American Tower Q2 AFFO Meets Estimates, Revenues Beat, '26 View Up

American Tower Corporation AMT reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share of $2.71, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The metric increased 4.2% from the year-ago quarter.Total revenues rose 4.7% year over year to $2.75 billion, surpassing the consensus mark by 1.4%. Results benefited from higher property revenues, robust global leasing activity and continued data center growth.In response to the above results, AMT shares were trading close to 6% higher in the early hours of today’s market session.AMT’s Property Portfolio Drives Revenue GrowthTotal property revenues increased 6.3% year over year to $2.69 billion. Property operations remained the company’s primary growth engine, supported by tower leasing demand and expansion across its data center platform.Total tenant billings grew 2.4%, while organic tenant billings rose by $34 million. Property gross margin expanded 4.9% to $1.98 billion, with the property gross margin standing at 73.7%.American Tower Benefits From Data Center DemandData center revenues increased 13.4% year over year to $297 million. Cash revenues jumped 12.3%, reflecting healthy customer demand and strong leasing activity at CoreSite.Management highlighted record leasing activity in the business. The company now expects data center property revenue growth of 14.9% at the midpoint of its updated 2026 outlook, indicating faster growth than anticipated earlier in the year.AMT Posts Broad Regional Leasing TrendsOrganic tenant billings growth, excluding the impact of DISH churn, was approximately 4% globally. Africa & APAC delivered a 10.6% rise, while Europe recorded an increase of 4.1%.U.S. & Canada organic tenant billings grew 0.7% on a reported basis but were approximately 5% when excluding DISH churn. Latin America declined 2.4%, reflecting softer tenant billing trends in the region.AMT Generates Strong Cash FlowCash provided by operating activities increased 16% year over year to $1.49 billion. After total cash capital expenditures of $329 million, free cash flow climbed 19.6% to $1.16 billion.The company declared a quarterly distribution of $1.79 per share, up 5.3% from the prior-year period. It also repurchased approximately 0.1 million shares for about $19 million during the quarter.American Tower Maintains Financial FlexibilityAmerican Tower ended June with net debt of $35.43 billion, resulting in a net leverage ratio of 4.9 times annualized adjusted EBITDA.Total liquidity stood at approximately $9.9 billion. This included nearly $1.8 billion in cash and roughly $8.2 billion available under revolving credit facilities, net of outstanding letters of credit.AMT Raises Its 2026 OutlookAmerican Tower raised the midpoint of its full-year property revenue outlook by $110 million. Property revenues are now projected between $10.70 billion and $10.85 billion, implying 4.5% growth at the midpoint. AFFO per share is projected between $11 and $11.17. The Zacks consensus estimate is pinned at $10.97, which lies below the projected range.The updated outlook reflects favorable currency movements, data center outperformance and one-time expense benefits. The company also expects approximately 1% organic tenant billings growth, or roughly 4%, excluding DISH churn, along with about 15% data center revenue growth.AMT’s Zacks RankAmerican Tower 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 QuotePerformance of Other REITsDigital Realty Trust DLR reported second-quarter 2026 core FFO per share, excluding net promote, of $2.13, up 13.9% from a year ago. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.6%. Strong bookings, a record backlog and sharp renewal rent increases supported the quarter.Prologis PLD reported second-quarter 2026 core FFO per share of $1.63, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53. Results reflected strengthening demand, disciplined execution and expanding capabilities across logistics, data centers and energy.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. Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment Research