Internap (INAP) reported 2Q 2009 results on August, 5.

A few highlights worth reporting:

Equinix (EQIX) reported 2Q 2009 results Wednesday night (see company’s P/R and Seeking Alpha conference call transcripts).

Expectations were exceeded on all fronts: revenues came in at $ 213.2 million (consensus $208.8 million), EBITDA was $99.5 million, exceeding company’s forecast ($92/94 million), and EPS were $0.46 ($0.44 diluted), well beyond analysts’ expectations ($0.33).

Equinix (EQIX) will be reporting 2Q 2009 results on Wednesday, July 22nd.

The company's guidance forecasts revenues in the range of $206 to $210 million (with analysts' consensus at $ 208,8 million), while EBITDA is expected between $92 and $94 million. Cash gross margins should be between 63% and 64%, according to Equinix, while CAPEX should range between $110 and $120 million, including about $20 million of ongoing CAPEX – more about Equinix expansion projects later on.

Today, Equinix (EQIX) announced its intention to further expand at 350 E. Cermak in Chicago, with a new offering (IBX shared suite) specifically targeted at the Financial Trading Companies in need for space in close proximity to its existing Financial eXchange (downtown CH1 and CH2 data centers).

The space has been leased from Digital Realty Trust (DLR):

On June 8th, Equinix (EQIX) announced a $250 Million public offering of Convertible Subordinated Notes due 2016. The following day, the Company confirmed the pricing of the offering and achieving the sale of $325 Million in total (more than forecasted), plus granting an over-allotment option for up to $48.75 Million.

The interest paid on the notes will be 4.75% per year, basically in line with the weighted average interest rate on the existing debt, which is 4.65%.

Immersion (IMMR) reported 1Q 2009 results on May 4^th.

Total revenues were $7.5 million, including $ 0.5 million related to the discontinued 3D line of business. Net loss for the quarter was $(7.5) million, or $(0.27) per share. Both numbers were worse than consensus ($7.5 million in revenue, excluding the CyberGlove (3D) segment, and a loss of $(0.23) a share).

Immersion (IMMR) will be reporting 1Q 2009 results on Monday, May 4.

As this is our first article about the Company, a few words about it and its business model.

Equinix (EQIX) reported 1Q 2009 results last Wednesday night (see its Press Release and Seeking Alpha conference call transcripts).

The Company matched guidance and analysts' expectations as far as revenues, and exceeded its own EBITDA target and analysts' EPS estimates.

Equinix (EQIX) will be reporting 1Q 2009 results on Wednesday, April 22. Its numbers will probably represent a bellwether for the whole colocation sector.

Equinix guidance, given on its last conference call, was forecasting revenues in the range of $198.0 to $200.0 million (consensus is at $ 198.91 million), and EBITDA is expected to be between $86.0 and $88.0 million, with cash gross margins at 63%. The company doesn't usually issue outlook for EPS, while analysts expect Equinix to earn $ 0.18, with a wide bracket between their numbers, ranging from $ 0.06 to $ 0.29.

Two months ago, we wrote the article “Colocation and the Financial Industry” to summarize the growing demand for outsourced colocation services, especially from the Electronic Trading Community.

It may now be worth a little follow up, not because the landscape described has really changed, but to update our readers with a few events that have happened in the meantime.

In this article, we will examine and compare some metrics for two different Companies active in the colocation business, Equinix (EQIX) and Switch and Data (SDXC).

Both Companies are network neutral, which means that they offer a wide range of competing bandwidth providers in their centers, that may be seen as secure bunkers where customers keep their servers to store Internet content, data, and interconnect to each other or to the final users, through Telecoms, ISPs.

InterNAP (INAP) reported 4Q and full year results on Thursday night, March 12.

Both IP and CDN services were down sequentially, and colocation was the only sector to show Q/Q growth (up 31% in 2008).

Equinix (EQIX) reported 4Q and full year results on February 11.

The headline we've used mirrors what the market has perceived as the main outcome of the call, together with the information that the Company was lowering, because of that, 2009 guidance, by roughly 2% [a $16 million haircut at midpoint, due in part to currency fluctuations (roughly $ 3 million)].

Equinix (EQIX) will be reporting 4Q 2008 and full year results on February 11 [the same day as Dupont Fabros Technologies (DFT), another Company that operates in the same sector but with a different business model, as they are wholesaling data centers to large corporations].

Consensus is for revenues of $ 190.54 million (with a low estimate at $ 188.60 million, and a high one at $ 191.83 million), and EPS of $ 0.25 (with a large bracket between the analysts estimates, $ 0.17/0.39).

Given the recent collapse of the financial sector, and the concerns about IT spending and capital expenditure in general, it may seem quite odd to look at the financial services industry as an important source of business opportunities for data center Companies, right now.

In spite of the recent distress, especially among Wall Street firms, we believe that a few colo Companies are now competing for the leadership in this specific market, and that it may be very interesting to analyze the different strategies to understand who might emerge as the 800 pound gorilla, ready to capitalize from this position in the next few years.

On December 10, 2008, Equinix (EQIX) held a very interesting webcast:

Operating Today's Data Centers & Key Industry Trends that will Affect Your Business

The discussion was targeting many aspects of the colocation business and Equinix product offer, but the main interest, from an investor point of view, was Dan Golding's speech about the state of the sector, and his forecast for the close future.

Equinix (EQIX) reported 3Q 2008 results on October 22 (see Seeking Alpha conference call transcript)

Numbers were, once more, very solid, and the Company also introduced revenue guidance for 2009, forecasted between $870 and $892 million, an approximately 25% increase, at midpoint, on 2008 (taking for granted that the Company will achieve its 2008 target).

Equinix (EQIX) reported 2Q 2008 results Wednesday night (see conference call transcript).

As we had forecasted (see the previous Seeking Alpha article), numbers were pretty solid, the Company exceeded revenue expectations for the quarter and lifted the outlook for the full year 2008, both for revenues and EBIDTA (as a reminder, Equinix had increased expectations the previous quarter, too).

First of all, let's have a look at the outlook given by Equinix (EQIX):

Business Outlook