American Tower raises annual forecast on strong demand

American Tower raised its forecasts for full-year 2026 after posting strong first-quarter results, helped by strong leasing ​demand from telecom firms, expanding mobile data consumption ‌and cloud adoption.

US wireless operators are ramping up infrastructure investments to expand network capacity and meet the surging demand for high-speed ​internet services.

“The structural growth drivers of our business ​continue to strengthen, with rising mobile data consumption, ⁠accelerating cloud adoption and the rapid expansion of AI-driven ​workloads all pointing toward sustained investment in high-quality digital infrastructure,” ​said CEO Steve Vondran.

American Tower, which operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure, leases space to wireless service providers, along ​with radio and television broadcasters.

The company posted revenue of $2.74 ​billion for the quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts’ estimate of $2.66 ‌billion, ⁠according to data compiled by LSEG.

American Tower EPS was $1.84, vs estimates of $1.60.

It expects full-year total property revenue between $10.59 billion and $10.74 billion, up from its prior forecast of $10.44 ​billion to $10.59 billion.

The ​company also ⁠expects adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share attributable to its common stockholders between $10.90 to $11.07, ​up from its prior view of $10.78 to $10.95

The major ​customers ⁠of American Tower include telecom giants AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, which together have contributed a significant portion to its ⁠property ​segment in the past.

Revenue from the ​property segment, which includes the core site-leasing business, rose 7.3% to $2.67 billion ​in the quarter. Reuters