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AMT Q1 FFO Beats Estimates on Higher Property Revenues
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Key Takeaways
AMT Q1 FFO per share hit $2.84, beating estimates by 13.6% and rising 3.3% year over year.
American Tower revenues rose 6.8% to $2.74B, driven by 7.3% growth in property operations.
AMT raised 2026 outlook midpoints, citing FX tailwinds and stronger Latin America revenue trends.
American Tower Corporation (AMT - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2026 FFO per share of $2.84, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.50 by 13.6%. The metric increased 3.3% from $2.75 in the year-ago quarter.
Results reflected a year-over-year rise in revenues, aided by revenue growth across its property operations segment. American Tower recorded healthy year-over-year organic tenant billings growth of 1.7% and total tenant billings growth of 2.3%.
Total revenues were $2.74 billion, ahead of the consensus mark of $2.65 billion by 3.4%. Revenues rose 6.8% year over year.
AMT’s Revenue Mix Favors Core Property Operations
The quarter’s top-line upside was anchored in property operations, which remained the primary earnings engine. Total property revenues increased 7.3% year over year to $2.67 billion, reflecting growth across the company’s global communications real estate footprint and data center assets. Total operating profit was $1.90 billion, and the operating profit margin was 69%.
Service operations revenues were $67.6 million, down from $74.6 million a year ago. Even with that decline, the overall revenue result remained firm as property revenue growth more than offset service softness. The operating profit was $24 million, and the operating profit margin was 35% in the January-March quarter.
American Tower’s Regional Footprint Drives Segment Growth
American Tower’s property segment results showed meaningful contributions from multiple regions. U.S. & Canada segment revenues were $1.26 billion in the quarter, though down 2.8%, total international revenues amounted to $1.12 billion, up 18.4% year over year.
Data Centers segment revenues totaled $289 million, up 18.4%, reinforcing the company’s positioning in digital infrastructure beyond towers.
AMT’s Profitability Improves With Stronger Net Income
Profitability metrics reflected favorable operating performance in the period. Net income increased 76.2% year over year to $879 million, and net income attributable to AMT common stockholders rose 75.9% to $860 million. Net income per diluted share was $1.84 compared with $1.04 in the prior-year quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.2% to $1.84 billion, and the adjusted EBITDA margin was 67%.
American Tower’s Cash Flow Backs Capital Returns
Cash generation remained solid. In the first quarter of 2026, American Tower generated $1.40 billion of cash from operating activities, up 8.2% from the prior-year period. Free cash flow in the quarter was $941 million, down 1.5% year over year.
AMT also repurchased approximately 1.1 million shares during the quarter for about $184 million, including commissions and fees.
AMT’s Balance Sheet
American Tower exited the quarter with approximately $10.4 billion of total liquidity, consisting of about $1.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents plus roughly $8.8 billion available under its revolving credit facilities, net of outstanding letters of credit.
American Tower Raises Key 2026 Outlook Midpoints
Along with quarterly results, American Tower updated its full-year 2026 outlook. Total property revenues are now expected in the range of $10.585-$10.735 billion, indicating a year-over-year improvement of 3.4% at the midpoint. The Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at $10.86 billion.
Adjusted EBITDA is projected between $7.195 billion and $7.265 billion. This calls for a marginal year-over-year increase at the midpoint by 1.4%.
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders is forecast at $5.090-$5.170 billion, up 1.8% at the midpoint, and AFFO per share is guided in the range of $10.90-$11.07, up 2.1% at the midpoint. The consensus estimate is pegged at $10.87.
Management attributed the higher midpoints primarily to the estimated positive impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and accelerating straight-line revenues in Latin America.
We now look forward to the earnings releases of other REITs like Medical Properties Trust (MPT - Free Report) and Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT - Free Report) , slated to report on April 29 and May 1, respectively.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Medical Properties Trust’s first-quarter 2026 FFO per share is pegged at 15 cents, which implies a 7% year-over-year increase. MPT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.
