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AMT vs. SUI: American Tower vs. Sun Communities Stock Comparison

How do American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI) both fall under the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group, but AMT is classified in Specialized REITs while SUI is classified in Residential REITs.

Both American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI) are REITs — read their payout ratios and P/E alongside FFO (funds from operations) rather than at face value.

Company profile comparison for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI)
Profile ItemAMTSUI
NameAmerican Tower CorporationSun Communities, Inc.
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorReal EstateReal Estate
GICS Industry GroupEquity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
GICS IndustrySpecialized REITsResidential REITs
GICS Sub-IndustryTelecom Tower REITsSingle-Family Residential REITs
Market Capitalization87.55 billion USD14.93 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateFebruary 27, 1998December 9, 1993
Security TypeREITREIT

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AMT
SUI
GSPC
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American Tower (AMT) vs. Sun Communities (SUI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI)
MetricAMTSUI
Total Return (1Y)11.16%-1.28%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)5.13%6.25%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)-4.39%-5.75%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AMT
SUI
GSPC
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American Tower (AMT) vs. Sun Communities (SUI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI)
MetricAMTSUI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)28.50%21.19%
Beta (5Y)0.830.72
Max Drawdown (5Y)-43.81%-48.72%
Avg. Volume (3M)2.79M1.48M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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AMT and SUI are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI)
MetricAMTSUI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.24-0.26
Sortino Ratio (1Y)0.37-0.38

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

American Tower (AMT) at 32.96% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Sun Communities (SUI) at 4.89%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

AMT

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

32.96%

AMT
32.96%
Max
22.74%
Q3
10.54%
Median
6.38%
Q1
1.69%
Min
-10.86%

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

4.89%

Max
22.74%
Q3
10.54%
Median
6.38%
SUI
4.89%
Q1
1.69%
Min
-10.86%
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American Tower (AMT) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their ROE against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Neither American Tower (AMT) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Sun Communities (SUI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is well served by net margin: heavy depreciation makes net income a poor profitability proxy in their businesses, where FFO-based measures are the standard read.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for American Tower (AMT) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Sun Communities (SUI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), funding costs are part of the core business, so net margin and ROE are the cleaner profitability reads.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI)
MetricAMTSUI
ROE (TTM)32.96%4.89%
ROA (TTM)4.94%2.74%
Net Margin (TTM)----
Operating Margin (TTM)----
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both American Tower (AMT) at 5.11% and Sun Communities (SUI) at 0.77% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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American Tower (AMT) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either American Tower (AMT) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Sun Communities (SUI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI)
MetricAMTSUI
Revenue Growth (YoY)5.11%0.77%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)3.34%-8.37%
EPS Growth (YoY)----
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)----

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Sun Communities (SUI) at 3.07 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while American Tower (AMT) at 0.35 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

AMT

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.35

Max
4.19
Q3
2.11
Median
1.31
Q1
0.62
AMT
0.35
Min
0.06

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

3.07

Max
4.19
SUI
3.07
Q3
2.11
Median
1.31
Q1
0.62
Min
0.06
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American Tower (AMT) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their current ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Sun Communities (SUI) at 0.72 keeps leverage in the lower quartile, while American Tower (AMT) at 4.64 is above its industry debt-to-equity ratio range.

AMT

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

4.64

AMT
4.64
Max
2.72
Q3
1.59
Median
0.99
Q1
0.72
Min
0.20

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.72

Max
2.72
Q3
1.59
Median
0.99
Q1
0.72
SUI
0.72
Min
0.20
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American Tower (AMT) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI)
MetricAMTSUI
Current Ratio (MRQ)0.353.07
Debt / Equity (MRQ)4.640.72
Net Debt / EBITDA6.143.02

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both American Tower (AMT) at 3.64% and Sun Communities (SUI) at 3.60% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

AMT

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

3.64%

Max
8.62%
Q3
5.95%
Median
4.34%
AMT
3.64%
Q1
3.26%
Min
0.00%

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

3.60%

Max
8.62%
Q3
5.95%
Median
4.34%
SUI
3.60%
Q1
3.26%
Min
0.00%
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American Tower (AMT) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither American Tower (AMT) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Sun Communities (SUI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): their distributions are mandated and conventionally measured against FFO, so the accounting-earnings ratio overstates both.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI)
MetricAMTSUI
Dividend Yield (TTM)3.64%3.60%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)----

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

P/E ratio is not a meaningful valuation yardstick for either American Tower (AMT) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Sun Communities (SUI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both American Tower (AMT) at 7.95 and Sun Communities (SUI) at 6.39 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

AMT

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

7.95

Max
14.47
Q3
8.02
AMT
7.95
Median
5.98
Q1
3.27
Min
0.43

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

6.39

Max
14.47
Q3
8.02
SUI
6.39
Median
5.98
Q1
3.27
Min
0.43
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American Tower (AMT) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Sun Communities (SUI) at 2.76 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and American Tower (AMT) at 24.92 prices even higher, above its industry range.

AMT

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

24.92

AMT
24.92
Max
4.06
Q3
2.53
Median
1.64
Q1
1.06
Min
0.21

SUI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

2.76

Max
4.06
SUI
2.76
Q3
2.53
Median
1.64
Q1
1.06
Min
0.21
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American Tower (AMT) vs. Sun Communities (SUI): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for American Tower (AMT) and Sun Communities (SUI)
MetricAMTSUI
P/E Ratio (TTM)----
P/S Ratio (TTM)7.956.39
P/B Ratio (MRQ)24.922.76
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----