,271
2023	1,211,576
Thereafter	4,400,329
Total	$	12,448,553

These amounts do not reflect future rental revenues from the renewal or replacement of existing leases unless we are reasonably certain we will exercise the option or the lessor has the sole ability to exercise the option. We exclude reimbursements of operating expenses and rental increases that are not fixed.

Leases

Leases

We lease space at certain of our data centers from third parties, primarily data centers acquired as part of the Telx Acquisition and European Portfolio Acquisition, and certain equipment under noncancelable lease agreements. Leases for our data centers expire at various dates through 2034. As of March 31, 2019, certain of our data centers, primarily in Europe, are subject to ground leases. The termination dates of these ground leases range from 2024 to 2982. In addition, our corporate headquarters along with several regional office locations are subject to leases with termination dates ranging from 2019 to 2027.

The leases may contain renewal and/or early termination options that are not reasonably certain of exercise as of March 31, 2019. Also, the leases generally require us to make fixed rental payments that increase at defined intervals during the term of the lease plus pay our share of common area, real estate and utility expenses as incurred. The leases neither contain residual value guarantees nor impose material restrictions or covenants on us. Further, the leases have been classified and accounted for as either operating or finance leases.

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases as of March 31, 2019 was as follows (in thousands):

	Balance Sheet Classification	Balance as of March 31, 2019
Assets:
Operating lease assets	Operating lease right-of-use assets	$	660,586
Finance lease assets	Buildings and improvements	124,371
Total leased assets		$	784,957
Liabilities:
Operating lease liabilities	Operating lease liabilities	$	725,470
Finance lease liabilities	Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities	167,764
Total lease liabilities		$	893,234

The components of lease expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019 were as follows (in thousands):

Lease cost	Income Statement Classification	Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Finance lease cost:
Amortization of right-of-use assets	Depreciation and amortization	$	1,227
Interest on lease liabilities	Interest expense	1,646
Operating lease cost	Rental property operating and maintenance	23,114
Total lease cost		$	25,987

As of March 31, 2019, the weighted average remaining lease term for our operating leases and finance leases was 13 years and 25 years, respectively. We do not include renewal options in the lease term for calculating the lease liability unless we are reasonably certain we will exercise the option or the lessor has the sole ability to exercise the option. The weighted average incremental borrowing rate was 4.1% for operating leases and 3.9% for finance leases at March 31, 2019. We assigned a collateralized interest rate to each lease based on the term of the lease and the currency in which the lease is denominated.

The minimum commitment under operating leases, excluding fully prepaid ground leases, as of December 31, 2018 was as follows (in thousands):

2019	$	84,712
2020	87,396
2021	86,212
2022	81,976
2023	80,707
Thereafter	539,047
Total	$	960,050

Future minimum lease payments and their present value for property under capital lease obligations as of December 31, 2018, are as follows (in thousands):  

2019	$	11,657
2020	13,108
2021	13,207
2022	13,706
2023	14,219
Thereafter	285,774
	351,671
Less amount representing interest	(137,827		)
Present value	$	213,844

Maturities of lease liabilities as of March 31, 2019 were as follows (in thousands):

	Operating lease liabilities			Finance lease liabilities
Remainder of 2019	$	62,313		$	5,351
2020	84,415			8,823
2021	83,181			8,868
2022	79,187			9,332
2023	78,382			9,788
Thereafter	548,011			234,658
Total undiscounted future cash flows	935,489			276,820
Less: Imputed interest	(210,019		)	(109,056		)
Present value of undiscounted future cash flows	$	725,470		$	167,764

Lessor accounting

We recognized revenue from our lease agreements aggregating $3.0 billion for the year ended December 31, 2018. This revenue consisted primarily of rental revenues and tenant recoveries for the year ended December 31, 2018, aggregating $2.1 billion and $0.6 billion, respectively.

Prior to January 1, 2019, we recognized rental revenue from our operating leases on a straight-line basis over the respective lease terms. We commenced recognition of rental revenue at the date the property was ready for its intended use and the tenant took possession of, or controlled the physical use of, the property.