The consensus estimate for Federal Realty Investment Trust’s first-quarter 2026 FFO per share stands at $1.82, which indicates 7.1% growth year over year. FRT currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
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AMT Q1 FFO Beats Estimates on Higher Property Revenues
Key Takeaways
American Tower Corporation (AMT - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2026 FFO per share of $2.84, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.50 by 13.6%. The metric increased 3.3% from $2.75 in the year-ago quarter.
Results reflected a year-over-year rise in revenues, aided by revenue growth across its property operations segment. American Tower recorded healthy year-over-year organic tenant billings growth of 1.7% and total tenant billings growth of 2.3%.
Total revenues were $2.74 billion, ahead of the consensus mark of $2.65 billion by 3.4%. Revenues rose 6.8% year over year.
AMT’s Revenue Mix Favors Core Property Operations
The quarter’s top-line upside was anchored in property operations, which remained the primary earnings engine. Total property revenues increased 7.3% year over year to $2.67 billion, reflecting growth across the company’s global communications real estate footprint and data center assets. Total operating profit was $1.90 billion, and the operating profit margin was 69%.
Service operations revenues were $67.6 million, down from $74.6 million a year ago. Even with that decline, the overall revenue result remained firm as property revenue growth more than offset service softness. The operating profit was $24 million, and the operating profit margin was 35% in the January-March quarter.
American Tower’s Regional Footprint Drives Segment Growth
American Tower’s property segment results showed meaningful contributions from multiple regions. U.S. & Canada segment revenues were $1.26 billion in the quarter, though down 2.8%, total international revenues amounted to $1.12 billion, up 18.4% year over year.
Data Centers segment revenues totaled $289 million, up 18.4%, reinforcing the company’s positioning in digital infrastructure beyond towers.
AMT’s Profitability Improves With Stronger Net Income
Profitability metrics reflected favorable operating performance in the period. Net income increased 76.2% year over year to $879 million, and net income attributable to AMT common stockholders rose 75.9% to $860 million. Net income per diluted share was $1.84 compared with $1.04 in the prior-year quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.2% to $1.84 billion, and the adjusted EBITDA margin was 67%.
American Tower’s Cash Flow Backs Capital Returns
Cash generation remained solid. In the first quarter of 2026, American Tower generated $1.40 billion of cash from operating activities, up 8.2% from the prior-year period. Free cash flow in the quarter was $941 million, down 1.5% year over year.
AMT also repurchased approximately 1.1 million shares during the quarter for about $184 million, including commissions and fees.
AMT’s Balance Sheet
American Tower exited the quarter with approximately $10.4 billion of total liquidity, consisting of about $1.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents plus roughly $8.8 billion available under its revolving credit facilities, net of outstanding letters of credit.
American Tower Raises Key 2026 Outlook Midpoints
Along with quarterly results, American Tower updated its full-year 2026 outlook. Total property revenues are now expected in the range of $10.585-$10.735 billion, indicating a year-over-year improvement of 3.4% at the midpoint. The Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at $10.86 billion.
Adjusted EBITDA is projected between $7.195 billion and $7.265 billion. This calls for a marginal year-over-year increase at the midpoint by 1.4%.
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders is forecast at $5.090-$5.170 billion, up 1.8% at the midpoint, and AFFO per share is guided in the range of $10.90-$11.07, up 2.1% at the midpoint. The consensus estimate is pegged at $10.87.
Management attributed the higher midpoints primarily to the estimated positive impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and accelerating straight-line revenues in Latin America.
AMT’s Zacks Rank
Alexandria currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
American Tower Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
American Tower Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | American Tower Corporation Quote
Upcoming Earnings Releases
We now look forward to the earnings releases of other REITs like Medical Properties Trust (MPT - Free Report) and Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT - Free Report) , slated to report on April 29 and May 1, respectively.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Medical Properties Trust’s first-quarter 2026 FFO per share is pegged at 15 cents, which implies a 7% year-over-year increase. MPT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.
The consensus estimate for Federal Realty Investment Trust’s first-quarter 2026 FFO per share stands at $1.82, which indicates 7.1% growth year over year. FRT currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.