Let's give a look at what happened to shares of the company in this one-day chart from Google Finance (GOOG):

Down 33%? Wow - this is quite a decline, particularly when the overall market was flattish and the Nasdaq was only down marginally. What happened to EQIX? Technically speaking: not all that much. More specifically: expectations for upside to top-line forward estimates were squashed -- the wind behind the momentum sails went away, for now.
On Tuesday after market close, Equinix revised forward guidance, lowering its revenue outlook while raising its bottom-line forecast (partially on lower selling expense that would have been higher if revenue were higher). A Reuters article summarized the news, but directly from the Equinix press release:
- Equinix now expects third quarter revenues to be in the range of $328.0 to $330.0 million, the midpoint of which is 2.2 percent lower than the midpoint of its previous outlook, and total revenues for the full year to be approximately $1,215.0 million, which is 1.2 percent lower than the midpoint of its previous outlook. This updated guidance is due to underestimated churn assumptions in Equinix’s forecast models in North America, greater than expected discounting to secure longer term contract renewals and lower than expected revenues attributable to the Switch and Data business acquired in April 2010.
- For third quarter 2010, Equinix is increasing its adjusted EBITDA outlook to greater than $140.0 million. For the full year of 2010, the adjusted EBITDA outlook is also being increased to approximately $540.0 million. This increase in expectations is due in part to better than expected gross margins and lower than expected cash selling, general and administrative expenses.
Prior to the news, shares -- at $105 -- were trading at a healthy 42 times consensus 2011E earnings. Now, at $70, the forward P/E compressed to 28 times this figure. We acknowledge that many investors likely value the capital-intensive, telco-like Equinix based on multiples of cash flow, yet suffice to say these multiples experienced similar compression. Estimates from Yahoo Finance (YHOO) - likely pre-revisions:

While we believe barriers to entry are reasonable in this business -- location, security, cooling, telco connectivity, etc. -- continual technology improvements bring higher performance per "box" and simultaneously offset at least some incremental demand for hosting space. Further, telecom carriers and other service providers all view this segment as a lucrative line of business and are actively chasing multi-year deals with pricing likely a key variable. Finally, many large companies are constructing their own data centers.
What's the lesson in Equinix? We've previously discussed the perils of high multiple stocks and, conversely, the merits of low multiple stocks:
- Blue Nile Begins to Fall Out of Orbit - Valuation Remains Rich; Offers No Safety
- Barron's Calls Out Amazon - Cites Perils of High Valuation
Nonetheless, by maintaining valuation discipline and, thereby, avoiding complacency (e.g. "the trend is your friend, stick with it"), we strive to avoid dramatic sentiment changes that often come when businesses garner extremely rich multiples of earnings and free cash flow. In other words, negative surprises aren't fun. Fortunately, they can be mitigated.
Here's one approach: play the other way - (1) purchase out-of-favor, low-multiple companies when sentiment is poor, (2) remain patient, and (3) then benefit from the usually inevitable shift back to positive sentiment that brings healthy multiple expansion. At that point, (4) sell into strength and (5) start over again. In all cases, aim for average holding periods in years rather than months or quarters. Aside from the rapid recovery since spring 2009 across virtually all sectors, wealth creation through equities typically takes years.
Happy investing,
Jeffrey Walkenhorst
CommonStock$ense
Disclosure: none.
© 2010 Jeffrey Walkenhorst
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