Prior to January 1, 2019, we considered tenant recoveries related to payments of real estate taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs and maintenance, common area expenses, and other operating expenses as lease components. We recognized these tenant recoveries as revenue when services were rendered in an amount equal to the related operating expenses incurred that were recoverable under the terms of the applicable lease and classified as tenant reimbursements revenue.

Effective January 1, 2019

Under the new lease ASUs, each lease agreement is evaluated to identify the lease and nonlease components at lease inception. The total consideration in the lease agreement is allocated to the lease and nonlease components based on their relative stand-alone selling prices. The new lease ASUs govern the recognition of revenue for lease components, and revenue related to nonlease components is subject to the revenue recognition ASU. Tenant recoveries for utilities, repairs and maintenance, and common area expenses are considered nonlease components. If a lessee makes payments for taxes and insurance directly to a third party on behalf of a lessor, lessors are required to exclude them from variable payments and from recognition in the lessors’ income statements. Otherwise, tenant recoveries for taxes and insurance are classified as additional lease revenue recognized by the lessor on a gross basis in their income statements.

On January 1, 2019, we adopted the practical expedient that allowed us to not separate expenses reimbursed by our customers (“rental recoveries”) from the associated rental revenue if certain criteria were met. We assessed these criteria and concluded that the timing and pattern of transfer for rental revenue and the associated rental recoveries are the same and as our leases qualify as operating leases, we accounted for and presented rental revenue and rental recoveries as a single component under rental and other services in our condensed consolidated income statements for the three months ended March 31, 2019.

Costs to execute leases

The new lease ASUs require that lessors and lessees capitalize, as initial direct costs, only incremental costs of a lease that would not have been incurred if the lease had not been obtained. Effective January 1, 2019, costs that we incur to negotiate or arrange a lease regardless of its outcome, such as fixed employee compensation, tax, or legal advice to negotiate lease terms, and costs related to advertising or soliciting potential tenants will be expensed as incurred.

We estimate that approximately $37 million of initial direct costs that were capitalized in 2018 would have been expensed if the new lease ASUs that are effective on January 1, 2019 had been in effect during 2018. Future expenses as a result of the change in the accounting for initial direct costs will depend on the future events that are not yet known; therefore, the ultimate impact on initial direct leasing costs from the adoption of the lease ASUs might differ from our estimate.

Under the package of practical expedients that we elected on January 1, 2019, we were not required to reassess whether initial direct leasing costs capitalized prior to the adoption of the new lease ASUs in connection with the leases that commenced prior to January 1, 2019, qualify for capitalization under the new lease ASUs. Therefore, we continue to amortize these initial direct leasing costs.

We lease our operating properties to customers under agreements that are classified as operating leases. We recognize the total minimum lease payments provided for under the leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term if we determine that it is probable that substantially all of the lease payments will be collected over the lease term. Otherwise, rental revenue is recognized based on the amount contractually due. Generally, under the terms of our leases, the majority of our rental expenses, including common area maintenance, real estate taxes and insurance, are recovered from our customers. We record amounts reimbursed by customers in the period that the applicable expenses are incurred, which is generally ratably throughout the term of the lease. The reimbursements are recognized in rental and other services revenue in the condensed consolidated income statements as we are the primary obligor with respect to purchasing and selecting goods and services from third-party vendors and bearing the associated credit risk. The following table summarizes the minimum lease payments due from our customers on leases with lease periods greater than one year for space in our operating properties, prestabilized development properties and leases of land subject to ground leases at March 31, 2019 (in thousands):    

	Operating leases
Remainder of 2019	$	1,761,276
2020	1,949,524
2021	1,714,577
2022	1,411,271
2023	1,211,576
Thereafter	4,400,329
Total	$	12,448,553

These amounts do not reflect future rental revenues from the renewal or replacement of existing leases unless we are reasonably certain we will exercise the option or the lessor has the sole ability to exercise the option. We exclude reimbursements of operating expenses and rental increases that are not fixed.