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EQIX
Equinix, Inc. · REITs
$1,092.19
+4.17% this month
VERSUS
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AMT
American Tower Corporation · REITs
$176.05
-3.80% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
EQIX
2
AMT
3
Comparison scoreboard
AMT LEADS 3/5AI Score
EQIX ✓50.1
AMT 39.6
1Y Return
EQIX ✓+23.17%
AMT -18.17%
Fwd P/E
EQIX 54.93
AMT ✓27.10
Target Up.
EQIX +13.38%
AMT ✓+15.47%
Op. Margin
EQIX 24.34%
AMT ✓45.91%
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
EQIX vs AMT Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
EQIX and AMT are both digital infrastructure REITs but in different sectors — data centers vs cell towers. Equinix has the stronger near-term AI tailwind from hyperscaler data center demand. American Tower has faced headwinds from T-Mobile/Sprint merger tenant churn but maintains the world's largest tower network serving essential wireless infrastructure. Equinix's interconnection moat and AI demand create higher growth; AMT's global tower network provides stable long-term wireless infrastructure income.
EQIX vs AMT — Equinix (the world's largest neutral colocation data center REIT with AI infrastructure demand driving interconnection and hyperscale leasing in 33 countries) versus American Tower (the world's largest cell tower REIT providing essential wireless antenna infrastructure to carriers globally across 220,000+ towers).
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
AMT holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. EQIX has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+23.17% vs -18.17%), though AMT trades at the lower forward P/E (27.10x vs 54.93x). On fundamentals, EQIX is growing revenue faster (12.10%), while AMT maintains the higher operating margin (45.91%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +13.38% for EQIX and +15.47% for AMT.
Normalized 1Y performance
EQIX
AMT
Recent returns
EQIX
AMT
Analyst price targets & sentiment
EQIX
Price target range
analyst mean$1,197.11
current price$1,092.19
+13.4% upside to analyst mean
AMT
Price target range
analyst mean$216.14
current price$176.05
+15.5% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
EQIX may suit investors who:
- →want the leading digital infrastructure REIT with AI tailwind — every hyperscaler AI compute expansion requires data center space and interconnection that Equinix provides
- →value the network effect interconnection moat as a compounding competitive advantage — each new Equinix customer increases the platform value for existing customers
- →prefer Equinix's global data center leadership over cell tower exposure — data center demand is growing faster than tower leasing activity given AI infrastructure investment cycles
- →are comfortable with premium REIT valuation, power availability constraints limiting new supply in key markets, and hyperscale customer concentration in xScale facilities
AMT may suit investors who:
- →prefer the more stable, essential nature of tower infrastructure — wireless carriers must have tower space to operate and have extremely long lease terms with automatic escalators
- →see American Tower's international tower markets (Africa, India, Latin America) as significant long-term growth as wireless penetration in these markets expands
- →value the tower REIT's recovery from Sprint/T-Mobile merger churn as a cyclical trough that will normalize — after churn headwinds pass, organic tower growth should re-accelerate
- →are comfortable with lower near-term growth vs Equinix's AI tailwind, sensitivity to interest rates, and the loss of data center optionality from the CoreSite divestiture
Performance & AI score
| Metric | EQIX | AMT |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 50.1 | 39.6 |
| AI rank | #469 | #1142 |
| Latest close | $1,092.19 | $176.05 |
| 1M return | +4.17% | -3.80% |
| 6M return | +46.04% | -1.37% |
| 1Y return | +23.17% | -18.17% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | EQIX | AMT |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $12.32K (+23.2%) started 2025-06-18 | $8.17K (-18.3%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $15.32K (+53.2%) started 2021-06-21 | $8.25K (-17.5%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $41.21K (+312.1%) started 2016-06-20 | $25.46K (+154.6%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | EQIX | AMT |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $104.13B | $87.21B |
| Trailing P/E | 72.97 | 30.19 |
| Forward P/E | 54.93 | 27.10 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenue | 13.24 | 12.70 |
| Analyst target | $1,197.11 | $216.14 |
| Target upside | +13.38% | +15.47% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | EQIX | AMT |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 12.10% | 6.80% |
| Earnings growth | 20.00% | 76.90% |
| EPS growth | +20.00% | +76.90% |
| FCF margin | +28.61% | +42.65% |
| Operating margin | 24.34% | 45.91% |
| Profit margin | 14.93% | 26.81% |
| ROIC proxy | 10.06% | 29.95% |
| Return on equity | 10.06% | 29.95% |
| Dividend yield | 1.87% | 3.73% |
| Beta | 0.97 | 0.89 |
| Debt/equity | 162.96 | 444.55 |
| Current ratio | 1.18 | 0.30 |
| Quick ratio | 0.55 | 0.26 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
EQIX max drawdown19.90%
AMT max drawdown28.01%
EQIX max wkly drop15.94%
AMT max wkly drop9.88%
5Y risk snapshot
