American Tower Corporation (AMT) Earnings
American Tower Corporation is expected to report next earnings on October 27, 2026 (in NaN days), with a consensus EPS estimate of $1.64. AMT has beaten EPS estimates in 10 of its last 12 reported quarters (average surprise +9.3% over the last four).
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2026 | $1.57 | $1.86 | +18.5% | $2.7B | +1.8% |
| Apr 28, 2026 | $1.60 | $1.84 | +15.0% | $2.7B | +3.1% |
| Feb 24, 2026 | $2.54 | $2.63 | +3.5% | $2.7B | +2.4% |
| Jul 29, 2025 | $2.60 | $2.60 | +0.0% | $2.6B | -1.2% |
| Feb 27, 2024 | $2.18 | $2.29 | +5.0% | $2.8B | +1.6% |
| Oct 26, 2023 | $2.35 | $2.58 | +9.8% | $2.8B | +2.0% |
| Jul 27, 2023 | $2.36 | $2.46 | +4.2% | $2.8B | +1.6% |
| Feb 23, 2023 | $2.23 | $2.34 | +4.9% | $2.7B | +0.9% |
| Oct 27, 2022 | $1.13 | $1.80 | +59.3% | $2.7B | +1.0% |
| Jul 28, 2022 | $0.96 | $1.95 | +103.1% | $2.7B | +0.9% |
| Feb 24, 2022 | $2.17 | $2.18 | +0.3% | $2.4B | +1.3% |
| Oct 28, 2021 | $2.33 | $2.49 | +6.7% | $2.5B | +2.0% |
Source: company filings + earnings calendar. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Earnings call summary
Q2 FY2026 · July 28, 2026
AI summary of management’s prepared remarks and analyst Q&A. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Management highlights
### Overall Performance - American Tower delivered a strong second quarter 2026, fueled by robust leasing demand across its global tower portfolio, record leasing activity at CoreSite, and consistent operational discipline. - The company completed the sale of its operations in the Philippines and Bangladesh during the quarter, marking its full exit from the APAC region. - Leverage ended the quarter at 4.9x, within the company's 3x-5x target range, and American Tower maintains the highest credit rating among its peer group. ### Strategic Priorities - **Durable revenue growth**: Management identifies four overlapping long-term demand catalysts for wireless infrastructure: 1) the capacity-focused next phase of 5G investment requiring network densification; 2) an upcoming new spectrum deployment cycle starting in 2027 that will drive incremental equipment installations; 3) the eventual transition to 6G, which will require increased site density and additional equipment; and 4) accelerating demand from AI applications, which drive more data-intensive, bidirectional traffic that requires additional network capacity investment. At CoreSite, demand is broad-based across hyperscale cloud providers, enterprises, network operators, and AI innovators, with CoreSite campuses serving as critical hubs for AI traffic and data exchange. The company has grown in-service megawatts 1.5x since acquiring CoreSite in 2021, with a development pipeline that can nearly triple current capacity. - **Enhancing operational efficiency**: The company has expanded Tower Cash EBITDA margins by more than 300 basis points over the past three years, and remains on track to deliver an additional 200-300 basis points of margin expansion. Management is also exploring AI and automation to improve enterprise productivity, expecting incremental long-term value from these tools. - **Disciplined capital allocation**: The company prioritizes driving industry-leading AFFO per share growth and high risk-adjusted returns, and has deliberately shifted investment focus to developed markets and higher-quality earnings streams. The divestiture of Philippines and Bangladesh operations is expected to be neutral to AFFO per share growth while improving overall portfolio quality. The strong balance sheet provides flexibility for M&A, share repurchases, and further deleveraging. For 2026, 85% of discretionary capital is allocated to developed markets, including over $700 million for CoreSite capacity development, ~$370 million for global new tower construction, and ~$210 million for land purchases under existing towers. Year-to-date 2026, over $230 million has been allocated to tower and land acquisitions, and over $200 million to share repurchases.
