As large as Prologis is, on any particular day another industrial REIT, American Tower (AMT) may have a larger market-cap.
If you have used a cell- or smartphone, in a minute way you have probably funneled money into the American Tower empire.
That’s right, American Tower owns the ubiquitous cellphone towers and related property and infrastructure seen globally, with a portfolio of approximately 219,000 communications sites, on more than 43,000 properties in North America and more than 175,000 properties globally.
American Tower has a market cap of about $114 billion, and company share prices are up 150% on Wall Street in the last five years. The company pays 2.2% dividend.
American Tower is a bit more leveraged up than Prologis, and the credit-rating agencies have furrowed their eyebrows. S&P Global gave American Tower a “BBB-” credit-rating in mid-2021. That is “investment grade” by the slimmest of margins, and any reduction in the credit-rating would push American Tower into the “non-investment grade” territory.
As international operations, both Prologis and American Tower could report lower earnings (in US dollars) if the greenback appreciates, and there is always a degree of regulatory or political risk in offshore business climates.
Both companies have heavy analyst coverage, which gives comfort that a major blowout of some type is less likely to be unforeseen.
But that same comfort means both industrial giants are fully priced on Wall Street.