American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.79 EPS

Posted by Patrick Bannon on Feb 24th, 2026

American Tower (NYSE:AMT – Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The real estate investment trust reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.54 by ($0.79), Zacks reports. American Tower had a return on equity of 28.79% and a net margin of 28.11%.The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. American Tower updated its FY 2026 guidance to 10.780-10.950 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from American Tower’s conference call:

Delivered strong 2025 results — attributable AFFO per share as adjusted rose about 8% for the full year and over 13% in Q4, supported by robust leasing and CoreSite data center revenue growth (~14%).
DISH default — DISH has defaulted on payments, the company removed 100% of DISH revenue from 2026 organic growth (DISH ≈ 4% of U.S. revenue, roughly ~$200M/year through ~2035), and American Tower is pursuing litigation with any recoveries treated as upside to guidance.
2026 outlook — management guides consolidated Organic Tenant Billings Growth of ~1% (≈4% excluding DISH), property revenue ~3% (≈5% cash FX neutral excl. DISH), and attributable AFFO per share growth ~1% (≈5% normalized excluding DISH, FX, and refinancing impacts).
Efficiency and margin targets — the company expects to expand tower cash EBITDA margins by ~200–300 basis points over the next five years through land optimization, unified sourcing, standardized maintenance, tech consolidation, and early AI initiatives.
Capital allocation and balance sheet flexibility — leverage is back in target range at 4.9x; the board plans a ~5% dividend increase, the company repurchased $365M in Q4 2025 (+$53M YTD 2026) and has ~ $1.6B of buyback authorization remaining while prioritizing ~ $1.8B of discretionary CapEx into developed markets and CoreSite.

American Tower Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AMT opened at $190.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $89.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.93. American Tower has a 12 month low of $166.88 and a 12 month high of $234.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $178.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on American Tower from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $254.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.79.

Read Our Latest Report on AMT

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total value of $159,631,314.75. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 211,379 shares in the company, valued at $14,743,685.25. This represents a 91.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting American Tower

Here are the key news stories impacting American Tower this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — AMT reported AFFO/FFO of $2.63 and revenue of $2.74B, topping estimates and showing ~7.5% revenue growth year‑over‑year, which supports durable cash flow expectations. American Tower Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
Positive Sentiment: Data-center and leasing demand — Management emphasized robust leasing across towers and growing demand in its data‑center platform as key growth drivers that should help offset softness in specific customers. American Tower posts upbeat revenue on strong leasing activity amid 5G, data-center growth
Positive Sentiment: FY2026 guidance range raised — AMT provided a FY2026 EPS range (10.780–10.950) that sits above some prior Street expectations, which investors may view as a signal of underlying franchise strength (management still noted headwinds). American Tower Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary — Some analysts see AMT as positioned to outperform peers (e.g., Crown Castle) because of its data‑center push and international footprint; this is opinion‑driven and may influence relative valuation discussions. American Tower Poised To Outperform Crown Castle
Negative Sentiment: DISH lease default — DISH has defaulted on lease payments to AMT; the company is pursuing legal remedies and has revised its 2026 outlook to reflect lost DISH lease revenue on the U.S. tower portfolio, creating near‑term revenue and cash‑flow uncertainty. American Tower Weighs DISH Default Against Data Center Growth And Valuation
Negative Sentiment: Execution & leverage risk — Management is leaning on cost efficiencies and data‑center expansion to offset DISH headwinds, but AMT’s relatively high debt‑to‑equity (~3.24) increases sensitivity to cash‑flow disruption and could pressure the stock if disputes persist. American Tower Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results

About American Tower

(Get Free Report)

American Tower (NYSE: AMT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure. The company’s core business is leasing space on communications sites — including towers, rooftops and other structures — to wireless carriers, broadcasters, government agencies and enterprise customers. Its business model centers on long-term site leases and contracts that provide recurring revenue tied to the footprint and density of wireless networks.

Beyond traditional tower assets, American Tower offers a range of infrastructure and network services to support mobile, broadband and broadcast connectivity.