American Tower Stock: Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish?
Boston, Massachusetts-based American Tower Corporation (AMT) is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate. With a market cap of approximately $103 billion, American Tower’s operations span the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific.
The real estate giant has significantly outperformed the broader market over the past year. AMT stock has soared 18% over the past 52 weeks and 19.9% on a YTD basis, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 8.6% gains over the past year and 3.8% decline in 2025.
Narrowing the focus, AMT has also outperformed the industry-focused JPMorgan Realty Income ETF’s (JPRE) 11.4% returns over the past year and 1.3% uptick on a YTD basis.
American Tower’s stock prices gained 4.8% after the release of its better-than-expected Q1 results on Apr. 29. The company has benefited from a solid leasing trend that started in 2024 and continued well into Q1, along with sustained demand stretching across its geographically diversified portfolio. The company’s overall topline for the quarter increased 2% year-over-year to $2.6 billion, exceeding the Street’s expectations. Meanwhile, the company’s adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) increased 7.1% year-over-year to $1.3 billion, and its AFFO per share came in at $2.75, surpassing the consensus estimates by 10.4%.
For the current FY 2025, ending in December, analysts expect AMT to deliver a 3.8% year-over-year decline in AFFO per share to $10.14. However, the company has a solid earnings surprise history. American Tower has surpassed the Street’s AFFO estimates in each of the past four quarters.
The stock holds a consensus “Strong Buy” rating overall. Of the 23 analysts covering the AMT stock, opinions include 17 “Strong Buys,” two “Moderate Buys,” and four “Holds.”
This configuration is slightly more bullish than two months ago, when only 16 analysts gave “Strong Buy” recommendations and one analyst suggested a “Moderate Buy” rating.
On May 1, RBC Capital analyst Jonathan Atkin reiterated an “Outperform” rating on AMT, while raising the price target from $240 to $250.
AMT’s mean price target of $245.48 represents an 11.6% premium to current price levels, while its street-high target of $265 suggests a notable 20.5% upside potential.
On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.