American Tower Corporation AAMT

Morningstar Rating

Stock Research and Analysis

by Imari Love

American Tower remains our favorite of the three publicly traded tower operators, given its superior margins, diversified model, and low leverage.

In an industry where it is difficult to identify sustainable competitive advantages, American Tower has Read more

Bulls Say

American Tower owns 18% of the land on which its towers are built. This percentage increases by about 1% annually and is important since two thirds of annual tower operating costs are land rental fees.

Tenants per tower have grown steadily each year. Given the fact that its tower portfolio has plenty of spare capacity, the firm is not constrained in any way.

American Tower has the longest contracts in the sector, giving them heightened visibility and less operating volatility. Read more

Bears Say

The firm's emerging-markets exposure, while exciting, adds risk and uncertainty to the firm's profile.

Approximately two thirds of revenues are driven from the top four U.S. carriers. A major disruption in spending for one of its top clients could be problematic.

Wireless carrier consolidation could drive network overlapping synergies and hence condense spending. Read more

Strategy

AMT seeks to capitalize on the growth in the use of wireless communication services and the infrastructure requirements necessary to deploy current and future generations of technology. From 2001 to Read more

Management

James Taiclet was appointed CEO in October 2003 and chairman in February 2004 after joining the company in 2001 as COO. His tenure has been marked by the large merger with rival SpectraSite. In addition, Taiclet has improved the balance sheet through Read more

Profile

American Tower is one of the largest independent operators of wireless and broadcast communication sites. The company operates about 26,000 tower sites in the United States, Read more

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