What it does
The company states that it is an independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate. Its primary activity is leasing space on communications sites to wireless providers, broadcasters, wireless data providers, government agencies, municipalities and other tenants. The portfolio includes owned and long-term leased towers, distributed antenna system networks, managed rooftop and tower sites, fiber and property interests. The company also operates U.S. data center facilities, leasing space primarily to enterprises, network operators, cloud providers and supporting service providers. Its U.S. services operations provide permitting, structural analysis, construction management and program-management support.
Source: American Tower Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
How it makes money
The company states that revenue is primarily generated from tenant leases, with tenants leasing space on its communications real estate to install and maintain equipment. Rental payments vary based on factors including equipment, site capacity and location. Property operations are the primary source of revenue, while services operations support site leasing and customer deployments. The company reports results across property segments for U.S. & Canada, Africa & APAC, Europe and Latin America, plus Data Centers and Services; the segment table below provides the revenue mix. The filing also describes pass-through revenue in some international markets for costs such as power, fuel and ground rent.
Source: American Tower Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Customers and geography
The filing states that the company’s communications real estate portfolio spans the U.S. & Canada, Africa & APAC, Europe and Latin America, alongside U.S. data center facilities. Customers include wireless service providers, broadcasters, wireless data providers, government agencies, municipalities, enterprises, network operators, cloud providers and supporting service providers. The filing identifies AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless as top tenants in U.S. & Canada; Airtel and MTN in Africa & APAC; Telefónica in Europe; and América Móvil, AT&T, Telefónica and TIM in Latin America. It states that customer concentration exposes the company to related risks.
Source: American Tower Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Competition
The company states that its industry is highly competitive and that new market participants frequently create additional competition. For new business and asset acquisitions, the filing names Crown Castle International Corp., SBA Communications Corporation, Vertical Bridge, Telesites S.A.B. de C.V. and Cellnex Telecom, S.A., among other categories of competitors. It also lists wireless carrier tower consortia, private tower companies, private-equity-sponsored firms, carrier-affiliated tower companies, independent wireless carriers, broadcasters, and owners of alternative structures. The filing says the data center business competes with companies offering similar solutions and services, but does not name those data center competitors.
Source: American Tower Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Key risks
The filing gives prominence to the following risks:
- A significant decrease in leasing demand for communications infrastructure.
- Customer financial difficulties, bankruptcy, reduced or terminated operations, or market exits.
- Leverage, debt service obligations and repurchase activity affecting financing capacity and funds available for distributions.
- Foreign-operation risks, including economic, political and foreign-currency exchange-rate risks.
- Failure to qualify for taxation as a REIT.
- Technology failures, cybersecurity incidents or loss of personally identifiable information.
Source: American Tower Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1A — sec.gov
People and operations
As of December 31, 2025, the company employed 2,388 employees based in the United States. The filing states that its teams operate in more than 20 countries and describes human-capital efforts focused on attracting, developing, engaging and retaining employees. It describes job-specific and general training resources, management development programs, recruiting initiatives and talent-management reviews. The company also states that it requires regular safety training and site-safety protocols depending on an employee’s role, supported by operational manuals, incident reporting and vendor safety-compliance programs. It offers medical and parental-leave benefits to full-time employees across its markets, with local variation.
Source: American Tower Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov