AMT vs CCI Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
American Tower and Crown Castle are both major US tower REITs, but AMT has extensive international operations while CCI is a pure US play that bet heavily on small cells and fiber. AMT's international growth is more dynamic; CCI's domestic focus is simpler but faces questions about whether its small cell and fiber strategy generates adequate returns.
AMT suits investors who want global tower exposure with international growth optionality; CCI suits those who want purely domestic US tower exposure, though CCI's strategic review of its fiber and small cell assets introduces uncertainty.
AMT holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. AMT leads on both 1-year return (-9.87%) and forward P/E quality (25.37x vs 26.37x for CCI), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, AMT is growing revenue faster (4.70%), while CCI maintains the higher operating margin (46.83%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CCI (+24.86%) than for AMT (+21.28%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- want global cell tower exposure across US, LatAm, Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific
- value international tower markets as higher-growth markets than the mature US
- believe CoreSite data centers add durable value alongside the tower portfolio
- are comfortable with FX and international operational risk in exchange for higher growth potential
- prefer a pure-play US tower REIT without international FX or credit risk
- see potential value unlock if activist-driven strategic changes rationalize the fiber/small cell portfolio
- value US carrier lease escalators as a reliable and predictable rent growth mechanism
- want a higher dividend yield relative to AMT while the strategic clarity improves
| Metric | AMT | CCI |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 40.5 | 38.7 |
| AI ranki | #1139 | #1328 |
| Latest closei | $173.98 | $73.06 |
| 1M returni | -0.29% | -2.13% |
| 6M returni | -4.80% | -14.12% |
| 1Y returni | -9.87% | -21.41% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | AMT | CCI |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.01K (-9.9%) started 2025-09-18 | $7.86K (-21.4%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $7.5K (-25.0%) started 2021-09-20 | $5.62K (-43.8%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $24.75K (+147.5%) started 2016-09-19 | $17.19K (+71.9%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | AMT | CCI |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $82.87B | $33.27B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 24.46 | 31.08 |
| Forward P/Ei | 25.37 | 26.37 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 12.12 | 13.16 |
| Analyst targeti | $215.70 | $95.07 |
| Target upsidei | +21.28% | +24.86% |
| Metric | AMT | CCI |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 4.70% | -4.90% |
| Earnings growthi | 138.50% | -67.50% |
| EPS growthi | +138.50% | -67.50% |
| FCF margini | +26.69% | +24.90% |
| Operating margini | 45.41% | 46.83% |
| Profit margini | 31.08% | 20.72% |
| ROIC proxyi | 33.91% | -206.68% |
| Return on equityi | 33.91% | -206.68% |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.92% | 5.58% |
| Payout ratioi | 96.01% | 173.47% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.90 | 0.97 |
| Debt/equityi | 438.72 | N/A |
| Current ratioi | 0.35 | 0.52 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.30 | 0.43 |
Over the past year, AMT and CCI have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.86), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | AMT | CCI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -9.87% | -21.41% |
| CAGRi | -9.88% | -21.42% | |
| Volatilityi | 26.08% | 29.70% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.44 | -0.82 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.61 | -1.06 | |
| Max drawdowni | 16.67% | 26.10% | |
| Current drawdowni | 10.57% | 26.10% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.89% | 12.72% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.76% | 14.63% | |
| Max daily dropi | 4.10% | 8.99% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 8.81% | 10.85% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -33.27% | -53.48% |
| CAGRi | -7.78% | -14.20% | |
| Volatilityi | 26.98% | 27.41% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.33 | -0.59 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.47 | -0.81 | |
| Max drawdowni | 43.81% | 58.59% | |
| Current drawdowni | 34.20% | 58.59% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 24.56% | 37.43% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 26.23% | 40.35% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.66% | 8.99% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.55% | 14.32% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +96.35% | +13.14% |
| CAGRi | +6.98% | +1.24% | |
| Volatilityi | 26.45% | 26.42% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.22 | 0.01 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.31 | 0.01 | |
| Max drawdowni | 45.34% | 58.59% | |
| Current drawdowni | 36.00% | 58.59% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 16.08% | 20.98% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.57% | 28.82% | |
| Max daily dropi | 15.16% | 12.43% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.24% | 17.43% |
| Category | AMT | CCI |
|---|---|---|
| Company | American Tower Corporation | Crown Castle Inc. |
| Sector | Real Estate | Real Estate |
| Industry | REIT - Specialty | REIT - Specialty |
| Core business | American Tower is the world's largest independent cell tower REIT, owning approximately 220,000 towers globally across the US, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Its business model — leasing vertical space on towers to multiple wireless carriers simultaneously — generates very high incremental margins as each additional tenant adds minimal incremental cost. International diversification, particularly in India (Vodafone Idea risk) and Africa (high growth), differentiates AMT from domestic-focused peers. | Crown Castle is a domestic US tower REIT that operates approximately 40,000 cell towers, 120,000+ small cells, and 90,000+ miles of fiber. Unlike AMT's international strategy, Crown Castle focused entirely on the US market and made a major strategic bet on small cells and fiber — networks of smaller antennas deployed in dense urban areas. This small cell strategy is more capital-intensive, has taken longer to generate returns, and has faced pressure from activist investors pushing for strategic changes. |
| Investor focus | Investors track domestic tower organic revenue growth (driven by carrier lease amendments as 5G equipment is added), international revenue growth by region, the CoreSite data center business contribution, and AFFO per share growth. | Investors track tower segment organic revenue growth, small cell node deployments and contracted backlogs, fiber segment returns, and whether strategic changes (sale of fiber, refocus on towers) are coming under activist pressure. |
- Leading global tower footprint in international markets with superior growth potential vs US
- Tower colocation economics — each incremental tenant on a tower has 90%+ incremental margins
- CoreSite data center acquisition provides exposure to growing data center demand
- Pure-play US focus means no currency risk or international execution complexity
- Small cell fiber network creates long-term urban densification infrastructure for 5G
- Tower portfolio generates predictable escalating rent from the three major US carriers
- India exposure — Vodafone Idea's financial distress creates tenant credit risk in a key market
- US tower revenue growth slowed after the initial 5G equipment upgrade wave
- High international revenue exposure creates FX headwinds in strengthening dollar environments
- Small cell segment has produced below-target returns, leading to strategic review under activist pressure
- Fiber segment capital intensity reduces free cash flow available for dividends and buybacks
- US-only revenue base limits growth potential compared to AMT's international diversification
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