Guidance
Management raised full-year 2026 guidance across all key metrics for the second time in 2026, following strong first-half performance, data center outperformance, operating expense benefits, and FX tailwinds. Key guidance updates include: - *Property revenue*: Raised by $110 million at the midpoint, implying nearly 4% YoY growth (excluding non-cash straight-line revenue and FX impacts), or ~6% YoY growth on a cash FX neutral basis normalized for DISH churn. Data center full-year revenue growth guidance was raised to 15% YoY from the prior 13% expectation. - *Adjusted EBITDA*: Raised by $45 million at the midpoint, implying over 2% YoY growth (excluding non-cash net straight-line and FX impacts), or ~5% YoY growth on a cash FX neutral basis normalized for DISH churn. - *Attributable AFFO per share*: Raised by $0.09 per share, implying ~3% YoY full-year growth, or nearly 6% YoY growth on an FX neutral basis normalized for one-time DISH churn and refinancing costs. The expected headwind from debt refinancings increased to 150 basis points from the prior 100 basis point expectation due to higher interest rates. - Global organic tenant billings growth for the tower business (excluding one-time impacts) is maintained at approximately 4% for full-year 2026. Management expects 2026 to represent a trough for AFFO per share growth, and projects a meaningful growth inflection in 2027 as headwinds ease, returning to the long-term target of mid-to-high single-digit AFFO per share growth.
Segment performance
Consolidated property revenue grew over 5% YoY (excluding non-cash straight-line revenue and FX impacts), or over 7% YoY on a cash FX neutral basis when normalized for one-time DISH churn. Adjusted EBITDA grew over 3% YoY (excluding non-cash net straight-line and FX impacts), or over 6% YoY on a cash FX neutral basis normalized for one-time DISH churn. Excluding DISH-related churn, cash-adjusted EBITDA margins expanded 30 basis points YoY. Normalized for one-time DISH churn and excluding refinancing costs, attributable FFO per share grew over 5% YoY on an FX neutral basis. - US and Canada Towers: Organic tenant billings growth was nearly 1% overall, or approximately 5% when excluding DISH churn, in line with expectations of mid-single digit durable growth. - Africa and APAC Towers: Organic growth was nearly 11% in Q2; full-year organic growth is expected to hit approximately 8.5%, with churn back half-weighted leading to ~7% expected growth in H2 2026. - Europe Towers: Organic growth was approximately 4% in Q2, in line with earlier expectations. - Latin America Towers: Organic growth declined over 2% in Q2, primarily due to elevated churn in Brazil, which was consistent with full-year expectations. - Data Center (CoreSite): Property revenue grew approximately 12% YoY (excluding non-cash straight-line revenue), marking the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth. Q2 2026 delivered record new leasing revenue, with more new business added in the quarter than the full year 2021.
Risks & headwinds
The call notes that all forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, with details available in the company's SEC filings. Key specific risks referenced on the call include: - Elevated churn in Brazil's tower market, which drove a 2% organic decline in Latin America in Q2 2026, though management expects market repair to come earlier than previously anticipated and growth to accelerate in 2027. - Persistent higher interest rates are creating a larger-than-initial-expected headwind for 2026 AFFO per share growth, though management has proactively reduced floating rate debt to mitigate this impact. - Mobile network capacity forecasts currently only account for existing use cases, and may understate incremental demand from emerging technologies such as AI native applications and 6G, which could lead to faster-than-expected capacity requirements for carrier customers.
Analyst Q&A
Q: Now that American Tower has exited APAC, reduced emerging market exposure, and reached target leverage, what are the company's top capital allocation priorities and best available investment opportunities today? /
A: Management's top investment priority is towers in domestic (US) and other developed markets. These markets are well-positioned to benefit from the upcoming 5G densification, new spectrum, AI demand, and 6G investment catalysts. Management is actively pursuing build-to-suit opportunities in Europe that meet its yield criteria, and will pursue US tower investment opportunities if actionable options that meet financial thresholds become available. / A: The second top priority is accelerating investment in CoreSite data centers, which is the company's fastest growing segment. The company can consistently underwrite mid-teens or better stabilized yields on new CoreSite investments, supported by strong broad-based demand from AI and cloud customers. / A: After internal capital investment, management will evaluate M&A opportunities with a focus on growing AFFO per share, rather than just growing asset size, to drive long-term total shareholder return. The company also prioritizes supporting and growing its dividend, targeting a 100% payout of retaxable income each year, and will use excess capital for further debt reduction or share repurchases if attractive opportunities do not arise for M&A or internal investment.