MMarketMath

AMT

Fast growerQuality: High (75/100)1 red flag

American Tower · Real Estate · Telecom Tower REITs

$178.39

52w 160.06 – 211.92

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$83.1B

P/E

31.2

P/FCF

21.6

FCF yield

4.6%

ROE

72.0%

Shldr yield

4.3%

div 3.9% + bb 0.4%

What today's price assumes

At $83.1B, the market is pricing in 8.8% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew 10.2% per year — expectations are roughly in line with history.

Simple DCF per-share range: $124 · $194 · $242 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 15.7× across 19 years, AMT would trade near $184/share (25th–75th percentile: $171–$206); it trades at 15.2× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

+3.6%

Rev 5y

+13.6%

Rev 10y

−15.0%

EPS 5y

+7.3%

EPS 10y

+14.4%

FCF 5y

+5.8%

FCF 10y

+10.2%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2007–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2007: $1.5B
2008: $1.6B
2009: $1.7B
2010: $2.0B
2011: $2.4B
2012: $2.9B
2013: $3.4B
2014: $4.1B
2015: $4.8B
2016: $5.8B
2017: $6.7B
2018: $491.3M
2019: $527.2M
2020: $495.7M
2021: $717.2M
2022: $840.7M
2023: $747.3M
2024: $774.6M
2025: $935.9M
$0$2.0B$4.0B$6.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Net income

2007: $56.3M
2008: $347.2M
2009: $246.6M
2010: $372.9M
2011: $396.5M
2012: $637.3M
2013: $551.3M
2014: $824.9M
2015: $685.1M
2016: $956.4M
2017: $1.2B
2018: $1.2B
2019: $1.9B
2020: $1.7B
2021: $2.6B
2022: $1.7B
2023: $1.4B
2024: $2.3B
2025: $2.6B
$0$1.0B$2.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Free cash flow

2007: $538.3M
2008: $529.8M
2009: $591.9M
2010: $674.3M
2011: $642.9M
2012: $846.3M
2013: $874.5M
2014: $1.2B
2015: $1.4B
2016: $2.0B
2017: $2.1B
2018: $2.8B
2019: $2.8B
2020: $2.8B
2021: $3.4B
2022: $1.8B
2023: $2.9B
2024: $3.7B
2025: $3.8B
$0$1.0B$2.0B$3.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2007: 426.1M
2008: 418.4M
2009: 406.9M
2010: 404.1M
2011: 400.2M
2012: 399.3M
2013: 399.1M
2014: 400.1M
2015: 423.0M
2016: 429.3M
2017: 431.7M
2018: 443.0M
2019: 445.5M
2020: 446.1M
2021: 453.3M
2022: 462.8M
2023: 467.2M
2024: 468.1M
2025: 468.8M
0200.0M400.0M
07
11
15
19
23

Margins

0%200%400%600%07101316192225
Net marginFCF marginGross margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2007: $1.6B
2008: $714.7M
2009: $213.3M
2010: $430.6M
2011: $575.2M
2012: $418.3M
2013: $579.7M
2014: $404.6M
2015: $710.9M
2016: $886.1M
2017: $1.8B
2018: $1.6B
2019: $1.6B
2020: $2.0B
2021: $2.3B
2022: $2.7B
2023: $3.0B
2024: $3.0B
2025: $3.5B
$0$1.0B$2.0B$3.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Cash vs long-term debt

$0$20.0B$40.0B07101316192225
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q1'23: $205.7M
Q2'23: $196.2M
Q3'23: $185.7M
Q4'23: $2.5B
Q1'24: $173.0M
Q2'24: $196.4M
Q3'24: $190.4M
Q4'24: $2.5B
Q1'25: $226.0M
Q2'25: $243.7M
Q3'25: $246.4M
Q4'25: $219.8M
Q1'26: $216.1M
$0$1.0B$2.0B
23
23
24
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q1'23: $315.0M
Q2'23: $461.5M
Q3'23: $577.3M
Q4'23: $84.9M
Q1'24: $921.7M
Q2'24: $908.4M
Q3'24: −$780.4M
Q4'24: $1.2B
Q1'25: $498.6M
Q2'25: $380.5M
Q3'25: $912.6M
Q4'25: $836.8M
Q1'26: $878.5M
$0$1.0B
23
23
24
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q1'26$216.1M−4.4%$878.5M+76.2%1.84$1.4B
Q4'25 *$219.8M−91.4%$836.8M−31.9%1.76$1.4B
Q3'25$246.4M+29.4%$912.6M1.82$1.5B
Q2'25$243.7M+24.1%$380.5M−58.1%0.78$1.3B
Q1'25$226.0M+30.6%$498.6M−45.9%1.04$1.3B
Q4'24$2.5B+3.7%$1.2B+1348.3%2.62$1.2B
Q3'24$190.4M+2.5%−$780.4M−235.2%-1.69$1.5B
Q2'24$196.4M+0.1%$908.4M+96.8%1.92$1.3B
Q1'24$173.0M−15.9%$921.7M+192.6%1.96$1.3B
Q4'23$2.5B+1167.3%$84.9M0.18$1.1B
Q3'23$185.7M−15.8%$577.3M−31.2%1.26$1.3B
Q2'23$196.2M−9.6%$461.5M−48.6%1.02$1.2B
Q1'23$205.7M−1.7%$315.0M−55.7%0.72$1.1B

