AMT vs. WPC: American Tower vs. W. P. Carey Stock Comparison

Company Profile

American Tower (AMT) and W. P. Carey (WPC) both fall under the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group, but AMT is classified in Specialized REITs while WPC is classified in Diversified REITs.

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

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

American Tower (AMT) at 32.96% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than W. P. Carey (WPC) at 7.76%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

Neither American Tower (AMT) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor W. P. Carey (WPC) 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.

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for American Tower (AMT) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and W. P. Carey (WPC) 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

Growth

Both American Tower (AMT) at 5.11% and W. P. Carey (WPC) at 8.43% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either American Tower (AMT) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or W. P. Carey (WPC) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

W. P. Carey (WPC) at 1.64 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while American Tower (AMT) at 0.35 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for AMT.

W. P. Carey (WPC) at 1.00 is near its industry mid-range for debt-to-equity ratio, while American Tower (AMT) at 4.64 sits above its benchmark range, pointing to a heavier debt load relative to equity.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Both American Tower (AMT) at 3.64% and W. P. Carey (WPC) at 5.73% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither American Tower (AMT) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor W. P. Carey (WPC) 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

Valuation

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

American Tower (AMT) at 7.95 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while W. P. Carey (WPC) at 8.06 sits in the pricier quartile — WPC costs more per dollar of sales.

W. P. Carey (WPC) at 1.71 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while American Tower (AMT) at 24.92 prices above its benchmark range — AMT looks rich relative to book.

Valuation Metrics