American Tower Corp. (NYSE:AMT) stock rose Tuesday after the communications infrastructure company reported second-quarter 2026 results that beat Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year outlook for the second time this year.
American Tower is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and develops communications infrastructure, including more than 148,000 communications sites and U.S. data center facilities.
The company reported adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) of $2.71 per share, topping the analyst consensus estimate of $2.60 and increasing from $2.60 a year earlier.
Revenue rose 4.7% year over year to $2.75 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion, according to Benzinga Pro.
The company posted an adjusted EBITDA margin of 65.8%, while operating income increased to $1.269 billion from $1.198 billion a year earlier.
As of June 30, American Tower had total liquidity of about $9.9 billion, including approximately $1.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents and about $8.2 billion available under its revolving credit facilities, net of outstanding letters of credit.
Regional Performance
Revenue from the U.S. and Canada segment totaled $1.27 billion, with an operating profit margin of 79%.
Latin America generated $442 million in revenue and a 65% operating margin.
Africa and Asia-Pacific reported revenue of $415 million and a 59% operating margin, while Europe generated $259 million in revenue with a 57% operating margin.
Tower, Data Center Demand Supports Outlook
Chief Executive Officer Steven Vondran said strong global tower leasing activity, record leasing at CoreSite and disciplined operations enabled the company to raise its full-year guidance again.
Vondran said American Tower expects about 4% organic tenant billings growth across its global tower portfolio, excluding one-time impacts from DISH, and increased its data center revenue growth outlook to about 15%.
He said long-term demand drivers include 5G network densification, new spectrum deployments, the eventual transition to 6G and growing AI-related wireless traffic. He added that AI-powered devices, autonomous systems, robotics and edge computing applications are expected to increase network capacity requirements and support infrastructure investment.
CoreSite continued to drive growth, with Vondran saying the business delivered another record leasing quarter fueled by demand from hyperscale cloud providers, enterprises, network operators and AI companies. He said nine of the top 10 AI companies and three of the top five neocloud providers operate within CoreSite facilities.
Chief Financial Officer Rod Smith said the improved outlook reflects continued tower growth, stronger-than-expected data center performance, expense benefits and favorable foreign exchange.
Vondran said the company’s capital allocation priorities remain investments in domestic and developed-market towers and data centers. Smith said American Tower continues to prioritize dividends, internal investments, acquisitions, share repurchases and debt reduction while maintaining a strong balance sheet.
Raises 2026 Outlook
American Tower raised its 2026 AFFO guidance to $11.00-$11.17 per share from its prior forecast of $10.90-$11.07. The updated range is above the analyst consensus estimate of $10.77.
The company expects property revenue of $10.695 billion to $10.845 billion for 2026. It projects net income of $3.27 billion to $3.35 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $7.24 billion to $7.31 billion. Capital expenditures are expected to range from $1.805 billion to $1.915 billion.
AMT Price Action: American Tower shares were up 4.64% at $174.47 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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