Even after falling 10% so far in 2023, shares of the cell tower owner American Tower (NYSE: AMT) have essentially performed as well as the S 500 index over the past 10 years. The stock would have turned a $10,000 investment in 2013 into $29,000 with dividends reinvested. That's a touch below the $32,000 that the same investment in the S 500 index would have produced.

What generated the real estate investment trust's (REIT) strong returns in the past? And can American Tower bounce back from its underperformance in recent months? Let's dig into the company's fundamentals and valuation to get some answers.

American Tower's success as an investment over the past decade has coincided with a powerful trend: the rise of the smartphone. Since the launch of 's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone in 2007, the total number of smartphone users has grown from zero to an estimated 6.8 billion as of 2023.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com