Earnings Recap — Q2 FY2026
CY Q3 2026 · Reported July 28, 2026 · Beat 6 of last 6 quarters
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American Tower's strong quarter and raised guidance underscore the accelerating demand for AI-driven digital infrastructure, particularly at CoreSite, which is benefiting from AI inferencing and cloud-to-cloud connectivity. The company's tower business is positioned for a multi-year investment cycle driven by 5G densification, new spectrum, and eventual 6G, all of which are core to the AI infrastructure buildout. The exit from APAC and focus on developed markets and data centers signal a strategic pivot toward higher-growth, AI-exposed assets.
American Tower delivered strong Q2 results, with consolidated property revenue growing over 5% year-over-year (cash, FX-neutral) and over 7% normalized for one-time DISH churn. CoreSite posted another record quarter of new leasing, driving data center cash revenue growth of ~12% and marking the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. The company completed the sale of its Philippines and Bangladesh operations, exiting the APAC region, and ended the quarter with leverage of 4.9x, within its target range. Management raised full-year guidance across all key metrics, citing consistent tower demand, data center outperformance, and FX tailwinds.
Management raised full-year 2026 guidance for the second time this year, lifting property revenue by $110M, adjusted EBITDA by $45M, and attributable AFFO per share by $0.09 at the midpoints. The revised outlook implies ~4% property revenue growth (ex-straight-line, FX-neutral) and ~6% growth normalized for DISH churn; data center revenue growth was raised to ~15% from ~13%. Management reiterated organic tenant billings growth of ~1% (or ~4% ex-DISH) and expects 2026 to be a trough year for AFFO per share growth, with a meaningful inflection in 2027 as DISH churn, refinancing headwinds, and services step-down ease. They reaffirmed the long-term aspiration of mid- to high-single-digit AFFO per share growth and reiterated plans to deliver 200-300 bps of tower cash EBITDA margin expansion by 2030. Capital allocation priorities remain developed-market towers and CoreSite, with ~85% of discretionary capital allocated to developed markets, including over $700M for data center development.
“We delivered another strong quarter fueled by robust leasing demand across our global tower portfolio, record leasing activity at CoreSite, and continued operational discipline.”
on Quarterly performance
“For the first time in several years, we see a path to 4 major catalysts creating multiple overlapping demand drivers that could support network investment well into the next decade.”
on Tower demand catalysts
“We believe this year represents a trough for attributable AFFO per share growth, as these headwinds ease heading into 2027, we're confident that we can deliver a meaningful inflection in growth and return to our long-term expectation of AFFO per share growth in the mid- to high single-digit range.”
on AFFO growth outlook
Now that AMT's leverage is in the target range and APAC has been exited, what are the best investment opportunities today? How should we think about buybacks or potential domestic M&A? And what drove the data center upside?
Steve Vondran highlighted towers in domestic and developed markets as top priorities, citing the four catalysts (5G densification, spectrum, AI, 6G) and noting CoreSite as an area for accelerated investment with mid-teens or better stabilized yields. Rod Smith added that capital allocation prioritizes the dividend, internal capex (~85% to developed markets), then M&A, buybacks, and deleveraging. On data center upside, Vondran cited broad-based strength across traditional and retail customers, hybrid multi-cloud, AI use cases, strong mark-to-market, and a big inflection in interconnection activity.
What are you seeing from carriers regarding densification along the 5G cycle? Are you in conversations for comprehensive colocation deals? What's driving the acceleration in interconnection at CoreSite? And how should we think about the convertible note and ownership of the data center business?
Vondran said the industry is in the capacity phase of 5G, with a visible shift toward new colocations in the pipeline. He noted AMT is agnostic on comprehensive agreements, which are designed for deployment speed and efficiency. Interconnection growth is driven by AI and cloud adoption, as customers need to move large data sets between cloud and AI environments. Rod Smith explained that Stonepeak's convertible note will convert to equity in Q3, moving AMT's ownership to ~64% and Stonepeak's to ~36%, with no material impact to attributable AFFO per share.
Can you walk through the implications of the 800 MHz of new spectrum, including upper C-band and higher frequency blocks? And what's the status of DISH equipment on your towers?
Vondran said the lower band spectrum complements higher band spectrum in a 'layer cake' approach, and upper C-band will drive significant activity on towers. He noted that no radio can handle infinite spectrum, so densification will be required to meet capacity needs, with half of the projected doubling of capacity by 2030 expected to come from densification. Higher frequency blocks (6/7/8 GHz) will go on towers and drive further densification for 6G. On DISH, he declined to discuss contract details, stating equipment is still on towers and the rest is subject to litigation.