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American Tower Corp.: Q1 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q1 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 28 April 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 10 raised, 4 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Revenue and property revenue rose: Total revenue rose 6.8% to $2,738 million; total property revenue rose 7.3% to $2,670 million, both against the first quarter of 2025. Source
  • AFFO rose 2.6%; per share 3.3%: AFFO attributable to common stockholders rose 2.6% to $1,324 million. AFFO per diluted share was $2.84, up from $2.75. Source
  • Total tenant billings rose 2.3%: Total tenant billings grew $44 million, or 2.3%. Organic tenant billings grew $32 million, or 1.7%. Source
  • Cancellations rose to $89 million: Cancellations totalled $89 million in the quarter, against $45 million in the first quarter of 2025. Source
  • Property gross margin rose 6.2%: Property gross margin rose 6.2% to $2,005 million, a 75.1% margin on property revenue. Source
  • Free cash flow fell 1.5%: Cash provided by operating activities was $1,401 million; after $460 million of cash capital expenditures, free cash flow was $941 million, down 1.5%. Source
  • Net leverage at 4.9x: Net leverage was 4.9x: net debt of $35,713 million against annualized first-quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $7,341 million. Source
  • Currency gains lifted net income: Foreign currency gains of about $68.1 million, against losses of $345.7 million a year earlier, affected the growth rates of net income measures. Source

“The structural growth drivers of our business continue to strengthen, with rising mobile data consumption, accelerating cloud adoption and the rapid expansion of AI-driven workloads all pointing toward sustained investment in high-quality digital infrastructure.”

Steve Vondran, American Tower’s Chief Executive Officer

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Total property revenue SourceFull year 2026$10,585 to $10,735 million (midpoint growth 3.4%)Raised from $10,440 to $10,590 million (midpoint growth 2.0%)
Net income SourceFull year 2026$3,015 to $3,095 million (growth 16.2%)Raised from $2,945 to $3,025 million
Net income attributable to AMT common stockholders SourceFull year 2026$2,965 to $3,045 million (growth 18.8%)Raised from $2,980 to $3,060 million
Adjusted EBITDA SourceFull year 2026$7,195 to $7,265 million (growth 1.4%)Raised from $7,090 to $7,160 million
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders SourceFull year 2026$5,090 to $5,170 million (growth 1.8%)Raised from $5,035 to $5,115 million
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders per share SourceFull year 2026$10.90 to $11.07 (growth 2.1%)Raised from $10.78 to $10.95
Total capital expenditures SourceFull year 2026$1,800 to $1,910 millionRaised from $1,795 to $1,905 million
Capital improvement capital expenditures SourceFull year 2026$165 to $175 millionRaised from $160 to $170 million
Straight-line revenue, total property SourceFull year 2026$(27) million at midpoint
Latin America property revenue SourceFull year 2026$1,730 to $1,750 million (midpoint growth 5.9%)Raised from $1,645 to $1,665 million (midpoint growth 0.8%)
Africa & APAC property revenue SourceFull year 2026$1,595 to $1,615 million (midpoint growth 12.8%)Raised from $1,535 to $1,555 million (midpoint growth 8.6%)
U.S. & Canada property revenue SourceFull year 2026$5,060 to $5,120 million (midpoint growth (3.0)%)Kept
Europe property revenue SourceFull year 2026$1,025 to $1,055 million (midpoint growth 10.9%)Kept
Data Centers property revenue SourceFull year 2026$1,175 to $1,195 million (midpoint growth 12.5%)Kept
Total property tenant billings growth SourceFull year 2026~2% at midpointKept

What changed from last quarter

  • Guidance raised: Midpoints raised for property revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, AFFO and AFFO per share, citing foreign currency and Latin America straight-line revenue. Source
  • Guidance raised: Midpoints raised for net income and net income attributable to AMT common stockholders, primarily from unrealized foreign currency gains. Source
  • Guidance kept: Segment tenant billings growth components at the midpoint are unchanged from the prior release. Source

Quarterly results and growth drivers

  • Revenue and property revenue rose: Total revenue rose 6.8% to $2,738 million; total property revenue rose 7.3% to $2,670 million, both against the first quarter of 2025. Source
  • AFFO rose 2.6%; per share 3.3%: AFFO attributable to common stockholders rose 2.6% to $1,324 million. AFFO per diluted share was $2.84, up from $2.75. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA rose 5.2%: Adjusted EBITDA rose 5.2% to $1,835 million, with a 67.0% Adjusted EBITDA margin. Source

