American Tower (AMT) Lifts Guidance on AI-Driven Data Center Demand but Is Growth Sustainable?

• American Tower recently reported third-quarter 2025 results that beat expectations, with revenue reaching US$2.72 billion and net income swinging to US$853.3 million, alongside an upward revision of its full-year financial guidance driven by robust data center and AI-related demand.
• Significantly, the company addressed ongoing legal matters with Dish Wireless while highlighting record growth in adjusted funds from operations and continued momentum in both tower and data center leasing activity.
• We'll explore how strong leasing and data center activity fueled by AI demand influences American Tower's current investment narrative.

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What Is American Tower's Investment Narrative?

To see value in American Tower Corporation as a shareholder, you need to believe that the company’s core strengths, its vast portfolio of wireless towers and high-growth data centers, are positioned to benefit from long-term increases in global connectivity, 5G rollouts, and especially the surging demand for AI workloads. The company’s latest Q3 results reinforce that storyline, with a swing back to strong profitability and an upward revision in its full-year guidance. That said, the recent legal disputes (particularly the Dish Wireless contract challenge) have become a bigger short-term risk than previously factored in and could affect revenue visibility if contract payments are interrupted. For now, analysts seem to see this as a contained issue, as American Tower continues to collect payments from associated partners and holds steady on its revenue recognition. The main catalysts remain robust leasing in towers and data centers, supported by recent wins in AI infrastructure. While short-term price declines suggest the legal headlines are weighing on sentiment, the operational momentum and reaffirmed dividend growth story are unchanged for now.
However, the Dish Wireless dispute could still pose a near-term risk if not resolved to American Tower’s favor.

Despite retreating, American Tower's shares might still be trading 36% above their fair value. Discover the potential downside here.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Six individual fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community for American Tower span from US$175 to over US$277 per share. When weighing these diverse opinions, consider that current legal uncertainties could be altering short-term investor confidence regardless of the company’s recent growth run.

Explore 6 other fair value estimates on American Tower - why the stock might be worth as much as 55% more than the current price!

Build Your Own American Tower Narrative

Disagree with this assessment? Create your own narrative in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your American Tower research is our analysis highlighting 5 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free American Tower research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate American Tower's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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