US Data Center REITs See Strong Demand as American Tower Raises Guidance

The US Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) sector is demonstrating resilient performance, driven by robust leasing demand for data centers and digital infrastructure, prompting operators to raise full-year guidance. Multiple analyst reports indicate that demand tied to hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence workloads is serving as the primary catalyst for capital expenditure in the space.

American Tower (AMT.US)

American Tower (AMT.US) reported second-quarter total revenue of USD 2.75 billion, a 4.7% increase year-over-year, alongside adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) of USD 2.71 per share, both topping estimates. The company attributed the beat to record leasing activity at its CoreSite data centers. Net income for the quarter surged 133.2% year-over-year to USD 888 million.

According to people familiar with the matter, the company has raised its full-year 2026 forecast for the second time, as sustained leasing momentum in its digital infrastructure platform offsets headwinds from wireless tenant network consolidations. American Tower is targeting to deploy the majority of its discretionary capital in developed markets, prioritizing data center development and new communications tower construction. On the capital allocation front, the company repurchased USD 19 million in stock and finalized USD 82.5 million in asset divestitures in the Philippines and Bangladesh during the quarter. Following the robust data center performance, analysts at firms including BMO Capital and Scotiabank recently upgraded their price targets.

Broad sector capital flows indicate that data center and related REIT assets are drawing significant institutional interest. As AI infrastructure buildouts accelerate, capital is increasingly concentrating in leading operators capable of supporting large-scale computing environments.

This article does not constitute investment advice.