American Tower Corp. reported double-digit increases in revenue and adjusted earnings in what analysts described as “mixed” results for the third quarter of the year.
The tower company said that compared to the third quarter of 2016, revenue climbed 11 percent to $1.68 billion and adjusted EBITDA jumped 13.7 percent to $1.04 billion.
Wells Fargo telecom analysts expected revenue to be slightly higher but the adjusted EBITDA narrowly eclipsed their projections. Guggenheim Partners analyst Robert Gutman, meanwhile, wrote in a note that site leasing revenue fell short while EBITDA and adjusted funds from operations beat expectations.
American Tower CEO Jim Taiclet highlighted growth in tenant billings both in the U.S. and abroad, and attributed the increases to “the widespread adoption of unlimited data plans among subscribers of all four national mobile operators.”
“We expect that annual mobile data usage in the U.S. will continue to expand by an average of at least 25 to 30 percent, and will grow even more rapidly in our international markets over our next five-year planning period,” Taiclet said in a statement.
Officials also expect $30 billion in ongoing aggregate investments in U.S. wireless capital each year.
Wells Fargo analysts wrote that stable organic growth in the U.S. offset a decline internationally — particularly in India, where mergers and acquisitions in the market continue “to weigh on near-term results.”
Filed Under: Infrastructure
