Results January-September 2026: Cellnex more than doubles free cash flow to €474 million in the first nine months of 2026

• Free Cash Flow more than doubled to €474 million, from €186 million in 9M 2025, driven by organic growth, operating efficiencies and lower investment intensity.
• Organic EBITDAaL grew 8.9%, while operating expenses fell 4.4% on a like for like basis despite a larger tower base, expanding the Adjusted EBITDA margin to 84.8%.
• Cellnex remains on track to return €1 billion to shareholders in 2026, bringing cumulative shareholder remuneration in 2025–2026 to approximately €2 billion.
• A new agreement in Poland combines new co-locations, network rationalisation, RAN renewal and a very attractive IRR.

Madrid, 5 November 2026.- Cellnex, the leading operator of telecommunications infrastructure in Europe, delivered strong progress in the first nine months of 2026, combining organic growth, operating efficiencies and lower investment intensity to more than double Free Cash Flow.

The Group is converting growth into cash, advancing towards its leverage target, remunerating shareholders and selectively reinvesting in contracted opportunities that strengthen long-term returns.

Growth with stronger operating leverage

Reported revenues, excluding pass-through, reached €3,008 million, up 2.4% from €2,937 million a year earlier. On an organic like for like basis, revenues grew 4.9%, supported by inflation protection and client demand. Co-location and Build-to-Suit activity contributed €104 million in additional revenue.

The Towers business remained the Group’s largest revenue contributor, with reported revenues of €2,456 million, representing an organic growth of 5.1%.

Net Points of Presence increased 4.1% year-on-year to 187,693. The tenancy ratio rose to 1.65x from 1.62x.

Across the Group’s other business lines, DAS, Small Cells & RANaaS revenues increased 5.2% organically, Fiber, Connectivity & Housing Services grew 8.0%, and Broadcasting increased 0.9%.

Efficiency gains drive margins and cash generation

Cellnex reduced like for like[1] operating expenses by 4.4% (€22 million), even as it operated approximately 2,900 additional towers. As a result, cost per tower fell 3.5% year-on-year. The Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 84.8% from 83.1%, and the EBITDAaL margin increased to 62.9% from 60.7%. On an organic like for like basis, Adjusted EBITDA and EBITDAaL grew 6.5% and 8.9%, respectively.

Growth in investment decreased 22% to €860 million from €1,114 million. This lower investment, combined with organic growth and operating efficiencies, lifted Free Cash Flow to €474 million, up €288 million from €186 million in 9M 2025. The average cost of debt remained at 2.2%, with around 80% of debt at fixed rates. Operating profit increased to €410 million from €353 million.

“Cellnex is demonstrating that it can grow while using less capital and operating its portfolio more efficiently. We are converting organic growth into cash, returning that cash to shareholders and selectively reinvesting where we see contracted opportunities to create attractive long-term returns.” Marco Patuano, CEO of Cellnex.

Recurring Leveraged Free Cash Flow (RLFCF) grew 11.2% organically on a like-for-like basis to €1,390 million. RLFCF per share rose 18.3% to €2.09, up from €1.77, driven by stronger operating performance, an optimized capital structure, tax structure and cost of debt, and share buyback programmes.

Balance sheet and shareholder remuneration

Net financial debt stood at €21,044 million on 30 September 2026, compared with €20,818 million at year-end 2025. The net financial debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA ratio nevertheless improved to 6.13x from 6.28x, supported by EBITDA growth. Cellnex remains on track to reach its 5–6x leverage target in 2027. Available liquidity totalled approximately €5.0 billion, comprising €1.6 billion in cash and €3.4 billion in undrawn committed credit lines.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Cellnex’s ‘BBB-’ long-term issuer rating with a stable outlook, maintaining its investment-grade status. The agency highlighted the Group’s geographically diversified tower portfolio and strong contractual terms, with long-term client agreements providing high revenue visibility.

Shareholder returns continued to grow alongside deleveraging. Cellnex remains on track to deliver €1 billion of shareholder remuneration in 2026: €500 million in dividends, already paid in full, and €500 million in share buybacks. By 30 September 2026, €924 million of the annual target had been delivered, leaving €76 million under the additional buyback programme announced in July. Between 2025 and 2026, Cellnex will have returned approximately €2 billion to shareholders, in excess of 10% of its market capitalisation at the current share price.

Poland: increasing infrastructure sharing and improving portfolio efficiency

Cellnex has reached an agreement with its client Polkomtel in Poland, where it operates two independent and partially overlapping tower portfolios, to increase infrastructure sharing and improve portfolio efficiency. The project combines new co-locations with site relocations to optimise the tenancy ratio and support clients’ coverage, capacity and 5G deployment needs, including RAN renewal.

The project is built on four key elements:

This flagship industrial project is expected to create value for clients, shareholders and Cellnex, while also generating an internal rate of return twice the cost of capital.

The full benefits of the project in Poland will be delivered as the network rationalisation is completed and colocation increases, translating into sustainably higher revenues, EBITDAaL and FCF generation for Cellnex.

“The agreement in Poland applies the same focus on increasing tenancy ratio across our existing portfolio, combining additional co-locations with network rationalisation. The additional investment in the near term serves a clear long-term ambition by unlocking greater value from our assets to capture higher returns and deliver stronger cash conversion.” Marco Patuano, CEO of Cellnex.

Outlook

Cellnex reiterates its 2026 guidance and its 2027 outlook for Revenues (ex-pass-through), Adjusted EBITDA and RLFCF. 2027 FCF guidance is also reiterated on a like-for-like basis, with the only update being the resulting €300 million impact from the investment in Poland and the accelerated delivery of BTS already contemplated under the existing Play programme.

[1]  Like for like basis excludes the contribution of Ireland, French Data Centers and Operation & Maintenance in Spain.

[2]  Does not include the impact of the Poland project in 2027 of €300Mn CAPEX.