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+3.6%+13.6%−15.0%−4.9%
Operating cash flow+13.9%+7.1%+9.7%+11.8%
Free cash flow+27.6%+5.8%+10.2%+12.2%
EPS (diluted)+12.2%+7.3%+14.4%+12.5%
Equity−13.1%−2.3%−5.8%+0.3%
LT debt−4.5%+3.5%+7.1%+12.9%
Diluted shares+0.4%+1.0%+1.0%+1.0%
Stock price+3.0%−6.5%+7.3%+10.7%

$100, 3 years ago

$109vs $176 in SPY

3.0% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$71vs $181 in SPY

-6.5% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$203vs $412 in SPY

7.3% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$462vs $813 in SPY

10.7% vs 15.0%/yr

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

14.6%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

4.8%

MC vs 10× OCF

1.50

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

8.9y

SBC / FCF

4.6%

Owner earnings

$3.6B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

4.4%

Share count 5y

+0.5%

per year; negative = buybacks

Capital intensity

net PP&E ÷ revenue

Sales efficiency

new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y

Growth engine (5y): reinvested 21.5% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of 30.6% — an organically fundable growth rate of about 6.6% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).

Checklist

17 of 26 checks pass · 65%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

5/7

  • Revenue growth

    13.6% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • EPS growth

    7.3% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • FCF growth

    5.8% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Revenue rises consistently

    6 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    fail
  • FCF consistently positive

    10 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    pass
  • Profitable every year

    10 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    7.1% vs 13.6% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    fail

Profitability

6/6

  • Net margin

    280.9% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    517.8% · ≥ 10%

    pass
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    72.0% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • Cash ROIC

    14.6% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • FCF margin

    404.3% · ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $5.5B vs NI $2.6B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

0/5

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    8.9y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    fail
  • Cash cushion

    4% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    9.26 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    fail
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $3.7B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    fail
  • Interest burden

    28% · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    fail

Capital Allocation

3/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    0.5% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    fail
  • Stock comp restrained

    5% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    pass
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    94% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    pass
  • Repurchases are a habit

    6 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    pass

Valuation Discipline

3/4

  • FCF yield

    4.6% · ≥ 3%

    pass
  • Earnings multiple

    31.2 · P/E ≤ 25

    fail
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    8.8% vs 10.2% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    pass
  • Shareholder yield

    4.3% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    pass

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Heavy debt load

Long-term debt exceeds 5 years of free cash flow.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
20259364,8462,6295.405,4641,6803,7843,1813651741,47533,8333,653469
20247754,5172,2804.825,2911,5903,7013,02702042,00032,8093,382468
20237473,1261,3673.184,7221,7982,9243,00701961,75435,7344,198467
20228412,7391,6973.823,6961,8741,8232,715191691,54938,9025,572463
20217173,1322,5685.664,8201,3773,4432,27101201,95043,4985,081453
20204962,8881,6913.793,8811,0322,8501,928561211,74628,4984,094446
20195272,6881,8884.243,7539912,7611,603201111,50125,055446
20184911,9051,2362.773,7489132,8351,3242331381,20918,4055,336443
20176,6641,9981,2392.672,9268042,1221,07376610980219,4306,242432
20165,7861,8539561.982,7026832,01988609078718,2956,764429
20154,7721,6136851.412,1677291,43871109132117,0696,652423
20144,1001,4878252.002,1359741,16040508031313,6433,954400
20133,3611,2145511.381,5997258754351456829414,4083,534399
20122,8761,1206371.601,41456884635663523698,6933,573399
20112,4449203960.991,166523643138437473307,1343,287400
20101,9857843730.921,0213476740431538845,5123,501404
20091,7246722470.618422505920213612474,1413,315407
20081,5946073470.84773243530715551434,3312,991418
20071,457378560.136931545381,64355333,025426

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.