American Tower Earnings: Very Good Performance Driven by Impressive Leasing Growth in the U.S.

American Tower’s business was generally strong throughout the globe in the first quarter, but performance in the U.S. was the standout, especially considering U.S. carriers generally pulled back a bit on network spending. In all, American Tower posted its best consolidated organic tower billings growth since 2017 and continued to expand margins. Management’s commentary and guidance indicates the first quarter will likely be the high-water mark for the year in terms of billings growth. Still, we think American Tower is in a great long-term position, and it remains our favorite U.S. tower stock as we raise our fair value estimate to $225 from $220.