EQIX max drawdown41.77%
AMT max drawdown45.34%
EQIX max wkly drop15.94%
AMT max wkly drop13.55%
10Y risk snapshot
EQIX max drawdown41.77%
AMT max drawdown45.34%
EQIX max wkly drop18.45%
AMT max wkly drop18.24%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | EQIX | AMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +23.15% | -18.30% |
| CAGR | +23.19% | -18.32% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.76 | -0.89 | |
| Max drawdown | 19.90% | 28.01% | |
| Max daily drop | 9.56% | 4.24% | |
| Max wkly drop | 15.94% | 9.88% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +42.48% | -26.56% |
| CAGR | +7.35% | -6.00% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.23 | -0.27 | |
| Max drawdown | 41.77% | 45.34% | |
| Max daily drop | 9.56% | 7.66% | |
| Max wkly drop | 15.94% | 13.55% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +244.62% | +101.97% |
| CAGR | +13.18% | +7.29% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.43 | 0.23 | |
| Max drawdown | 41.77% | 45.34% | |
| Max daily drop | 12.66% | 15.16% | |
| Max wkly drop | 18.45% | 18.24% |
Business comparison
| Category | EQIX | AMT |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Equinix, Inc. | American Tower Corporation |
| Sector | Real Estate | Real Estate |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | Equinix is the world's largest data center REIT with 260+ data centers across 33 countries providing colocation space, power, cooling, and interconnection services. Equinix's business is driven by internet companies, cloud providers, enterprises, and financial firms that require physical proximity to each other and to cloud provider on-ramps. AI infrastructure expansion has driven extraordinary data center demand — hyperscalers are expanding AI compute aggressively, driving Equinix's leasing activity. Equinix's xScale joint ventures with GIC provide additional hyperscale capacity. | American Tower is the largest global cell tower REIT with 220,000+ communications towers across the US, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Tower REITs earn rental income from wireless carriers (Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, global operators) who lease space on towers for their antenna equipment — each tower serves multiple tenants. American Tower's business has faced headwinds from the T-Mobile/Sprint merger (Sprint antenna decommissioning reduced revenue) and rising interest rates compressing REIT valuations. AMT recently sold CoreSite (data centers) to focus on the tower core. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Equinix's revenue growth, interconnection revenue as network effect indicator, data center power demand vs grid availability, and xScale hyperscale leasing pipeline. | Investors focus on American Tower's tenant churn from carrier consolidation, organic new lease revenue from 5G densification, dividend growth trajectory, and international tower market expansion. |
EQIX strengths
- →AI infrastructure demand tailwind: hyperscaler AI compute expansion requires data center colocation, power, and interconnection — Equinix's global neutral facilities are uniquely positioned
- →Network effect interconnection moat: 10,000+ customer connections in Equinix facilities create a switching-cost-based moat — value increases with each new participant in the ecosystem
- →33-country global footprint: Equinix's global data center network enables multinational enterprise infrastructure consistency — a capability no national data center operator can match
AMT strengths
- →Tower business is essential wireless infrastructure: every antenna broadcasting signal needs a tower — American Tower's infrastructure is essential to wireless connectivity globally with extremely long lease terms
- →International tower diversification: American Tower owns towers in Africa, India, Europe, and Latin America — markets with lower wireless penetration and higher wireless subscriber growth rates than US
- →5G densification tailwind: 5G networks require more tower sites for coverage and capacity — 5G mid-band and mmWave deployments increase tower tenant revenue as carriers add new antennas
Risks to watch — EQIX
- →Power availability constraints in key markets: AI-driven data center power demand has exceeded grid capacity in markets like Northern Virginia, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt — limiting new supply addition
- →Premium valuation on AFFO multiple: Equinix trades at premium REIT multiples reflecting AI tailwind — valuation vulnerable to any slowdown in AI infrastructure spending
- →xScale hyperscale risk: building large hyperscale data centers for specific cloud customers creates customer concentration risk in xScale joint ventures
Risks to watch — AMT
- →T-Mobile/Sprint merger tenant churn: T-Mobile decommissioned Sprint duplicate towers reducing AMT's US revenue — the churn event has been the primary recent headwind for American Tower
- →Rising interest rates compressed REIT multiples: AMT's long-duration assets are sensitive to interest rate increases — 2022 rate hikes caused significant valuation compression for all tower REITs
- →CoreSite data center sale removed growth optionality: AMT sold CoreSite data centers to focus on towers — investors wanted a data center option that is now absent from the portfolio
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