American Tower
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%.
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.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
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.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
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.
- 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
How the value changes with two assumptions
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.
- 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×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| WelltowerWELL | $240.61 | $2.01 | 119.7× |
| Crown CastleCCI | $87.47 | $1.97 | 44.4× |
| Cushman & WakefieldCWK | $11.90 | $0.30 | 39.7× |
| American TowerAMT | $188.28 | $7.28 | 25.9× |
| SBA CommunicationsSBAC | $185.92 | $9.28 | 20.0× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 1,950 | 1,549 | 1,754 | 2,000 | 1,475 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 43,254 | 38,670 | 38,801 | 36,502 | 37,220 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 41,304 | 37,121 | 37,048 | 34,502 | 35,746 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 7.6x | 6.3x | 6.1x | 5.3x | 5.2x |
| Debt to equity | 8.5x | 6.9x | 9.2x | 10.8x | 10.2x |
| Interest coverage | 3.6x | 2.4x | 2.2x | 3.2x | 3.6x |
| Current ratio | 0.4x | 0.4x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.4x |
| Quick ratio | 0.4x | 0.4x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.4x |
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.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 20, 2026 | Teresa Hillary ClarkeDirector | Bought | 43 | $183.20 | $7,864 | Form 4 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | Rajesh KalathurDirector | Bought | 2,829 | $177.00 | $500,733 | Form 4 |
| Jul 29, 2026 | Robert Joseph MeyerSVP & Advisor to the CFO | Sold | 5,000 | $178.89 | $894,450 | Form 4 |
| Jul 29, 2026 | Ruth T DowlingEVP, Chief Admin Ofr, GC & Sec | Sold plan | 1,106 | $174.96 | $193,506 | Form 4 |
| Jul 28, 2026 | Ruth T DowlingEVP, Chief Admin Ofr, GC & Sec | Sold plan | 685 | $169.54 | $116,135 | Form 4 |
| Jul 13, 2026 | Teresa Hillary ClarkeDirector | Bought | 46 | $167.52 | $7,781 | Form 4 |
| Apr 29, 2026 | Ruth T DowlingEVP, Chief Admin Ofr, GC & Sec | Sold plan | 416 | $177.54 | $73,857 | Form 4 |
| Apr 28, 2026 | Ruth T DowlingEVP, Chief Admin Ofr, GC & Sec | Sold plan | 556 | $178.48 | $99,235 | Form 4 |
| Apr 28, 2026 | Teresa Hillary ClarkeDirector | Bought | 44 | $177.08 | $7,703 | Form 4 |
| Mar 10, 2026 | Rajesh KalathurDirector | Bought | 2,671 | $185.30 | $494,936 | Form 4 |
| Mar 4, 2026 | Steven O VondranPresident and CEO, Director | Sold plan | 33,482 | $188.46 | $6.3 million | Form 4 |
| Mar 4, 2026 | Ruth T DowlingEVP, Chief Admin Ofr, GC & Sec | Sold plan | 682 | $188.51 | $128,564 | Form 4 |
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.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Fail | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Fail | Pass | Fail |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Share count didn't rise | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| F-score | 5 of 8 | 6 of 8 | 5 of 8 |
| Accruals ratio | −5.0% | −4.7% | −4.6% |
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
