Financial research concept

Data Center Annualized Gross Bookings: Near-Term Recurring Revenue Sold

Equinix Annualized Gross Bookings measure the annualized recurring-revenue impact of qualifying new contracts expected to begin generating revenue within 90 days.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 19, 2026

Data center Annualized Gross Bookings are an Equinix-defined measure of the annualized recurring-revenue impact of qualifying newly executed customer contracts.

The metric is a sales-flow measure, not recognized revenue and not a generic industry bookings standard.

Equinix annualizes monthly recurring revenue

Equinix starts with stated monthly recurring revenue on newly executed contracts with terms of at least 12 months.

The company then annualizes that revenue impact after:

  • netting specified recurring-revenue decreases from cancellations or terminations associated with the new contracts;
  • adjusting for pricing changes on existing contracts;
  • excluding recurring-revenue contracts from joint ventures; and
  • excluding power-price adjustments.

The measure only includes contracts Equinix expects will begin generating revenue within 90 days.

Bookings measure selling activity before revenue recognition

Equinix reported $802 million of Annualized Gross Bookings for the first six months of 2026.

That figure does not mean $802 million of GAAP revenue was recognized during the six-month period.

Bookings describe newly contracted recurring revenue on an annualized basis.

Revenue begins later as services commence and is recognized under the applicable accounting rules.

Near-term bookings are not the same as long-dated backlog

The 90-day expected-start rule makes Equinix Annualized Gross Bookings different from Data Center Signed-Not-Commenced Backlog as Digital Realty reports it.

Digital Realty can sign large leases with commencement dates many months or years in the future.

Both metrics describe contracted demand, but they sit at different stages of the commercial pipeline and use different issuer methodologies.

Cancellations and repricing affect the measure

Because Equinix nets certain MRR decreases and adjusts for pricing changes on existing contracts, the metric is not simply the gross face value of every new sales order.

Investors should preserve the company's definition before comparing booking growth across periods or against another operator.

Primary-source examples

Data center Annualized Gross Bookings are most useful as Equinix's near-term recurring-revenue sales measure, not as recognized revenue or a standardized peer backlog metric.

Part of the Data Center Operating Model

Connect billed capacity, recurring rent and interconnection revenue, new bookings, signed-not-commenced backlog, and renewal repricing to understand data-center demand and monetization.

How the model fits together
  • Capacity and recurring monetization: Cabinet utilization shows how much Equinix cabinet capacity is billed. Digital Realty annualized rent and Equinix interconnection revenue are separate recurring-revenue lenses, so they add monetization context without forming a standardized cross-company formula.
  • Bookings, backlog, and repricing: Equinix Annualized Gross Bookings capture near-term recurring revenue expected to start within 90 days, while Digital Realty signed-not-commenced backlog captures future annualized GAAP base rent awaiting lease commencement. Renewal rental-rate change then shows repricing on expiring Digital Realty leases. These measures describe different stages and must not be treated as interchangeable.

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

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