ATN Q2 2026 Earnings: Tower Sale Drives GAAP Profit as Adjusted EBITDA Rises 9%

ATN International (Nasdaq: ATNI) reported Q2 2026 revenue of $184.5 million, up 2% year over year, while diluted EPS swung to $10.71 from a loss of $0.56. For the quarter ended June 30, the $229.9 million gain from the initial U.S. tower portfolio sale dominated GAAP earnings, while adjusted EBITDA rose 9% as revenue growth and cost efficiencies improved underlying profitability.

Core earnings data

Revenue growth remained modest, with carrier services and demand for fixed and ancillary services offsetting lower fixed consumer revenue related to the loss of a government subsidy and lower construction revenue. Adjusted EBITDA grew faster than sales, and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 1.7 percentage points.

GAAP operating income and EPS are not directly comparable with the prior-year quarter because they include the tower-sale gain. Lower restructuring, reorganization, depreciation and amortization expenses also supported operating income.

Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP measures that exclude items including transaction costs, restructuring expenses, stock-based compensation and gains or losses on asset dispositions.

Business and segment performance

Carrier services supplied the clearest revenue increase, rising about 9% to $36.3 million. Fixed revenue was nearly unchanged as weakness in fixed consumer services offset growth elsewhere, while construction revenue declined materially from a relatively small base.

International Telecom revenue increased to $96.2 million from $94.9 million. Its adjusted EBITDA rose about 7% to $35.5 million, and adjusted margin expanded to 36.9% from 35.1%.

U.S. Telecom revenue increased about 2% to $88.3 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose about 5% to $19.1 million, with margin improving to 21.6% from 21.1%. The Corporate and Other adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to $4.8 million from $5.7 million.

ATN’s high-speed broadband footprint expanded substantially, with homes passed increasing 21% to 523,400, supported by fixed-wireless deployments completed in the second half of 2025. Customer growth was much slower at 1%, reaching 140,900, and the total declined from 143,200 in Q1 2026. That gap makes subscriber conversion on the expanded network an important operating measure.

International mobile subscribers were unchanged at 386,600. Postpaid subscribers increased 5%, while prepaid subscribers declined 1%. Blended mobile churn rose to 3.48% from 3.09% a year earlier.

The tower sale transformed GAAP earnings and leverage, not core growth

ATN completed the initial closing of its southwestern U.S. tower portfolio sale on June 2 and received $267.7 million in cash. The company recorded a $229.9 million gain from the transaction, explaining most of the increase in operating income and the swing to positive EPS.

The distinction between GAAP and adjusted performance is substantial. EBITDA, which still included the disposition effect, was $270.4 million, while adjusted EBITDA was $49.7 million after transaction-related adjustments. The adjusted figure’s 9% growth more closely reflects revenue gains and cost efficiencies in the continuing operations.

The proceeds also changed ATN’s balance sheet. Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash increased to $331.9 million from $117.2 million at the end of 2025, while total debt declined to $513.3 million from $565.2 million. Net debt fell from $448.0 million to $181.4 million, reducing the non-GAAP net debt ratio to 0.91 times from 2.36 times.

ATN may receive up to another $29.6 million through subsequent closings expected over the following ten months. That consideration remains subject to specified construction and operational conditions involving sites deferred from the initial closing.

Cash flow and capital allocation

Net cash provided by operating activities was $53.5 million for the first six months of 2026, down 11% from $59.8 million in the prior-year period. ATN attributed the decrease to operating cash movements related to the tower sale. The sale proceeds themselves were recorded in investing cash flow rather than operating cash flow.

First-half capital expenditures were $38.3 million, net of $27.0 million of reimbursable expenditures, compared with $42.0 million a year earlier. The company’s cash increase therefore primarily reflected the tower transaction rather than higher operating cash generation.

ATN did not repurchase shares during Q2 and had $15 million remaining under its repurchase program as of June 30. On July 31, the board increased the authorization by $15 million, allowing up to $30 million of aggregate repurchases under the program. Separately, ATN paid a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share on July 8, a 5.5% increase from $0.275.

2026 guidance

ATN reaffirmed its previously updated full-year outlook, which reflects the initial closing of the tower sale. Both adjusted EBITDA and net capital spending ranges were unchanged.

The adjusted EBITDA outlook is non-GAAP and excludes potential items such as restructuring charges, transaction expenses and gains or losses on dispositions.

Recent insider transactions

The supplied insider data reports 412,439 shares across 17 purchase-category transactions and 112,351 shares across four sales during the past six months, producing a net increase of 300,088 shares. However, the latest detailed records show that several of those transactions were stock awards rather than open-market purchases, so the categories should not be interpreted as equivalent.

The records show that the recent sales were concentrated in a beneficial owner holding more than 10%, while the other listed transactions were primarily director and executive equity awards. The data do not provide the reasons for the sales.

Risks investors need to watch

• Limited underlying revenue growth: Total revenue rose only 2%, with carrier-service gains offset by the loss of a government subsidy affecting fixed consumer revenue and by lower construction activity.
• Subscriber conversion on the expanded network: High-speed homes passed increased 21%, but customers grew only 1% and declined sequentially. A sustained gap could limit the returns generated by recent network deployments.
• Revenue replacement after the tower sale: ATN must replace revenue associated with sold tower assets through carrier, enterprise and consumer broadband services. Up to $29.6 million of additional sale consideration also remains conditional.
• Cash conversion: First-half operating cash flow declined despite the large GAAP profit because the disposition gain did not represent operating cash generation. Future cash flow should therefore be assessed separately from transaction-driven earnings.
• Mobile customer trends: Total international mobile subscribers were flat, prepaid subscribers declined and blended churn increased year over year, partly offsetting postpaid growth.

Summary

ATN’s Q2 2026 results combined modest revenue growth and improving adjusted margins with a major one-time tower-sale gain that reshaped GAAP earnings and leverage. Carrier services, cost efficiencies and stronger International Telecom profitability supported underlying performance, while fixed consumer revenue, broadband customer conversion and operating cash flow remained areas to monitor. The next tests are maintaining the reaffirmed 2026 outlook, replacing revenue tied to the sold tower assets and converting the expanded broadband footprint into customer growth.