EQIX vs. HST: Equinix vs. Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Equinix (EQIX) and Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) both fall under the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group, but EQIX is classified in Specialized REITs while HST is classified in Hotel & Resort REITs.

Both Equinix (EQIX) and Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) are REITs — read their payout ratios and P/E alongside FFO (funds from operations) rather than at face value.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both Equinix (EQIX) at 11.45% and Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) at 14.21% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

Neither Equinix (EQIX) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is well served by net margin: heavy depreciation makes net income a poor profitability proxy in their businesses, where FFO-based measures are the standard read.

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Equinix (EQIX) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), funding costs are part of the core business, so net margin and ROE are the cleaner profitability reads.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Both Equinix (EQIX) at 5.36% and Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) at 7.57% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Equinix (EQIX) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Equinix (EQIX) at 1.04 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) at 5.39 sits above its industry’s typical mid-range — comfortable liquidity, though possibly with more idle current assets relative to peers.

Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) at 0.86 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Equinix (EQIX) at 1.81 uses more debt funding than most peers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Both Equinix (EQIX) at 2.02% and Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) at 3.25% offer bottom-quartile dividend income relative to share price versus industry peers.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Equinix (EQIX) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): their distributions are mandated and conventionally measured against FFO, so the accounting-earnings ratio overstates both.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

P/E ratio is not a meaningful valuation yardstick for either Equinix (EQIX) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) at 2.73 looks cheap on sales in the lower P/S ratio quartile, while Equinix (EQIX) at 9.88 looks rich in the upper quartile — a clear gap in price per dollar of revenue.

Both look rich against book: Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) at 2.66 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Equinix (EQIX) at 6.90 prices even higher, above its industry range.

Valuation Metrics