American Tower (NYSE: AMT) is facing a barrage of headwinds this year. Higher interest rates, foreign exchange fluctuations, and customer consolidation have cut into its cash flow. Those issues have also weighed on its share price, which currently sits 30% below its 52-week high. That has driven its dividend yield up to 3.2%, a historically high level. 

While the data infrastructure REIT (real estate investment trust) is facing some stiff near-term headwinds, its long-term growth tailwinds remain firmly in place. That was evident in the underlying growth it delivered in the second quarter.

American Tower's revenue ticked up 3.6% in Q2 to nearly $2.8 billion. However, the REIT's adjusted funds from operations (FFO) slipped 0.4% to roughly $1.2 billion (and was down 2% on a per-share basis to $2.46). Several factors affected growth, including the effect of rising interest rates on its floating rate debt, foreign exchange fluctuations in its international tower operations, and lease cancellations following T-Mobile's merger with Sprint. 

Continue reading

Source Fool.com