# American Tower Corporation (AMT) — Narrative, Q3 2026 Sources: Business, Risk factors and the full-year MD&A come from the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (accession 0001053507-26-000035). The current-quarter discussion and subsequent events come from the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 (accession 0001053507-26-000157) and the third-quarter 2026 earnings release furnished on Form 8-K (accession 0001053507-26-000154). All amounts are in US dollars. ## Business American Tower is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops multitenant communications real estate and earns its revenue mainly by leasing space on that real estate. Its main business is renting space on towers and other communications sites to wireless carriers, broadcasters, wireless data providers, government agencies and other tenants. It also leases space in a portfolio of interconnected U.S. data centers to enterprises, network operators and cloud providers. The company calls these two businesses together its property operations, and they produced 97% of total revenue in 2025. The other 3% came from a U.S. services business (site application, zoning and permitting, structural and mount analyses, and construction management), which mostly supports adding new tenants and equipment to its own sites. At December 31, 2025 the portfolio held 149,686 communications sites: 42,224 in U.S. & Canada, 27,857 in Africa & APAC, 32,524 in Europe and 47,081 in Latin America. It also included urban telecom assets in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Spain, property interests in Canada and the U.S., and 30 operating data centers in eleven U.S. markets. At September 30, 2026 the data center portfolio was still 30 facilities in 11 markets, with about 3.9 million net rentable square feet, up from about 3.7 million at year-end. The company reports six segments: - **U.S. & Canada property**: all U.S. and Canadian assets other than data centers. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon together supplied 85% of segment revenue in 2025. - **Africa & APAC property**: Airtel and MTN supplied 81% of segment revenue. The Philippines and Bangladesh operations were sold in June 2026, which leaves the segment's towers in seven African countries. - **Europe property**: France, Germany and Spain. Telefónica supplied 70% of segment revenue. - **Latin America property**: Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Argentina. América Móvil, AT&T, Telefónica and TIM together supplied 71% of segment revenue. - **Data Centers**: the U.S. CoreSite platform acquired in late 2021. It produced 10% of total 2025 revenue. - **Services**: 3% of 2025 revenue. The model depends on long contracts. Carrier leases usually run five to ten years at first, with multiple renewals. U.S. leases escalate at a fixed rate averaging about 3% a year, and most international leases escalate with an inflation index. In many international markets, tenants also pay pass-through revenue that covers ground rent and power and fuel. At December 31, 2025 the company expected over $54 billion of non-cancellable tenant lease revenue in future periods. By September 30, 2026 that figure had fallen to nearly $49 billion. Adding a tenant to an existing tower costs little, so most of the extra revenue flows through to margin, and maintenance capital needs are low. Churn was about 2% of tenant billings in 2025. Four customers each supplied at least 10% of total 2025 revenue: T-Mobile (18%), AT&T (17%), Verizon Wireless (14%) and Telefónica (10%). Ownership is shared in two large businesses. American Tower holds 52% of ATC Europe; La Caisse holds 30% and Allianz 18%. ATC Europe in turn owns 87% of the German business and 83% of the Spanish business, with PGGM holding the rest. In the U.S. data center business, Stonepeak's mandatorily convertible preferred equity converted into common equity one-for-one on August 8, 2026. American Tower now holds about 64% of the common equity and Stonepeak about 36% (10-Q, accession 0001053507-26-000157). The company has been a REIT since January 1, 2012. It must distribute at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, but its international operations and taxable REIT subsidiaries remain taxable. Its capital allocation goal is to grow AFFO per share and return on invested capital over time. Capital increasingly goes to developed markets (U.S. & Canada, Europe and data centers), while it exits markets that fall short of its return targets. Recent exits are Mexico fiber and Poland (2023); Australia, India and New Zealand (2024); South Africa fiber (2025); the Philippines and Bangladesh (June 2026); and Canada, which is pending (see Subsequent events). ## Risk factors The 10-K groups its risks under business strategy, financial and economic conditions, laws and regulations, and operations. The ones that matter most for the investment case: - **Concentrated, credit-sensitive customer base.