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American Tower Corp.: Q2 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q2 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 28 July 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 11 raised, 1 lowered, 3 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Property revenue rose 6.3%: Total revenue rose 4.7% to $2,749 million and Adjusted EBITDA rose 3.2% to $1,808 million. Source
  • Revenue growth varied by region: U.S. & Canada revenue fell 2.5%, while Latin America rose 13.4%, Africa & APAC 23.5%, Europe 11.5% and Data Centers 13.4%. Services revenue fell 38.4% to $61 million. Source
  • Tenant billings grew 2.4%: Total tenant billings grew 2.4%, or $46 million, and organic growth was 1.7%, or $34 million. Both measures are adjusted for foreign currency. Source
  • Midpoints raised on currency and data centers: Midpoints for property revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, AFFO and AFFO per share were raised, citing currency, Data Center outperformance and one-time expense benefits. Source
  • Europe billings growth lowered: Europe total tenant billings growth midpoint was lowered to about 10% from about 13%, with organic and new site components set out in the component table. Source
  • Free cash flow up 19.6%: Operating cash flow rose 16.0% to $1,487 million. After $329 million of capital expenditures, free cash flow was $1,158 million. Source

“We delivered another strong quarter, driven by robust leasing demand across our global tower portfolio, record leasing activity at CoreSite, and continued operational excellence.”

Steve Vondran, Chief Executive Officer

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Total property revenue SourceFull year 2026$10,695 million to $10,845 millionRaised from $10,585 million to $10,735 million
Net income SourceFull year 2026$3,270 million to $3,350 millionRaised from $3,015 million to $3,095 million
Net income attributable to AMT common stockholders SourceFull year 2026$3,200 million to $3,280 millionRaised from $2,965 million to $3,045 million
Adjusted EBITDA SourceFull year 2026$7,240 million to $7,310 millionRaised from $7,195 million to $7,265 million
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders SourceFull year 2026$5,135 million to $5,215 millionRaised from $5,090 million to $5,170 million
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders per Share SourceFull year 2026$11.00 to $11.17Raised from $10.90 to $11.07
Data Centers segment property revenue SourceFull year 2026$1,200 million to $1,220 millionRaised from $1,175 million to $1,195 million
Latin America property revenue SourceFull year 2026$1,790 million to $1,810 millionRaised from $1,730 million to $1,750 million
Africa & APAC property revenue SourceFull year 2026$1,620 million to $1,640 millionRaised from $1,595 million to $1,615 million
Europe total tenant billings growth SourceFull year 2026~10%Lowered from ~13%
Total capital expenditures SourceFull year 2026$1,805 million to $1,915 millionRaised from $1,800 million to $1,910 million
Capital improvement capital expenditures SourceFull year 2026$170 million to $180 millionRaised from $165 million to $175 million
Discretionary capital projects SourceFull year 2026$1,050 million to $1,080 millionKept
Communications site construction and Data Centers development spend SourceFull year 20261,700 to 2,300 sites; $695 million Data Centers development spendKept
Weighted average diluted shares SourceFull year 2026467,000 thousand sharesKept

What changed from last quarter

  • Guidance raised: Full-year 2026 midpoints raised for property revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, AFFO and AFFO per share, and for net income items. Source
  • Guidance lowered: Europe total tenant billings growth midpoint lowered to about 10% from about 13%. Source
  • Ended: Sold the Philippines subsidiary on June 15 and the controlling interest in KTBL on June 29, both completed in the quarter. Source
  • New: Credit facilities amended May 7 to extend maturities and allow borrowing of up to $5.0 billion for certain acquisitions, subject to limited conditionality. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Property revenue rose 6.3%: Total revenue rose 4.7% to $2,749 million and Adjusted EBITDA rose 3.2% to $1,808 million. Source
  • Net income up on currency items: Net income rose 133.2% to $888 million, and diluted EPS was $1.86 against $0.78 a year earlier. Growth rates are affected by foreign currency items. Source
  • AFFO grew 3.8%: AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders rose 3.8% to $1,264 million, against $1,218 million a year earlier. Source

Segments and regions

  • Revenue growth varied by region: U.S. & Canada revenue fell 2.5%, while Latin America rose 13.4%, Africa & APAC 23.5%, Europe 11.5% and Data Centers 13.4%. Services revenue fell 38.4% to $61 million. Source
  • Data Centers operating profit $157 million: Data Centers segment operating profit was $157 million, within a segment total of $1,872 million including corporate services. Source
  • Latin America and Africa gross margin higher: Segment gross margin was $311 million in Latin America and $269 million in Africa & APAC, against $265 million and $232 million a year earlier. Source

“We believe these powerful secular trends are creating a multi-year demand cycle for the digital infrastructure that underpins the global economy.”

