American Tower Corporation (AMT) is pointing to a cluster of converging trends that its leadership believes will sustain demand for wireless infrastructure well into the next decade.
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, President and Chief Executive Officer Steven Vondran identified four key catalysts driving the business: densification, 6G, spectrum availability, and AI.
The current phase of carrier network deployment is shifting decisively toward capacity rather than coverage, giving American Tower a reliable near-term source of organic growth.
Vondran described 5G densification as the company’s first strategic priority for 2026, as carriers continue augmenting their networks to handle surging data traffic.
AI is already generating measurable demand inside American Tower’s CoreSite business, which Vondran framed as an interconnection hub rather than simply a data center operator.
The CoreSite customer mix spans clouds, networks, and enterprises, and the rise of AI inferencing has elevated the importance of multi-cloud and multi-inferencing environments where enterprises connect directly to multiple tools.
Vondran said CoreSite has increased capacity by about 1.5 times since American Tower acquired the business, and more capacity is currently under construction than at any previous point in its history.
Demand is exceeding what CoreSite can currently serve, Vondran noted, adding that interconnection revenue is experiencing record growth as enterprises seek faster and more flexible connectivity.
On domestic leasing, Vondran said 2026 organic tenant billings growth is approximately 4.5% after normalizing for Dish-related churn, including roughly 2.5% from new leases and amendments, a rate also seen in 2025.
He declined to offer 2027 guidance ahead of the company’s planned February outlook, describing the current leasing environment as consistent with a normal investment cycle.
Internationally, American Tower is working to reduce exposure to emerging markets after its portfolio became too heavily weighted in that direction, having already divested assets in the Philippines and Bangladesh.
Vondran said there is no requirement to sell additional assets, and the company will weigh whether further sales create greater value than retaining those assets and harvesting their cash flow.
CoreSite is growing at a double-digit rate and is expected to become a larger contributor to attributable AFFO as AI and cloud connectivity demand continues to intensify.
Europe is growing faster than the United States based on American Tower’s current portfolio and cycle, while Africa has been delivering high-single-digit to double-digit growth and Latin America is recovering.
American Tower is still awaiting resolution of an arbitration with AT&T Mexico over rent increase calculations under its contracts, with a decision potentially arriving by year-end or spilling into next year.
