The Filing Desk

American Tower

AMT · NYSE · Real Estate · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

AMT · Last close · October 26, 2026
$188.28
Value American Tower yourself

American Tower's revenue rose 5.1% to $10.6 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 45.5%, up from 44.6% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $3.8 billion, up 2.2%. It paid out $3.5 billion in dividends and buybacks, 94% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 0.1%.

AMERICAN TOWER CORP /MA/ Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 24, 2026 · 0001053507-26-000035 Updated
Revenue
$10.6B
5.1%
Operating margin
45.5%
0.9 pts
Net income
$2.6B
15.3%
Free cash flow
$3.8B
2.2%
Return on capital
9.3%
0.4 pts
Market cap
$87.8B
Oct 26 close
P/E
25.9x
On $7.28 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

About these figures. American Tower's 2020 10-K tags US$2 million as its 2019 long-term debt, so from 2018 debt is its total long-term obligations (debt and finance leases) as its balance sheet shows them.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

Revenue and margins

Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Margins
Percent of revenue
GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 11.8% a year and net income 11.9% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 9% and diluted each share's earnings.

Net income
US$ billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.
Diluted earnings per share
US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity
Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.
Return on capitalReturn on equity

Cash flow

Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.

Payouts and share count

Dividends and buybacks
US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year
DividendsShare buybacks
Diluted share count
Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Valuation

Two ways to value American Tower yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from American Tower's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from American Tower's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $3.8B, net cash of −$35.7B at December 31, 2025 and 469 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to American Tower: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 3.3% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 9% for a business of moderate risk (Telecom Tower REITs); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

From the filings
Cash from operations minus capital spending in fiscal 2025.
Cash and short-term investments minus debt and finance leases at December 31, 2025. Negative means net debt.
Weighted-average diluted shares in fiscal 2025.
Your assumptions
Start from
Fitted to American Tower's own revenue growth, as above. Cautious: growth of 1.5% then 2% a year, 2% after year 10, a 10% discount rate. Base: growth of 3.5% then 3% a year, 2.5% after year 10, a 9% discount rate. Optimistic: growth of 5.5% then 4% a year, 3% after year 10, a 8% discount rate.
Long-run growth forever after year 10. Usually close to inflation, and always below the discount rate.
The yearly return an investor wants for the risk. A higher rate gives a lower value.
Value per share on these assumptions
—
—
Last close, October 26, 2026
$188.28
Value on these assumptions, against the last close
—

Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
—
Everything after year 10, valued today
—
Plus net cash
—
Share of value from after year 10
—
Projected free cash flow
US$ billions. Each column is one year's projected free cash flow, split into what it is worth today and the part removed by discounting.
Value todayRemoved by discounting

How the value changes with two assumptions

Value per share in US$, with the growth rates above. The highlighted cell matches the current assumptions.
How the model works. Free cash flow grows at the first rate for five years and the second rate for five more, and each year is discounted at the discount rate. Everything after year 10 is valued as year-10 cash flow × (1 + growth after year 10) ÷ (discount rate − growth after year 10), discounted back ten years. Net cash is added and the total is divided by diluted shares. The result depends entirely on the assumptions. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation. The last close is the consolidated US closing price, from Databento.

Price-to-earnings (P/E) method

Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from American Tower's earnings per share of $7.28 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 28.1×, the middle of American Tower's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (the Real Estate median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 10%, 9% and 8%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

Diluted earnings per share over the four quarters to June 30, 2026, from the 10-Qs and 10-K.
P/E today is the last close divided by the latest earnings per share, the four quarters' where available. Peers: Crown Castle, SBA Communications, Welltower, Cushman & Wakefield.
Starts at American Tower's revenue growth over the last 3 years, 3.3% a year, as the base scenario does.
Earnings per share in the years ahead, US$
Type your own estimate for any year; the years after it carry on at the growth rate.
Apply the multiple to earnings
A multiple on a future year's earnings gives the price then, brought back to today at the discount rate below.
The yearly return an investor wants for the risk, as in the cash flow model.
Value per share today at this multiple
—
—
Last close, October 26, 2026
$188.28
Value at this multiple, against the last close
—
American Tower's P/E at the last close
25.9×
CompanyLast closeEarnings per shareP/E today
WelltowerWELL$240.61$2.01119.7×
Crown CastleCCI$87.47$1.9744.4×
Cushman & WakefieldCWK$11.90$0.3039.7×
American TowerAMT$188.28$7.2825.9×
SBA CommunicationsSBAC$185.92$9.2820.0×
How the P/E method works. Value per share is earnings per share times the multiple. On a future year's earnings, that gives the price in that year, which is brought back to today at the discount rate: price ÷ (1 + discount rate) for each year ahead. It is quick and easy to compare across companies, but it ignores debt and cash, and earnings can swing with one-off gains and charges, so a multiple says most about steady, profitable businesses. Like the cash flow model, the result depends entirely on the assumptions you choose. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation.

Balance sheet

Fiscal year endFY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Cash and short-term investments1,9501,5491,7542,0001,475
Debt incl. finance leases43,25438,67038,80136,50237,220
Net debt (negative means net cash)41,30437,12137,04834,50235,746
Net debt to EBITDA7.6x6.3x6.1x5.3x5.2x
Debt to equity8.5x6.9x9.2x10.8x10.2x
Interest coverage3.6x2.4x2.2x3.2x3.6x
Current ratio0.4x0.4x0.5x0.5x0.4x
Quick ratio0.4x0.4x0.5x0.5x0.4x
US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 3 insiders bought $2.0 million of American Tower shares on the open market, and 5 insiders sold $23.2 million, $21.5 million of it under trading plans set up in advance.

