American Tower’s CoreSite Up 17.4% as US Towers Slip 3.3%

American Tower said on 27 October 2026 that revenue in its Data Centers segment, the CoreSite business, rose 17.4% in the third quarter to $313 million, while revenue in its U.S. & Canada tower segment fell 3.3% to $1,275 million. The company raised its full-year property revenue outlook, citing Data Centers outperformance.

Chief executive Steve Vondran pointed to “continued outperformance from CoreSite” and said demand for digital infrastructure keeps expanding “as wireless connectivity, cloud adoption, and AI applications become increasingly critical to the global economy.”

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The Quarter

Total revenue rose 2.5% to $2,785 million and total property revenue 4.5% to $2,734 million, American Tower said. Net income fell 14.4% to $781 million, and adjusted EBITDA rose 0.9% to $1,832 million. AFFO attributable to common stockholders rose 2.4% to $1,335 million, or $2.87 a share.

The company said property revenue growth was driven by 1.1% organic tenant billings growth and 16.3% cash revenue growth in Data Centers. It allocated $315 million to share repurchases, and after the quarter its board authorized another $2.0 billion.

Data Centers Against Towers

Data Centers segment revenue was $313 million against $267 million a year earlier, and segment operating profit $165 million against $140 million, according to American Tower’s segment table. The U.S. & Canada segment, which covers towers and other non-data-centre assets, had revenue of $1,275 million against $1,319 million.

In U.S. & Canada, cancellations of $63 million offset colocations and amendments of $25 million and escalations of $38 million in the tenant billings bridge, leaving organic tenant billings flat at $1,275 million, the table shows. The company said U.S. & Canada growth was also affected by lower non-cash straight-line revenue.

Outside the U.S., Africa & APAC revenue rose 15.4% to $428 million, Latin America 10.4% to $460 million and Europe 5.9% to $258 million, the table shows.

The Outlook

American Tower now expects 2026 total property revenue of $10,785 million to $10,865 million. It said that, as a result of Data Centers segment outperformance, it is raising the midpoint of that outlook by $55 million, while the adjusted EBITDA midpoint is unchanged. Data Centers segment property revenue is expected at $1,218 million to $1,228 million, growth of 16.1% at the midpoint, against a 3.0% decline for U.S. & Canada.

Connecting the Coverage

Today we reported that neocloud venture funding hit a record $6.6 billion across 58 deals, and that US investment-grade bonds topped 2020’s record as AI borrows. What’s new: a tower company reports its data centre arm growing about seven times faster than its total revenue, 17.4% against 2.5% by our arithmetic, in its own segment table.

The Structural Read

As we read it, the outlook raise rests on that one segment: American Tower says it is raising its property revenue midpoint by $55 million as a result of Data Centers outperformance.

As we read it, the U.S. tower business was flat before accounting effects: organic tenant billings held at $1,275 million, and the company cites lower non-cash straight-line revenue for the reported decline.

As we read it, the company frames AI as one of several demand trends: its chief executive lists wireless connectivity, cloud adoption and AI applications together.

Three Implications

FOR DATA-CENTRE INVESTORS American Tower expects Data Centers segment property revenue of $1,218 million to $1,228 million in 2026, growth of 16.1% at the midpoint.

FOR TOWER INVESTORS The company expects U.S. & Canada property revenue of $5,085 million to $5,095 million, a 3.0% decline at the midpoint.

FOR SHAREHOLDERS American Tower allocated $315 million to buybacks in the quarter, and its board authorized another $2.0 billion afterwards.

The Business Engineer Lens

This story maps onto the Business Engineer framework The State of AI Data Centers.

The framework opens: “Big Tech’s hyperscalers are racing to build gigawatt-scale AI data centers, with five facilities set to exceed 1GW by 2026, each requiring a nuclear reactor’s worth of power.”

As we read it, CoreSite sits at a different scale, interconnection-focused sites rather than gigawatt campuses, in American Tower’s own words. The framework does not discuss American Tower.

What Is Not Established

American Tower does not say how much of CoreSite’s growth comes from AI customers, as we read it; its chief executive cites AI applications among broad demand trends. Segment detail for Data Centers is in a supplemental package we did not read, and AFFO and adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures the company reconciles in its release.

The Bottom Line

American Tower reported third-quarter Data Centers revenue of $313 million, up 17.4%, on 27 October 2026, against a 3.3% fall in its U.S. & Canada segment, and raised its property revenue outlook on Data Centers outperformance.