AMT · Q1 2026 Earnings

Bullish

American Tower

Reported April 28, 2026

30-second summary

Q1 total revenue grew 6.8% YoY to $2.74B (property revenue +7.3% to $2.67B) and AFFO/share landed at $2.84, prompting management to lift FY2026 property revenue guidance by $145M at midpoint (to $10.66B) and Adjusted EBITDA by $105M (to $7.23B) — a sharp reversal of the cautious FY2026 setup laid out at Q4. U.S. & Canada property revenue fell 2.8% YoY as DISH churn flowed through as expected, but Latin America (+20.3%), Europe (+22.4%), Africa & APAC (+13.5%), and Data Centers (+18.4%) more than absorbed it. The story: the de-risked FY2026 base is already proving conservative one quarter in, and management's tone — "strongest strategic footing in at least a decade" — is the least hedged in years.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q1 FY2026

$1.84

Revenue

Q1 FY2026

$2.74B

+6.8% YoY

Gross margin

Q1 FY2026

75.1%

Free cash flow

Q1 FY2026

$0.94B

Operating margin

Q1 FY2026

69.0%

Key financials

Q1 FY2026

Metric	Q1 FY2026	YoY	Q4 FY2025	QoQ
Revenue	$2.74B	+6.8%	$2.74B	+0.0%
EPS	$1.84	—	$1.75	+5.1%
Gross margin	75.1%	—	72.9%	+220bps
Operating margin	69.0%	—	42.4%	+2660bps
Free cash flow	$0.94B	—	$0.84B	+12.6%

Guidance

AMT raised FY2026 property revenue guidance by $145M at midpoint and Adjusted EBITDA by $105M, reflecting stronger international growth and organic tenant billings momentum.

Guidance is issued for the full year only, refreshed each quarter. Prior and new below are the same FY updated this quarter.

New guidance

Metric	Period	Guide	YoY
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders	FY2026	$5,090 to $5,170 million	—

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Total Property Revenue	FY2026	$10,440 to $10,590 million	$10,585 to $10,735 million	+$145 million at midpoint	Raised
Adjusted EBITDA	FY2026	$7,090 to $7,160 million	$7,195 to $7,265 million	+$105 million at midpoint	Raised
Net Income	FY2026	$2,945 to $3,025 million	$3,015 to $3,095 million	+$70 million at midpoint	Raised
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders per Share	FY2026	$10.78 to $10.95	$10.90 to $11.07	+$0.12 to $0.15 per share	Raised
Net Income attributable to AMT common stockholders	FY2026	—	$2,965 to $3,045 million	—	Raised

Segment KPIs

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026	YoY
Data Centers	$0.289B	+18.4%

Other KPIs

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026	YoY
U.S. & Canada Property	$1.262B	-2.8%
Latin America Property	$0.48B	+20.3%
Africa & APAC Property	$0.379B	+13.5%
Europe Property	$0.261B	+22.4%
Total Tenant Billings Growth	2.3%	—
Organic Tenant Billings Growth	1.7%	—
Adjusted EBITDA	$1,835.2 million	—
Adjusted EBITDA Margin	67.0%	—
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders	$1,324.1 million	—
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders per Share	$2.84	—
Net Leverage Ratio	4.9x	—
Cash from Operating Activities	$1,400.6 million	—

Management tone

Q2 "FX raise, U.S. softer" → Q3 "AI/hybrid-cloud, record CoreSite leasing, defer to February" → Q4 "DISH absorbed, algorithm reset, harvest mode" → Q1 "Strongest strategic footing in a decade, AI inflection, CoreSite as moat."

The defensive posture that defined the Q4 reset has been replaced with the most confident strategic framing in years. Q4's tone was managed expectations — DISH absorbed, the 2021-vintage 5% US algorithm walked back, capital allocation pivoting to harvest. One quarter later, management is publicly anchoring at "American Tower is on its strongest strategic footing in at least a decade" — language that, by AMT's own historical baseline, is unusually direct. The $145M property revenue raise and the absence of new hedging clauses are the corroborating evidence; this is not a Q4-style cautious reset being slowly walked forward.

DISH has progressed from open contingency (Q2) to litigation overhang (Q3) to absorbed loss (Q4) to a de-risked baseline (Q1). Steve Vondran in prepared remarks emphasized that the company has "strengthened our balance sheet, reduce[d] risk and enhance[d] the quality and predictability of our earnings" — and the FY guide now treats DISH outcomes as outside the base case rather than a swing factor.

CoreSite's narrative has crossed from "outperforming" to "structural moat" in three quarters. Q2 reframed CoreSite as a re-rated core engine; Q3 cited record retail new leasing and 296MW of available power; Q4 cautioned on 2026 margin compression from non-recurring 2025 benefits. This quarter the framing hardens further: "This quarter marked a clear inflection in interconnection activity, enhancing both the profitability of the platform and the long-term durability of customer relationships." The shift from growth narrative to profitability-and-durability narrative matters because it implies management believes CoreSite's unit economics are improving structurally — not just running hot on a cycle.

