Hindenburg Research, which focuses on “forensic accounting” and short-selling, has issued a report on data centre owner Equinix.
According to analysts, Equinix contributes around 2.3% to Mapletree Industrial Trust ME8U ’s gross rental income (GRI). It is not a customer for Digital Core REIT, a spokesperson says. A spokesperson for Keppel DC REIT's manager has also confirmed that Equinix is not a tenant in its data centres.
A spokesperson for CapitaLand Ascendas REIT A17U ’s (CLAR) manager says Equinix accounts for less than 1% of CLAR’s GRI. “Equinix is current with rents. We have more than 1,700 tenants and no concentration risk,” the CLAR spokesperson says.
Hindenburg implies that Equinix is overvalued based on its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) which is similar to our net property income.
“When Equinix transitioned to become a REIT in 2015, it began using AFFO as a key metric in determining executive bonuses,” Hindenburg says. We will not repeat Hindenburg’s assertions but the report is widely available.
