American Tower (AMT) Earnings Date & Reports

Key Takeaways

• American Tower reported third-quarter 2026 total revenue of $2.785 billion, up 2.5% year over year and above analyst expectations.
• Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO, a cash-based earnings measure widely used for real estate companies) per share came in at $2.87, beating the consensus estimate and rising 3.2% from the prior year.
• Property revenue climbed 4.5%, driven by a 16.3% jump in cash revenue from the Data Centers segment and steady organic tenant billings growth.
• GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) diluted earnings per share fell to $1.64 from $1.82 a year earlier, pressured by unrealized losses on equity investments.
• The company raised its full-year 2026 outlook for the third time this year, lifting the midpoint of its property revenue guidance by $55 million.
• Net income declined 14.4% to $781 million, even as operational results held up solidly across the global tower portfolio.
• For more detail, explore American Tower's Major News and Today's Price Move, along with Price Targets and a Forecast on dedicated pages.
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Earnings Context and Why It Matters

American Tower is one of the world's largest owners of communications infrastructure, operating as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT, a company that owns income-producing property and passes most of its taxable income to shareholders). Its towers and data centers sit at the center of rising demand for wireless connectivity and cloud computing, making each quarterly report a key check on two of the market's most important secular trends. Coming into the third quarter, investors were focused on whether stable leasing demand across the global tower portfolio and continued strength at CoreSite, the company's data center business, could offset pressure from lower non-cash straight-line revenue recognition and currency headwinds. The results offer a fresh read on both momentum and management's confidence heading into the end of fiscal 2026.

Reported Results

For the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, American Tower reported total revenue of $2.785 billion, a 2.5% increase from $2.717 billion in the prior-year period and above the consensus estimate of roughly $2.76 billion. Total property revenue rose 4.5% to $2.734 billion, supported by 1.1% organic tenant billings growth and a 16.3% surge in cash revenue from the Data Centers segment.

AFFO per share reached $2.87, up from $2.78 a year earlier and above the consensus estimate of about $2.80. AFFO attributable to common stockholders rose 2.4% to $1.335 billion. Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization, a measure of core profitability) increased 0.9% to $1.832 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 65.8%.

On a GAAP basis, diluted earnings per share came in at $1.64, down from $1.82 a year ago, while net income fell 14.4% to $781 million. The decline primarily reflected roughly $71.5 million in unrealized losses on equity investments, compared with gains of about $10.9 million in the year-ago quarter. The company's net leverage ratio stood at 4.9 times as of September 30, 2026.

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Market Reaction and Investor Sentiment

Shares of American Tower slipped modestly in premarket trading following the release, with the stock down roughly 0.6% to 1.7% despite the earnings and revenue beat. The muted reaction reflected the mixed nature of the print: strong operational performance and a third upward revision to full-year guidance were tempered by the year-over-year decline in GAAP earnings per share and a slight narrowing of adjusted FFO (Funds From Operations, a standard REIT earnings metric) per-share guidance versus some analyst expectations.

Sentiment also appeared to weigh the company's capital allocation moves, including approximately $315 million in share repurchases during the quarter and a newly authorized additional $2 billion buyback program, alongside a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, up 5.3% from a year earlier. Investors generally read management's confidence in the stock as a positive signal, even as near-term earnings comparisons were pressured by non-cash items.

Forward Outlook and Key Factors to Monitor

American Tower's third upward revision to its full-year 2026 outlook gives investors a clearer map of management's expectations. The company now projects total property revenue of $10.785 billion to $10.865 billion, AFFO per share of $11.04 to $11.16, and adjusted EBITDA of $7.248 billion to $7.303 billion. The property revenue midpoint was raised by $55 million on Data Centers outperformance, while the AFFO per-share midpoint increased by $0.02.

Several factors deserve monitoring in the quarters ahead. First, the Data Centers segment remains a key growth engine, with 16.3% cash revenue growth and meaningful development spending planned for the year. Investors will watch whether this momentum can be sustained without pressuring returns.

Second, non-cash straight-line revenue recognition is expected to remain a headwind, particularly in the U.S. & Canada segment. This accounting item can make reported growth look softer than underlying cash performance, so it is worth tracking closely.

Third, the company's balance sheet and leverage management will stay in focus. With a net leverage ratio of 4.9 times and roughly $10.6 billion in total liquidity, American Tower retains financial flexibility, but debt refinancing and interest expense trends matter for a capital-intensive REIT.

Finally, the planned sale of its Canadian subsidiaries, expected to close in the fourth quarter for approximately $202 million, adds a modest catalyst as management continues to streamline its portfolio and redeploy capital through buybacks and dividends.

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