Equinix Trims Rev Outlook; Higher Churn, Discounts; Stock Off

Equinix (EQIX) this afternoon said Q3 and full year revenue will be below previous guidance.

For the quarter, the data center operator now sees revenue of $328 million to $339 million; previous guidance was for $335 million to $338 million. The company noted that the new mid-point of the range is 2.2% lower than it was previously. On the other hand, the company now sees adjusted EBITDA for the quarter of more than $140 million, up from previous guidance of $136 million to $139 million.

For the full year, the company now sees revenue of $1.215 billion, down from a previous forecast range of $1.225 billion to $1.235 billion. Full year adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be about $540 million; previously, the company was expecting $535 million to $540 million.

“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,” the company said. The higher EBITDA reflects “better than expected gross margins and lower than expected cash selling, general and administrative expenses.”

EQIX in late trading is down $18.60, or 17.7%, to $86.49.