Free cash flow
American Tower Free cash flow increased by 12.1% to $951.10M in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric declined by 1.3%, from $963.90M to $951.10M. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows relatively stable performance with a 2.4% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
cf_free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $674.00M | $1.78B | $218.90M | $277.50M | $545.20M | $473.10M | $526.80M | $608.60M | $788.50M | $909.90M | $617.30M | $886.90M | $1.01B | $1.04B | $755.60M | $963.90M | $976.90M | $994.50M | $848.30M | $951.10M |
| QoQ Change | — | +164.5% | -87.7% | +26.8% | +96.5% | -13.2% | +11.4% | +15.5% | +29.6% | +15.4% | -32.2% | +43.7% | +14.3% | +3.1% | -27.7% | +27.6% | +1.3% | +1.8% | -14.7% | +12.1% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -19.1% | -73.5% | +140.7% | +119.3% | +44.6% | +92.3% | +17.2% | +45.7% | +28.5% | +14.8% | +22.4% | +8.7% | -3.6% | -4.8% | +12.3% | -1.3% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is American Tower's free cash flow?
- American Tower (AMT) reported free cash flow of $951.10M in Q1 2026.
- How has American Tower's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- American Tower's free cash flow decreased by 1.3% year-over-year, from $963.90M to $951.10M.
- What is the long-term trend for American Tower's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), American Tower's free cash flow has grown at a 2.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $3.44B to $3.78B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.