American Tower (AMT) Lags on Q4 Earnings, Tops Revenues

American Tower AMT is a real estate investment trust and a leading wireless tower operator. The firm through its subsidiaries owns, operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications real estate.

Notably, American Tower has been aggressively buying towers in emerging markets. We believe the company’s acquisition spree should help drive its top line, going forward. Moreover, American Tower is certain that strength in its tower portfolio will help it double its AFFO per share by 2017. Further, higher adoption of smartphones/tablets, increased deployment of 3G/4G networks, significant margin improvement and dividend hikes also bode well.

On the flip side, the ongoing consolidation trend among telecom and cable TV operators may generate significant financial uncertainty for the company. Moreover, American Tower has a substantially leveraged balance sheet. High customer concentration is likely to affect the company’s top line. Expansion in the global market increases the company’s exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risks. Stiff competition, integration risks and rising operating expenses are other headwinds.

Zacks Rank: American Tower currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:

Earnings: American Tower reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted AFFO per share of $1.59. This figure lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.68.

Revenue: Quarterly total revenues of $1,704.5 million increased 10.7% year over year, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,692.1 million.

Key Stats to Note: In the property segment, the company’s core growth was 10.3% in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Check back later for our full write up on this American Tower earnings report later!

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