DateInsiderTradeSharesPriceValueFiling
Oct 20, 2026Teresa Hillary ClarkeDirectorBought43$183.20$7,864Form 4
Aug 21, 2026Rajesh KalathurDirectorBought2,829$177.00$500,733Form 4
Jul 29, 2026Robert Joseph MeyerSVP & Advisor to the CFOSold5,000$178.89$894,450Form 4
Jul 29, 2026Ruth T DowlingEVP, Chief Admin Ofr, GC & SecSold plan1,106$174.96$193,506Form 4
Jul 28, 2026Ruth T DowlingEVP, Chief Admin Ofr, GC & SecSold plan685$169.54$116,135Form 4
Jul 13, 2026Teresa Hillary ClarkeDirectorBought46$167.52$7,781Form 4
Apr 29, 2026Ruth T DowlingEVP, Chief Admin Ofr, GC & SecSold plan416$177.54$73,857Form 4
Apr 28, 2026Ruth T DowlingEVP, Chief Admin Ofr, GC & SecSold plan556$178.48$99,235Form 4
Apr 28, 2026Teresa Hillary ClarkeDirectorBought44$177.08$7,703Form 4
Mar 10, 2026Rajesh KalathurDirectorBought2,671$185.30$494,936Form 4
Mar 4, 2026Steven O VondranPresident and CEO, DirectorSold plan33,482$188.46$6.3 millionForm 4
Mar 4, 2026Ruth T DowlingEVP, Chief Admin Ofr, GC & SecSold plan682$188.51$128,564Form 4
The latest 12 of 18 trades. Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Piotroski F-score

The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

TestFY23FY24FY25
Net income is positivePassPassPass
Cash from operations is positivePassPassPass
Return on assets roseFailPassPass
Cash from operations exceeds net incomePassPassPass
Debt fell relative to assetsFailPassFail
Current ratio rosePassFailFail
Share count didn't riseFailFailFail
Gross margin rose———
Revenue rose relative to assetsPassPassPass
F-score5 of 86 of 85 of 8
Accruals ratio−5.0%−4.7%−4.6%
The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.

Compare

Put American Tower side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

CompanyYearRevenue growthOperating marginFree cash flow marginReturn on capitalNet debt to EBITDAF-scoreCompare
American TowerFY255.1%45.5%35.5%9.3%5.2x5
Crown CastleFY25−4.4%48.7%—8.8%8.8x5Compare
SBA CommunicationsFY255.1%47.7%37.9%14.4%7.7x6Compare
WelltowerFY2535.6%——3.0%4.1x—Compare
Cushman & WakefieldFY258.9%4.4%2.9%8.8%3.6x5Compare
Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score above.

10 years of figures

Fiscal yearFY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Income statement
Revenue5,7866,6647,4407,5808,0429,3579,64510,01210,12710,645
Revenue growth21.3%15.2%11.7%1.9%6.1%16.4%3.1%3.8%1.1%5.1%
Gross profit5,7586,6297,3917,537——————
Research and development——————————
Operating income1,8531,9981,9052,6882,8883,1322,7393,1264,5164,846
Net income9561,2391,2361,8881,6912,5681,6971,3672,2802,628
Diluted EPS (US$)1.982.672.774.243.795.663.823.184.825.40
Diluted shares (millions)429432443446446453463467468469
Cash flow
Cash from operations2,7022,9263,7483,7533,8814,8203,6964,7225,2905,464
Capital expenditure6828049139911,0321,3771,8741,7981,5901,680
Free cash flow2,0192,1222,8352,7612,8503,4431,8232,9243,7003,784
Dividends paid8861,0731,3241,6031,9282,2712,7153,0073,0273,181
Share buybacks0766233205601900365
Acquisitions1,4112,0071,8812,9603,79919,304549168123454
Stock-based compensation90108138111121120169196204174
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments7918031,2091,5011,7461,9501,5491,7542,0001,475
Debt incl. finance leases18,53420,20521,16024,05529,28843,25438,67038,80136,50237,220
Total assets30,87933,21433,01042,80247,23469,88867,19466,02861,07763,190
Total liabilities22,81225,26026,10636,21542,45360,81854,78655,16251,42952,835
Shareholders' equity6,7646,2425,3365,0554,0945,0815,5724,1983,3823,652
Margins and ratios
Gross margin99.5%99.5%99.3%99.4%——————
Operating margin32.0%30.0%25.6%35.5%35.9%33.5%28.4%31.2%44.6%45.5%
Net margin16.5%18.6%16.6%24.9%21.0%27.4%17.6%13.7%22.5%24.7%
Free cash flow margin34.9%31.8%38.1%36.4%35.4%36.8%18.9%29.2%36.5%35.5%
Return on capital6.6%7.7%7.3%10.0%8.9%6.9%5.2%6.0%8.8%9.3%
Return on equity14.3%19.1%21.4%36.3%37.0%56.0%31.9%28.0%60.2%74.7%
Return on assets3.3%3.9%3.7%5.0%3.8%4.4%2.5%2.0%3.6%4.2%
Net debt to EBITDA5.2x5.2x5.0x5.0x5.8x7.6x6.3x6.1x5.3x5.2x
US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)
Source: American Tower's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with American Tower.