American Tower Corporation (AMT) exceeded second-quarter 2026 earnings estimates and raised its full-year financial outlook for the second time this year. The company reported total revenue of $2.749 billion, a 4.7% increase from the previous year, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion.
Property revenue, the company’s largest segment, rose 6.3% to $2.688 billion, exceeding expectations of $2.52 billion. Net income attributable to common stockholders surged 136.5% to $868 million, while diluted earnings per share (EPS) reached $1.86, up 138.5% year-over-year. Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) per share increased 4.2% to $2.71, beating the FactSet estimate of $2.70.
Guidance Raised Despite Headwinds
Management raised its full-year 2026 AFFO guidance to a range of $11.00 to $11.17 per share. This update includes a $110 million increase in property revenue guidance, a $45 million increase in Adjusted EBITDA, and a $45 million increase in AFFO. However, the full-year 2026 revenue midpoint of $10.77 billion remains below the analyst consensus of $10.935 billion.
The revised outlook accounts for significant headwinds, including higher interest rates which added a 50 basis point impact to AFFO per share growth, bringing the total annual impact to 150 basis points. Management views the current period as a 'trough' for AFFO per share growth, with performance expected to inflect as non-recurring headwinds like DISH churn and high refinancing costs subside. Additionally, DISH-related churn represented a 400 basis point headwind to organic tenant billings growth in the U.S. and Canada during the quarter. A one-time indirect tax recovery in Latin America contributed approximately $35 million to the adjusted EBITDA outlook raise.
Strategic Shifts and Market Dynamics
CEO Steve Vondran highlighted that the outlook for digital infrastructure remains exceptionally compelling, driven by mobile data consumption, cloud adoption, and AI-driven applications. Management identified a shift in the 5G investment cycle from initial coverage overlays to a capacity-driven densification phase, resulting in increased new colocation applications. AI-enabled applications are driving uplink traffic growth rates that exceed downlink growth by more than 50%, requiring incremental infrastructure investment.
The CoreSite data center segment achieved record leasing performance, with new business in the second quarter alone exceeding the total for the entire year of 2021. Guidance for data center revenue growth was raised to approximately 15%. Interconnection activity also saw a significant inflection, driven by the need for enterprises to natively connect large data sets to cloud-based AI models.
Strategic portfolio optimization advanced through the exit of the Asia-Pacific region, with the divestiture of operations in the Philippines and Bangladesh completed in June 2026. Capital allocation for 2026 remains focused on developed markets, with approximately 85% of discretionary capital targeted for U.S. towers and data center expansions.
Financial Position and Analyst Outlook
American Tower maintains a dividend yield of 4.34% with an annual dividend of $7.16. The company’s debt-to-equity ratio stands at 4.45, and debt-to-EBITDA is 6.54. Operational efficiency initiatives have expanded tower cash EBITDA margins by over 300 basis points over three years, with a target of an additional 200 to 300 basis points of expansion by 2030.
According to 25 analysts polled by S&P Global, AMT has a consensus rating of 'Buy' with an average price target of $214.74. The breakdown includes 60% Strong Buy, 24% Buy, and 16% Hold. Recent analyst actions include upgrades from Wolfe Research to Buy with a $188 target, RBC Capital to Buy with a $205 target, and Bernstein reiterating Buy with a $207 target, while Citi maintains a Buy rating with a $225 target.
Following the earnings release, the stock closed the regular session at $166.74 and surged in after-hours trading to $170. The stock's 52-week low is $160.06. Management confirmed that $200 million has been allocated to share repurchases year-to-date, with approximately $1.4 billion remaining under the current Board-approved program.