American Tower (AMT) Q3 2026 Earnings Call: Q&A Summary

Q: Batya Levi of UBS asked for color on application volumes and new leasing in the U.S., as well as the level of engagement with Starlink regarding terrestrial wireless networks.

A: Rod Smith (CFO) stated that the new business pace is front-end loaded and down in the second half of the year in line with expectations, contributing about 250 basis points to organic tenant billings growth for the full year. Steven Vondran (CEO) added that rising mobile data usage of about 20% year-over-year will drive carrier investments toward capacity and densification, and noted that American Tower is well positioned as a premier vendor for any new scale entrants like Starlink.

Q: Ric Prentiss of Raymond James asked who owns the DISH equipment sitting on the towers and whether other satellite players are discussing terrestrial strategies with American Tower.

A: Steven Vondran (CEO) stated that American Tower owns the abandoned DISH equipment per bankruptcy order and can provide access to interested parties, while confirming that anyone with wireless ambitions in the space is exploring options and talking to the company.

Q: Ric Prentiss of Raymond James asked about the return on capital for the nearly $700 million spent to increase data center supply.

A: Steven Vondran (CEO) and Rod Smith (CFO) explained that CoreSite's interconnection platform model allows the company to underwrite mid-teens or better stabilized yields on incremental capital, backed by double-digit revenue growth and strong cash mark-to-markets.

Q: Cameron McVeigh of Morgan Stanley asked about the $15 million EBITDA headwind in U.S. services and whether CoreSite cross-connect growth is driven by AI.

A: Rod Smith (CFO) clarified that the services revenue pullback to about $220 million stems from project timing shifts from customers, not organic new business reductions. Steven Vondran (CEO) noted that cross-connect growth is accelerating across multiple ecosystem combinations, including enterprise and AI.

Q: Michael Rollins of Citi asked about domestic leasing math relative to first half run rates and sought updates on the AT&T Mexico litigation and DISH mediation.

A: Rod Smith (CFO) confirmed that full-year new business contributions remain in line with expectations, and noted that $70 million in revenue reserves are expected for AT&T Mexico by year-end. Steven Vondran (CEO) stated that the arbitration ruling is expected in early 2027 and that DISH churn impacts are completely derisked from current projections.

Q: Nick Del Deo of MoffettNathanson asked about customer interest in smaller edge data center deployments and changes in M&A seller expectations.

A: Steven Vondran (CEO) highlighted strong demand for the Raleigh edge facility and smaller deployments. Rod Smith (CFO) reiterated a disciplined capital allocation framework prioritizing dividends, internal capital in developed markets, debt reduction, and opportunistic share repurchases supported by a BBB+ credit rating.

Q: Michael Fund of Bank of America asked about deployment timelines for LEO terrestrial networks and the cost line dynamics in the services business.

A: Steven Vondran (CEO) declined to speculate on external network time lines. Rod Smith (CFO) explained that services gross margins are running north of 40% due to a mix shift toward construction management, which now accounts for about half of overall services revenue.

Q: Richard Choe of JPMorgan asked about deal pipelines and customer requirements for CoreSite data centers.

A: Steven Vondran (CEO) stated that demand is higher than ever, allowing the company to curate customer mix and maintain expectations for double-digit revenue growth driven by direct cross-connect demands.

Q: Brendan Lynch of Barclays asked if the 2027 AFFO per share acceleration depends on satellite operator contributions or if that represents incremental upside.

A: Rod Smith (CFO) stated that projected mid-to-high single-digit AFFO growth is supported by developed market revenue and emerging market growth, with satellite operators representing potential upside.

Q: Eric Luebchow of Wells Fargo asked about strategies to reflect data center value in the stock price and opportunities to ramp CapEx further.

A: Steven Vondran (CEO) stated that the company sees line of sight to nearly tripling CoreSite capacity and continues to evaluate organic market entries and inorganic opportunities where appropriate.