Equinix operates data centers that companies rent space, power and network connectivity from rather than building and running their own facilities, a model known as colocation. Its data centers are built around dense interconnection, letting the cloud providers, network carriers and enterprises housed inside them connect directly to each other, which becomes more valuable as more customers locate in the same facility. Equinix operates as a real estate investment trust, which means it distributes most of its taxable income to shareholders as dividends, and its growth depends on building or acquiring new data center capacity in markets where demand for connectivity is growing. The rise of cloud computing and AI workloads has increased demand for the kind of high-density, well-connected data center space Equinix specializes in, though the business also requires continuous heavy capital spending to keep building new capacity.