What Equinix, KLA, and Vertiv Earnings Could Signal About Data Center Demand
Three companies reporting on the same day cover every layer of the AI data center stack, from chips to cooling to leased floor space, and their combined results will reveal whether the massive build-out is accelerating into 2027 or quietly…
Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX), KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC | KLAC Price Prediction), and Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) all report their latest quarterly results on Wednesday, October 28. Each one covers a different layer of the data center build-out. Read together, the three reports show whether AI demand is speeding up, holding steady, or cooling.
A Steep Selloff Raises the Stakes
Vertiv reports before the open, and KLA reports after the close. Look for Equinix’s call at 5:30 p.m. ET. All three gave upbeat outlooks in July. Since then, sentiment has turned. Over the past month, Equinix slipped 4.3%, KLA dropped 21.1%, and Vertiv fell 18.1% as an AI selloff hit data center stocks.
Wall Street Expects Double-Digit Revenue Growth From All Three
| Company | Quarter | EPS Est. (YoY) | Revenue Est. (YoY) | Full-Year EPS Est. (YoY) | Full-Year Revenue Est. (YoY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equinix | Q3 2026 | $3.9583 (+3.9%) | $2.56B (+10.6%) | $17.7075 (+28.7%) | $10.28B (+11.5%) |
| KLA (fiscal year ends June) | Fiscal Q1 2027 | $1.1782 (+33.7%) | $4.04B (+25.8%) | $5.4375 (+44.6%) | $18.14B (+33.6%) |
| Vertiv | Q3 2026 | $1.8237 (+47.1%) | $3.76B (+40.6%) | $6.7341 (+60.3%) | $14.00B (+36.8%) |
Vertiv Opens the Day With Power and Cooling
Vertiv supplies the electrical gear and cooling systems that AI servers need to run. (We featured seven suppliers like it, from power to cooling, in a free AI infrastructure report.) Vertiv forecast Q3 net sales of $3.65 billion to $3.85 billion, with 34% to 36% organic growth. Management blamed “minor timing shifts” in Q2 on complex multiphase projects and said the delayed revenue would arrive in the second half. Strong orders and backlog conversion would confirm that data halls are being equipped. A shortfall would point to bottlenecks on job sites.
KLA Tests Whether Chipmakers Keep Spending
KLA’s inspection and measurement tools catch defects while chips are made. That work gets more important with AI processors and high-bandwidth memory. KLA forecast revenue of $4.0 billion plus or minus $200 million. In July, its finance chief said customer discussions centered on “deliveries really in the second half of ’27.” If KLA reaffirms that schedule, chipmakers are still paying up for new capacity.
Equinix Shows Whether Finished Capacity Is Filling
Equinix rents space, power, and network connections to enterprises, cloud providers, and AI firms. In Q2, annualized gross bookings rose 23% to $424 million, and management called pricing “very firm.” Q3 revenue guidance is $2.525 billion to $2.575 billion. Bookings will show whether demand is reaching completed buildings. For income investors, the real estate investment trust expects 2026 dividends of approximately $2.039 billion and says dividend growth should track adjusted funds from operations per share.
What Each Combination Would Signal
- Strong results at Vertiv and KLA with soft Equinix bookings would mean equipment is getting ahead of customer demand. That is an early sign of overbuilding.
- Weak Vertiv conversion with firm Equinix leasing would mean demand is holding while supply chains fall behind.
- Strength at all three would suggest the cycle is still speeding up into 2027.
- Weakness at all three would suggest the build-out is cooling.
One Trigger to Watch Wednesday Morning
For retirees who own these stocks directly or through funds, the outlook matters more than the quarter itself. The first clear test comes early in the day. If Vertiv’s Q3 organic growth comes in below the 34% low end of its guidance, its hope of a second-half catch-up falls apart. That result would shape how investors read KLA and Equinix later the same day.
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Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.
Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community.
Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.
Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions.