Segments and regions

  • U.S. & Canada revenue fell 2.8%: U.S. & Canada segment revenue was $1,262 million, down 2.8% from the prior-year quarter. Source
  • Latin America billings declined: Latin America revenue rose 20.3% to $480 million, while total tenant billings growth was (2.1)% and organic growth (2.0)%. Source
  • Africa & APAC and Europe grew: Africa & APAC revenue rose 13.5% to $379 million and Europe revenue rose 22.4% to $261 million. Source
  • Data Centers revenue rose 18.4%: Data Centers segment revenue rose 18.4% to $289 million, with segment operating profit of $152 million at a 53% margin. Other revenue in the segment was $284 million. Source

“I believe American Tower is now operating from its strongest strategic position in more than a decade, reflecting the actions we’ve taken to strengthen our balance sheet, reduce risk and enhance the quality and predictability of our earnings.”

Steve Vondran, American Tower’s Chief Executive Officer

Revenue components and tenant billings

  • Total tenant billings rose 2.3%: Total tenant billings grew $44 million, or 2.3%. Organic tenant billings grew $32 million, or 1.7%. Source
  • Cancellations rose to $89 million: Cancellations totalled $89 million in the quarter, against $45 million in the first quarter of 2025. Source
  • Foreign currency added to billings: Foreign currency added $74 million to total tenant billings in the quarter. Source

Costs and margins

  • Property gross margin rose 6.2%: Property gross margin rose 6.2% to $2,005 million, a 75.1% margin on property revenue. Source
  • Other operating expense turned to expense: Other operating expense was $19.4 million, against income of $55.8 million a year earlier, which included a $53.6 million South Africa Fiber gain. Source
  • Overhead costs rose: Selling, general, administrative and development expense rose to $257.4 million from $237.5 million, including $58.4 million of stock-based compensation. Source

“With a best-in-class portfolio of towers and interconnection-rich data centers, we are well positioned to drive durable growth, expand margins and deliver attractive long-term value for our shareholders.”

Steve Vondran, American Tower’s Chief Executive Officer

Capital spending and cash flow

  • Capital expenditures of $460 million: Total capital expenditures were $460 million, of which $48 million was for non-discretionary capital improvements and corporate capital expenditures. Source
  • Free cash flow fell 1.5%: Cash provided by operating activities was $1,401 million; after $460 million of cash capital expenditures, free cash flow was $941 million, down 1.5%. Source

Distributions, buybacks and leverage

  • Distribution rose 5.3% per share: Declared a $1.79 per share distribution, $833.9 million in aggregate, up 5.3% year over year. Source
  • Buybacks of $184 million in quarter: About 1.1 million shares were repurchased for about $184 million in the quarter; about 0.1 million more for about $19 million through April 21, 2026. Source
  • Net leverage at 4.9x: Net leverage was 4.9x: net debt of $35,713 million against annualized first-quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $7,341 million. Source
  • Liquidity of $10.4 billion: Total liquidity was about $10.4 billion at March 31, 2026, including about $1.6 billion of cash. Source

Currency and straight-line effects

  • Currency gains lifted net income: Foreign currency gains of about $68.1 million, against losses of $345.7 million a year earlier, affected the growth rates of net income measures. Source
  • Straight-line revenue declined: Straight-line revenue in total property revenue was $13 million, against $17 million a year earlier; AFFO is calculated before straight-line revenue. Source

Coming up, as management said on 28 April 2026

  • Distribution payable April 28: The $1.79 per share distribution declared March 5, 2026 is payable April 28, 2026 to holders of record on April 14, 2026. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders per share Source$2.84 (up 3.3%)
Nareit FFO attributable to AMT common stockholders Source$1,279 million (up 56.7%)
Net leverage ratio Source4.9x
Total tenant billings growth Source2.3% (organic 1.7%)
Payments for acquisitions, net of cash acquired Source$19.2 million

Risks management discussed

  • Financial: Lower straight-line revenue recognition is estimated to reduce 2026 Adjusted EBITDA growth by about 2%. Source
  • External: Most revenue and operating expenses in Latin America, Africa & APAC and Europe are in local currency, so exchange moves can distort reported growth. Source
  • Demand: Tenant cancellations totalled $89 million in the quarter, against $45 million in the first quarter of 2025. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Met: The $500.0 million 4.400% notes were repaid at maturity on February 13, 2026. Source
  • Met: The $700.0 million 1.600% notes were repaid at maturity on April 14, 2026. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.