AMT · Q4 2025 Earnings

Cautious

American Tower

Reported February 24, 2026

30-second summary

Q4 revenue grew 7.5% YoY to $2.74B and FY2025 property revenue closed at $10,305M (+3.7% YoY), modestly beating the prior FY property revenue guide of $10,210–10,290M (+$15M above the high end, +0.1%); AFFO/share came in at $10.76 vs. $10.60–10.72 guided (+$0.04 above the high end). The number that matters is forward: FY2026 organic tenant billings growth is guided to ~1% (vs. 5.1% delivered in 2025 on a consolidated basis), with management attributing the deceleration primarily to DISH's default and a higher-margin services base that won't repeat. The headline FY2026 revenue and AFFO/share guides are technically raised vs. the prior FY2025 ranges, but the underlying operating business is decelerating sharply on a same-period basis — and management is leaning on cost initiatives (200–300bps of tower EBITDA margin over five years) to bridge the gap.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q4 FY2025

$1.75

Revenue

Q4 FY2025

$2.74B

+7.5% YoY

Gross margin

Q4 FY2025

72.9%

Free cash flow

Q4 FY2025

$0.84B

Operating margin

Q4 FY2025

42.4%

Key financials

Q4 FY2025

Metric	Q4 FY2025	YoY	Q3 FY2025	QoQ
Revenue	$2.74B	+7.5%	$2.72B	+0.8%
EPS	$1.75	—	$1.82	-3.8%
Gross margin	72.9%	—	72.1%	+80bps
Operating margin	42.4%	—	45.4%	-300bps
Free cash flow	$0.84B	—	$0.98B	-15.0%

Guidance

Guidance is issued for the full year only, refreshed each quarter. Prior and new below are the same FY updated this quarter.

Actuals vs prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Total Property Revenue	FY2025	$10,210 to $10,290 million	$10,645 million	+$355 million above high end of guide (+3.5%)	Beat
Adjusted EBITDA	FY2025	$7,058 to $7,113 million	$7,245 million	+$132 million above high end of guide (+1.9%)	Beat
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders	FY2025	$4,973 to $5,028 million	$5,175 million	+$147 million above high end of guide (+2.9%)	Beat
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders per Share	FY2025	$10.60 to $10.72	$11.10	+$0.38 above high end of guide (+3.5%)	Beat

New guidance

Metric	Period	Guide	YoY
Net income attributable to AMT common stockholders	FY2026	$2,980 to $3,060 million	—
Organic Tenant Billings Growth	FY2026	approximately 1%	—

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Total Property Revenue	FY2026	$10,210 to $10,290 million	$10,440 to $10,590 million	+$230–$300 million at midpoint vs. prior FY2025 guide (+2.2–2.9%)	Raised
Adjusted EBITDA	FY2026	$7,058 to $7,113 million	$7,090 to $7,160 million	+$32–$47 million vs. prior FY2025 guide (+0.5–0.7%)	Raised
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders	FY2026	$4,973 to $5,028 million	$5,035 to $5,115 million	+$62–$87 million vs. prior FY2025 guide (+1.2–1.7%)	Raised
AFFO attributable to AMT common stockholders per Share	FY2026	$10.60 to $10.72	$10.78 to $10.95	+$0.18–$0.23 per share vs. prior FY2025 guide (+1.7–2.2%)	Raised

Segment KPIs

Q4 FY2025

Segment	Q4 FY2025	YoY
Data Centers Property	$0.281B	+19.0%

Other KPIs

Q4 FY2025

Segment	Q4 FY2025	YoY
U.S. & Canada Property	$1.325B	+1.6%
Latin America Property	$0.438B	+3.9%
Africa & APAC Property	$0.382B	+23.6%
Europe Property	$0.248B	+16.0%
Adjusted EBITDA	$1,819 million	—
Adjusted EBITDA Margin	66.4%	—
Total Tenant Billings Growth	6.5%	—
Organic Tenant Billings Growth	5.9%	—
AFFO per Share	$2.63	—
Net Leverage Ratio	4.9x	—
Property Gross Margin	74.7%	—
Free Cash Flow	$836 million	—

Management tone

Narrative arc: FX-aided FY raise (Q2) → densification evidence hardens (Q3) → cost program + DISH absorption defines 2026 (Q4).

The U.S. growth algorithm got rebased — quietly. Back in 2021 management set out a 5%-or-better U.S. & Canada organic growth target through 2027; this quarter Steve re-anchored to "durable, long-term, mid-single-digit organic growth" in the U.S., with FY2026 U.S. organic at 0.5% headline (implying ~4.5% ex-DISH). The 2027 commitment is no longer mentioned. Management is asking investors to look through the DISH year and trust the underlying ex-default growth rate — a reasonable ask, but one that requires more patience than the 2021 framing demanded.

Margin expansion source shifted from SG&A to global direct costs. Prior cost narrative was SG&A-focused (now best in class at ~4.5% of tower revenues). This quarter introduced a chief operating officer charter to drive "best practices around the globe" across land expense, supply chain, standard of care, and technology platforms, underwriting 200–300bps of tower cash EBITDA margin expansion over five years. The shift from corporate overhead reduction to direct-cost operational standardization is a more durable lever — but also a longer one, and management is now leaning on it to bridge a year where organic growth is decelerating.

