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American Tower's (AMT) Q1 FFO Miss, Revenues Surpass (Revised)

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American Tower (AMT - Free Report) reported mixed results for the first quarter of 2018, wherein the top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate but the bottom line lagged the same.

Quarterly adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) came in at $807.1 million compared with $721.3 million in the year-ago quarter. AFFO per share came in at $1.73, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.76.

Total revenues of $1,741.8 million increased 7.8% year over year, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,737.1 million.

Operating Metrics

Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter was $1,062 million, up 6.5% from the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 61% in the reported quarter. Selling, general & administrative expenses totaled $204.9 million compared with $164.8 million in the year-earlier quarter. Operating income was $402.9 million compared with $531.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Cash Flow and Liquidity

In the first quarter of 2018, American Tower generated $792 million of cash from operations, up 16.8% year over year. Free cash flow in the reported quarter was $586 million, up 16.9% year over year.

At the end of the reported quarter, the company had $1.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents and around $18,568.8 million of outstanding long-term debt compared with $802.1 million and $19,430.3 million, respectively, at the end of December 2017.

Property Segment

Quarterly revenues grossed $1,710.4 million compared with $1,594.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating profit was $1,085 million and operating profit margin was 63% in the reported quarter.

In the Property segment, revenues from the United States totaled $931 million, up 4.4% year over year. Total international revenues amounted to $779 million, up 10.9% year over year. Within this, revenues from Asia totaled $273 million, down 0.9% year over year. EMEA revenues grossed $174 million, up 15.8% year over year. Latin America revenues totaled $332 million, up 20.1% year over year.

Services Segment

Quarterly revenues totaled $31.4 million compared with $22.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating profit was $16 million and operating profit margin was 50% in the reported quarter.

Cash Dividend Payment

In first-quarter 2018, the board of directors of American Tower declared a cash distribution of 75 cents per share to the common stockholders of record as of the closure of business on Apr 11, payable in the second quarter of 2018.

In addition, the company paid $19 million in preferred stock dividends during the quarter under review.

Outlook for 2018

For 2018, American Tower anticipates property revenues in the range of $6,870 to $7,060 million, reflecting growth of 6.1% at the midpoint. Net income is expected between $1,335 million and $1,435 million, reflecting growth of 13% at the midpoint. Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated in the range of $4,265-$4,365 million, reflecting midpoint growth of 5.5%. Consolidated AFFO is expected in the range of $3,180-$3,280 million, reflecting midpoint growth of 11.3%.

Currently, American Tower carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

American Tower Corporation (REIT) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

We now look forward to earnings releases of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (ESS - Free Report) , Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (MAA - Free Report) and Lamar Advertising Company (LAMR - Free Report) , all of which are scheduled to report their numbers on May 2.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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(We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original article, issued earlier today, should no longer be relied upon.)

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