Equinix

Moat composition and strength. Network effects: Equinix hosts the densest multi-cloud and network-neutral ecosystems globally with 10,500+ customers, 500k+ interconnections and 225+ cloud on-ramps. Value rises with each additional participant and cross-connection, making replication prohibitively difficult.

Score 95. Switching costs: Re-architecting and migrating cages, cross-connects and workflows across metros is risky, time-consuming and costly for customers, particularly when dozens to hundreds of counterparties are interconnected. Churn running ~1.7 percent in Q1 2026 is consistent with high stickiness.

Score 93. Efficient scale and scarcity: In top metros, grid interconnects, permits and land constrain new builds; vacancy in primary North American markets hovered near record lows around 1-2 percent, supporting pricing and deterring entrants.

Score 92. Cost advantages: Global procurement, design templates, and rising share of owned sites (management cites ~70 percent of recurring revenue from owned assets) lower unit economics versus smaller peers.

Score 85. Intangibles: Brand, reliability and compliance certifications underpin premium positioning; Equinix markets 99.9999 percent+ availability and a long record of on-time delivery.

Score 88. Moat durability risks: power density upgrades needed in older IBX sites, hyperscalers building for AI at massive scale, and regulatory or sovereignty constraints could pressure returns if not navigated. Overall moat assessment remains very strong given multi-decade ecosystem lead.