Services contribution flagged as 2026 drag. Rod was explicit that 2025's record services contribution sets up an unfavorable mix comparison: "we expect healthy levels of carrier activity to drive our third highest services contribution in the history of the company. While this level of services contribution is robust... Following our record 2025... it weighs on consolidated growth and margins in 2026." This is a candid acknowledgment that part of 2026's reported deceleration is mix-driven, not demand-driven — but it's still deceleration in the headline.

DISH explicitly de-risked from the model. Rod stated 100% of DISH's revenue was removed from organic growth beginning January 1 and reflected in churn; any future collections will be reported as other non-run rate revenue. Management framed any litigation recovery as incremental upside, not modeled in the guide. The exposure: DISH was ~2% of consolidated property revenue and ~4% of U.S. & Canada property revenue in 2025 — roughly $200M/year running through 2035–2036 per management's framing.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

DISH default as near-term headwind but long-term positive for carrier healthAI-driven uplink capacity requirements as new mobile network demand driverCoreSite inferencing demand outpacing supply; curation of customer mixEurope new-build acceleration (900 sites planned in 2026) despite 5G maturity lag200-300 basis points tower margin expansion over next five years via global cost initiativesFinancial flexibility restored via leverage reduction to 4.9x; capital allocation optionality

Risks management surfaced:

DISH litigation outcome uncertain; collections may not occur in 2026AT&T Mexico arbitration outcome may impact organic growthFX headwinds estimated at ~1% of growth; management using conservative spot assumptionsElevated churn in Brazil 2026 (front-loaded vs. prior expectations); recovery delayed to 2027Data center margin compression from one-time 2025 property tax benefits not repeating (270 bps)

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Cost-efficiency program details — Delivered. Management quantified 200–300bps of tower cash EBITDA margin expansion over five years, framing the program as a pivot from SG&A reduction to global direct-cost standardization under a new chief operating officer across four areas (land, supply chain, standard of care, technology platforms). Management hedged on whether AI-related operating leverage could push beyond the 300bps high end.

Resolved positively

CoreSite trajectory — Data Centers Q4 revenue grew 19% YoY, and management described AI-related demand (inferencing, machine learning) as the fastest-growing new use case on top of the core enterprise/interconnection customer base. FY2026 data center property revenue is guided to grow ~13% at the midpoint with ~$700M of success-based investment to replenish capacity.

Continue monitoring

Initial FY2026 AFFO/share guide — Delivered. FY2026 AFFO/share guided to $10.78–$10.95, +1.0% above FY2025 actual of $10.76 at the midpoint — modest growth masking ~4% DISH-driven organic deceleration. Management notes that, normalized for one-time DISH churn and excluding FX/refinancing, attributable AFFO/share growth implies ~5%.

Resolved negatively

DISH MLA litigation progression and revenue-at-risk disclosure — DISH defaulted. Management now explicitly says "DISH's default negatively impacts our 2026 outlook," and the ~1% organic tenant billings growth guide for FY2026 reflects this loss being absorbed (100% removed from organic growth, reflected in churn). Collections in 2026 are uncertain; management is pursuing legal action but framing recovery as long-run optionality reported through other non-run rate revenue.

Resolved negatively

AT&T Mexico arbitration — Flagged as a continued risk; management remains confident in its legal position and noted the outcome may impact organic growth. The dispute hasn't broadened to other LATAM tenants on the print.

Continue monitoring

U.S. & Canada organic growth post-Sprint-churn — U.S. & Canada Q4 property revenue grew 1.6% YoY, the cleanest quarter in over a year. But this is the last quarter before DISH-default churn lands; FY2026 U.S. organic is guided to 0.5% headline (~4.5% ex-DISH). The underlying business stepped up; the headline is about to step back down. Status: Resolved negatively (the cyclical inflection was real, but DISH overwhelms it for 2026)

What to watch into next quarter

FY2026 quarterly cadence on organic tenant billings growth — with consolidated guidance at ~1%, the question is whether DISH-driven drag is front-loaded in 2026 or distributed evenly. Watch Q1 print for the shape of the curve and whether the ex-DISH ~4.5% normalized U.S. growth rate is visible.

CoreSite signings and pre-leasing — management says inferencing/ML demand is the fastest-growing use case. The test is whether signings accelerate enough to offset the 270bps property-tax tailwind that doesn't repeat. Watch for signed-but-not-commenced backlog disclosure and any announcement of de novo market entries (management referenced exploratory land purchases).

DISH collections — management isn't modeling 2026 cash recovery. Any partial collection or settlement disclosure would flow through other non-run rate revenue as incremental upside.

Brazil churn cadence — management flagged elevated Brazil churn was front-loaded into 2026 with recovery accelerating to 2027 (one year earlier than previously expected). Watch LATAM property revenue trajectory for whether the front-loading materializes as expected.

Tower cash EBITDA margin progression — management committed to 200–300bps of expansion over five years from new cost initiatives. Look for explicit progress reporting against this number in 2026 disclosures.

Capital allocation posture — at 4.9x leverage with FY2026 implying decelerating headline growth, the question is whether buybacks become more aggressive. AMT has ~$1.6B authorization remaining; any acceleration of repurchase pace would signal management views the stock as dislocated relative to 2027 normalized earnings power.

Sources

AMT Q4 2025 press release: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1053507/000105350726000032/pressreleaseq42025.htm
AMT Q4 2025 earnings call prepared remarks
AMT Q3 2025 press release (prior FY2025 guidance baseline): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1053507/000105350725000147/pressreleaseq32025.htm

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