American Tower Gears Up for Q3 Earnings: What You Can Expect

American Tower Corporation AMT is scheduled to release third-quarter 2024 results on Oct. 29, before the opening bell. The quarterly results are expected to reflect a year-over-year decline in revenues and funds from operations (FFO) per share.Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.In the last quarter, American Tower reported an adjusted FFO per share of $2.79, which beat the consensus mark by 10.3%. The quarterly results reflected better-than-anticipated revenues, aided by revenue growth across its Property segment.Over the preceding four quarters, the company topped adjusted FFO per share estimates on all occasions, the average beat being 8.6%. The graph below depicts this surprise history: American Tower Corporation Price and EPS Surprise American Tower Corporation price-eps-surprise | American Tower Corporation Quote Factors to NoteAmerican Tower is likely to have continued to benefit from the secular growth trends of the wireless industry in the third quarter. The advancement of mobile technologies like 4G and 5G networks, along with the increase in bandwidth-intensive applications, has significantly boosted global mobile data usage.Consequently, wireless service providers and carriers are deploying additional equipment on existing networks to enhance their coverage and capacity, meeting the rising consumer demand. This positive trend is likely to have driven the demand for AMT’s extensive and geographically diverse communication real estate portfolio, favorably impacting its quarterly performance.The REIT is also anticipated to have carried on with its macro-tower investments during the quarter, backed by a solid balance sheet position.AMT’s data center business is well-poised to benefit from the growth in cloud computing, the Internet of Things, big data and the elevated demand for third-party IT infrastructure.However, higher interest expenses are likely to have affected AMT’s performance to some extent during the quarter. Also, the elevated churn in certain markets where the company operates may have been a spoilsport.ProjectionsOperating revenues from the Property segment are expected to be on the lower side in the to-be-reported quarter. The consensus estimate for the metric is pegged at $2.71 billion, which implies a fall from $2.79 billion reported in the year-ago period.The consensus mark for operating revenues from the Data Centers is currently pegged at $231.9 million, up from $212 million in the year-ago period.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for operating revenues from the Services segment stands at $55.3 million, which suggests a rise from $26 million reported in the prior-year quarter.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $2.76 billion, which indicates a decline of 1.9% from the year-ago period’s reported figure.American Tower’s activities during the soon-to-be-reported quarter were not adequate to gain analysts’ confidence. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly AFFO per share has moved down a cent to $2.54 over the past week. The figure suggests a decrease of 1.55% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.What Our Quantitative Model PredictsOur proven model doesn’t conclusively predict a surprise in terms of FFO per share for American Tower this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an FFO beat, which is not the case here.American Tower has an Earnings ESP of -1.73% and currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Other Stocks That Warrant a LookHere are two other stocks from the broader REIT sector — Extra Space Storage Inc. EXR and Ventas, Inc. VTR — that you may want to consider, as our model shows that these also have the right combination of elements to report a surprise this quarter.Extra Space Storage, scheduled to report quarterly numbers on Oct. 29, has an Earnings ESP of +0.67% and carries a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Ventas is slated to report quarterly numbers on Oct. 30. VTR has an Earnings ESP of +0.97% and carries a Zacks Rank of 2 presently.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.Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and SellsWe're not kidding.Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent.Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators,and more, that closed 228 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2023 alone.See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report American Tower Corporation (AMT): Free Stock Analysis Report Ventas, Inc. (VTR): Free Stock Analysis Report Extra Space Storage Inc (EXR): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks