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American Tower (AMT) Q3 AFFO Tops Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y

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American Tower Corporation (AMT - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2020 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share of $2.23, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.08. Further, the reported figure improved 15.5% year over year.

The company generated total revenues of $2.01 billion, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.97 billion. Moreover, the figure improved 3% year over year.

The company witnessed strong organic tenant billing growth. Moreover, robust revenue growth in the Africa and Europe property segments supported top-line improvement.

Quarter in Detail

Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter was $1.29 billion, up 5.6% from the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 64.5% in the third quarter of 2020. Operating income was $785.1 million, up 7.8% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

During the third quarter, the company spent around $101 million to acquire 305 communication sites primarily in international markets.

Cash Flow and Liquidity

In the third quarter of 2020, American Tower generated $960 million of cash from operating activities, rising 2.5% year over year. Free cash flow during the period was $710 million, up 7.5% year over year.

At the end of the third quarter, the company had $6.7 billion of total liquidity. This comprised $1.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and availability of $5.1 billion under its revolving credit facilities (net of any outstanding letters of credit).

Property Segment

Quarterly revenues grossed $1.99 billion, up 3.4% year over year. Operating profit was $1.33 billion and operating profit margin was 67% during third-quarter 2020.

In the Property segment, revenues from the United States totaled $1,122 million, up 2.4% year over year. Further, total international revenues amounted to $885 million, up 4.8% year over year.

Within this, revenues from Asia totaled $305 million, declining 2.3 % year over year, while Latin America revenues totaled $301 million, down 9.1% year over year. Africa revenues grossed $220 million, up 48.4% year over year, while Europe revenues of $39 million improved 16.2% from the year-ago period.

Services Segment

Quarterly revenues totaled $25.3 million, down 20.9% year over year. Operating profit was $11 million and operating profit margin was 43% during the September-end quarter.

Outlook

For 2020, American Tower anticipates property revenues of $7,855-$7,915 million, reflecting a year-over-year improvement of 5.6% at the mid-point. Adjusted EBITDA is projected at $5,075-$5,125 million, indicating a mid-point increase of 7.5% from the prior year. Consolidated AFFO is estimated to be $3,720-$3,770 million, suggesting a year-over-year mid-point expansion of 6.4%.

Currently, American Tower carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

American Tower Corporation REIT Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

American Tower Corporation REIT Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise


American Tower Corporation REIT price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart
| American Tower Corporation REIT Quote

We now look forward to the earnings releases of other REITs like Lexington Realty Trust (LXP - Free Report) , National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSA - Free Report) and Ventas, Inc. (VTR - Free Report) . While Lexington Realty and National Storage Affiliates are slated to report third-quarter earnings on Nov 5, Ventas will release earnings on Nov 6.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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