American Tower (AMT) Nareit REITweek: 2026 Investor Conference summary

Strategic positioning and risk management

• Reduced exposure to emerging markets by divesting India and shifting capital investment to developed markets.

• Revenue in key markets now concentrated with top carriers, minimizing churn and uncertainty.

• Achieved lowest leverage and highest credit rating among peers, with less interest rate exposure.

• Core business now considered lower risk, with strong fundamentals and secular growth tailwinds.

• Short-term market noise and interest rate sensitivity have impacted stock performance, but fundamentals remain strong.

Growth drivers and industry trends

• Mobile data consumption in the U.S. grew 35% year-over-year, with network capacity expected to double by 2030.

• AI and 6G are anticipated to further accelerate demand for bandwidth and network upgrades.

• Edge computing is gaining renewed interest, with ongoing experiments and potential for future growth.

• Spectrum auctions and new spectrum identification, especially for 6G, are expected to drive more tower builds and colocations.

• CoreSite data center business is positioned as an interconnection-rich hub, supporting AI and cloud growth.

Satellite technology and complementary opportunities

• Satellite networks are viewed as complementary, not a threat, to tower infrastructure.

• Satellites will enable ubiquitous coverage and new use cases, potentially highlighting areas for new tower builds.

• Satellite-driven roaming could spur additional investment in underserved areas.