American Tower rose about 2.5 percent today, its first move higher after a sharp drop yesterday, and it remains about 4 percent below its recent high. We think this is mostly normal movement as the stock stabilizes after a big slide, since there was no new company news today.
Our view
The company is raising its outlook and seeing record demand for its data centers, which is exactly what we want to see. If you already own it, there is nothing to do here but sit tight and collect the dividend.
Bernstein analysts set a target of $214 for the stock, suggesting they see room for it to rise about 24 percent from its current level. This target is slightly higher than the average analyst target of $210 across the market.
For a real estate business like this, analyst targets often reflect how much cash they expect the towers to generate as carriers add more 5G equipment. A target this high suggests confidence that the company can keep growing its rental income even as it moves past its most aggressive building phase.
Wolfe Research upgraded the company to its top rating just a day after setting its first price target. This move suggests the firm has grown more confident in the company's ability to grow its profits faster than other real estate businesses.
Upgrades like this usually happen when analysts see a clear path for the company to raise its rents or sign more tenants to its existing towers. For a long-term owner, it is a sign that professional researchers see the business getting stronger relative to other tower owners.
ProductFor the record
Jul 8
CoreSite report shows shift to hybrid data centers
CoreSite, the data center business owned by American Tower, released a report showing that most large companies now use a hybrid approach to their technology. This means they keep some data on their own servers and some in colocation facilities, which are specialized buildings where companies rent space and power for their computer hardware. While this is a marketing report, it highlights why American Tower bought CoreSite. By owning both cell towers and data centers, the company can offer the full chain of infrastructure needed to move and store data. This helps the business stay relevant as AI and 5G require more computing power to be located closer to where people actually use their phones.
Analysts have steadily upgraded the stock throughout the year, reflecting growing confidence in the company. Most experts, 40 of 50, rate it a buy, and the average target price sits 23% above the current share price.
Average target$209.75+23%vs $171.20 today
TodayAvg price
Low $188High $240
Strong Buy50 analysts
0Bearish
10Neutral
40Bullish
FirmRatingPrice TargetDate
Bernstein
Outperform
$214
7/29/2026
Goldman Sachs
—
$215→$210
7/28/2026
Wolfe Research
Outperform
$188
7/8/2026
Goldman Sachs
Buy
$215
6/26/2026
RBC Capital
Outperform
$205
6/26/2026
Bernstein
Outperform
$207
5/19/2026
Truist Financial
Buy
$205→$208
4/30/2026
Scotiabank
Sector Outperform
$214→$218
4/29/2026
Raymond James
Strong Buy
$229→$240
4/29/2026
Barclays
Equal Weight
$200→$195
4/16/2026
UBS
Buy
$260→$254
1/20/2026
Scotiabank
Sector Outperform
$248→$220
1/14/2026
American Tower earnings
The company has a perfect record of beating analyst estimates over the last two years. Management consistently sets a bar they can clear, making their financial targets very reliable.
Earnings history
EstimateBeatMiss
American Tower past earnings results
Expected
Actual
Surprise
EPS
$1.57
$1.86
+18.5%
Revenue
$2.70B
$2.75B
+1.8%
Key highlights
Profit outlook raised: Management increased the full year forecast for AFFO per share, a key measure of cash available to pay shareholders, to a new range of $11.00 to $11.17. This raise of $0.09 at the midpoint is driven by stronger performance in data centers and favorable shifts in foreign currency exchange rates.
Data center growth accelerating: The data center segment is expected to grow property revenue by 14.9% this year, reaching a midpoint of $1.21 billion. This outperformance is helping offset slower growth in the traditional U.S. and Canada tower business, where revenue is projected to fall by 3.0% due to lower non-cash revenue recognition.
Leverage targets met: The company reduced its net leverage ratio, which compares total debt to annual earnings, to 4.9x this quarter. This brings the figure below the 5.0x target and provides more financial flexibility for future investments in network infrastructure.
International leasing momentum: Organic tenant billings, which measure growth from existing sites, rose 8.5% in Africa and Asia-Pacific and 4% in Europe. These gains helped push total property revenue up 6.3% to $2.69 billion compared to the same period last year.
Portfolio streamlining continues: American Tower completed the sale of its businesses in the Philippines and Bangladesh for a combined $82.5 million this quarter. These divestitures allow the company to exit smaller markets and focus capital on higher-growth regions like Europe and its domestic data center footprint.
Our take: This was a strong quarter that showed the benefit of having a global, diversified portfolio. While the U.S. tower business is working through a slow period, the record demand in data centers is more than filling the gap. We like seeing the company hit its debt reduction goals early while still raising the dividend for its owners.
American Tower’s next earnings date
Q3 2026
OCT
27
Expectation
EPS
$1.63
Revenue
$2.76B
Metrics we are tracking
Metric
Expectations
Status
Organic Tenant Billings
Growing above 5% annually across the total portfolio
1.7% in Q2 2026
AFFO per Share
Consistently reaching $10.00 or higher by 2030
$11.00 to $11.17 expected for FY2026
Net Debt to EBITDA
Falling below 5.0x to improve financial flexibility