** A few carriers supply most revenue, so one tenant's distress, consolidation or exit shows up directly in churn. The 10-K's main example is DISH: EchoStar sold large spectrum holdings in the second half of 2025 and began decommissioning parts of DISH's 5G network. DISH was about 2% of total 2025 property revenue and 4% of U.S. & Canada property revenue. - **Live disputes with two customers.** AT&T Mexico (about $300 million of 2025 tenant revenue) is challenging the lease calculation under its master lease agreement in arbitration and wants rent abated both backward and forward. Under a September 2025 agreement, most withheld rent was paid and the disputed balance goes into escrow. The company booked about $30 million of reserves in 2025 and expects more until the arbitration ends. DISH claims to be excused from its 2021 Strategic Collocation Agreement and has been in default since January 2026. The 10-K warns that adverse rulings in either case could be material. - **Customer consolidation and network sharing.** Mergers, RAN sharing, roaming and resale deals let carriers retire overlapping equipment and slow new leasing. - **Competition and technology change.** Competing tower owners can push down lease rates. More spectrally efficient equipment, small cells and satellite services could reduce demand for tower space. In data centers, larger rivals with cheaper power and better-known brands compete for customers, and a large share of data center leases expires every year. Power-hungry AI workloads could leave facilities that were not designed for that density behind. - **Leverage and access to capital.** The company carries a large amount of debt. Its credit facilities include a total leverage covenant (total debt to Adjusted EBITDA of no more than 6.00x), and the securitized tower assets are subject to cash-trap and amortization tests. A rating downgrade below investment grade would make debt more expensive and harder to get. Share buybacks compete with growth spending and debt repayment for the same cash. - **Inflation and interest rates.** Inflation above fixed escalators reduces returns. Higher rates raise borrowing costs and could reduce asset values enough to trigger impairments. - **Foreign-market and currency exposure.** International revenue is earned in local currencies and is largely unhedged, so a weaker currency reduces reported results. The company also faces expropriation, restrictions on foreign ownership, retroactive changes in regulations and fees, limits on repatriating cash, and political instability in markets including Africa and Latin America. - **REIT and tax rules.** Losing REIT status would mean corporate tax plus four years of disqualification. Limits on TRS assets and income restrict flexibility, and repatriating cash from abroad can trigger foreign taxes. The company believes it is excluded from the OECD Pillar 2 minimum tax as a real estate investment vehicle. The 10-K warned that from 2026 the U.S. income of non-excluded entities could incur material top-up tax unless the OECD's proposed side-by-side safe harbor is enacted. By Q3 2026 the 10-Q described U.S. top-up tax as immaterial. - **Data center execution.** Data centers make up a less mature segment. It needs capital 12 to 18 months before contracts are signed, depends on utilities for scarce power, faces permitting and community resistance, and carries service-level commitments to almost all customers. - **Land rights, divestitures and joint ventures.** Most towers stand on leased land, and ground-lease aggregators compete for it. Exits from markets carry separation, impairment and loss risk. Joint-venture partners in Europe, data centers and Africa may have different goals, and the company may have to buy out their interests. - **Operational hazards.** Cyber incidents (including AI-enabled attacks), severe weather linked to climate change, theft, vandalism and fiber cuts, and liability for tower collapse may not be fully insured. The Q3 2026 10-Q reports no material changes to these risk factors. ## Management's discussion: fiscal 2025 **Revenue.** Total revenue rose 5% to $10,644.6 million, and property revenue rose 4% to $10,305.0 million. By segment: - U.S. & Canada was flat at $5,248.7 million. Tenant billings grew $210.0 million, but a $209.1 million decrease in other revenue, including a $175.8 million decline in non-cash straight-line revenue, offset almost all of that. - Africa & APAC rose 18% to $1,422.9 million on tenant billings growth, lower revenue reserves in Burkina Faso and Kenya, and favorable currency moves. - Europe rose 12% to $937.7 million. - Latin America fell 4% to $1,642.6 million. Revenue reserves for customers in Brazil and Mexico rose, settlements in Brazil fell, and currency cost $56.2 million. - Data Centers rose 14% to $1,053.1 million on new leases, power and interconnection. - Services rose 75% to $339.6 million on higher construction management, permitting and structural analysis work. The company acquired or built about 2,230 sites during the year, mostly in Africa & APAC (1,265) and Europe (745). **Profit.