AMT FY2026 Q1 Raised

American Tower Corporation (REIT) earnings call

Apr 28, 2026 · 08:30 ET Rod SmithSpencer KernSteve Vondran earningscall_biz

Buzzberg read

CoreSite interconnection activity inflected upward this quarter

American Tower reported a strong start to 2026, leading to raised full-year guidance driven by favorable FX and straight-line dynamics. Management emphasized secular tailwinds from mobile data growth, AI, and 6G, positioning the company for sustained long-term growth. They also highlighted accelerating momentum at CoreSite, including an inflection in interconnection activity. Raised full-year 2026 revenue and AFFO per share guidance by ~$145M and $0.12, respectively, primarily due to FX tailwinds.

Buzzberg read CoreSite interconnection activity inflected upward this quarter American Tower reported a strong start to 2026, leading to raised full-year guidance driven by favorable FX and straight-line dynamics. Management emphasized secular tailwinds from mobile data growth, AI, and 6G, positioning the company for sustained long-term growth. They also highlighted accelerating momentum at CoreSite, including an inflection in interconnection activity. Raised full-year 2026 revenue and AFFO per share guidance by ~$145M and $0.12, respectively, primarily due to FX tailwinds. Read full analysisCollapse analysis

Organic tenant billings growth was ~4% (excluding DISH churn) and data center revenue grew ~17% in Q1.
Management highlighted a 'clear inflection in interconnection activity' at CoreSite, signaling durable long-term growth.
Management remains disciplined on capital allocation, with a focus on developed markets and opportunistic share repurchases (over $565M since Q4).

Revenue$2.7375B-0% QoQ

EPS$1.75-5% QoQ

Gross margin73.91%Reported

Operating margin42.4%Reported

6 grounded callouts

What matters now

The highest-signal changes from the call.

Demand

CoreSite interconnection activity inflected upward this quarter

AI-driven workloads accelerating demand for interconnected data centers

Demand

U.S. mobile data traffic projected to double in five years

Show 3 more callouts

Guidance

Latin America expected to return to growth in 2027

Capex

Data center development pipeline increased by 200 megawatts

Risk

DISH churn fully de-risked from guidance

Reported period

Actuals

Metric	Reported	Change
Revenue	$2.7375B	-0% QoQ
EPS	$1.75	-5% QoQ
Gross margin	73.91%	Reported
Operating margin	42.4%	Reported
Free cash flow	$0.9511B	+12% QoQ
Capex	$0.4495B	Reported

Forward-looking

Forward guidance

Metric	Period	Range	Midpoint	Status
EPS	FY2026	$10.87–$11.11	$10.99	Raised
Revenue	FY2026	$11.345B–$11.545B	$11.445B	Raised

AI, capex & demand read

Management read

Tone

Confident

Management expressed strong conviction in strategic positioning, highlighted raised guidance, and emphasized long-term tailwinds from data growth and AI, while downplaying risks like satellite disruption and DISH litigation.

Management AI read

Management highlighted that AI-driven workloads, including inferencing, are accelerating demand at CoreSite, and they expect AI to place greater demands on wireless networks, supporting tower growth. They also see AI as an opportunity to drive operational efficiency gains across the organization, representing meaningful upside in future years.

Capex

Investment and capacity

The company is ramping up growth capital in developed markets, including over $700 million in success-based investments in data centers to replenish capacity, purchases of land beneath towers, and continued acceleration in European new builds with over 700 new sites planned. They are also securing additional power and land to expand data center capacity.

all 3 named companies below

Companiesreturns since call

Supply chain

EQIX -2.3%

Supply chain

CoreSite is seeing an 'inflection in interconnection activity', which management believes marks the beginning of a durable trend that compounds its competitive moat and captures a high-margin revenue stream. — This signals potential for CoreSite to gain share in the interconnection market, possibly at the expense of peers like Equinix, as demand for AI-driven workloads accelerates.

Evidence

“Importantly, this quarter marked a clear inflection in interconnection activity, enhancing both the profitability of the platform and the long-term durability of customer relationships.”

Steve Vondran

SBAC -13.6% CCI -7.6%

Supply chain

The US tower market is seeing a 'disconnect' between private and public market valuations, with private players valuing towers higher, which may reflect a long-term view of secular growth drivers like 6G and AI. — This suggests that private market participants see sustained, multi-year growth in tower demand, which could indicate that public market valuations for tower REITs like SBA and Crown Castle are undervalued.

Evidence

“I think what it does reflect is that there's a disconnect, and there has been for years, in the multiples that private players will value towers out versus the public markets. And we really think the reason that They value them in a higher”

Steve Vondran

External signals

Supply-chain alpha · 3returns since call

CoreSite is seeing an 'inflection in interconnection activity', which management believes marks the beginning of a durable trend that compounds its competitive moat and captures a high-margin revenue stream.

Steve Vondran

EQIX-2.3%

Management has increased its data center development-held-for-development capacity by 200 megawatts, indicating aggressive expansion in land and power acquisition amidst tight supply chains.

Rod Smith

Evidence

“Last year, we had about 287, 280 megawatts of development held for development, and we've increased that by 200 megawatts. So that's where we're negotiating with power companies, securing that power in certain places...”

The US tower market is seeing a 'disconnect' between private and public market valuations, with private players valuing towers higher, which may reflect a long-term view of secular growth drivers like 6G and AI.

Steve Vondran

SBAC-13.6%CCI-7.6%

Evidence

“I think what it does reflect is that there's a disconnect, and there has been for years, in the multiples that private players will value towers out versus the public markets. And we really think the reason that They value them in a higher…”

Methodology & coverage

Management-only analysis. All 3 validated company mentions are shown. Reported actuals and forward guidance are kept separate. Public evidence is limited to eight short attributed quotes. AI-generated analysis can be incomplete or wrong; verify important claims against the original source.