美国通信基础设施：数据中心互联的网络效应

Data Center Interconnection: A literal network effect If you’ve been paying attention to any players in the data center colocation market, it’d behard to miss conversations on interconnection. Interconnection is simply linking networksto one another and handing off data, keeping the traffic off of the public internet. Playersdo this to minimize costs, lower latency, and increase security. It’s an ~$8B market, butmeasurement has always been a bit wishy-washy…we recently unearthed a new datasource and constructed our own proprietary database, giving us new insight into the players.Spoilers: EQIX is even stronger than you think and AMT’s CoreSite is a great asset. Madison Rezaei+1 917 344 8622madison.rezaei@bernsteinsg.com Nancy Wu+1 917 344 8545nancy.wu@bernsteinsg.com For enterprise colo data centers, interconnection is a high-margin (70-90%), high-moatlayer that shifts a data center from being commoditized power and space to being a truenetwork hub. Cross connects (whether physical or virtual) are cheap to make, sticky forcustomers, and multiply in value as campuses fill - a literal network effect. Historically this segment was more buying criteria than revenue driver, but with AI’semergence, interconnect is becoming a real growth story. Data is getting heavier, modelsbigger, and workloads increasingly latency sensitive...interconnection is increasinglydictating not only a data center’s right to win, but also its own meaningful revenue stream. In our new dataset, we look at 645 of the most critical interconnected enterprisecollocation facilities in the world. Across them, we register 21,000+ interconnections fromvarious network providers across a series of categories: Cloud On-Ramps, Tier 1 / GlobalTransit providers, Content / CDNs, US + Can ISPs, Global ISPs, Interconnect EconomyPlayers, and Neoclouds. Our overwhelming takeaway is that EQIX has more, denser facilities than anyoneelse -222 facilities with an average of 58 interconnect partners per site, supporting 513krevenue-generating interconnections (as of 1Q26).The next closest is CoreSite (ownedby AMT) with 29 facilities and an average of 46 providers per site.DLR comes insecond in terms of total networks, but fourth on a per-facility average (34), expected giventheir relatively recent shift to enterprise. 60% of our observed cloud on-ramps are in an EQIX facility. In fact, 57% of the facilitieswith 3+ on-ramps belong to EQIX; DLR is a distant second with 23%. This is bothmeaningful and hard to replicate. There is a geographic angle - EQIX’s footprint overindexes towards interconnection inthe U.S., where the average cross-connect is ~$342 relative to ~$197 in the rest of theworld (EQIX proxies). DLR has some exceptionally strong, dense European facilities - theirFrankfurt hub has 611 networks (Equinix Sao Paulo next highest at 586), but inherentlylower cross-connect prices. So what does this analysis mean for investors?EQIX’s interconnect moat is sizeable,defensible, and valuable. We maintain our Outperform on the stock with a targetprice of $1,222 and feel that there’s still room despite its run this year (+39% YTD).We believe there may be even further upside as interconnect continues to grow, whichwould bolster both top and bottom line for EQIX. BERNSTEIN TICKER TABLE INVESTMENT IMPLICATIONS We value DLR on a Price to Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) per share multiple. Our $232 price target is based on 27xour 2027E AFFO per share of $8.52. We value EQIX on a Price to Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) per share multiple. Our $1,222 price target is based on25x our 2027E AFFO per share of $48.63. We value AMT on a Price to NTM Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) per share multiple. Our $207 price target is based on18x our 2027E AFFO per share of $11.49. DETAILS INTERCONNECTION CONTEXT A BRIEF HISTORY ON INTERCONNECTION AND WHY IT EXISTS TODAY Originally, data centers were glorified computer closets. But with the advent of the internet, the market realized it neededneutral hosts where telcos and ISPs could meet and swap traffic. This was the origin of the “meet-me room” (MMR1), whencross-connects became critical pieces of fiber. Then clouds / SaaS / content platforms came into being, and they too needed toswap traffic - the carrier hotels with meet me rooms were the logical locations...an interconnection moat began to form. Now, we’re in the world of multicloud, edge, and AI, where interconnection is critical infrastructure. For an enterprise, datacenter capacity is no longer only about the building, it’s also about the access and proximity to an increasingly broad partner set.Today, it’s both colocation buying criteria and a product in itself. FLAVORS OF INTERCONNECTION We have a few different types of interconnection, serving different purposes within the ecosystem. 1.Physical cross-connects (inside the facility):the most basic building block: a direct, point-to-point cable between twoparties in the same data center,