American Tower Investor Relations Material

American Tower Corporation, sometimes referred to simply as ATC, is an American company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts operating globally. The company owns and operates wireless communications infrastructure. The company operates as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), and its shares are listed on the NYSE. The company owns roughly 200,000 communications sites spread across the world, with a majority of the infrastructure being located in Asia and Latin America.

American Tower is a relatively young company. It was founded in 1995 as a unit of American Radio Systems. When American Radio Systems completed its merger with CBS (owned by Paramount) in 1998, American Tower was spun off into a separate company. American Tower then began establishing itself internationally by setting up communications infrastructure in Mexico and Brazil. In the US, American Tower purchased telephone relay towers previously owned by AT&T which they then repurposed for use as cell towers. American Towers' growth journey is one marked primarily by acquisitions, which allowed the company to increase its portfolio of communications infrastructure rapidly.

American Tower’s business idea is, unsurprisingly, to lease out its vast network of communications infrastructure to other companies. This includes cell towers, television broadcasting equipment, broadband infrastructure, and more. Due to the sheer size of American Towers’ network, the company is able to rent out more or less complete connectivity solutions for its customers looking to increase their communications possibilities.

A Real Estate Investment Trust, or REIT, is a company that manages, owns, or funds properties that generate revenue across various real estate categories. These trusts aim to deliver steady income and potential for asset growth, with tax advantages due to the corporate structure. REITs and their shares trade on stock exchanges, but with special rules and regulations governing them. Legally, they are mandated to give a minimum of 90% of their taxable earnings to shareholders as dividends.