(Reuters) -Equinix's shares fell 8% on Thursday after the data center firm forecast revenue growth below expectations and projected heavy investments to cater to AI demand in the long term.

The company plans to double its current capacity over the next five years to capitalize on the growing demand for infrastructure to meet the surge in artificial intelligence use.

Shares of peers Iron Mountain, Digital Realty and Core Scientific fell between 2% and 3%.

Equinix is ramping up investments to expand its infrastructure for rising AI inference demand. While this is expected to drive stronger growth in the long run - potentially crossing 10% by 2030 - near-term growth will remain modest, BMO Capital Markets analysts said in a note.

It expects its annual revenue to grow 7% to 10% from 2025 to 2029, slightly lower than its prior forecast.

Meanwhile, it updated its forecast for adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share growth to 5% to 9% now from 7% to 10%, which disappointed investors.

To position for growing AI inference demand, Equinix plans to increase annual capital spending to $4 billion to $5 billion from 2026 to 2029, up from $3.3 billion in 2025.