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Tower | FY25 | 5.1% | 45.5% | 35.5% | 9.3% | 5.2x | 5 | |
| Crown Castle | FY25 | −4.4% | 48.7% | — | 8.8% | 8.8x | 5 | Compare |
| SBA Communications | FY25 | 5.1% | 47.7% | 37.9% | 14.4% | 7.7x | 6 | Compare |
| Welltower | FY25 | 35.6% | — | — | 3.0% | 4.1x | — | Compare |
| Cushman & Wakefield | FY25 | 8.9% | 4.4% | 2.9% | 8.8% | 3.6x | 5 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 5,786 | 6,664 | 7,440 | 7,580 | 8,042 | 9,357 | 9,645 | 10,012 | 10,127 | 10,645 |
| Revenue growth | 21.3% | 15.2% | 11.7% | 1.9% | 6.1% | 16.4% | 3.1% | 3.8% | 1.1% | 5.1% |
| Gross profit | 5,758 | 6,629 | 7,391 | 7,537 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 1,853 | 1,998 | 1,905 | 2,688 | 2,888 | 3,132 | 2,739 | 3,126 | 4,516 | 4,846 |
| Net income | 956 | 1,239 | 1,236 | 1,888 | 1,691 | 2,568 | 1,697 | 1,367 | 2,280 | 2,628 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 1.98 | 2.67 | 2.77 | 4.24 | 3.79 | 5.66 | 3.82 | 3.18 | 4.82 | 5.40 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 429 | 432 | 443 | 446 | 446 | 453 | 463 | 467 | 468 | 469 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 2,702 | 2,926 | 3,748 | 3,753 | 3,881 | 4,820 | 3,696 | 4,722 | 5,290 | 5,464 |
| Capital expenditure | 682 | 804 | 913 | 991 | 1,032 | 1,377 | 1,874 | 1,798 | 1,590 | 1,680 |
| Free cash flow | 2,019 | 2,122 | 2,835 | 2,761 | 2,850 | 3,443 | 1,823 | 2,924 | 3,700 | 3,784 |
| Dividends paid | 886 | 1,073 | 1,324 | 1,603 | 1,928 | 2,271 | 2,715 | 3,007 | 3,027 | 3,181 |
| Share buybacks | 0 | 766 | 233 | 20 | 56 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 365 |
| Acquisitions | 1,411 | 2,007 | 1,881 | 2,960 | 3,799 | 19,304 | 549 | 168 | 123 | 454 |
| Stock-based compensation | 90 | 108 | 138 | 111 | 121 | 120 | 169 | 196 | 204 | 174 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 791 | 803 | 1,209 | 1,501 | 1,746 | 1,950 | 1,549 | 1,754 | 2,000 | 1,475 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 18,534 | 20,205 | 21,160 | 24,055 | 29,288 | 43,254 | 38,670 | 38,801 | 36,502 | 37,220 |
| Total assets | 30,879 | 33,214 | 33,010 | 42,802 | 47,234 | 69,888 | 67,194 | 66,028 | 61,077 | 63,190 |
| Total liabilities | 22,812 | 25,260 | 26,106 | 36,215 | 42,453 | 60,818 | 54,786 | 55,162 | 51,429 | 52,835 |
| Shareholders' equity | 6,764 | 6,242 | 5,336 | 5,055 | 4,094 | 5,081 | 5,572 | 4,198 | 3,382 | 3,652 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 99.5% | 99.5% | 99.3% | 99.4% | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating margin | 32.0% | 30.0% | 25.6% | 35.5% | 35.9% | 33.5% | 28.4% | 31.2% | 44.6% | 45.5% |
| Net margin | 16.5% | 18.6% | 16.6% | 24.9% | 21.0% | 27.4% | 17.6% | 13.7% | 22.5% | 24.7% |
| Free cash flow margin | 34.9% | 31.8% | 38.1% | 36.4% | 35.4% | 36.8% | 18.9% | 29.2% | 36.5% | 35.5% |
| Return on capital | 6.6% | 7.7% | 7.3% | 10.0% | 8.9% | 6.9% | 5.2% | 6.0% | 8.8% | 9.3% |
| Return on equity | 14.3% | 19.1% | 21.4% | 36.3% | 37.0% | 56.0% | 31.9% | 28.0% | 60.2% | 74.7% |
| Return on assets | 3.3% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 5.0% | 3.8% | 4.4% | 2.5% | 2.0% | 3.6% | 4.2% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 5.2x | 5.2x | 5.0x | 5.0x | 5.8x | 7.6x | 6.3x | 6.1x | 5.3x | 5.2x |