AMERICAN TOWER CORP /MA/AMT
AMERICAN TOWER CORP /MA/ Fair Value Disclosure
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
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The Company determines the fair value of its financial instruments based on the fair value hierarchy, which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. Below are the three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:
| Level 1 | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date. | |||||||
| Level 2 | Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. | |||||||
| Level 3 | Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. | |||||||
Items Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis—The fair values of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that are required to be measured on a recurring basis at fair value were as follows:
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| December 31, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fair Value Measurements Using | Fair Value Measurements Using | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assets: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Investments in equity securities (1) | $ | 15.3 | $ | 161.6 | — | $ | 98.6 | $ | 5.3 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) Investments in equity securities are recorded in Notes receivable and other non-current assets in the consolidated balance sheets at fair value. Unrealized holding gains and losses for equity securities are recorded in Other income (expense) in the consolidated statements of operations in the current period. During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recognized an unrealized gain of $121.3 million, for equity securities held as of December 31, 2025. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recognized an unrealized gain of $70.4 million for equity securities held as of December 31, 2024.
Sale of Equity Securities—During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company completed the sale of equity securities in the U.S. The net proceeds for this transaction were approximately $159.6 million after deducting commissions and fees. During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recognized a gain of $111.3 million for equity securities sold during the period.
Items Measured at Fair Value on a Nonrecurring Basis
Assets Held and Used—The Company’s long-lived assets are recorded at amortized cost and, if impaired, are adjusted to fair value using Level 3 inputs.
During the year ended December 31, 2025, long-lived assets held and used with a carrying value of $33.7 billion included assets of $0.1 billion that were subject to fair value measurement and were written down to their net realizable value of less than $0.1 billion as a result of an asset impairment charge of $94.2 million. During the year ended December 31, 2024, long-lived assets held and used with a carrying value of $32.3 billion included assets of less than $0.1 billion that were subject to fair value measurement and written down to their net realizable value of less than $0.1 billion as a result of an asset impairment charge of $68.6 million. The asset impairment charges are recorded in in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. These adjustments were determined by comparing the estimated fair value of the subject assets utilizing projected future discounted cash flows to be provided from the long-lived assets to the asset’s carrying value.
The significant unobservable inputs used to determine the fair value of the individual tower and acquired network location intangible assets subject to impairment in 2025 and 2024 included the following:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Range | Weighted Average | Range | Weighted Average | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Terminal growth rates on cash flows (1) | 2% to 12% | 3% | 2% to 8% | 3% | |||||||||||||||||||
| Weighted average cost of capital (2) | 7% to 27% | 9% | 6% to 56% | 10% | |||||||||||||||||||
(1)On a local currency basis.
(2)Specific to the country of each impaired asset. Due to the underlying economic characteristics of the markets the Company operates in, the weighted average cost of capital may vary significantly from market to market.
The Company believes any reasonable change in the significant unobservable inputs utilized would not have a material impact on the fair value of the assets used in connection with the impairment recorded.
There were no other items measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments—The Company’s financial instruments for which the carrying value reasonably approximates fair value at December 31, 2025 and 2024 include cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable and accounts payable. The Company’s estimates of fair value of its long-term obligations, including the current portion, are based primarily upon reported market values. For long-term debt not actively traded, fair value is estimated using either indicative price quotes or a discounted cash flow analysis using rates for debt with similar terms and maturities. As of December 31, 2025, the carrying value and fair value of long-term obligations, including the current portion, were $37.2 billion and $36.1 billion, respectively, of which $32.9 billion was measured using Level 1 inputs and $3.2 billion was measured using Level 2 inputs. As of December 31, 2024, the carrying value and fair value of long-term obligations, including the current portion, and amounts presented as discontinued operations, were $36.5 billion and $34.6 billion, respectively, of which $31.3 billion was measured using Level 1 inputs and $3.3 billion was measured using Level 2 inputs.
Net Investment Hedge—On June 1, 2025, the Company designated approximately 4.7 billion EUR (approximately $5.3 billion at the designation date) of senior unsecured notes as a non-derivative net investment hedge on the Company’s net investments in its European subsidiaries (as discussed in note 1).
The following table presents the contractual amounts of the Company's outstanding instruments:
| As of | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Designation | December 31, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency-denominated debt (1) | Net Investment Hedge | $ | 5,461.6 | $ | — | |||||||||||||||
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(1)During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recorded $185.3 million of unrealized foreign currency losses related to the EUR denominated debt that was designated as a net investment hedge as a foreign currency translation adjustment in Accumulated other comprehensive loss. As of December 31, 2025, includes 4.7 billion EUR ($5.5 billion) of outstanding EUR denominated debt designated as hedges of a portion the Company’s net investment in foreign operations. This debt matures in fiscal years 2026 through 2034.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 24, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 25, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 27, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 23, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 25, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 25, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 25, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Feb 27, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Feb 28, 2018 | |
| 2016 | Feb 27, 2017 | |
| 2015 | Feb 26, 2016 | |
About Fair Value Disclosures
Fair value disclosures classify all assets and liabilities measured at fair value into a three-level hierarchy: Level 1 (quoted market prices), Level 2 (observable inputs like yield curves), and Level 3 (unobservable inputs requiring management estimates). The proportion of Level 3 assets directly reflects how much of the balance sheet depends on internal models rather than market evidence.
Key signals: a growing Level 3 balance relative to total fair-value assets increases valuation uncertainty and earnings volatility risk. Watch for transfers between levels — assets moving from Level 2 to Level 3 often signal deteriorating market liquidity. Unrealized gains and losses on Level 3 positions flow through earnings or other comprehensive income, so large swings deserve scrutiny. For financial institutions, examine the sensitivity disclosures that show how Level 3 valuations change under alternative assumptions. Compare the fair value of debt against its carrying amount to gauge hidden leverage.