Steve Vondran, Chief Executive Officer

Tenant billings and leasing demand

  • Tenant billings grew 2.4%: Total tenant billings grew 2.4%, or $46 million, and organic growth was 1.7%, or $34 million. Both measures are adjusted for foreign currency. Source
  • Cancellations offset part of leasing: Colocations and amendments added $63 million and escalations $64 million, while cancellations reduced billings by $92 million. New sites added $13 million. Source
  • Billings growth varied by region: Total tenant billings growth was 0.7% in U.S. & Canada, (2.4)% in Latin America, 14.5% in Africa & APAC and 6.0% in Europe. Source

Margins and costs

  • Property gross margin at 73.7%: Property gross margin was 73.7%, against 75.1% in the first quarter, while property gross margin dollars rose 4.9% to $1,980 million. Source
  • Property operating costs rose: Property costs of operations were $707.9 million, up from $640.6 million a year earlier. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA margin at 65.8%: Adjusted EBITDA margin was 65.8%, against 67% a year earlier. Source
  • Stock compensation expense lower: Stock-based compensation expense was $34.2 million in the quarter, against $47.3 million a year earlier. Selling, general, administrative and development expense was flat at $233.8 million. Source

Full-year 2026 guidance changes

  • Midpoints raised on currency and data centers: Midpoints for property revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, AFFO and AFFO per share were raised, citing currency, Data Center outperformance and one-time expense benefits. Source
  • Net income raised on unrealized gains: Net income and net income attributable to AMT common stockholders midpoints were raised, primarily due to unrealized foreign currency gains. Source
  • Straight-line revenue drag increased: Property revenue growth now includes an estimated negative impact of about 2% from lower straight-line revenue recognition, up from about 1% in the earlier figures. Source
  • Currency adds to property revenue: Estimated positive currency effects of about $35 million to property revenue and $0.06 per share to AFFO per share are included in the raised full-year figures. Source
  • Europe billings growth lowered: Europe total tenant billings growth midpoint was lowered to about 10% from about 13%, with organic and new site components set out in the component table. Source

Capital, cash and shareholder returns

  • Free cash flow up 19.6%: Operating cash flow rose 16.0% to $1,487 million. After $329 million of capital expenditures, free cash flow was $1,158 million. Source
  • Distribution per share up 5.3%: Distribution declared was $1.79 per share, up 5.3% from a year earlier, totaling $834.1 million. It was paid July 13, 2026. Source
  • Buybacks slowed in quarter: Repurchases were about 0.1 million shares for about $19 million, against about 1.1 million shares for $184 million in the first quarter. Source
  • Capital expenditures in quarter: Second-quarter capital expenditures were about $329 million, of which $47 million was non-discretionary capital improvements and corporate spend. Source

Debt and financing activity

  • Liquidity about $9.9 billion: Total liquidity at June 30 was about $9.9 billion, made up of about $1.8 billion of cash and about $8.2 billion available under revolving credit facilities. Source
  • Euro notes issued in May: Issued €750 million of 4.000% senior notes due 2033 on May 27. Proceeds repaid credit facility borrowings and partly redeemed the 4.125% notes. Source
  • Maturities repaid and partly redeemed: Repaid $700 million of 1.600% notes on April 14 and €500 million of 1.950% notes on May 21. €350 million of 4.125% notes due 2027 remain outstanding. Source

Currency effects on results

  • Currency added $46 million to billings: Foreign currency added $46 million to total tenant billings, including $32 million in Latin America and $10 million in Africa & APAC. Source
  • Currency added $29 million to revenue: Foreign currency added $29 million to property revenue, including $12 million in Latin America and $14 million in Africa & APAC. Source
  • Currency gains and losses in other income: Other income included currency gains of $42.1 million in the quarter, against losses of $484.0 million in the prior-year quarter. Source

Coming up, as management said on 28 July 2026

  • Remaining 4.125% notes due 2027: €350 million of 4.125% notes due May 16, 2027 remain outstanding after the June partial redemption. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
AFFO per share Source$2.71, up 4.2%
Nareit FFO Source$1,249 million, up 63.4%
Net leverage ratio Source4.9x
Dispositions SourcePhilippines subsidiary and KTBL controlling interest sold in June

Risks management discussed

  • Demand: Management described AFFO per share growth as mid-single-digit after normalizing for one-time DISH churn. 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.