So, American Tower just dropped their numbers for the first quarter of 2025. Honestly, if you just looked at the headlines, you might’ve freaked out a bit. Net income took a massive 46% dive. That sounds like a disaster, right? But the reality is way more boring—and way more stable—than that scary number suggests.
Basically, currency swings and some accounting quirks around "straight-line revenue" made the bottom line look messy. If you peel back those layers, the core business of renting out space for 5G antennas is actually doing great. In fact, management was confident enough to raise their full-year outlook.
The Real Story Behind the Numbers
American Tower earnings April 2025 were released on April 29, and the first thing everyone noticed was the revenue. Total revenue hit $2.56 billion. That's up about 2% from last year. It’s not "get rich quick" growth, but in the world of massive infrastructure, it's steady.
The thing that actually matters for a REIT like this is the Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO). This is basically the "real" cash the company generates. On an "as-adjusted" basis, AFFO per share grew by 6.6% to $2.75.
Why the gap between the net income crash and the AFFO growth?
Foreign exchange.
Specifically, about $346 million in currency losses compared to a gain the previous year. When you operate in dozens of countries, the dollar getting stronger or weaker can make your earnings report look like a roller coaster even if the towers are still standing and the rent is still being paid.
5G is Finally Paying Off in the U.S.
For a long time, people wondered when the 5G "boom" would actually show up in the financials. Well, it’s here.
In the U.S. and Canada, property revenue was around $1.3 billion. That’s about half the company's total property take. Steven Vondran, the CEO, pointed out that services revenue—the money they make helping carriers actually install equipment—hit its highest level since 2021.
Carriers like T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T are deep into "mid-band" deployments. They aren't just putting up one antenna and calling it a day. They are densifying. They're adding more equipment to existing towers to handle the insane amount of data we're all using.
- U.S. Organic Growth: 3.6%
- International Strength: Africa and APAC saw a massive 13.2% organic growth rate.
- The Sprint Shadow: Churn from the old Sprint network is still a drag (about 3%), but it’s finally starting to fade into the background.
The Secret Weapon: CoreSite Data Centers
Most people think of American Tower as just "the cell tower guys." But they bought CoreSite a few years ago, and that move is looking smarter every day.
They just finished buying a multi-tenant data center in Denver (known as DE1) for about $185 million. Data center revenue is growing faster than tower revenue. Why?
AI.
Everyone is talking about it, but AI needs physical places to live. These data centers are becoming the "hubs" where the tower networks connect to the cloud. It's a hybrid play that their competitors don't have in the same way.
Why the Dividend is Back on the Menu
If you’re an income investor, this was the part you probably cared about most. The company declared a $1.70 per share dividend for the quarter. That’s a roughly 5% bump year-over-year.
They had paused growth for a bit while cleaning up the balance sheet, but the "deleveraging" phase seems to be nearing its end. Their net leverage ratio dropped to 5.0x. That might sound high for a tech company, but for a tower REIT with long-term contracts, it’s actually pretty comfortable.
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They’ve got about $11.7 billion in total liquidity. They aren't going broke. They aren't even sweating.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception? That satellites (like Starlink) are going to kill the tower business.
Management spent a good chunk of time explaining why this isn't happening. Satellites are great for rural areas or "emergencies," but they can't handle the density of a city. If everyone in Chicago tried to use a satellite for TikTok at the same time, the network would melt. You need towers. You need 5G. You need the physical "steel in the ground" that American Tower owns.
Actionable Insights for Investors
If you’re looking at these American Tower earnings April 2025 results and wondering what to do next, here is the breakdown of the move.
- Watch the "As-Adjusted" Metrics: Ignore the "Net Income" line for now. It’s too distorted by currency. Focus on the AFFO per share growth, which management now expects to be around 7% for the full year.
- Monitor the Mid-Band Cycle: The services revenue spike is a leading indicator. When carriers spend money on services, it means they are adding equipment. That leads to higher rent (amendments) in the following quarters.
- The International Shift: With the sale of the India business (ATC TIPL) finalized and the South Africa fiber sale done, the company is becoming "leaner." They are focusing on high-growth, high-quality markets instead of just trying to be everywhere.
- Data Center Synergies: Keep an eye on the Denver acquisition. If American Tower can successfully integrate data centers with their tower edge, they’ll have a moat that’s almost impossible to cross.
The company is basically a giant toll booth for the internet. As long as we keep using more data, they keep collecting rent. The April 2025 report shows that despite some global economic "noise," the toll booth is busier than ever.
Next Steps:
Review your REIT allocation to see if American Tower’s 5% dividend growth fits your yield requirements. You should also check the upcoming Q2 2025 dates (scheduled for late July) to see if the U.S. services revenue trend holds steady, as this will confirm if the 5G densification cycle is accelerating.