Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Total revenue grew nearly 8% year over year, driven by steady consolidated organic growth in the mid-single digits and strong contributions from U.S. services and CoreSite [18][19] - Adjusted EBITDA also grew nearly 8% year over year, complemented by 20 basis points of cash margin expansion [18] - Attributable AFFO per share as adjusted grew approximately 10% year over year, supported by robust EBITDA growth and disciplined management of below-the-line costs [18][20] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Consolidated property revenue grew nearly 6% year over year, with U.S. and Canada property revenue flat year over year but growing approximately 5% when excluding non-cash straight-line revenue and Sprint churn [19][20] - International property revenue grew approximately 12% year over year, and data center property revenue grew over 14%, driven by record retail new leasing and consistent pricing growth [19][20] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Mobile data consumption in the U.S. increased approximately 35% year over year, indicating a strong demand for mobile data and necessitating a doubling of overall network capacity over the next five years [10][11] - Approximately 75% of the company's towers have been upgraded with 5G equipment, with significant growth opportunities remaining as carriers complete their 5G rollouts [12] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company focuses on four strategic priorities: optimizing long-term value creation, maximizing organic growth, expanding margins, and disciplined capital allocation [14][16] - The company is well-positioned to benefit from demand drivers across its tower and data center businesses, with a strong emphasis on operational excellence and cost efficiency [14][16] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed optimism about the industry landscape, highlighting the benefits of carrier consolidation and the increasing demand for mobile data [9][10] - The company raised its full-year outlook across key financial metrics, supported by FX tailwinds, U.S. services outperformance, and net interest benefits [19][21] Other Important Information - The company has executed $28 million in share repurchases since the quarter-end and maintains a strong balance sheet with net leverage below five times [16][25] - The company expects to distribute approximately $3.2 billion to shareholders as a common dividend in 2025, subject to board approval [25] Q&A Session Summary Question: Services revenue performance and deployment expectations - Management noted a healthy pipeline of activity in services, indicating robust carrier activity and a positive outlook for 2026 [33][34] Question: Impact of new spectrum auctions on tower portfolio - Management expressed excitement about new spectrum bands coming to market, emphasizing that towers will be essential for deploying these higher frequency bands [36][37] Question: CoreSite pre-leasing share decline - Management clarified that the decline in pre-leasing was due to transitioning construction projects into service, not a slowdown in demand [41][43] Question: Cost optimization program details - Management highlighted ongoing efforts to improve cost efficiencies, with expectations for incremental improvements rather than a step function change [51][52] Question: EchoStar contract and future contributions - Management confirmed that EchoStar is current on payments and emphasized the importance of defending the contract through 2036 [69][70] Question: Capital allocation strategy - Management reiterated a disciplined approach to capital allocation, prioritizing dividends, internal CapEx, and evaluating M&A opportunities against share buybacks [71][74]

Industry Overview - The Zacks Communication-Network Software industry includes companies providing software solutions for cloud, on-premise, and hybrid environments, as well as communication technology solutions like broadband and VoIP [2] - The industry supports the deployment of 5G and 6G networks and offers solutions for various sectors including telecommunications, technology, and government [2] Current Trends - There is an increased adoption of cloud-based solutions driven by digitalization, leading to higher demand for cloud applications and security solutions [3] - Automation tools are becoming essential as enterprises transition to the cloud, improving performance monitoring and reducing costs [4] - The rapid evolution of 5G and 6G networks is creating growth opportunities due to rising demand for data-intensive applications and reduced latency [5] Performance Metrics - The Zacks Communication-Network Software industry has outperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite and its sector, appreciating 23% over the past year compared to 10.6% for the Zacks Computer and Technology sector and 11.6% for the S&P 500 [9] - The industry is currently trading at an EV/Sales ratio of 2.68X, lower than the S&P 500's 5.19X and the sector's 7.08X, indicating potential valuation opportunities [12] Notable Companies - A10 Networks (Zacks Rank 2) is a leading provider of security and infrastructure solutions, benefiting from strong demand in AI-related data centers and expected to see significant security revenue growth by 2025 [16][17] - Ondas (Zacks Rank 3) provides private wireless and drone solutions, with a strong order backlog of $16.8 million and projected revenues of at least $25 million for 2025 [19][20]