** Adjusted EBITDA rose 5% to $7,130.0 million. Net income rose 15% to $2,628.5 million, but only because 2024 included a $978.3 million loss from discontinued operations tied to the sale of the India business (ATC TIPL). Income from continuing operations fell. Foreign currency moved from a $308.3 million gain in 2024 to an $809.4 million loss, and the tax provision rose to $415.7 million (13.7% effective rate). Lower interest expense, reflecting lower average debt, partly offset these. Nareit FFO attributable to common stockholders fell 20% to $4,160.9 million. AFFO attributable to common stockholders rose 2% to $5,041.6 million; on a continuing-operations basis it rose 10%. The fourth-quarter release (accession 0001053507-26-000032) reported AFFO per share of $10.76. That was up 2.1% as reported and 8.0% on the company's as-adjusted basis, which uses continuing operations and credits a full year of interest savings from the India sale proceeds. **Cash and balance sheet.** Operating cash flow was $5,464.0 million and total capital expenditures were $1,720.7 million. Capex included $608.9 million on data centers and the construction of 1,918 sites. The company spent $454.2 million on acquisitions and received $137.7 million from the South Africa fiber sale. In 2025 it issued $3.0 billion of senior notes, repaid $525.0 million of securitized debt, redeemed five series of 2025 notes, and extended its bank facilities. At year-end, total outstanding indebtedness was $37.4 billion (current portion $3.4 billion), and liquidity was $11.1 billion: $9.6 billion of revolver capacity plus $1.5 billion of cash. Net leverage was 4.9x annualized fourth-quarter Adjusted EBITDA. Distributions declared for 2025 were $6.80 per share, up 4.9%. ## Current quarter: Q3 2026 **What changed.** The quarter was shaped by three things: the loss of DISH, the end of straight-line revenue gains in the U.S., and continued strength in data centers. Since January 1, 2026, all DISH revenue has been counted as churn, which lifted nine-month churn to about 5% of tenant billings, against about 2% for full-year 2025. The company terminated the DISH agreement effective June 2, 2026 (8-K, accession 0001053507-26-000127). It then amended its Colorado complaint to seek damages and to name EchoStar for tortious interference. DISH filed for chapter 11 on June 30, 2026, and the company recorded $17.5 million of DISH-related impairments in the nine months. In Mexico, the AT&T arbitration hearing began in August 2026 and a final ruling is expected in 2027. A further $30 million of reserves was booked in the nine months. **Revenue.** Total revenue rose 3% to $2,785.4 million, and property revenue rose 4% to $2,734.0 million. Organic tenant billings grew 1.1%, according to the earnings release. By segment: - **U.S. & Canada**: down 3% to $1,275.2 million. Straight-line revenue fell $47.1 million, and churn above contractual escalations, mainly DISH, cost $24.8 million. Colocations and amendments added $25.4 million. - **Africa & APAC**: up 15% to $427.9 million, helped by $36.9 million of higher fuel pass-through and $11.7 million of favorable currency, mostly from the Nigerian naira. - **Europe**: up 6% to $257.9 million. - **Latin America**: up 10% to $460.0 million, but $32.8 million of that came from currency. Tenant billings fell $6.4 million, driven by customer cancellations in Brazil. - **Data Centers**: up 17% to $313.0 million on new leases, expansions, renewal pricing and power. - **Services**: down 49% to $51.4 million as permitting, structural analysis and construction management work fell. **Profit.** Adjusted EBITDA rose 1% to $1,831.8 million. Net income fell 14% to $780.8 million, and net income attributable to common stockholders was $765.8 million, or $1.64 per diluted share against $1.82. Two things drove the decline. First, the company recorded $71.5 million of unrealized losses on U.S. equity securities, against a $10.9 million gain a year earlier. Second, the tax provision rose to $117.6 million from $37.4 million (effective rate 13.1% against 3.9%), on higher foreign earnings and because a German tax-law benefit in the prior-year quarter did not recur. Higher segment operating profit partly offset both. Nareit FFO attributable to common stockholders fell 8% to $1,164.7 million. AFFO attributable to common stockholders rose 2% to $1,335.0 million, and the earnings release put AFFO per share at $2.87, up 3.2%. For the nine months, revenue rose 5% to $8,272.0 million. Net income rose 42% to $2,546.8 million, mainly because of a $137.2 million currency gain against an $811.7 million loss a year earlier. AFFO attributable to common stockholders rose 3% to $3,923.2 million, and operating cash flow was $4,280.2 million against $4,036.5 million. **Financing in 2026 to date.