AI has moved from monitored opportunity (Q3) to operating model (Q1). Q3 introduced AI workload demand as a CoreSite leasing driver; this quarter management is willing to write the demand thesis forward into the tower business itself: "new AI applications are going to place meaningfully greater demands on wireless networks, both in terms of throughput and complexity." This is the first quarter where AI is framed as a tower thesis rather than just a data-center thesis.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

AI-driven infrastructure inflection accelerating demand beyond carrier mobility investmentsCoreSite interconnection ecosystem differentiation versus traditional hyperscale data center modelsDigital infrastructure secular tailwinds (5G densification, 6G architecture, mobile data doubling)Latin America market repair creating setup for normalized growth by 2028Disciplined capital allocation maintaining balance sheet strength and optionalityOperational efficiency gains (tower cost reduction, 200-300bps margin expansion pathway by 2030)

Risks management surfaced:

FX headwinds/tailwinds creating earnings volatility (though currently tailwind)NIMBYism and regulatory delays affecting data center site permitting, particularly in North CarolinaElevated emerging market churn in 2026 from consolidation effects, particularly BrazilMacroeconomic shocks impacting emerging markets disproportionately if they grow too large in portfolioSatellite competition in ultra-rural areas (though management dismisses materiality)

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q1 2026 underlying U.S. organic — U.S. & Canada property revenue came in at -2.8% YoY, a meaningful step down from Q4's +1.6% as DISH churn flowed through. Consolidated organic tenant billings was 1.7%, above the FY ~1% reaffirmed guide; U.S. & Canada organic was 0.6% reported per segment disclosure (~5% ex-DISH per Rod Smith), tracking consistent with the FY ~4–4.5% guidance implication. Status: Continue monitoring

CoreSite 2026 margin trajectory — Data Centers grew 18.4% YoY to $289M (cash revenue +17% ex-straight-line), with management calling out an "inflection in interconnection activity" enhancing platform profitability. Segment margin disclosure isn't on the press release; the qualitative framing suggests AI-driven and interconnection pricing is offsetting the ~270bps of non-recurring 2025 benefits, but absent more granular segment margin data, this isn't fully resolved. Status: Continue monitoring

DISH litigation procedural events — No procedural updates disclosed in the press release or prepared remarks. Status: Continue monitoring

Buyback pace — Q1 buyback was ~$184M (1.1M shares), plus an additional ~$19M April-to-date through April 21; cumulative repurchases since the program started in Q4 now exceed $565M. Net leverage held at 4.9x, consistent with optionality preserved. Status: Resolved positively

AT&T Mexico arbitration — No update in the press release; the strong LATAM segment print (+20.3%) doesn't isolate the arbitration impact, and LATAM organic actually declined ~2% on Brazil churn. Status: Continue monitoring

Tower cash EBITDA margin expansion cadence — Management reaffirmed the 200–300bps tower cash EBITDA margin expansion goal by 2030. Cash-adjusted EBITDA margins down ~110bps YoY per Rod Smith; reported Adj EBITDA margin 67.0% vs 68.0% prior year (~100bps), driven by DISH churn, SG&A timing, and higher fuel prices in Africa — a near-term headwind that does not alter the forward expansion goal. Status: Continue monitoring

What to watch into next quarter

U.S. & Canada Q2 cadence — whether the Q1 -2.8% YoY is the trough of DISH absorption or whether the decline deepens further; the ex-DISH ~4.5% organic implies a sequential improvement should appear by Q3.

LATAM organic vs. straight-line/FX disaggregation — the +20.3% print includes ~$35M of accelerated OI-related straight-line revenue plus FX, while underlying organic declined ~2%; watch whether the Brazil "market repair" management flagged shows up as positive organic by Q3/Q4.

CoreSite interconnection revenue disclosure — management has now made interconnection-driven profitability the CoreSite story; watch for whether they begin disclosing interconnection revenue or yield metrics separately, which would be a meaningful upgrade to the disclosure framework.

FY2026 raise sustainability — a $145M Q1 raise on a $10.44–10.59B initial guide is large; watch whether Q2 delivers another raise or whether management positions Q1's lift as front-loaded.

Buyback cadence and remaining authorization — cumulative repurchases now exceed $565M since program inception; question becomes whether the board re-ups the authorization before year-end given the sustained pace.

DISH litigation procedural milestones — any motion-to-dismiss ruling on the declaratory judgment action; remains the largest live optionality on the FY2026 number.

Domestic build-to-suit announcements — watch for a first announced U.S. BTS deal, which would mark a meaningful return of U.S. discretionary capex narrative.

Sources

AMT Q1 2026 press release: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1053507/000105350726000094/pressreleaseq12026.htm
AMT Q1 2026 earnings call prepared remarks (Steve Vondran, Rod Smith)
AMT Q4 2025 Tapebrief (prior FY2026 guide baseline and watch list)
AMT Q3 2025 Tapebrief (multi-quarter tone context)
AMT Q2 2025 Tapebrief (multi-quarter tone context)

Get the next brief, free.

We publish analyst-grade earnings briefs the same day or morning after every call — headline numbers, segment KPIs, Q&A highlights, and tone analysis. Free during beta.

This is not investment advice.