Shares of American Tower (AMT 6.68%) looked down on Wall Street from a lofty position on Tuesday. The owner and operator of wireless networking and broadcast infrastructure posted stellar fourth-quarter results in the early morning. The stock soared as much as 7.5% higher in the morning session, settling down to a 6.2% gain by 1:15 p.m. ET.
American Tower's fourth-quarter revenue rose 3.7% year over year to $2.55 million. The analyst community's average estimate stopped at $2.51 billion. On the bottom line, unadjusted earnings soared from $0.18 to $2.62 per diluted share. Here, your average analyst would have settled for $1.75.
Earnings enjoyed a strong boost from robust cost controls. American Tower's operating expenses came in 20% below the year-ago period's figure, driven by dramatically lower depreciation, amortization, and accretion costs. The company didn't sell a ton of assets but recalculated its amortization schedules in early 2024, based on a longer useful life for its towers.
It should be noted that American Tower's success goes beyond accounting adjustments. The new amortization schedule doesn't affect the company's free cash flow, which rose 22% year over year to $746 million.
More than half of American Tower's revenue came from the three largest U.S. wireless phone networks, but most of the recent revenue growth comes from the smaller data center segment. And yes, American Tower is tapping into the ongoing artificial intelligence boom.
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