** In the first nine months the company repaid four 2026 maturities: $500.0 million of 4.400% notes in February, $700.0 million of 1.600% notes in April, €500.0 million of 1.950% notes in May, and $600.0 million of 1.450% notes in September. It also redeemed €250.0 million of its 4.125% 2027 notes in June. New issues were €750.0 million of 4.000% notes due 2033 in May, and on September 14 a $1.6 billion three-part U.S. dollar offering: $500.0 million of 5.300% notes due 2031, $500.0 million of 5.560% notes due 2033 and $600.0 million of 5.750% notes due 2036. Amendments in May extended the multicurrency revolver and the term loan to May 1, 2029 and the U.S. revolver to May 1, 2031. They also let the company borrow up to $5.0 billion for certain acquisitions under limited-conditionality terms. At September 30, 2026, total outstanding indebtedness was $37.8 billion, with a current portion of $5.4 billion. Liquidity was $10.6 billion ($8.7 billion of revolver capacity and $1.9 billion of cash), and net leverage was 4.9x annualized Q3 Adjusted EBITDA. The company repurchased 2,969,052 shares for $518.0 million in the nine months, including 1,804,674 shares for $315.1 million in Q3. The quarterly dividend is $1.79 per share, up 5.3% year over year. **Capital spending.** Nine-month total capital expenditures were $1,195.2 million. Discretionary projects accounted for $684.3 million of that, including about $458.6 million on data centers and the construction of 1,083 sites. Separately, the company spent $263.1 million on acquisitions. During the nine months it bought 238 towers that it had leased from AT&T for $204.0 million. Full-year 2026 capex guidance is now $1,765 million to $1,875 million, including about $695 million for data centers and 1,300 to 1,900 new sites. In February the range was $1,795 million to $1,905 million. **Guidance.** On October 27, 2026 management raised its full-year outlook, which the CEO called the third raise of the year (accession 0001053507-26-000154). The new 2026 ranges: - Property revenue: $10,785 million to $10,865 million, 5.0% midpoint growth. The midpoint is up $55 million on data center outperformance. - Adjusted EBITDA: $7,248 million to $7,303 million, 2.0% midpoint growth. The midpoint is unchanged. - Net income: $3,253 million to $3,308 million. The midpoint is down $30 million, mainly because of unrealized equity losses. - AFFO attributable to common stockholders: $5,148 million to $5,203 million. The midpoint is unchanged. - AFFO per share: $11.04 to $11.16, 3.2% midpoint growth. The midpoint is up $0.02, which the company attributes to capital allocation. By segment, the outlook implies midpoint property revenue growth of (3.0)% for U.S. & Canada, 11.0% for Latin America, 16.2% for Africa & APAC, 10.4% for Europe and 16.1% for Data Centers. Organic tenant billings growth is expected to be about 1% for the whole property business: about 0.5% in U.S. & Canada, about (3)% in Latin America, about 8.5% in Africa & APAC and about 4% in Europe. Lower straight-line revenue reduces property revenue growth by about 2 percentage points and U.S. & Canada growth by more than 3 points. The February outlook (accession 0001053507-26-000032) had property revenue at $10,440 million to $10,590 million, Adjusted EBITDA at $7,090 million to $7,160 million, and AFFO per share at $10.78 to $10.95. ## Subsequent events The 10-Q's subsequent-events note and its MD&A report the following developments after September 30, 2026: - **Pending sale of ATC Canada.** A subsidiary, American Towers LLC, has agreed to sell 100% of the company's Canadian operations to DIF Infra 8 Canada Holdco 1 ULC, doing business as Aurora Towers, for about CAD 288 million (about $202 million). The earnings release says the agreement was signed during the third quarter. ATC Canada (226 owned towers at September 30, 2026) is reported in the U.S. & Canada segment. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions. - **Notes repaid.** On October 14, 2026 the company repaid at maturity $1.0 billion of its 3.375% senior notes due 2026, using borrowings under the 2021 Credit Facility and cash on hand. - **Revolver borrowings.** After quarter-end the company drew a net $675.0 million under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility and $965.0 million under the 2021 Credit Facility. - **Larger buyback.** On October 23, 2026 the Board added $2.0 billion to the repurchase program. With the roughly $1.1 billion left at October 20, about $3.1 billion is now available. From October 1 through October 20 the company bought back 416,186 shares for about $67.8 million. - **Dividend paid.** The $1.79 per-share distribution declared September 17 ($831.0 million in total) was paid on October 20, 2026 to holders of record on September 30.