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American Tower Corporation (REIT) earnings call
Buzzberg read
Guidance raised second time this year across all key metrics
American Tower reported strong Q2 2026 results with record leasing at CoreSite and raised full-year guidance across all key metrics for the second time. Management emphasized a strengthening demand outlook driven by 5G densification, new spectrum, and AI applications. The company also completed its exit from APAC, selling Philippines and Bangladesh operations to focus on developed markets. Raised FY2026 revenue outlook by $110M midpoint, EBITDA by $45M, and AFFO per share by $0.09.
Buzzberg read Guidance raised second time this year across all key metrics American Tower reported strong Q2 2026 results with record leasing at CoreSite and raised full-year guidance across all key metrics for the second time. Management emphasized a strengthening demand outlook driven by 5G densification, new spectrum, and AI applications. The company also completed its exit from APAC, selling Philippines and Bangladesh operations to focus on developed markets. Raised FY2026 revenue outlook by $110M midpoint, EBITDA by $45M, and AFFO per share by $0.09. Read full analysisCollapse analysis
American Tower reported strong Q2 2026 results with record leasing at CoreSite and raised full-year guidance across all key metrics for the second time. Management emphasized a strengthening demand outlook driven by 5G densification, new spectrum, and AI applications. The company also completed its exit from APAC, selling Philippines and Bangladesh operations to focus on developed markets. Raised FY2026 revenue outlook by $110M midpoint, EBITDA by $45M, and AFFO per share by $0.09.
- Data center segment is outperforming with raised revenue growth guidance to ~15% for 2026.
- Completed divestitures of Philippines and Bangladesh, exiting APAC region to focus on developed markets.
- Company expects 2026 to be a trough for AFFO per share growth with an inflection to mid-high single-digit growth in 2027.
DATA_CENTER Revenue growth12%Reported
Revenue$2.7491B+0% QoQ
EPS$1.86+6% QoQ
Gross margin73.03%Reported
6 grounded callouts
What matters now
The highest-signal changes from the call.
Demand
Four catalysts expected to drive network investment into next decade
Demand
CoreSite added more new leasing than full-year 2021
Show 3 more callouts
AI
AI applications shift traffic to bidirectional, requiring more capacity
Guidance
Data center growth outlook raised to ~15% for 2026
Outlook
AFFO growth expected to trough in 2026, inflect in 2027
Reported period
Actuals
| Metric | Reported | Change |
|---|---|---|
| DATA_CENTER Revenue growth | 12% | Reported |
| Revenue | $2.7491B | +0% QoQ |
| EPS | $1.86 | +6% QoQ |
| Gross margin | 73.03% | Reported |
| Operating margin | 46.15% | Reported |
| Free cash flow | $1.1659B | +23% QoQ |
Forward-looking
Forward guidance
| Metric | Period | Range | Midpoint | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RevenueDATA_CENTER | FY2026 | 15% | 15% | Raised |
AI, capex & demand read
Management read
Confident
Management expressed strong conviction in demand drivers, raised guidance for the second time, and detailed multiple growth catalysts, projecting a return to mid-to-high single-digit AFFO growth in 2027.
Management AI read
Management highlighted AI as a major growth catalyst, citing AI-driven workloads accelerating demand for data center capacity, with CoreSite adding record leasing and hosting nine of top 10 AI companies. They also noted AI applications are shifting traffic patterns to be more persistent, data-intensive, and bidirectional, which may require additional network infrastructure investment beyond curren
Investment and capacity
Management maintained 2026 growth capital plan, allocating ~85% to developed markets, including over $700 million for data center capacity expansion, ~$370 million for new towers globally, and ~$210 million for land purchases. They also allocated over $230 million year-to-date to acquisitions and over $200 million to share repurchases.
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External signals
Supply-chain alpha · 2returns since call
AI-enabled applications are contributing to uplink traffic growth rates that in many cases exceed downlink growth by more than 50%, a structural shift from the historically download-centric network design.
Evidence
“AI-enabled applications are already contributing to uplink traffic growth rates that in many cases exceed downlink traffic growth by more than 50%”
CoreSite added more new leasing business in Q2 2026 than in all of 2021, and the company is evaluating opportunities to expand its development pipeline beyond current plans to nearly triple capacity.
Evidence
“we added more new business this quarter than we did for the entire year of 2021”
Methodology & coverage
Management-only analysis. All 1 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.