Oct 27, 2026 earnings call — Tower demand and CoreSite data center strength
Company raised full-year outlook, citing data center revenue growth of ~16% and stronger overall momentum.
Revenue $2.8B (est $2.8B) · EPS $1.64 (est $1.64)
Key quotes
"The next phase will increasingly be about adding capacity improving performance, and densifying networks as traffic continues to grow."
"CoreSite delivered another strong quarter. With customer demand and pricing both exceeding our expectations."
"This quarter, we took another meaningful step forward by entering into an agreement to sell our Canada business."
Analyst Q&A 9
US leasing pace and Starlink interest
Q (Batya Levi · UBS): Analyst asked why new leasing stepped down in the quarter, how leasing should pace into year end and 2027, and for an update on engagement with Starlink and how American Tower is positioned to capture it.
A: Management said the step down in new business in Q3 was expected and consistent with their outlook. They expect new business to contribute about 250 basis points to organic tenant billings growth in the US for the year and see a return to more normal levels after 2026 as DISH churn fades and carrier activity increases. They are encouraged by Starlink's public steps and said any large-scale wireless builder would likely call American Tower first.
"For the full year, new business is expected contribute about 250 basis points towards organic tenant billings growth in the US." — Rodney Smith (CFO)
DISH equipment ownership and satellite talks
Q (Ric Prentiss · Raymond James): Analyst asked who owns the DISH equipment on the towers, whether it could interest other players, and if American Tower is talking with other satellite companies beyond Starlink.
A: Management said there is an abandonment order and that American Tower owns the equipment and can provide access to interested parties. They confirmed they are talking to any party with wireless ambitions, including satellite companies, and that CoreSite investments aim for mid teens stabilized yields on incremental capital.
"I will let them speak to what they want to do with that. But we do own it, and we can provide access to that to all interested parties." — Steven O. Vondran (CEO)
Services revenue timing and cross-connects
Q (Cameron McVeigh · Morgan Stanley): Analyst asked for more color on the $15 million EBITDA headwind from services and whether there is a services revenue outlook, and whether the CoreSite cross-connect step-up is lumpiness or AI-driven.
A: Management updated services revenue to about $220 million, saying the pullback is due to timing delays of certain customer projects and that the roughly $15 million EBITDA reduction is tied to that timing. They said interconnection demand is increasing quarter over quarter and that AI is part of the driver, but not the only cause.
"As you see in our outlook, we did update our outlook that reflects now a modest pullback in services revenue down to about $220 million of revenue." — Rodney Smith (CFO)
New leasing math and legal updates
Q (Michael Rollins · Citi): Analyst asked if quarterly new leasing dollars should bounce back, for updates on Mexico litigation with AT&T Mexico and whether AT&T's pending divestiture affects it, and about ranges for DISH mediation outcomes; also asked if the services delay was tied to spectrum approvals.
A: Management said new business is in line with expectations and Q4 new business should be consistent with Q3, in keeping with their original outlook. For AT&T Mexico, they expect revenue reserves to be about $70 million at year end; arbitration on the other matter likely won’t have a ruling until 2027. They said the services delay is a timing change, not a loss of expected business.
"So at the end of this year, we expect revenue reserves regarding AT and T Mexico to be at about $70 million." — Rodney Smith (CFO)
Edge small sites and capital allocation
Q (Nicholas Del Deo · MoffettNathanson): Analyst asked whether customers want much smaller edge deployments versus multi-megawatt edge pods, and whether seller expectations have changed in M&A affecting capital allocation priorities.
A: Management said they see interest across a range of edge sizes, and their Raleigh facility has leased the first megawatt and nearly the second. On M&A, they have not found material opportunities where willing counterparty, regulatory ease, and economics all align, so they remain disciplined and continue to prioritize dividend, internal capex, M&A selectively, debt reduction, and buybacks.
"I am happy to say that the first megawatt leased up already and we are about to go live on the second megawatt, and it is almost completely leased up as well." — Steven O. Vondran (CEO)
LEO build timing and services margins
Q (Michael Funk · BofA): Analyst asked about time required to build a nationwide LEO-terrestrial network using existing equipment versus greenfield, and why services costs didn’t fall more after revenue dropped.
A: Management would not speculate on build timelines and directed timing questions to potential builders, but said American Tower can get customers on air faster and offer end-to-end services. On services margins, they said the mix has shifted with construction management now about half of services revenue, which lowers gross margins versus past levels.
"I would just highlight that we now have construction management runs at about half of our overall services revenue." — Rodney Smith (CFO)
CoreSite pipeline and cross-connect demand
Q (Richard Choe · JPMorgan): Analyst asked about the CoreSite deal pipeline, whether renewal terms are changing, and how interconnection demand is evolving with AI customers.
A: Management said CoreSite demand is higher than ever and gives them flexibility to curate customer mix and optimize yield; mark-to-market gains are on top of annual escalators. They described the pipeline as very robust and said cross-connect demand is exploding because parties need direct connections to move petabytes of data rather than backhauling over the internet.
"When you look at our pipeline, Richard, it is very robust." — Steven O. Vondran (CEO)
Drivers of AFFO growth and DISH equipment rights
Q (Brendan Lynch · Barclays): Analyst asked whether 2026 trough and 2027 AFFO acceleration depend on satellite operator deployments and whether there is any dispute over selling the DISH equipment.
A: Management said their AFFO per-share growth algorithm is intact and does not build satellite deployments into the base case, so satellites would be incremental upside. They clarified they own the DISH equipment and are free to do what they want with it. Their long-term growth assumptions rely on mid single digit tower revenue in developed markets, higher growth in emerging towers, and double-digit CoreSite revenue growth.
"So outside of those items, our global portfolio of assets is really well positioned for that." — Rodney Smith (CFO)
Scaling CoreSite and M&A plans
Q (Eric Luebchow · Wells Fargo): Analyst asked what steps they are evaluating to get the data center business value reflected more in the stock, whether CapEx can ramp further into 2027/2028, and whether inorganic opportunities exist.
A: Management said they have line of sight to almost tripling megawatts under service over time and are exploring new market entries and accelerating near-term builds where entitlements allow. They will evaluate inorganic opportunities as they arise but have nothing material to announce today and intend to keep investing in CoreSite.
"we have line of sight into almost tripling the megawatts under service that we have today over time." — Steven O. Vondran (CEO)